Six days on the road…….

 its a long way from Tucson to Paducah!!!

Day 1

Leaving Catalina State Park, we started the long, boring  drive home, once again, on I-10.

At the end of the day, along with 7 other rigs, we spent Saturday night at a Harvest Hosts winery near Las Cruces, New Mexico. 

With ample parking, decent wine, friendly staff and a fun atmosphere with live music, we highly recommend a stay at Rio Grande Winery near Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The main reason we search out Harvest Hosts stays is the opportunity to meet fellow travelers. Joining us in the tasting room at Rio Grande Winery were a couple of truly adventurous travelers. We are not talking U.S. travel, but many out of the country experiences, like South America, Iceland, Antarctica . See for yourself on their travel blog at Marnie and Steve Travel Blog. (Kind of reminded us of our hometown friend, Nancy.) Living in Prescott, AZ, Marnie and Steve spend about 10 months of the year traveling. 

Day 2 was pretty much uneventful which isn’t always a bad thing when traveling. Taking I-25 from Las Cruces to Albuquerque, we picked up I-40. Y’all, there is a whole lot of empty space in our country!!!

At the Walmart in Edgewood, NM, we gathered a few supplies, watched our home church sermon (delayed), and settled in for the night. Around midnight the driver of an an 18-wheeler decided, with an almost empty parking lot, the best place to park was next to us. After about 30 minutes all was quiet again and we returned to sleep.  When we woke on Monday morning the temperature was 28 degrees. We were grateful there was no disconnecting or hooking up to be done!

Day 3 started back on I-40 which took us across the state line, through the wind farms in the Texas panhandle, and back into the Central Time Zone. We happened upon the iconic Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo.

Our Harvest Host for the night was just south of Amarillo in Canyon, Texas. Bar Z Winery is closed on Mondays but graciously
opened their parking lot and tasting room for Harvest Hosts members. 

For a short while we literally had the tasting room to ourselves but were delighted when three couples (also Harvest Hosts members) from Upstate New York joined us. Soon two more couples from Minnesota appeared and we had a Harvest Hosts Party.

We were having a great time getting acquainted, sharing travel stories and tips as we sipped some very good wine when the tasting room host said she had to close the tasting room. It was too windy to sit on the lovely patio so we  strategically positioned our RVs to block the wind while we continued the party outside.

While Bar Z wines are a bit pricy, we think they rival those we have found in California. As we sit on our porch at home sipping the Tempranillo and Sangiovese that came home with us, we will remember another wonderful  Harvest Hosts experience.

Day 4 greeted us with sunshine and 28 degree temperature. (Whose idea was it to take the northern route home!?) The long drive on I-40 took us through more of the Texas Panhandle wind farms, into Oklahoma. We found our Harvest Host, Anthem Brewery in Oklahoma City. 

After sampling some nice stouts, we settled in for a quiet evening.

Day 5, waking to 36 degrees and sunny was a bit better but still chilly. I-40 was, well is just I-40, lots of trucks but nothing else. As we traveled east we noticed more green. Red buds were in bloom as well as a few Dogwoods. Maybe, just maybe, spring will greet us when we get home. Our stop for the night was Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas. Finally we could sip wine while sitting outside.

It truly is a small, quiet, lovely state park. 

Day 6 brought in the clouds and 48 degree wake-up temperature, Having traveled the I-40 to I-55 route probably a hundred times over the years, we decided on a different route and avoided Little Rock and Memphis. It was an easier drive with less traffic but the scenery was pretty much the same, flat farmland.  Arriving at the Walmart in Blytheville with about a dozen 18-wheelers, the temperature was 71 degrees. Now that is what we have driven across the country to find!

Arriving home on Friday morning, we enjoyed sunny temperatures in the 70s. We rushed to unload the essentials before the predicted storms with tornado potentials arrived. Yes, spring has arrived!  

Back to our favorite Arizona state park.

We would like to say our 10 days at Catalina State Park near Tucson was paradisiacal but actually it was disappointing. Thank you, Mother nature!

While we were able to hike most days, it was rather cool, windy and wet.

We would start off bundled up,

after a mile or so, we were taking it off.

The more than usual amount of rain flooded the usually dry washes.

On the bright side, the unusually rainy winter brought out the desert blooms.

The abnormal season also provided beautiful sunsets.

A fire in the summer of 2020 left it's footprint.

Our favorite hike, about a 5-mile roundtrip trek from our camp site was Dripping Springs.

Least favorite, was Saguaro National Park which is basically a forest of saguaros.

As always, we welcome visitors to our campsite,

especially those from our travels, like Nancy from Estes Park, CO whom we first met at Catalina in 2020. 

(We missed Bruce who was under-the-weather.)

Catalina State Park is conveniently located across the highway from Oro Valley Marketplace which, to ABN's delight hosted an Art and Craft Festival.

And on Thursdays we could get gelato with our choice of toppings for half price at Peachwave just because we are seniors!

Although Catalina State Park is awesome with great hiking trails, friendly camp hosts, clean and spacious shower houses and music in the park, we have had enough of intentional living (without water, sewer and electricity) for now. We are headed home to long showers, heated porch, haircut (for one of us), individual space, Mellow Mushroom/Dry Ground, Tipsy Tuesday, fast internet and in-person church. Give us a few months and we will be yearning to get away from home maintenance, constant internet and TV, heat and humidity, yard/garden work and neighborhood construction. 

