Elephant Butte Lake State Park

What a beautiful morning! No wind - go figure, we are leaving. However, Silver City will be back to wind advisories. We needed to get out of here and get a change of scenery even if we have wind. Our site was a pull-thru but we had to back out of the site.

The drive was uneventful as we headed to Elephant Butte Lake State Park that is a few miles north of the town of Truth or Consequences. There is nothing out here and no lights to take away from the beautiful star-lit sky. We had reserved our site for 4/1 through 4/8 but hoped that the site was available today so we wouldn't have to move tomorrow. Luckily, no one was in the site and we were able to get set up knowing we weren't going to have to move.

Take at look at the nice long site and pretty view of the lake we have from our site.

Nice view of the lake from the side of our rig. We've spotted White Pelicans out on the lake but they were too far away for a good camera shot.

Here is shot from the rear of our site. We have a nice ramada and picnic table on a cement slab.

We have a nice view down in to a wash. As we were sitting outside enjoying the sunshine (amid a breeze), we spotted a coyote on the far side of the wash and watched him make his way down into the wash headed for the lake. As we were watching him in our binoculars, he stopped and looked straight at us. That was kind of weird.

We met our camp hosts and were invited to a potluck on Saturday along with the other campers in the campground. Our hosts (Pat and Ed) are hoping that the wind won't be blowing (us too) . Right now, we are having strong winds out of the west with gusts up to 35 mph. Tomorrow, the forecast is more strong wind. Yikes. The forecasts for the next week appear that we will have a calm day followed by a blustery day and then repeat.

We also saw an Excel on the freeway heading south as we were heading north and have an Excel here in the park. Bonus day for Excel sightings.

Stop the wind already

The wind has done nothing but blow with powerful wind gusts since we arrived. We are sick of the wind.

On Saturday, we took one of their "scenic drives" and we both came to the same conclusion: we have a different opinion on what is "scenic". Granted, the cottonwoods aren't in bloom yet along the Gila River but still. The morning was lovely and the afternoon was, of course, windy. We did get to see some raptors and saw an owl flying along the roadway. John picked out a nice place for lunch in downtown Silver City called Jalisco. It was good but very spicy.

On Sunday, John woke up with an intestinal issue. We stuck around home just taking it easy so he could recover. Yes, the wind blew again. All this wind is stirring up pollens that we aren't use to so the noses are running.

When we went to bed, the wind had died down. Sometime during the night, the wind came up with strong force. I spent the night waking up and going back to sleep wondering if I should take the satellite dish down. What concerned me the most was the powerful wind gusts and the timing of putting the dish down. The dish stayed up and weathered the winds. The whole state is under a wind warning: 30 - 35 mph winds with gusts up to 50 mph.

Tomorrow, supposedly the state won't be under a wind advisory (we'll see). We are thinking we should hit the road tomorrow if that is the case and not wait until Wednesday to move when the forecast is once again calling for windy conditions.

We have not seen the Gila Cliff Dwellings due to this constant wind and are disappointed. So we will came to come through this area again at a later date to take in the Gila Cliff Dwellings.

Brrr

When we woke up this morning, it was 24.8 degrees outside. Yikes! I think that is the coldest morning temperature we have seen since we started this lifestyle. Luckily, we have just had strong, gusty winds whereas north of us, they had anywhere from 3 to 15 inches of snow. John and I discussed the possibility of below freezing temperatures yesterday so John filled our water tank with water and unhooked the hose from our rig so that it wouldn't freeze and split.

It was so cold that we got a very slow start. The high today was suppose to be 51 degrees (we actually reached 52 degrees). We decided that we would just hit the grocery store and get the laundry done. When we went out to the store, the air was bitingly cold with the wind. We left Arizona for this? We can only hope that it starts to warm up soon. Tonight, we are suppose to get down to 20 degrees. The one plus is that the sky is beautiful blue and the visibility is spectacular.

Driving and extreme wind

We decided to get out and about. John wanted to drive Highway 152 to check out the road for a possible route when we leave here. We drove up to Emory Pass (8,182 foot elevation) to see what this mountain pass would look like. Lets just say it didn't compare to the Sierra Nevada's in California. We did, however, decide that there was no way we wanted to drive the fifth wheel over this highway.

