June 14 - 26, 2018:
It was another scenic roller coaster ride from Globe, AZ on routes 77 and 79 to Tucson, AZ. We went over the Pinal Pass and through the Mescal mountains through much Apache reservation land. Nearing Tucson, there were threatening skies in the mountains, badly needed rain is in the forecast, we were told it hasn’t rained in over 100 days.
We checked into Desert Trails RV Park and it was weird to see the campground mostly vacated although many snowbirds are now leaving their rigs there over the summer. On the way to Tucson as we started to see Saguaros, we noticed a few still with flowers, but most are now in the fruit stage. The fruits when open are bright red and almost appear to be flowers. The rain started in the evening on the first day of the Monsoon season and after a long drought, it was a big deal. It was a good soaking rain just what was needed and continued Saturday morning. It was weird to be driving through puddles of water at intersections on Saturday afternoon.
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| In the Mescal Moutains with 76 miles to go |
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We're back in Saguaro territory again and the
the fruits are opening |
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I believe this is a Sotol which was in full bloom.
They are another incredible desert plant |
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| We've never seen the campground this empty |
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| The rain was a welcome relief |
Our tenants moved out of the house on Saturday and called in the afternoon to see if we could come to the house in late afternoon to check it out and hopefully return their security deposit. After going over with them how the thermostat works, how the security alarm works, how the garbage pickup works and a few other details, they left and we sort of hung out for a while looking around at all the work in store for us.
Sunday morning we took a final walk around the campground and into the desert behind it, kind of a last waltz as we don’t expect to ever return there again as campers. Twinkles had to take a look in the campground library which she used to keep organized. We also checked a few of our friends RV’s in storage to see if they looked OK. We had an interesting short hike seeing a coiled up Rattlesnake, a coyote and some birds that we don’t usually see in the winter.
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This campground was originally a Water Park and some of
the park features remain |
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| We don't usually see the Mesquite beans |
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| The Palm trees are also loaded with seeds |
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We saw a coyote wandering around the campground,
and were told that she had pups in the campground |
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Twinkles is taking a close look at the Saguaro fruit, they were
a staple of the Native Americans diet |
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| The birds also love them |
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The fruit resembles flowers, but the flowers
bloomed earlier on top of the fruit pods and were
a pure white color |
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| This rattlesnake was coiled up under a bush, we left him alone |
We then drove the RV over to the house, parked in the driveway and spent the rest of the day unloading it. I couldn’t believe the quantity of stuff we had accumulated, way too much ! We removed about everything except RV specific things like hoses, sewer pipe stuff, leveling stuff and a few assorted hardware items as we don’t know at this point what we are doing with the RV. We are storing it month by month for now at Desert Trails RV Park while we work on the house. This will be a busy week with a mattress being delivered, a washer and dryer being delivered, multiple items from Ikea being delivered (assembly required) along with much repair, cleaning and organizing. Alice (the Cat) is not doing well with this change, she is totally freaked out mostly with the noises in the house.
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| We have a dove nesting near our front door |
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| Twinkles is loving this |
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| Also loving the kitchen |
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| I loved the cookies |
It’s been a very hot week, with about 106 degree highs, but the mornings are beautiful, we are really enjoying coffee on the patio at 7 AM. In mid afternoon it usually gets a little breezy, but its a hot wind like a heat gun. In the evenings, it cools off a little and we go out to rake debris in the yard, it was once a beautiful yard, but its been neglected for years and most of the plants have died. We will replant it using desert plants that can tolerate the sun and heat and repair whats left of the commercial grade drip irrigation system. A couple of years of hard work should have it looking great again. Regardless, we have a great park like view with a rocky hill, or knob ( trying to find its name) covered with native desert fauna, lots of birds and wildlife. We have had a roadrunner and quail in our backyard. no snakes yet but I’m sure they are lurking out there.
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| That's our coffee spot |
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| And our patio view |
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| The front yard with a pile of yard debris from the back yard |
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| The Mesquite Tree in the front yard is very productive |
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| The kitchen area is a big change from the RV |
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| By weeks end Alice is more relaxed and loving the house |
In between work assignments, I took time to check a few of my favorite local musicians. I saw Lana Rebel and Kevin Mayfield at LaCocina on Wednesday evening, they have moved their record shop into a better shop space at LaCocina and are doing well. Next was the St. Charles Tavern to hear the Determined Luddites, for the first time. To my surprise, Gary Mackender, of the Carnivaleros Band was playing accordion with them. Next was the Sunday Sessions with Kevin Pakulis at Borderlands Brewery where Gary also plays the drums. Finally on Monday night I head to the Chicago Bar to listen to the Rondstadt Band which seems to change its name every other month.
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| Lana and Kevin on the LaCocina stage |
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| The Determined Luddites at the St. Charles Tavern |
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| The Sunday Sessions with Kevin Pakulis |
I went to the storage garage to start the 38 Dodge, all seems well but the car was covered with dust, there seems to be a lot of dust blowing from a nearby construction site. I’ve measured the length of the car and the length of the house garage and it appears to be very close, actually too close. It appears that the car can fit in the garage but there would be no room to walk around the ends. The interior access to the laundry room goes through the garage so this is an issue. I may have to extend the garage entrance out a few feet into the driveway which could be done rather easily but at a some cost.
I will fly back to New Jersey on June 27th to get a rental truck, load it with our New Jersey storage stuff and then drive it back to Tucson. After getting that stuff in the house or back in storage again and getting the house under control some decisions need to be made about the RV. Regardless, I anticipate some road trips in the future in the 38 Dodge and /or something like a truck camper or a van with or without Twinkles, don’t know if I can pry her out of this house.
After the New Jersey trip across country the travel blog will be retired, no point in doing a travel blog if your not traveling ?
Next stop is Hightstown, New Jersey;
Travels with Twinkles
