December 6, 2016
We left Rogers as the temperatures started to fall. We were sad to be leaving family at Christmas time, especially since we have a house this year, but were anxious to get to warmer parts!
We spent the night at Fort Richardson State Park in Jacksboro, Tx. The park would probably have been interesting to explore, but we arrived late and planned on leaving early the next morning. We picked a great campsite, but then realized it was a bit of a trek to the bathroom. Not much fun in the dark!!!!
December 7, 2016
December 7, 2016
A long dreary day through west Texas... An amazing amount of oil fields dotted the land around Midland, Tx. Texas DOT trucks were busy putting ice preventative on the highways- not a good sign!! We decided to skip Balmorhea State Park and drove on to Van Horn, Tx. The night was spent at Southern Star RV Park, where the evening sunset was spectacular. We set the alarm to get on the road the next morning by 6 a.m., in order to avoid the drop in temps.
December 8, 2016
December 8, 2016
Although we were on the road by 6, as planned, the temps were already below freezing. Good news is the roads weren’t bad at all. Evidently most of the bad weather/roads were more around the Ft. Davis/ Balmorhea area. We stopped at Cracker Barrel in El Paso for breakfast. (Perk of getting up early!) We arrived at Kartchner Caverns State Park in Benson, Az fairly early in the afternoon. It amazed us that people were sitting outside in shorts! Unbelievable!!!!
December 9, 2016 - Sunday, December 11, 2016 Happy Birthday!!
December 9, 2016 - Sunday, December 11, 2016 Happy Birthday!!
Enjoyed spending a few days at Kartchner Caverns S.P. and celebrated George’s 74th birthday on Sunday with lunch out at The Texas Roadhouse in Sierra Vista. The campground was fairly empty our whole stay, which made it even more enjoyable and the trails were a great place to walk with Lizzie. Wow- the sunsets were absolutely beautiful most evenings!
December 12, 2016
With a few days to kill, I thought it would be a great time to visit Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Hwy 86 from Tucson seemed to go on and on and on and on… It also didn’t help that it passed through the O’odham Indian Reservation, which was pretty bleak looking in and of itself, but add to that the dryness of the desert and it was not a pleasant drive. By the time we arrived at Why, Az, we decided to just stay in Ajo for a couple of nights and drive to Organ Pipe the next day. As we drove into Ajo, we couldn’t believe what a pretty town it was. Yes! We set up the Casita at the Ajo Heights RV Park, where I met several nice folks.
December 13, 2016
December 13, 2016
The morning was spent driving to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. It was a pretty area, but we were glad that we chose to actually stay in Ajo. There didn’t seem to be as many organ pipe cactus, as I thought there would be. We did really enjoy the saguaros- they each seem to have their own “personality”, determined by the way their “arms” have grown. The campground wasn’t much to see and it made us wonder what the reasons are that people would choose to stay there. It was only a few miles to the border, so, we drove down to see what was happening. NOT MUCH, but we can say that we’ve been to Gringo Pass. It looked like the little settlement at the border went out of business, which was probably because of the park’s closure for several years due to the killing of a ranger and many illegal immigrants crossing through a few years earlier.
December 14, 2016
Today we traveled from Ajo to Yuma, Az. Funny how your perspective changes- Yuma looked really good, after some of the areas which we had been through the past week. After settling in at KOFA Escapees Park, we enjoyed a late lunch at In-N-Out. Yum!
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Mexican food was on the menu, as we met a fellow Casitan, Eileen Glick and her friend for lunch at Manjares II. Food was good and it was a nice visit. On the way back to the park, we stopped at The Peanut Patch. I thought I was having a moment of strong willpower, but alas, we went home with double chocolate dipped peanuts.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Mexican food was on the menu, as we met a fellow Casitan, Eileen Glick and her friend for lunch at Manjares II. Food was good and it was a nice visit. On the way back to the park, we stopped at The Peanut Patch. I thought I was having a moment of strong willpower, but alas, we went home with double chocolate dipped peanuts.