We then headed back towards Silver City but took the road through the Mimbres Valley toward the City of Rocks State Park. We get to the self-pay ticket booth but don't have a five dollar bill or five ones to cover the fee - all we have are larger bills. Darn. A couple pulls up and mistook John as a ranger and wanted to pay him their fee. John told them he wasn't a ranger and asked if they could break a ten. They only had two fives and needed one to get in to the park. They very graciously offered to give John $5. John thanked them but said no, we'll just come back another time. So on another day, we will return making sure that we have some small bills.

By the time we got home, the wind was howling with very strong gusts. I was thinking about bringing the satellite down but John said that it was side on and should be fine. Amazingly, with the 50+ mph gusting winds, our TV signal nor internet signal never broke up. We sure were shook around during the late afternoon and evening.

Travel day

I was woken early this morning by this loud repetitive sound coming in the window. It took a while for me to realize that it was a bird that was either on our trailer or the one next to us who was loudly vocalizing. As it was pitch black outside, I also came to the conclusion it was an owl but what type? While I was listening to the loud mouth outside, I could also hear off in the distance a Great Horned Owl doing its call. After getting up, I tried to find out who my mystery owl was but couldn't narrow it down.

We were on the road at 8:30 a.m. as we knew we would be losing an hour going into New Mexico as Arizona does not do Daylight Savings Time. The afternoon winds were also a consideration as everyone knows the wind almost always blows in New Mexico.

As we headed towards Benson, we decided to take this road that Trailer Life recommended that would shave some miles off as we headed for I-10. The first few miles were fine but then it turned to gravel for the next 8 miles. The first couple of miles were fine but then it turned real washboard rough and all I could think of was how the things in our cabinets were being shook up. Thankfully, we got back on pavement. The rest of the trip was uneventful. We pulled in to Silver City around 1:30 p.m. and boy, was the wind blowing. Gusts up to 35 mph.

We got settled in and went up to the office to settle up. We are spending the week at Manzano's RV Park. This is a small RV park with just 18 sites. We have a nice pull-through site that has a nice amount of privacy. We've already been visited by Gambel's Quail and White-Wing Doves. The bird feeders are out so birds tell your friends. Amazingly, when I checked our kitchen cabinets nothing fell out or was damaged. That was a pleasant surprise and a benefit of our good suspension system. John did have a surprise when he opened the bathroom cabinet as a few items fell out into the sink.

A storm is brewing here in New Mexico and there are severe wind advisories for tomorrow with the possibility of thunder and snow. Yikes! The snow is not suppose to accumulate here. Humm, it might be a good day to stay in and get caught up on laundry.

Packing up

We spent the day packing everything up so that we can get an early (for us) start tomorrow as we head into New Mexico. We are hoping that the winds will lessen or will be out of the west as we are heading east. We called ahead to see if we could come in a day early to the RV park in Silver City. We were told they were holding the site for us . . . so Silver City here we come.

Kartchner Caverns

Another windy day that made us change our plans from driving to Patagonia State Park to go kayaking to the Kartchner Caverns. Last week was Spring Break here in Arizona so visiting the Caverns was out then. Here is a link to the Kartchner Caverns for more information.

We were very impressed with their Discovery Center as it was very informative as well as interesting information on the caves. There are two tours: Rotunda/Throne Room and the Big Room. We were able to take the Rotunda/Throne Room and all we could say was "WOW". The cave is breathtaking in its beauty and its uniqueness as a living cave. Sorry, no cameras were allowed. Purses and backpacks also weren't allowed and if you took a jacket in to the cave (not sure why you would want to), it had to rolled up tight and tied around your waist. The State of Arizona is proving to be good stewards at preserving the caves for all of us to enjoy and experience. This is definitely a must see if you are in the area. We've already discussed that when we are in the area next year, we will make reservations to tour the Big Room.

After the Caverns, we drove in to Benson and found a place for lunch. It was not only good (Mexican) but reasonable. We then drove out to Sierra Vista to fill up our tank at Fry's (saved 10 cents per gallon) as the fuel station in Benson was all backed up and we didn't want to wait around.