Finally Delightful Weather

With warmer temperatures, less wind and plenty of sunshine, we had a most pleasant stay at Lost Dutchman State Park near Apache Junction, Arizona.

Photos by Adele Jackson

Located at the base of the Superstition Mountains, Lost Dutchman State Park offers many options for hiking.

Nearby Usery Mountain Recreation Area also has nice hiking trails.

While we loved the hiking, hanging out with friends and family was the best part.

You may remember our friends, Steve and Adele, from previous posts, most recently Bisbee. They most graciously shared with us their winter home and life in Gold Canyon where we made new friends.

with Rick and Paula from Grants Pass, Oregon on the Jackson's rooftop deck

A blind wine tasting at our camp site.

Sister time is always special. 

Sister Mary with husband, Steve

Mary also has that "Brooks' gardening gene," but her style is totally different than ABN's.

Currently we are enjoying nice temperatures, fantastic hiking and slow, intermittent cell service/internet connections. And that is why we are just now posting last week's stay in Lost Dutchman. We can usually get a good connection before 8:00 a.m., after that it is almost non-existent. 

Patagonia Lake State Park

Leaving Bisbee, we stopped at Patagonia Lake State Park 

for a couple of days. It is a lovely place to relax and do a bit of hiking and is in close proximity to the Sonoita area wineries.

By mid morning the temperature had warmed enough for an easy, pleasant and muddy 3.5 mile hike along Sonoita Creek

Revisiting a few wineries and the Copper Hop Ranch Brewery from previous years, we were disappointed to find not many folks were out on a sunny, yet windy Friday afternoon. However, Frank at Arizona Hops and Vines was out with all his glory.

Back at the Patagonia Lake we took a short walk over the bridge

and around the campground

Taking advantage of the sunshine and calmer breeze, we had our evening wine outdoors.

If you ever want to go “where the WiFi is weak” consider Patagonia Lake State Park in Arizona. It is also considered to be one of the best places for bird watching in the world.

We left Patagonia Lake about a week ago but due to a very busy week here in Lost Dutchman State Park we are just now getting the blog updated. More about that later. 

A place you just can’t “visit”, you have to experience it.

 

What draws us to return year after year to this quirky, little bohemian town is the colorful little houses scattered over the hill side, the unconventional residents, random art throughout the town, numerous music venues with varied genres and finding the unexpected.

Returning after a four year hiatus, we were sad to learn our self-described hippie friend, Bruce, had passed away. Bruce was the first person we met on our inaugural visit. He introduced us to the music venues throughout the town.

 

Through Bruce, we met Keith (aka The Blues Wizard,) whom we learned has recently moved to Mississippi.

 

Also, no longer in Bisbee is the blonde, blue eyed Jesus.

We found music choices were limited to only a couple of venues during the weekend. The Stock Exchange closed after the owner had died and The Copper Queen was doing a private event. But The Grand continues to have music Thursday thru Saturday.

We miss the folk style we enjoyed on previous visits.

The vibe in Bisbee has also changed as it is becoming quite the tourist attraction, with which many of the residents are not pleased. Overheard in a conversation (ABN is prone to eavesdrop on occasion) affordable rent is hard to come by as houses are increasingly turning to more lucrative short term rentals aka AirBnB and VRBO.

 

Meeting up with friends, Steve and Adele from Colorado, we revisited some of our favorite hangouts. Like The Grand

and the Bisbee Coffee Company where ABN overheard a conversation about capitalism (the speakers were not in favor.)

And, of course, the “hike to the cross.” ABN, knowing the hike was above her current level of fitness, decided to wander around town as Captain led our friends. Well, it should be said “he attempted to lead.” His 10+ year-old boots had blowouts before they reached the cross.

Steve and Adele continued without him.

 

Taking the recommendation from “new friends” we met at The Grand, passing the Lavender Copper Mine,

we walked over to the Lowell Community

for brunch at The Breakfast Club.

Seen in Lowell

Returning to Old Bisbee we took a brief tour of Shady Dell.

Should we consider a spot in our outdoor space for The Wanderer when it is time for her retirement?

 

The Bisbee locals seem to think The Hitching Post over in the Warren district is a great venue for music.

Have you ever seen a chicken in a bar? Neither had we. It seemed to be quite at home and the two dogs paid no attention.

 

Being so close to the Mexican Border, it seemed reasonable to check out “the wall” in Naco.

Nothing much to see here.

It’s not all fun as we travel about. We do have to take a bit of time for chores, like laundry. How convenient to find a laundry next to a Brewery. The Electric Brewery hosts a craft group every Tuesday. While Captain did the laundry, ABN slow stitched and visited with the locals. Perfect! (for ABN.)

To truly experience Bisbee, one has to walk; and walk we did. Starting out with no plan or destination, we just wandered. At times we found ourselves above the town

and at other times we found no street, just steps.

ABN’s FitBit recorded close to 25 miles over the week. Keep in mind, in these miles were many stairs and hills.

 

Walking around Bisbee, this is what we found. (We tried to not duplicate photos from previous trips. If you want to see more photos of Bisbee, click on the links below.)

Waking up to about 1 inch of snow this morning, we decided it is time to leave Bisbee.

 

For more photos of Bisbee, click here.

 

Discover Bisbee Visitor’s Guide

 

Please excuse the inconsistency of the text in this post. Could be issues with the Blogger host or (probably) user deficiency.