December 9 through 18—Moving on over in Catalina State Park: With the best of B loop occupied, we settled in wide open B22 to make the most of the winter sun on the few clear days. At our new site we could run our electric heater and both computers without worrying about a drain on the batteries. Plus, the sun shone on the site about 20 minutes earlier than on A1 making it a whole lot easier to motivate in the a.m.
With the days so short and cool temps at night, we spent evenings and some early mornings in town.
We discovered Beyond Bread, a local bakery that has the brownie to which all brownies will be measured: a crisp flaky top, chock full o’ walnuts, dense fudgy chocolate and a touch of espresso with a caramel drizzle on top. It is so good that we went back five times (and ate the brownies so fast we didn’t get a photo op). They also offer several varieties of bread with ingredients that don’t sound like they came out of a chemistry lab and they have one heck of a potato pancake.
We picked up some produce and wandered the aisles at Lee Lee Asian market. There’s so much variety it’s overwhelming…an entire aisle of noodles and rice sticks in every size imaginable, countless loose leaf teas, and a massive chili sauce selection.
It’ll be fun to try out the different flavors of frozen treats… lychee, chai tea, honey dew melon…not sure about green bean though.
On a whim, we decided to catch Bruno 3D at the theater across from the park. The history of film was interesting and the artistic direction good but we thought the movie was a tad boring—watching kids running endlessly around a train station.
We had an unexpected home improvement project requiring a couple trips to Home Depot. The Casita’s wooden hanging rod couldn’t hold up the canvas shelf organizer with all our clothes and the screw for the rod pulled right through the fiberglass wall of the bathroom.
We surfed the Casita and Fiberglass RV forums and came up with a shelving unit similar to other folks’ mods. It took us around 5-6 hours to put this together; Jim designed and installed the shelves while I cut templates and shelving. This solution was a lot more expensive (~ $150.00) than canvas hanging shelves (~$15-20) but is much more usable and stable—our hanging rod shouldn’t pull through the wall anytime soon.
The last weekend in Tucson, we made the long winding trip up Mt. Lemmon for what else but pie! We’d seen the snow on the mountains but didn’t really believe that there’d be so much on top.
We had the best kind of visit to winter: a short one. Mt Lemmon Café closes at 4 p.m. and we arrived with 20 minutes to inhale a mixed berry pie and apple strudel ala mode. Then it was back down to la Casita to pack up for our move on to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the holidays.
December 4 through December 8—After a week in Tucson Mountain Park, we moved back into good ol’ A1 at Catalina State Park. We knew the temps would drop into the 20’s at night but the forecast was for 50’s during the day and good solar. We set out the panels to bask in the glow. No need for electric hookups. We’d be fine.
We were both looking forward to a nice hot shower but found that Catalina’s push button showers in loop A had been adjusted since we’d last been at the park. Instead of pelting you with a skin-stinging stream, they sprayed a fine gentle mist that was frozen by the time it hit you. And bonus! The bathrooms aren’t heated. I know, I know.…we have a shower in the Casita but it’s often more convenient (and spacious) to use campground showers. The secret? Use the showers in B loop!
One morning we woke up to snow outside and a temp of 30F inside the Casita! With the Catalina Mountains behind us, we were waiting until after 8 a.m. for the sun to hit our site. Having lived in Colorado, we’re used to camping in cold weather. Out came the long underwear, down jackets, hats, and even my down boots. Still we ended up running our furnace on and off for most of the early morns and nights. The single-paned windows in the Casita are pretty darn drafty!
By the end of the week, our batteries were hovering around 60% even with good solar. Between running the furnace and both computers during the day, we weren’t doing well power-wise. Knowing that the upcoming week was iffy for solar we bailed on A1 and moved over to an electric hookup in B loop.
A Week in Tucson Mountain Park
November 27 through December 4—We left our quiet spot in Ajo and made way for Gilbert Ray campground of which we have fond memories from 2010. Not quite snowbird season yet, much of the campground was empty and A loop was closed. We found a long spot in H loop with good space and privacy. My few attempts to back in the Casita failed. The Xterra’s clutch starting to stink, I abandoned truck and let the pro (Jim) take over. Usually, I’d persist but the clutch was replaced this summer and we’d like to preserve its newness. Over a year on the road, and I am inept at getting a 17 ft. trailer into a back-in site. Sad…but I’ve never been great at backing up…ask Jim about my Mt. Elbert mishap sometime. (c;
The first few days at Gilbert Ray were sunny and warm. Our membership still good at Sonora-Arizona Desert Museum, I spent a few lunch hours walking through the gardens and hanging out with the resident hummingbirds.
