Mt. Cutler

We got to Mueller State Park (25 miles west of Colorado Springs) yesterday and today we met our daughter, Lisa, for a hike.  The hike reminded me of the Wolf and the 3 Little Pigs fairy tale:  we huffed, and we puffed……and we did make it to the top!  So much for acclimating ourselves to the difference in altitude and the fact that we were out of shape.  Lisa patiently waited numerous times as we stopped to catch our breath.  One guy was running up the trail and I wrote him off to being a show off.  We could have done that too.  Yeah, right, if we were about  40 years younger and had trained for months!

Don and Lisa stopped at the bridge, then later on down the trail, we stopped for another pic of me with her.  Not only do I like taking photos, but this documents the fact that we were there and we really did the hike!  After all, if I just put something in writing and didn't back it up with pictures, would you believe me?  Don't answer that question!

As we turned a corner, Don and Lisa seemed a bit confused as to exactly where we were.  I didn't care, I was just following along.

"Dad, it is this way, around the corner"

Don answers with a different response and a point in a another direction.....

They seem to have differing opinions.  Lisa says to the left and Don says to the right.  Good thing the path is just one way, unless you slip and take the "accelerated" way down the side of the mountain!

The path got a bit narrow for me at one point.  I made sure I was a close to the boulders as possible!

Another turn, another great view to take in.  

 This is a view towards 7 Falls.

And as we headed around another corner and proceeded up the trail, we had a great view of Colorado Springs.  You can see the golf course at the Broadmoor Hotel if you look close enough!

Happy trails to you, until we meet again!  May the trails you hike be easy, lift up your spirits and provide you with wonderful views of God's creation!

Liking Lathrop

Well, here we are, all settled in at Lathrop State Park.  We wanted to escape the Phoenix heat and today we discover that it is the same temperature here as it is at home!   This year we have brought along our bikes after getting the trailer hitch welded and reinforced.  No more holes in the back of the 5th wheel from handlebars!  At least, that is what we are hoping for.  Going through Albuqueque,  someone in a truck was furiously waving at us and shouted to Don that something was wrong with the bikes.  Sure enough, some straps had broken and I guess they were really jouncing up and down.  That required a quick stop along the Interstate so Don could improvise with more bungee cords.  We started out with two bikes, and I want to go home with both of them!

Here is a view of Martin Lake with the mountains in the background.  The other in the park is Horseshoe Lake.  Water skiing can be done only on Martin, so most of the fishermen head for Horseshoe.  This part of our bike ride was easy.......it was mostly downhill and no wind!

Today we came across a Canadian Geese family.  Yesterday we saw them in the water, and also a huge Blue Heron as we biked all around Martin Lake.

The park is loaded with lots of blooming Yucca plants and various other wildflowers, such as the Blanket flowers in the foreground.  I was leery of getting off the asphalt path to get a closer view since there have been numerous sightings of rattlesnakes in the last 2 weeks.  I get the chills just thinking of it!

I did get a close up view of the Colorado Copper Mallow since it was just off the path and in very short grass.  That is, after I checked for any movement around the flower.  I was taking no chances of getting a close up shot of ANY snake!

Here's a shot of Don, on the path ahead of me.  The 3 mile ride around the lake took us through open desert areas as well as shady ones closer to the water.  We figured we rode at least 5 miles since we had to ride from the campground to get over to the lake.  At our age, we are just thankful we can still do this!

Saturday afternoon we drove into the small town of Walsenburg, which was built on a coalfield 30 miles long.  The top picture shows the abandoned train station.  The tracks in front of it were built in 1876 to carry to coal from the mines to the markets.  Below is Huerfano County Courthouse built in 1904 and just across the street from the old train station.  As we drove around we noticed that all the houses were old, although most were well kept.  

Tonight we will be "rocked" to sleep by the gusting winds.  Maybe we should get some extra long seat belts and strap ourselves in!  If it's like other times, Don will sleep like a baby and I will wake up with every shake, rattle and roll.

On our way and out of the heat!

Summer came early this year to Phoenix.  Last year, we left on Memorial Day and the weather had been pleasant all month long.  This year, we skipped over the month of May and went straight to June!  We sure weren't ready to deal with the high temperatures.  The only good thing about it was the fact that I could swim in our pool.  All the other years, it was too cold when we left for the summer, and too cold when we got back.  

