Winter moves on

Another month has gone by in the sunny state of Arizona. We were not able to continue working at Picacho Peak state park as Bill needed some knee surgery. So we moved to town where the doctor is located, had the procedure, working on rehab and getting as close to 100% as he can.

We spent Jan. in the town of Casa Grande, about 40 miles south of Phoenix. It's a moderate size town, has a nice mall, good grocery shopping choices ( that means Walmart and others), some good eateries but not too crowded or busy. Everything was pretty close and we were able to ride the scooters for errands rather than the BIG truck. Of course, you can be as busy as you want at the RV park with activities. There are the usual senior park activities, shuffleboard, cards, pool activities, pool hall and ongoing lunches, dinners, shows brought right to the park, clubs, classes and "state" get-togethers. This is snowbird country and even though they have left their home state, they have never really left. All the same things here except the snow and cold. Lots of golfing too. Anyway, its a way of life for many senior citizens and you can join as much as you want or not. Some friends from Boise joined us for 2 weeks at the park and we golfed a couple of times and enjoyed visiting.

Now we have moved down to Tucson where another group of friends resides. This park is smaller but still has the same activity choices. All fun stuff. The weather in January has been great, one of the warmest on record. It still can be very chilly at night and down to the high 30s but so far no snow. Most days are pretty clear and very little rain.

Our plans have altered a bit since we were planning on being at Picacho through April. Now we plan to start moving north in March to check out campgrounds and parks up in the Mesquite. NV and St. George, UT area. Also we will get to visit with our youngest Kyle. Then we will go back to Escalante for some volunteering for Apr-Jun. I hope to have some fun time in July and Aug, before we leave for Australia in Sept. Anyway, that's the basic plan but as you know, everything and anything is subject to change.

We have the chance to explore more of AZ sites and are closer to some now. We did visit the San Xavier mission, old and historic but still a working church and mission. The interior has some very ornate carvings and religious depictions. We then went on down to the art town of Tubac, also very old and home of the Tubac presidio. Other than touring the presidio, there are lots of art stores, sculptures, crafts from Mexico or southwest.

The stretch of highway to Tubac is a direct freeway to Mexico. We had no desire to go that far but it's interesting in that mile markers are in kilometers and on the return a border patrol stop in the middle of the freeway. Everyone must stop and get looked over, I guess, because they asked no questions really about where we had been. There is one just like it in TX, from McAllen to San Antonio. Anyway, it was a nice day.

Hopefully, we will get to Katchner caverns, Tombstone and a couple of other parks. We will keep you posted.

AZ & cactus, a prickly issue

We've been in AZ, specifically Picacho Peak state park for two months now, settling into a work routine and getting our bearings. We are in the midst of the Sonoran desert and surround by pretty much nothing but rock and cactus. At first glance, from the freeway from Phoenix to Tucson, it all looks pretty boring and desolate. As we've driven off the freeway, it becomes different and depends on the altitude as to what will be out there.

Picacho Peak is a unique point, part of an old volcano that has yet to be found. We are at Picacho Peak, across the freeway are the Picacho mountains and the freeway passes through, can you guess?, Picacho pass! Of course. The draw to the park is some camping, but most of all the trails. The popular one goes pretty much up the face, to the ridge, then on to the peak. It's 4 miles round trip, very steep and 3 1/2-4 hours. From the ridge to the peak cables offer the way to climb the steepness and the slick trail. This is the challenge for many people and great training. Some people come to "run" up. The peak is attainable from the backside also, a gentler trail, longer, 6 miles round trip, but you still end up at the cableways.

A unique bit of history, the peak was the western most battle site of the Civil war. A small skirmish occurred here and these days a reenactment is done every March. March is also flower time and the fields will be covered with blooming spring flowers, mostly Mexican poppy. Like watching the leaves change colors in New England, people will be watching for the flowers here.

So on to cactus. It's somewhat interesting learning about the different types, adaptability to the climate and uses. Cactus are put into different classes, just as trees and plants are. There are barrel types, Cholla (choya), prickly pear, and in a class by themselves saguaro (sawahro or sagwaro). The type we're all familiar with is the prickly pear type, they can be very small, and the fruit at the top can be eaten, juiced and cooked.

prickly pear

 so soft

fish hook 

Cylindrical or barrels are all sizes, either clumps together or larger single barrel. All have needles of course, and they are not soft and the big one here is the fishhook cactus. The hooks are very tough and were used as such for fishing by the natives. Look at the edges of the cactus to see the hooks in profile.

Cholla

The cholla type is a segmented type, more of a tree and branches. There is the teddy bear cholla, looks soft and cuddly but definitely isn't. The jumping cholla sends off small chunks of the branch, the needles stick in the ground and viola, a new cholla will grow. The ground can be littered with the offshoots, even the trails, a hazard to walking dogs. The prickly pear is also a segmented type.

The saguaro is pretty unique. It is shallow rooted and fluted and when it gets a lot of water, the flutes swell and it's a storage tank. They seem to grow  between specific altitudes and some places it seems like a forest. Arms will grow after the cactus is 50 years old and overall they can be over 150 years old. They can also grow very tall.  How many arms it grows indicates how much water it may have gotten. They provide homes, food and shelter for the desert animals, even when they fall over and die.  When birds build a nest, they dig out the outer shell but don't harm the interior core. A scar forms around the bird hole and seals the shell up. A special type of saguaro is the Organ Pipe cactus and there is a national monument on the southern border just for them. The saguaro is the state cactus and protected in Arizona.

Farewell Escalante (For Now)

Our time at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is drawing to an end.  For our first camp hosting experience, I don't think we could have picked a better place.  We have both truly enjoyed our time here and will miss the park and the people.  It was so nice here that we've already put our names in to come back in May and June 2012.

 

New firewood shelter

Kendall, the park manager, has kept Bill busy with projects around the park.  He got to play with weed eaters, tractors, chainsaws, pull weeds,  build up pathways. A wall was built to enlarge a campsite with the help of  our son Kyle. When he came to visit, he and Bill laid out the stones for a retaining wall. Kyle prepared, leveled and laid the first course and then the rest was easy. A spare roof was erected at an old site to provide shelter for the fire wood. And it was moved closer to the host site to better monitor the selling. Firewood sales are on an honor system, but not everyone is honorable. Bill also got to drive the tractor and practice road building and repairing skills.

Gail, meanwhile worked in the office, telling people about the day hike to the petrified forest, checking in campers and office stuff.

Red Canyon

We also enjoyed the area on our time off with some hikes along river canyons, into some slot canyons, hunted for strange rock formations called Moqui marbles, and rode some 4 wheelers. Plus a few trips to the "cities" to pick up company (all the way to Las Vegas) and do Walmart/grocery runs and liquor stores in Nevada. Although the drives are long, the scenery is beautiful and varies between colorful rock formations, valleys with wide vistas, up into the mountains with lakes and pines. There is so much to explore here it would involve moving here to really take advantage of it. My favorite is Red Canyon, along hwy 12. After driving along high desert scrub, you are suddenly in a red rock canyon with plenty of large formations. It's stunning.

So, we leave Utah for now and head to our winter assignment, Picacho Peak state park, between Phoenix and Tucson and see what's in store for us there. Till the next blog.