Cool temps and rain moved in for the rest of the week. We stayed nice and toasty with our little electric heater (all sites have electric). However, 80 sq. feet is a bit confining so after work, we’d get out and run errands over Gates Pass into Tucson proper. By the end of the week, we were ready to move on and were really looking forward to the spacious showers at Catalina SP and easy access to Sprouts, our favorite Tucson grocer.
Ajo for T-Holiday
November 22 through November 27—Instead of heading to Tucson for Thanksgiving weekend, we went straight to our campsite outside Ajo. The RV in the pic below is our closest neighbor.
At first, we had thought Ajo was a bit sketchy but the old mining town grew on us. The grocery was better than the one we had in Leadville–Ajo’s IGA has an in-house bakery and deli. There’s a decent laundromat. There’s a Redbox at the Circle K. A car wash. And a pub with microbrews on draft—$3 on Thursdays.
Ajo’s trying to establish itself as an artist’s town and rents apartments in a rehabbed school for as low as $375 month—with priority for creative folk. Might be a good option for an office rental next winter.
We spent a quiet T-day hanging out and cooking our holiday dinner–turkey, gravy, Stovetop stuffing, instant potatoes, and broccoli for some color!
We had a good time exploring the area around our site. Lots of old mining stuff just like our old hometown in CO—old rusty cans, barrel straps, and bottle caps; broken dishes and old bottles; old rubber shoe heels with crumbling nails still intact; and the occasional rock with a bit of copper. In the wash down from our site, we found the rattle of a rattler so we know they’re out there. We didn’t see any though…mostly just birds and bugs at camp. We had to evict the occasional ant from la Casita but these guys didn’t bite like the ones at Catalina SP.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t super dry in the desert like you might imagine. In the mornings, dew would cover everything and we’d wake to the familiar earthy smell of creosote bush.
We did a little backroading and ran across the Darby Wells Cemetery out in the middle of nowhere. On some maps, it’s called the Old Indian Cemetery.
We picked up permits to travel within Cabeza Prieta Wilderness—one of the most remote areas in AZ and where Edward Abbey supposedly was laid to rest. We started down Bates Wells Rd. which connects to El Camino del Diablo in Cabeza Prieta but gave up after a few miles of rough bumpy road. We’ll save Cabeza Prieta for another Ajo adventure.
On the weekend, we ran the inaugural Ajo Turkey Trot 5K to benefit diabetes. It was fun to meet and chat with some of the locals and visitors pre-/post- run.
And just like that our long weekend was over and we were back in Tucson at Gilbert Ray in Tucson Mountain Park…and missing the solitude and sunsets outside Ajo.
For more on Ajo, check out RVSue and her Canine Crew’s blog.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
November 20 through November 22—Since we were only half an hour away from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, we decided to check it out. It’s a beautiful park only 5 miles from the Mexican border.
The campground was pretty empty and has really nice concrete pads with a decent amount of cacti and trees to provide a little privacy between sites.
About a quarter of the campground and only a couple restroom/shower facilities were open. Jim got to share a sink with this guy:
There are a few hiking trails that start from the camp area including a nature trail with info about desert plants and their domestic and medicinal uses (creosote bush tea for colds!). We didn’t do a lot of hiking but drove the Ajo Mountain Loop; it’s definitely worth the trip.
The park sees its share of illegal activities being right on the border. Sadly, a park ranger lost his life in the line of duty back in 2002. The visitor center was named after him and there’s a nice memorial for him outside the center.
Border patrol and park rangers were visibly present in the park as we wandered through it. The park service closes down areas if there’s a safety concern. From our campsite, we could see the U.S. border fence. It made us wonder how many people were passing by la Casita out in the desert in the dark of night.
If planning to visit the park, stock up on groceries. Ajo has the biggest grocery in the area. Why (closest town to the park) only has a small convenience market. We had hoped Lukeville might have a taco stand or small convenience store…pero nada…only a border crossing.
How we’d loved to have kept going south…a weekend on the Sea of Cortez and fresh seafood sounded really good for Thanksgiving (What no turkey?). Instead we packed up and pointed our little home north.