After the tour of Kartchner Caverns, we got to thinking that maybe we would take in Carlsbad Caverns. After looking at trip routing after we got home, we decided we would have to visit Carlsbad Caverns another time. The rest of the evening we just chilled with a little reading and TV.

Windy, Windy, Windy

Boy, the past two days have been windy as all get out. The gusts have been something else also; we've been rocking and rolling. Sure hope it ends soon as we are wanting to head out on Wednesday. We have just hunkered down and caught up with some reading.

We had our first hummingbird visitor on Saturday. Another cool item: early this morning I heard an owl close by going Whoo Whoo (maybe it was perched on our satellite!) which was a nice sound to hear.

Bust of a day

We are planning on attending the Good Sam Rally in Albuquerque in April and had received our packet of information. John and I had offered to work the Rally but there was no information in the packet about our volunteering so I called the Volunteer Coordinator. We were told that they had filled up their volunteers early on but that we were on the waiting list. Darn. We were looking forward to getting there early and being of some use (not to mention we would get our dry camping fee returned).

After that bit of disappointing news, we loaded up the truck to go to Ramsey Canyon. I have so been looking forward to going there. This is were they band the hummingbirds in April and is suppose to be a wonderful birding and hiking area. We get there and while there are three parking spaces available, the parking area is so small and tight, that there was no way that John could maneuver the truck into one of the parking spots (and I have seen him get into some really tight spaces). Da**! We even saw at least seven deer just from the parking area. There is no street parking so we had no choice but to leave. I was/am so bummed. All I have heard about is Ramsey Canyon and how beautiful it is and the variety of hummingbirds to be seen as well as other species of birds. We get there and then nothing. Their parking area pretty much eliminates anyone driving a truck from getting in to the canyon.

After that disappointment, we headed for San Pedro House to see if any new birds had migrated in. By this time, it was overcast and was feeling very warm and humid. We did a little bird watching and then called it a day as we were both getting hot and sticky. Stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Thankfully, a breeze came up that made the humidity tolerable. The mornings around here are beautiful and then in the afternoon the wind comes up with strong gusts. One of the park employees was taking down our neighbor's awning that they had left up when they left the park this morning. He said that there were three awnings that were ripped off their respective RVs this afternoon. Yep, some very strong wind gusts.

With the cloud cover, it is going to be a warm night. I can only imagine what it feels like here in July. A good place not to be.

Cochise Co. and the AmerInd Museum

We hung around this morning as we wanted to sit in on the informational meeting held by Jim and Anne on Cochise Co. and in particular the Dragoon Mountains which was Cochise's stronghold.

Our plans for the day after the meeting ended was to go to the AmerInd Foundation in the town of Dragoon that sits at the base of the Dragoon Mountains. The museum houses artwork and artifacts of the Southwest's Indian Tribes. The museum is also an archaeological/anthropological research facility on the American Indians. Jim told us that we should plan on a full day because there is so much to see. Knowing us, we thought three hours would be enough. We did find it interesting and they have some wonderful pieces of baskets, pottery, and other artifacts along with some interesting stories on how they came to the museum.

This is a shot of the Art Gallery Building that houses original art work by Indian artists. There is also an original Remington on display. No cameras were allowed in either building due to copyright issues or damage caused by flashes.

The museum is in Texas Canyon. The canyon appears to be nothing but big (huge) boulders everywhere you look.

This sign was on the Museum's grounds. Gotta say I didn't care for the message about the rattlesnakes. This whole canyon can't be anything but loaded with them. No hiking here for either of us.

The rock formations are beautiful and do offer a certain charm.
Looks like snake country doesn't it?
The museum admission is only $5 per person. The museum is worth going through if you are in the area.

Couple of easy going days

We had determined that we weren't going anywhere on Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day. It was a good thing or we would have missed the big goings on in the park. We were sitting outside noticing all the preparations going on in the site in front of us. We figured they were getting ready for a St. Patrick's Day party. Not so. They were preparing for a wedding. Yep, the couple in the Cruise Master RV were getting hitched. We were talking with our neighbor next door when this miner guy walked up to the party and started harassing the couple "gittin hitched". Much laughter rang out.

Then came walking the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday from Tombstone. Imagine our surprise!

The Earps and Doc Holiday also joined in with the miner asking the couple are you sure you want to get hitched? The bride is in the white blouse, sunglasses, and blondish hair. The groom is in the green shirt with brown cowboy hat.