Our first leg was a short one.  We drove to Show Low and stayed two nights with our friends, Pat and Joy.  We met them many years ago when they were camp hosts at Fool Hollow State Park.  They purchased a new cabin last fall.  It worked out well for them, and also for us!  We backed our 5th wheel up, hooked up to their electric and we were set for 2 days.

The "full hookup" came with a nice dinner and dessert.  Can't beat that!  Don and Pat lounged in the great room while Pat checked on the food in the kitchen.

Sheila, their Australian Shepherd, gives a kiss to Joy.  This is one smart dog that seems to understand almost anything they tell her.  She is also very spoiled.  If I ever died and came back as a dog, I would hope my owners would be Pat and Joy!

We took a new route this year, going across Arizona Highway 60 east to Socorro and I-25.  This took us through Pie Town (never even had heard of this before) and my guess is their special attraction is pie.  In case you were wondering, we didn't stop for a piece even though there has never been a piece of pie I didn't like.  I am a woman with low will power when it comes to chocolate and other sweets.

 

Before we got to Socorro, we came across a mass of radio antennas.  These were part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.  The 27 radio antennas make up one of the world's premiere radio astronomical station.  The data from all of these are electronically combined to give the resolution of an antenna 22 miles across!  Amazing what we discover sometimes as we veer from the beaten path! 

Once we got set up at our site in Santa Fe, we headed out for some groceries and to visit one of our very favorite places to eat.  Bobcat Bite is a very small restaurant on the Old Las Vegas Highway north of Santa Fe.  Not much to look at, but this is the reason we skipped having a piece of pie!

I think Don is a bit hungry.  The cheeseburger is calling him.....and me too!

One half on an utterly awesome green chili cheeseburger cooked just the way we like it!  Don't you wish you could have been there with us?  If we lived closer, we certainly would be coming here a lot more often.  Makes me glad I'm not a vegetarian! I do love my veggies, but broccoli, corn on the cob or the best red pepper can't even hold a candle to this meal!

Romping around at Roper

Roper Lake was our last short RV trip of the year before we head out for much cooler country.  Why Roper you ask?  Well, we had never been to this state park before even though we have lived in Arizona for over half a century (yikes!).  I was going to say 50 years, but half a century sounded so much more impressive.

Our friend, Norm, decided to go along with us.  Boy, he is a glutton for punishment!  He has to put up with not only Don, but me too!  We had to bribe him with promises of good food and cold beer.  It worked!  We headed out on towards Safford on Tuesday for our third camping trip since January.

This is the front entrance to Roper Lake State Park.

Each site at our campground came with a little shelter and picnic table.  It worked out well and we ended up eating all of our meals outside under the shaded ramada.

This is what happens when you forget your trail mix overnight.  The birds/animals liked everything except the Pepita seeds.  They were even clever enough to pry the top off the container.  At least we got one snack session before the critters got the rest!

The first day at the campground there was a huge group of yellow headed blackbirds.  The following days we saw neither hide nor hair (or should I say feathers?) of them.  As I went through reviewing the pictures, I envisioned what this male and female bird were saying to each other.  I've decided to call them Fred and Ethel.  : )

Fred: "So, Ethel have you finally decided on where we are going to fly this summer?"

Ethel:  "Uh, no for the 50th time.  Would you quit bugging me about it.  I'll make it up by the time we have to leave."

Fred: "Don't get mad about it.  Quit being so "flighty" at times.  Come back here!"

Fred: "Guess I'll just have to figure this out. Those yellow headed females are hard to deal with!"

Don checked out the warm water in the hot tub at the park.  This is fed by natural springs in the area.  It is drained every night at 10 PM and refills each morning at 6 AM.  We did end up riding our bikes one evening over to the area and had a nice, relaxing soak.  It was windy that night, so I was glad the ride back to the trailer was a short one.

Got a nice shot of this Cardinal one morning.  My weird mind came up with a Southwestern Christmas tune : "On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: two morning doves and a Cardinal in a Mesquite tree! If I was ambitious enough, I probably could come up with more verses and pictures to go along with them.  However, right now when it is 100 degrees outside, it's tough to do.

On Friday, we took a drive up the side of Mt. Graham.  I was glad that Norm was driving and not me.  The road was much narrower than I remembered and the drop off was more steep.  That happens as you get older.  Your perception changes, or maybe the road really did wear off around the edges during the last 40 years and the mountain rose a few hundred feet.......  On the way back down we stopped for lunch in the Noon Campground even though it was only 11 AM.

