Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

I think John and I have had about all we can take of cactus and deserts! This is a nice park with a great campground (all pull thru sites) only 4 miles from the Mexican border. We hiked up to the Victoria Silver Mine on Saturday afternoon. It was an easy 4.5 mile hike. As we were headed back to the campground, the wind started to blow in the promised rain storm. And it did blow and rain most of the night.

Today dawned bright and sunny but not warm (high of only 55)! We had a very lazy morning and then took off to hike up into the Ajo Mountains (pronounced ah-ho). The 4 mile loop trail climbed 800 feet up to Bull Pasture overlook before dropping back down into Estes Canyon. It was a fairly steep climb with lots of loose and fairly large rocks to walk on. The trail was well marked and maintained but still only about 3-4 feet wide. We did not get to the very top of the Ajo and happy not to since they were covered with a dusting of snow! The view was spectacular from here with snowy mountains on one side and a very wide plain leading to Mexico on the other.

Once we got into the canyon we were walking thru a forest of Saguaro cacti, organ pipe cacti, large cholla cacti, ocotillo, mesquite, jojoba and creosote bushes, and Palo Verde trees. For a desert, there was a lot of vegetation and a very lush feel to the canyon. Too bad we are here in the winter as I understand that the cactus blossoms are beautiful in late March and April.

Resort Golf?

Today dawned cloudy and cool -- a good day for chores. Our tee time on the Cocopah RV Resort Golf course is at 2:37 pm due to a couples golf tournament. There was a 2-some in front of us and a 4-some behind. It was a hurry up and wait game on a very poor course that twined thru the RV park and then out into the surrounding lettuce fields. Besides having little grass and narrow fairways, it was a short course and we both really struggled with our games. We did finish before sunset and that was a plus.

Since we got off so late, we decided to dine at a sushi bar we had seen on our way into town. Oh, that was soooo good! We certainly enjoy our fish!

Saturday we will leave early and head to our next adventure.

Yuma, AZ

I didn't mention that we drove into Yuma on Tuesday morning to explore the town and visit the Farmer's Market in Old Town. It was much smaller than those in Palm Springs but it still draws many people. One of the biggest attractions in Old Town is a place called "Lutes Casino". Evidently this place has been around a long time and it is not a casino but a restaurant. The people standing in line told us that you cannot visit Yuma and not have lunch at Lutes. Their special sandwich is a cheeseburger with a hotdog and all the fixins'. It had a very eclectic Southwest, western, Vegas look on the inside.

Wednesday we hopped into the Jeep and drove out to Ferguson Lake. It was an easy drive but the road seemed to go so deep into the desert that we didn't believe we would really find water! Then, over the ridge, there it was. An oasis of blue water, palm trees and tall reeds and cattails. It was so inviting that John literally jumped out of the Jeep and readied a line to fish! Didn't catch anything but it felt good to try. I enjoyed hiking the hills around our fishing spot. It appears to be a very large lake like you would find in a delta in the south. I half expected to see a gator peering up out of the shallows. The road dead-ended at a fishing and hunting camp.

Later in the day we hiked about a mile a half into the desert -- saw nothing special. Then the wind picked up big time and drove us into the RV.

Today we moved to an RV resort in Yuma. It is on a golf course so we have a tee time for Friday. This evening we joined a group of Canadians for cocktails on the berm in front of our RV's. Seems this is a nightly ritual. They were a lot of fun!

Mesa

We spent the weekend of Feb. 18-20 in Mesa, staying at John's Mom's RV park and spending a lot of time with John's mom. But also we spent time with our friends from CO who were also camped in the RV park. They came over to John's mom's place and we had fun sharing rving stories and reminiscing about our past lives in Detroit. We did a lot of skiing and dinners together with this couple when we were first married and living in Detroit. Thru the years we lost touch and then reconnected (thru Facebook) a few years ago.

Monday morning we headed to Yuma and I got to put my RV driving lessons to good use - I drove! We found a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) campground but no one was manning the check-in booth since it was Presidents Day so we just parked in a spot out in the desert. Tuesday morning we found out we had paid for a day-use area at the self check-in which is not where we parked and if we wanted to stay where we were, we had to pay an additional fee. Live and learn!

Today we also explored the hills around us in the Jeep, needing to gear down to go up and down the hills! We also found out that the town of Yuma is at the narrowest part of the Colorado River so almost all routes west came thru here -- gold miners, wagon trains, stagecoach runs and railroads. It was also the best place in the US to train our soldiers for WWI and WWII.

So Much to Do, So Little Time!

Sunday, the 13th, our friends and us drove out to Fountain Hills and played golf at Wi-Ko-Pa Golf Course. It is part of a resort and casino on an indian reservation. It was a lovely course but very difficult with lots of hills, deep sand traps, and desert washes. The girls decided that we were there to have fun so we picked up balls, scrambled a few holes and even just skipped a hole. The guys took it more seriously (we think). It was a beautiful day so we all enjoyed ourselves.

Monday, Valentines Day, one couple had to head home and John and I hung out at the campground. For dinner we joined our friends at a nice French restaurant for a delicious meal and lots of wine. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were spent hiking, biking and doing some small repairs on the RV. The bike ride was a 19 mile round trip into Carefree, around Black Mtn. to Cave Creek and home. The hike was a 5.8 mile trek up into the hills around our campground, strenuous enough that we both took a nap this afternoon! Tonight we will have dinner with our friends before they head back to MO. Tomorrow we head to Mesa to spend a couple days with John's Mom.

The weather has been just about perfect! Low 50's at night and 70 or higher during the day. Some clouds were moving through last night so the sunset was spectacular! It's about to end with rain on Saturday along with cooler weather (60's).

Busy, Busy!

Wow! It's been a whole week since I last blogged! Where has all this time gone?

Pam did not see the female impersonators as the show they wanted to see had ended. John got back to Palm Springs after his ski trip all in one piece. He had a good time with his friends but the skiing itself was not too good -- no snow.

We left Palm Springs on Wednesday and drove to Cave Creek, AZ to stay near friends who have rented a house here. The campground was full so we parked in the overflow parking lot for 3 days until a site became available today. We didn't mind as we were not in the campground much anyway. We have golfed three times this week -- we both have had some pretty good games which is unusual for us! Friday and Saturday mornings we woke to find hot air balloons taking off not too far from the campground. That is such an awesome site. Today the temps rose to near 80 so the guys lounged around and the girls went shopping. We have cooked the last two meals so tonight we ate out and it was really good. It's surprising how many good places there are to eat in Cave Creek. More golf tomorrow.

Seperation Anxiety?

This is the week when Pam stays in the RV in Palm Springs and John flies away to go skiing. We needed this break! So, no, there is no anxiety!

John flew out to Sun Valley Idaho on Thursday morning. (We'll tell you about that trip when he gets back.) Pam is staying in the same park as some dear friends and she is very busy! She goes hiking or walking every morning. She and her friend have shopped at a huge golf store, a wig shop, at an outlet mall and at two different street fairs. Of course there is golfing -- twice so far. There are so many dinning establishments in the area that she is eating out a lot! Maybe they'll even go to a female impersonator show one evening. The weather has been chilly until today when it will reach 80! Yeah!

Golf vs Snow

It was a beautiful day in Palm Springs today. We played a nice round of Golf, enjoyed a couple of beers and a nice seafood dinner. But the best part was missing all the snow our friends and family were having to endure back home. It has been fun looking at snowy pictures from numerous friends and reading exciting reports on the number of inches of snow that has fallen, roads closed and events canceled. We're sorry they have to endure all that snow, wind and cold!