Here is a nice shot of Doc Holiday looking right at us while the others pose with the bride.
Here is the groom with the judge settling up after the nuptials.

This is a shot of the vehicle that the judge drove up in. He and another gentleman was headed for the Chiricahua Mountains to set up these two water tanks. Interesting ride for a judge, we thought.

The main group of wedding attendees broke up around 4 p.m. The remaining group must have gone to town for dinner and further celebrating.

Wednesday was laid back just like Tuesday except we didn't have anything exciting happen like a wedding to watch.

A couple of days doing little to nothing was very relaxing and much needed.

Patagonia Lake State Park

We got up bright and early and headed to Patagonia Lake State Park to check out their birds and the lake for possible kayaking. The lake is roughly 50 miles southwest of the park were we are staying.

Once at the lake, we parked near the birding trail and had a nice conversation with one of the volunteers. As we walked the trail, this was the sight we first saw. Can you imagine tules in the desert?

Cows have access to the state park. This mom and son walked past us on the trail as they headed to the water for a drink. We were told that there are a lot of cow trails to follow throughout the park.

These are cormorants which are typically shorebirds. What the heck are they doing here in Southeast Arizona. Crazy isn't it?

Here is another nice shot of the lake. This week is spring break for the kids so the lake's campground was full of families camping. We decided we will wait until next week when the families head home before we get out on the lake like these two kayakers were today.

Can you believe this view is in the desert?
Or this one? Look at the beautiful ferns. Amazing.

As we were headed out, more cows passed us by. This little fella was so darn cute and was romping around with another calf as the two moms just kept heading for the water. We couldn't resist including his picture.

Here are some Cinnamon Teal and Green Wing Teal Ducks doing what ducks do.

I have saved the best for last. The sighting of this bird is the prime objective of many birders as its range barely extends into the United States. The name of the bird? The Elegant Trogon. This beautiful bird is related to the bird of the Maya emperor-gods, the Quetzal. We knew that the bird had been sighted at Patagonia Lake from a conversation with some birders here at the park on Saturday. In all honesty, we probably would have walked right by him if we hadn't come across a group of four birders who saw him. They graciously pointed him out to us so we got our proof of sighting. He is rather elegant looking isn't he? Click on the picture to enlarge for a closer view.

The one gentleman in the group had been birding for 24 years and he was amazing. We walked with them for a while as he/they pointed out different birds. The birder had a scope that he would set up quickly on the bird we were viewing. We were shown so many different types of birds that our heads were spinning. We really appreciated their generosity in sharing their knowledge with us. I think the only way one is ever going to get good at bird identification is to hang out with other birders. In this lifestyle, that may not be too difficult.

I really liked this picture John took. Simple but very pretty.

We saw deer, cows, lots of different birds (including hummingbirds) and the Elegant Trogan. It was a very productive day.

We tried to go to the Nature Conservancy's Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve in the town of Patagonia but they are closed on Monday and Tuesday. Oh well. As we were leaving Patagonia, we spotted this bird of prey sitting in the tree along the road. We believe it is a Swainson's Hawk; another new sighting for us.

We decided that there is still more to see around here so we will be signing up for another week come Wednesday. John and I both feel that we have been trying to cram in as much as possible since we arrived here on Wednesday and that we are both tired of the go, go, go. We plan on sticking close to home tomorrow to recharge our batteries.

Laundry and Tombstone

We spent the morning doing laundry at the RV park's laundry room.

John asked "What do you say we mosey on down to Tombstone and see about stirring us up some grub?" How could a girl turn down that invite? A little after noon, we were off. So what did we think about Tombstone . . . . Yuck! A total tourist trap with hucksters on the sidewalks trying to direct you to different shows/businesses. I do not enjoy that type of entrapment at all. We did have a good lunch that was reasonably priced. Here are a few pictures that John took.

They cordoned off several blocks from traffic and have dirt streets between the shops.

Here are some people on a stagecoach ride. Notice the microphone on the driver as he is giving the highlights tour (just like in the olden days, I'm sure).

Another town shot. Notice the hitching posts where the horses can be tied up while you go in for a cool sasparilla.

