Free Parking and Great Beer

We stumbled across this jewel when we were wine tasting in the Sonoita Wine Region last winter. Love the image etched in our minds of the young lady in overalls running from the hops field to serve us beer! Enjoying some amazingly good chocolate porter, we got to know a little about Mel and the Copper Hop Ranch Farm and Microbrewery. She invited us to stay at the farm the next time we came through. Free parking and great beer, of course we took her up on the offer.

Unlike our previous visit, it was a warm weekend which brought folks out to taste beer and enjoy the sunshine.

Inside the tasting room.

Our host, Tom

Around the farm,

For fellow boondockers, it is a fun place to land while visiting the wineries in Sonoita, to do a bit of quail hunting or to stop over as you make your way across southern Arizona. The beer will not disappoint! Here is a link to Copper Hop Ranch Farm and Microbrewery where you will find directions and contact information. Just call ahead to see if a spot is available (BTW, as of this time, Copper Hop is not a part of Harvest Hosts.) Tell them Chris and Randy sent you.

Wine tasting at Rune Winery; photo courtesy of Benjamin Bennett

Cheers!

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Oh the places we go

and the people we meet!

Last week we had an incredible experience in Southern Arizona! As we have said many times, it is the people we meet as we travel that feed our souls. Our souls have had a feast!

Where shall we begin? How about with a complete happenstance? We were introduced to the wines of Sonoita last winter at a wine festival in Tucson and made a note to explore the region. As we were driving the rural roads in Sonoita Wine Country we saw a white event tent on a rural farm and assumed it was in preparation for a private event.

As we drove past, we saw a hand painted sign that said “Farm Brewery, open to public.” We made a U-turn! As we drove up the drive we heard a female voice calling to us from a nearby field. It was the owner; she stopped pulling weeds in the hops patch to come over and serve us beer.

That's Mel on the right.

As we sat at the table drinking our Nut Brown Pecan Ale,

she told us how she left the law business and, with her husband, bought 5-acres to create an organic farm to grow hops, make beer and distill spirits. You will probably hear more about Copper Hop Ranch Farm Brewery

as Mel invited us to park The Wanderer at the farm for a weekend next winter. (We really do like the Nut Brown Pecan Ale

and Mel is an absolute delight!)

The tasting rooms in Sonoita Wine Country were interesting. The tastings, usually around $7-10 each, were very scant but included a souvenir glass. The last thing we want to take up space in The Wanderer is souvenir glasses; however we did get a discount on the tasting if brought our own glasses, so that is what we did. We found some very good wines that suited our palates. Our favorite was a smoky malbec from Kief-Joshua Vineyards.

The most fun tasting room was Arizona Hops and Vines

May have to steal this cork/velcro idea!

Interestingly, the wines were paired with chips; pepper chips, kettle chips, Cheetos and cocoa puffs.

And then there was Rune 

with walls lined with brown paper which encouraged artistic expressions.

The Wanderer was parked at Patagonia Lake State Park, a short distance from the quaint little town of Patagonia. We did not have internet or cell service at the campground so we drove into town in the mornings and sipped coffee at The Gathering Ground

while we caught up on emails.

Camped next to us on one side was Mike from England. He told us he had been traveling the world for about 5 years, first on a motorcycle; when it wore out he bought a camper van. His travels have taken him to most of the continents. On the other side of our campsite were Vicky and Ric from Daytona, Florida. They too travel extensively both domestic and international. They are professional photographers; their stunning photographs can be seen at Ric and Vicky Kessler Photography. Having recently fished in Alaska, they gifted us with a jar of salmon, caught and canned by Vicky. Needless to say, conversation around the campfire was most interesting.

Earlier in the week we spent a few days in Tubac so ABN could get her art and shopping fix.

We parked The Wanderer within a short walking distance from town so ABN could come and go as she wished.

Sunflower Camp is an interesting campground; basically a field with full hook-ups. There we met Gayle and Keith from Boise, Idaho. Sitting around their campfire we learned they were regulars, spending the winter so Keith could hunt quail.

We want to give a shout-out to J.J. (short for Jesus Jose) at Quick Fix in Nogales. We, once again, had a problem with the left tail-light on the Ranger. J.J. fixed it in short order while explaining in detail the problem. We pulled into the parking lot without an appointment; a couple of hours later we pulled out with working tail-lights and not with a huge repair bill.

While in Nogales (which is on the border) we stopped for groceries at Walmart. We felt a blend of cultures as it was a large, very clean and modern store with at least half of the cars in the parking lot sporting Mexico license plates. The display signs were in English but overhead announcements were in Spanish.  

This week we continue to be near the border in one of our favorite towns, Bisbee.

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