Month: March 2017

March 16 – 24

Arrived in Tucson to the Desert Trails RV Park where Reve and Sue spend their winters. We were lucky to get the spot directly next to their rig in “the circle” which is 7 sites slightly away from all the other campers and direct access to the trails into the desert. Dexter was excited to explore these trails (lined with cactus!) and quickly saw a hare that he decided to chase. Unfortunately he must have ran into a Cholla Cactus and quietly returned to the camper with thorns in his face and all legs/paws. Sue, used to people and dogs encountering the cactus, quickly brought out some tweezers and started pulling them all out. There were a few deeper ones that I worked on a little later (gave the poor pup a break). Dexter really liked Sue after she came to his rescue. After that cactus encounter we decided Dexter would remain tied up while outside. When we would go walking on the trails he was quite good about staying on the trail.

Since it was so warm while we were there (in the 90’s!) we were quite mellow and did most activities indoors. On a couple other occasions we would drive to explore places (because AC in truck) while Benat was napping. At some interesting spots Matt and I would explore quickly while Sue would remain in the truck with the sleeping Benat.

• International Wildlife Museum – Started as a museum to display a guy’s trophy collection of taxidermy animals. Has grown to include many other species (local and international). An interesting spot. Benat enjoyed it, pointed out the Panda Bear (he knew what a panda bear is?!?) and must have gone around the museum 3 or 4 times (it was also his nap time….)
• Pima Air and Space Museum – planes, planes, and more planes
• Saguaro National Park and drive up A Mountain – took a beautiful drive while Beant was napping. Also got to see some Petroglyphs.
• San Xavier del Bac Mission – Another spot while Benat was sleeping, a church on the Native American Reservation.
• Tucson Mountain County Park – Mostly outdoors with exhibits of the local animals and a bird exhibition. Crows, an owl and red tailed hawk flew around while handlers talked about them. The Red Tailed Hawk was supposed to show us how he flies high into the sky and then dives to make a kill, however while perched on a cactus he saw a snake on the ground that he dove for instead.
• 2 morning hikes with Sue – One without Dexter and he hiked up hill for a superb view. the 2nd with Dexter and we had a wonderful double rainbow as a storm blew in and started raining on us.
• 1 mountain bike ride for Matt with some of the guys in the circle

It was a lot of fun to visit with the Carberry’s and enjoy their circle friends. Happy Hour every day at 5 would come so quickly! Hopefully we will be able to meet up with them again near Yellowstone this summer…..

Since the weather was so hot Matt and I decided we needed our next destination to be much cooler. He found a place, Silver City, NM and the weather forecast was in the 60’s. I was all about it and we made plans to head there next!

We were planning on spending one night in dispersed camping area on BLM land just outside of town. We got there and it was hot. We dropped the trailer and went to town to explore. After seeing an RV Park advertising $20/night rate we went back, got the camper and brought it to town. Having air conditioning would make the rest of the day and evening quite pleasant.

There was a big rock shop next door to the RV Park so while Matt got the camper hooked up and paid for, Benat and I wondered next door to look at all the rocks and crystals. We were not disappointed. There were barrels and piles of rocks everywhere. I of course was able to find many to take home but refrained and only purchased two small crystals.

That night we grabbed dinner from their local pizza joint, Silly Al’s. The spot was interesting – filled with old timie memorabilia and 2 Geo Trackers outside…

Next morning to Tucson!

Yeah! JTNP and they are blooming. Very happy momma. 

We got to the area a little later than expected so spent 1st night in 29 Palms RV Park. On the morning of March 8th we made our attempt to snag a campsite at the 1st come campgrounds. With a rig out sized our choices were extreamly limited. We got to the park entrance and noted their sign of available campsites as of 9am at each area. Jumbo Rocks (our best chance) had 28 available. Ugh, didn’t make me feel to confident as it was now close to 11am however we were seeing some RVs leaving. I hoped they were all from Jumbo Rocks. Took about a half hour for us to drive there and start the loop. We were very excited to see at least 4 spots we could fit in and 2 were quite fantastic. We parked in #87 and also snagged #90 for Brooke and Bonnie who would be joining us later that day. Our site was spacious with plenary of room for their tent but our camper and truck barely fit in the spot. There was absolutely no room for another car nor was there overflow parking. Within a few hours of our arrival the campground was full. 

Spent the afternoon climbing on the rocks behind our site while we waiting for Brooke and Bonnie to arrive. 

The next few days were spend exploring during the morning and into the early afternoon, then hiding out by the camper as the temperature rose and the sun got intense. We hiked some dirt roads because they are dog friendly. Geology road and the following day a mine road south of our campground in the other desert (sonora). This we called the death march. The other desert was lower elevation and much hotter. Not too pleasant but the kiddo fell asleep so we were somewhat committed. 

We also checked out the Octillo plants, Cholla Garden and Skull rock before Brooke and Bonnie had to leave. 

We still had a few days left and explored the rock climbers at Hidden Valley, drove the entire Geology Tour Rd, caught a sunset at Keys View and continued to climb  and scramble the rocks around the campsite (Benat’s favorite). 

Met an interesting fellow, “Sean Jon,” the day Brooke and Bonnie left. He rode into the site next door on a dual sport bike with Oregon plates. Of course we start talking. He started his adventure in Seattle and has to be in Austin, TX in a month or so. He’s working on writing a couple of books and on this adventure with no solid end plan. He’s also spent a large amount of time living in Bellingham. Between the motorcycle and WA there were some good conversations. Before he rode off the following day we shared some pancakes with him which landed us a cameo in his blog (roddatrials.com). 

We left Joshua Tree by driving to the south of the park. Wish we had done it previously, the flowers in bloom were amazing! Because of the warmer temps we hadn’t gone farther than our death march. And now towing the camper didn’t leave many options to pull over so onward we drove, to Arizona!

Days spent at dog beaches, evenings visiting friends. 

So happy this campground was quiet! No train rattling and honking all night long. 

After setting up camp we drove to the towns north looking for a dog beach. There went any unless we wanted to drive to the north side of LA! 

The next day we went to a different dog beach south of San Elijo and had fun. That evening we went to Matt’s friend, Andreas’ house for a walk and dinner. Their property was awesome. An old avacado orchard now a paddock for horses and newly added trails, a pond and his own western town complete with bar and library. 

Last day we went to Ocean Beach to the dog beach (again) to do laundry, visit Balboa Park and visit a different friend of Matt’s from the college sailing team. Balboa Park was amazing. So many museums though we only walked around. Beautiful park. Dinner at Toms house was delicious. Great company and conversations with him, his partner, Curt, and granddaughter, Scarlett. 

After the long drive through LA we were excited to get to our next campground at San Elijo State Beach. The weather was warmer (shorts and flips!) and the beach sandy. There was even an area for Dexter to play on the beach! The downside to this campground was the trains. They roared past the campground so frequently during the day and night. Matt not I slept well, Benat didn’t seem to mind. 

We only had 3 nights at this campground and the days went quickly. The 1st full day we drove to San Diego and visited the Ocean Beach Dog Beach. Dexter had a grand time (of course). There were a lot of dogs running around and tennis balls to be thrown. Benat even walked in the water! After a late lunch of delicious Mexican food we headed back to the campground before traffic got bad. 

The next day we explored another dog beach and enjoyed the warm weather. 

Even with the loud trains and partying frat boys next door we tried to stay at the campground another day. Unfortunately we couldn’t and had to move north a few miles to South Carlsbad.