Biggest joke of all is at the O.K. Corral. To see the main attraction of the area costs you $9 per person and you are given some "entertainment". We did not succumb.

We had enough of Tombstone and were on our way home by 2:15. I guess you can tell we weren't impressed. A total waste of time in our opinion unless you are a true Old West fan. We thought Old Sacramento was just as impressive.

Once we got home, we sat outside enjoying the sun with the occasional gusts of wind. We enjoyed sitting out in the sun more than we did at Tombstone. I guess it was bound to happen.

San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA)

We were going to go on the nature walk this morning at 9 a.m at the SPRNCA but we had purchased tickets to have breakfast at the RV park at 8:30. It was a good breakfast and we had good company at our table as we got to meet some of our neighbors. We decided to do our own nature walk. Here is some information on the area:

SPRNCA was created in 1988 to protect one of the rarest ecosystems in the United States - a desert riparian forest. SPRNCA covers approximately 58,000 acres of public land that is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. This 40 miles of riparian habitat runs from the Mexican border to St. David, AZ. What is unusual (at least to us) is that the San Pedro River flows north from Mexico. This area has been designated as a "Globally Important Bird Area" as it is a migratory pathway for birds. We were told that there are 400 different species of birds in the United States and that at least 300 species make their way here over the course of a year.

We were standing within the overlap of four eco-regions: the southern edge of the Rockies, the northern edge of the Sierra Madre, the eastern edge of the Sonoran Desert, and the western edge of the Chihuahuan Desert. Here is what an area of the San Pedro River looks like:

There are some nice trails that you can take through the SPRNCA. Here is a shot of the Green Kingfisher Pond. This was once a sand and gravel quarry. It is not spring fed but the water surface is the ground water level. This water is available during the dry season. Beavers were reintroduced to the SPRNCA in 1999 after having been eliminated due to hunting and trapping in the 1800s. Several of the large trees had wire mesh around them to protect them from the beavers.

We saw Coots, Cinnamon Teal Ducks, and this Great Blue Heron as we walked around the pond.

John got this great shot of the Cinnamon Teal Ducks as they spooked when we got close. Click on the picture to get a better view of their beautiful blue wing patches. They must have flown over our heads several times until they settled down. We were treated to the sound of hearing the wind through their wings as they went by. John said that is what it sounded like when ducks flew over when he was hunting them. It was a neat sound.

As we walked towards the river, we got to see lots of different birds and several Vermilion Flycatchers. They certainly do stand out.

I really like this picture. It doesn't look like we are in Arizona does it?

As we continued our walk along the river, we could hear what sounded like two owls having a conversation. They were on the other side of the river so we never got to see them but it was interesting to stand there and listen to them.

As we got closer to the San Pedro House, we stopped and watched a Northern Harrier as it flew low over the grassy field. As we approached San Pedro House, we saw this Red Tail Hawk sitting high in the tree from quite a distance. He wasn't the least bit concerned about all the human activity going on below him. We also ran into neighbors of ours at the RV park who shared our breakfast table. They are quite the birders.

This is a large Fremont cottonwood that is about 80 years old and is over 36 feet around. Supposedly, they live between 100 and 150 years. John looks tiny in front of it. The tree is huge!

As you can tell from the shot above, the clouds started moving in as we were wrapping up our exploration. It was so beautiful in the morning and in a matter of hours it turned very cold and it poured in Sierra Vista. John and I got pretty wet while running between stores. When we got home after making our stops, we could tell that it hadn't rain here at all. We did, however, have some strong wind gusts that knocked over John lounge chair (quite an accomplishment).

The RV park was going to have a group fire this evening and everyone was invited. It was definitely too cold for the both of us to sit out there so we settled in for some TV.

White Water Draw State Wildlife Refuge

After breakfast, we headed out to the White Water Draw Wildlife Refuge as we heard yesterday that the Sandhill Cranes numbers were vastly decreasing as they were heading out towards New Mexico and Nebraska. We wanted to see if we could view any in their wintering spot. Our path would take us through Tombstone. We plan on visiting Tombstone either Monday or Tuesday so we didn't stop but the drive-thru didn't impress too much. We were amazed at the flat grassland. If there wasn't Mesquite growing, we would have thought we were in the plains states somewhere.

