Picacho Peak State Park

 

2018 Arizona Trip Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re close to Ramsey Canyon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quail Ridge RV Park

 

 

Full hookups for a couple days.

 

2018 Arizona Trip Map

 

Henry wearing his booties for stickers and hot ground.

 

We’ve come a long way

 

In previous years, we've been isolated here; no phone or internet.  Apparently, they put in a tower, because we have a cell signal.  Additionally, every Arizona state park we've stayed in this trip offers its own wifi, so we're totally in touch here.

 

(We're the little blue dot.)

 

 

 

Common yellowthroat.

 

Zone-tailed hawk.

 

This campsite

 

Doesn’t suck.

 

We’re back at Catalina State Park.

 

2018 Arizona Trip Map

 

This is the place where we were terrorized by that roadrunner running back and forth through our site earlier this month!

 

 

March for our Lives

 

We couldn’t really see the size of the crowd; we only saw people in every direction.  This is an issue of, for, and by the people.

We’re told the march was 8,000 people strong in the little town of Tucson.  We were glad to be there and proud to be counted.  There were 800,000 marchers in Washington D.C., and 800 marches worldwide.

 

The current United States House of Representatives, Senate, and President might not want to do anything about gun violence, but that doesn’t mean nothing will happen.  We just need to remember every November, and things *will* change.

 

This is a voting issue.  Politicians, break your silence; silence is complicity.  Tell us where you stand.  Tell us your position for or against change, so we may choose wisely.

 

Eleven thousand youngsters turn eighteen every day in the United States.  Remember, every November, and don’t let silence be safe!

 

I have a sudoku problem

 

It’s not that I can’t quit playing it.  I’m sure I could quit if I wanted to.

 

It’s that I’ve got a sudoku app I like to play on my phone whenever I’ve got a few minutes to kill.  I’ve used it for years.  For every skill level (easy to extreme) every time I finish a game, it shows me the top ten times I’ve posted at that level.  I play each level until I score a top ten time for that month.  Every time I score a top ten time though, it kicks out my slowest previous top ten time, and raises the bar a little bit for the next month.

 

So now, here I am on the 23^rd of March, and I haven’t scored a single top ten time for the month.  Oh no.  Oh no.

 

 

We’ve gone back west to Tucson and a little RV park right in town.

 

2018 Arizona Trip Map

 

Not a very big park; 24 spaces.  It’s close to the starting point for tomorrow’s March for Our Lives. 

 

Walk in the desert foothills

 

And unexpected treasures like this appear.

 

Bedrock mortars.

 

Holes ground in the granite by five thousand years of pounding and grinding mesquite beans; placing them in the depression and grinding them with another long narrow rock.

 

Just another walk in the desert…..

 

Last week

 

We got to meet up with Judy Hammer.

 

 

Then, it turns out Matt’s childhood friend, and friend of the family, Bo, was at a conference in Tucson, so he drove to Phoenix and we all got a visit.

 

Today, we moved on to Kartchner Caverns State Park.

 

2018 Arizona Trip Map

 

and guess what; we got to meet up with Barb and Henry!

 

They left Sandpipers just a little after we did, but they took their time exploring the great American South West.  They’re still on their way west before turning north to return to Canada, while we’re heading east.

 

Love this life on the road and all the continuing connections.

 

We carry a little birdbath fountain in the coach

 

 

It has a solar collector I string out and put in the sun to power the pump.

 

Look at this thing.  I tell you, it’s like camping at the Bellagio!

 

 

Although

 

 

This ring-necked duck is one handsome dude as well!

 

Gambel’s quail

 

 

You don't have to be any better looking than this.

 

Les! You’ve got dead air!

 

(A quote from WKRP in Cincinnati.) (Les had a lot of dead air.)

 

Our radio silence, dead air, is the result of an email account suddenly going dark.  It took a couple days, but Matt got it back up and running.

 

All is well; travel adventures to continue….

 

Today's event

 

A get-together with long-time friends from Gulf Waters.

 

 

At Rosati’s restaurant in Gold Canyon.

 

I was there too.

 

With Bear and Shortie, Russ and Glenna, Rick and Sherrie, and Jerry.

 

We only get to see them once a year, but it’s always a good time.

 

Arizona State Gymnastics Championships

 

Sunday.  All afternoon, into the evening.  Alex did well.

 

Alex, Parallel Bars

 

Alex, Rings

 

Alex, Floor

 

He came in first on the Floor, second on a couple other events (it was all kind of a blur for placements), fourth overall, and was selected to the all-star team for Regionals in April!

 

Go Alex!

 

 

And a violin lesson

 

 

With Mica, a man of infinite patience.

 

Austin violin

 

Meanwhile, here is what can happen if you put a four-year-old in a tub and she puts in her own bubble bath.