Here is a view of Roper Lake at dusk.

All good things must come to an end.  Norm and Don are lined up at the dump on Saturday morning before we head back to Phoenix.

Time for male bonding at the dump area.  Don and Norm look like they have everything under control so why should I offer to help?  After all, someone has to take pictures to document our stay and it might as well be me!

Good grief!   Are people really so stupid that the park people have to put up signs like this?

The four days at Roper had come to an end.  The bad part was that we were heading back to Phoenix which was experiencing record high heat.  I was not looking forward to emptying out that trailer when the temperature was 103 degrees!

Karchner Kapers

 It was spring vacation for our Arizona granddaughters and we decided to head again to Karchner State Park for fun times with them, and also with Sandy and Jerry (Don's sister and brother-in-law) who volunteer there.  It was a lovely, sunny day as we set up camp.  Little did we realize how different the weather would be by Sunday, when we were supposed to leave and head home.

We had planned several things for the girls to do while we relaxed (or tried to).  Both of their bikes were carried along with us so they could keep themselves busy while we read.  We were also hoping that in the process they would tire themselves out.  I don't know if they got tired from all the riding, but it sure did kick their appetite up a notch!    

Friday morning we drove down to Bisbee to take Hailey and Kyla on the Queen Mine Tour.   Years ago (many, many years ago) we had done the same thing with our 3 children.  The only thing I remembered was that it was cold in the mine, and we all had on yellow slickers.  I don't think much has changed.  The mine temperature is a constant 47 degrees all year long, and we still got outfitted in heavy yellow coats.

Hailey and Kyla posed by and old mining engine outside the mine.

 This is how they looked after being fitted with a hard hat, slicker, battery pack around the waist and a light.

 I got this picture as we headed into places that were dark and cold.  At least it wasn't scary.  If you were claustrophobic, this is NOT the place for you!

Also on our agenda was some short hikes located in the park campground.  There are plenty of trails to choose from.  Sandy took along her favorite Scooby Doo walking stick.  I know Hailey passed me up in height a couple of months ago, and it looks like she has done the same thing to her great aunt.  Good grief, I sure wasn't that tall when I was twelve!

Kyla, Jerry, Shane (Jerry & Sandy's granddaughter) and Sandy stopped along the road so I could take a picture of the front of them.  Otherwise, I am stopping to take photos and wind up taking photos of "the north end of south bound ducks", so to speak.  

Looks like Don is asking Jerry if we were all on the right hiking trail..... 

One of the attractions at the park this weekend was a star gazing event.  A couple of amateur astronomers had brought their telescopes down for the weekend.  We had a chance to go on Friday night and also on Saturday afternoon.  All three girls (Hailey, Kyla and Shane) were really interested in seeing the stars through the telescopes and finding out more about our wonderful universe.

 Here Shane and Kyla view the sun and another planet while Hailey waits her turn.

As I said before, we planned on leaving Sunday morning because Hailey and Kyla had school on Monday.  Saturday afternoon it turned cold, and the wind kicked up several notches.  The gusty winds rocked Don to sleep that night, but it sure interfered with mine.  We decided to stay one more night because of the high wind advisory.  That meant we had to make a run to Casa Grande with only the truck to meet up with their Mom.   The turn around trip took up most of the day.  This was one of those times when we wished diesel fuel wasn't $4.39 a gallon!  I had a bright idea of putting a sail up on the roof and using the wind to push us up there, but Don wasn't too keen about holding on to the roof and sail while I drove.  We'll never know if it would have worked......  : (

What did the wind blow in?  Snow!  This was a first for us.  We have driven in snow, but have never done any camping in it until now.  Guess there is a first time for everything, even if one is a Senior citizen!

I couldn't pass up the opportunity of capturing pictures of snow in the desert.  Off I trotted, down the  the  road to get a photo of the Whetstone Mountains behind the campground.  I didn't stay out long, my fingers got way too cold to hold the camera!

There was a nice, fat roadrunner who had taken refuge under a mesquite tree behind our trailer.  I was glad I had the long range lens on the camera so I could get a close up of him.

The drive home on Monday was interesting, to say the least.  We drove home through snow, sleet, hail, rain and wind before we hit sunny patches and bright blue skies.  Below, you can see the snow swirling around the pavement.  Is this really Arizona in spring time?  Or were we transported somewhere to the Midwest?  The weather sure was completely different from when we came down on Thursday!