When we got to the refuge, it sort of looked like any wildlife refuge in California except it is in the middle of the desert. We had been advised that there could be some Barn Owls in the barn that is on the premises. We didn't see any Barn Owls but we were treated to a pair of Great Horned Owls. One is sitting out on the beam and the other can be seen towards the left side behind a truss. So beautiful and the very first time we have seen any out in the wild.

As we walked along the refuge trail, we first spotted some Cinnamon Teal ducks. A first for both John and I.

This is a view of one of the ponds closest to us. No Sandhill Cranes but a few Northern Shovelers (no pictures).

As we stood on the viewing platform, we met up with a group who had a guide. We were able to eavesdrop on some good information of which none comes to memory right now. We were standing there looking at a few Sandhill Cranes way out in a distant pond when we noticed that large groups of Sandhill Cranes were coming. We must have stood there for almost an hour watching wave after wave Sandhill Cranes landing. The first wave landed in the pond with the earlier arrivals.

Soon, we had them flying over us and landing in the pond closest to us. What a sight as they dropped down from high above in the sky until they came in for landing. Along with the Sandhill Cranes were a few Snow Geese. Their white bodies with dark wing tips stood out amongst the Sandhill Cranes.

Wings locked and landing gear is down. One fact, Sandhill Cranes don't like to land on water. They will land on land and then walk into the water.

Here is a shot of one of the ponds closest to us after the arrival of several hundred Sandhill Cranes. We must have seen close to 1,000 Sandhill Cranes land. It must have been amazing when there were close to 20,000 of them in the air and on the ground not too long ago.

What a banner day. We saw Great Horned Owls, Cinnamon Teal Ducks, Northern Shoveler Ducks, Northern Pintail Ducks, Greenwing Teal Ducks, Snow Geese, Vermillion Flycatcher (its sweet song drew me in), and an American Kestrel.

We ate our lunch in the barn under the watchful but sleepy eyes of the two Great Horned Owls. One of the best dining views we have had in a long while. While we were eating lunch, we were approached by a guy camping there who had locked his keys in his car. He was ticked off because he had called Geico for assistance two hours ago and was told someone would be there in a half-hour. The unlucky guy was able to give me the name and location of the tow company and with Google's assistance, we got him connected to the tow company. With no pen or paper, he was given another number to call so we called John's phone into use. Isn't technology great sometimes? Happily, by the time we left, the tow truck was there and he was getting his car open.

We decided to take a different route home. This route would take us to the outer edge of Bisbee, within two miles of the Mexican border, and up to the Coronado National Monument. We went inside the Visitor Center and had a nice conversation with the ranger who gave us some ins and outs of the area. We opted not to take the gravel road to the top of the mountain just so we could look down on Mexico. We headed home with a stop in Sierra Vista to get some fuel.

Got home and took a walk around the park and then headed in to fix dinner. As we were finishing dinner, Melissa gave us a call. Poor thing is fighting another cold. As always, it is good to hear from her and to get caught up with her life. Love ya honey. The rest of the evening was spent chilling with a bit of TV.

Sierra Vista

We went to the informative meeting on Cochise County this morning and learned a lot. There is quite a bit to see (nature stuff) as well as historical sites relating to the Apaches, Buffalo Soldiers, cowboys, and mining. We were told that there are roughly 500 different types of birds and that as some point during the year, at least 400 types of birds visit Cochise County. This is certainly bird country. Looks like we will be having a very busy week.

After the meeting, we drove down to Sierra Vista and stopped for lunch. We wanted to check out San Pedro House that sits on a nature reserve along the San Pedro River. We're planning on going on a nature walk there Saturday morning and wanted to be sure we knew where we were going. The whole area around here is so different from the Sonoran Desert we've just come from - no saguaros or chollas. The wind certainly has been blowing today and has been rather chilly. Hopefully, the wind will start to cease and we can get back to beautiful Arizona weather.

Goodbye Tucson

A little before 10 a.m. we were on the road. Our hope was to be able to spend some time at the Escapee RV Park in Benson. As it is a co-op, we knew we were taking a chance on space availability. We got to the park and there was a sign outside saying the park was full with the exception of boondocking sites. We went inside and spoke with the office. We would have to be on a waiting list for a spot with eight people before us. Did not look good so we opted to move on down the road.

We decided to try out a RV park near Tombstone that we had heard was a nice park. Tombstone Territories RV Resort is very nice with all sites being pull-thru's (40 x 80). The one thing that surprised us is that the weekly rate does not include electricity (in 14 months of traveling, this is a first for us). It does bother us that we are paying $14 more this week than last but also have to pay electricity on top of that. The RV park does have a pool, spa, and other activities but we will have to see if the park is worth the money to us.

John went out to heat up the BBQ and quite a while later, the BBQ was heated but John was gone. I went outside and started cooking. Thank goodness for cell phones. I called John to track him down and he sheepishly returned as he was a couple of sites over talking. I'm glad I went out to start BBQing or we would have used up a propane tank without ever BBQing anything. Jeez!

There is an informational meeting in the clubhouse tomorrow on Cochise County that we are going to attend. Hopefully, we will learn a lot about what to see and do here. We'll keep you posted.

Haircuts and groceries

Nothing too exciting today. John and I both got haircuts and went to the grocery store in preparation of our move tomorrow. John picked up some of our outside items so he wouldn't have so much to do tomorrow. Settled in for some TV.

Doctor's Offices and Insurance Company - Urghhh

I knew I had to get on the phone today to try to resolve some medical billing issues but I dreaded it as I knew I was going to get frustrated and be tied up for a few hours. Oh, how I was correct. I was on the phone a good part of four hours today trying to get three billing issues resolved. Sometimes it felt like I was speaking some foreign language when all I am trying to do is get some cooperation. I think I am finally making some progress . . . or at least I hope so. John took pity on me and got me out of the house. We went for a nice lunch that helped to relieve some of the stress I was feeling. If I was a drinking person, today would have driven me to drink. Some good did come out of the time spent on the phone, I better understand the process of billing, pricing, and payment of the bills. Knowledge is power, right?

Tucson has been a nice place to visit and there are still things to see and do but we are getting ready to hit the road again. Back on the road come Wednesday.

We settled in for some TV viewing this evening.

Laid back

We had an unusually slow start to our day. Most of the late morning was spent looking out our rear windows at the wildlife. We were treated to a showing of a Mexican Jackrabbit that is much larger than any jackrabbit we had seen before. Talk about big ears and feet! We also had a showing of a pair of Northern Cardinals. We were able to get a picture of the male Cardinal but the female proved to be camera shy. They were quite cute when rubbing their beaks together and kept very close together. Our trailer is proving to be quite the bird blind and we are loving it.

The rest of the day was spent reading or watching TV as the weather was very cloudy and windy. We had some rain overnight but didn't hear it.

Mission and Missiles

We drove to the Mission San Xavier del Bac that is lovingly referred to as the "White Dove of the Desert." This active Franciscan mission is located on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation. San Xavier Mission is acclaimed to be the finest example of mission architecture in the United States. The mission is currently going through restoration to clean, repair and preserve as much of the church as they can. The outside of the church is going through even more restoration.

The church is a series of arches and domes. The interior is absolutely breathtaking. The area behind the altar just glitters with an array of color.

This is a partial view of some of the ceiling work.

After more than 200 years the Franciscans are still serving their parish. The church primarily serves the Tohono O'odham but is open to all.

This is a view of the fields of the reservation from the hill near the mission.

If you would like more information on the mission, here is a link to their website Mission San Xavier del Bac.

We decided to drive on down to the Titan Missile Museum as we weren't that far from the museum.

The missile was deactivated in 1983 as part of the agreement with the Soviets to deactivate ICBMs. This missile site is the only silo that escaped destruction.

Here is a shot of the decommissioned missile.

After walking down 56 stairs into the Control Room. It was very interesting to hear what their 24 hour shifts were like as they sat waiting and praying that they would never have to act on the instructions from the President of the United States.

This is one of many of the isolators within the room that would protect the Control Room from the shock of a nuclear attack.

Silo closure door that has been blocked from ever opening.
Here is a rocket engine that was made by Aerojet.

The tour was very interesting and worth seeing as a reminder of "peace through deterrence". For more information, here is a link Titan Missile Museum.

Another nice day here in Tucson.