Time to Explore!

Inside Roper State Park is the Mariah Mesa Trail, which rambles up the hillside on to the nearby mesa.  It was time to check it out.

 Both Doris and Jerry were checking on the pictures they had taken, while Sandy looked over Jerry's shoulder.  That day the weather was a bit warmer, perfect for the short hike.

 From that vantage point, we could see the road winding around the campgrounds and Roper Lake.  Wispy clouds provided a contrast to the azure blue sky.

 Doris and Sandy turned around at my request so I could capture a picture of their faces instead of their backs as they traversed down the narrow trail.

The only disappointment was the fact that there was only one bunch of purple wildflowers along the trail. But of course I had to stop and take a picture just to document it!  Oh no!  I saw on Facebook that this "flower" is actually called Scorpion Weed and can cause a very itchy rash similar to Poison Ivy!  The tiny hairs on the bulbs have poisonous oil.  Good thing I didn't touch it!

On a different day, Don and I took the road outside Safford so I could capture some shots of wildflowers, which were in abundance.  This type of wildflower show comes very rarely to the Arizonan desert and I was itching to get some shots of the beautiful poppies.  All these were taken beside Highway 191.

 Snow capped mountains, Cholla cactus and California poppies = one rarely captured picture!

Day of Discovery!

There isn't much to do in the small town of Safford, but they do have a free Discovery Museum.  Free is always attractive to us old folks who are on limited incomes.  Besides that, Jerry and Sandy White had three of their grandchildren camping with them, so it gave them something to do besides ride their bikes in the campground.

Our first visit was Tuesday morning.  When we got to the door we found out that Tuesday and Thursday mornings are reserved for school groups.  Guess we didn't qualify for that.  Shucks.  But we did have a chance to walk around the grounds with no screaming, pushing school children around us!  Guess I can call that a win. LOL

You can see how windy it was by looking at the flags by the parking lot.

  Doris was reading one of the many signs along the way while Sandy sauntered across the wood bridge.

 The Lowe kids found a huge tire on one of the sides and scrambled up in it.  Picture time!!!!

Back we went on Wednesday morning.  Success!  Besides free entrance, this little museum gives visitors a free simulated shuttle ride to see the planets in our solar system!  It rocked and bucked as we "flew through space" out from Safford and back again.  There was also a very interesting movie about the creation of the Hubble telescope, which the kids ignored, but the adults loved it.

Outside, Wyatt, Micah and Ainslie were concentrating on the box containing sand, water and colored pebbles.  There was something for everyone.  All's well that ends well.  

Relaxing at Roper

Want to find a quiet place to camp for a few days?  If so, Roper Lake State Park fills the bill.  Situated in eastern Arizona, almost to the New Mexico border, this campground is just outside of the town of Safford.  It was our destination this year for our spring camping.  We were third in our little convoy of three trailers, trailing right behind Doris.  A lot of moisture during the winter and spring provided us with views of millions of wildflowers along the way.

 Here we are, in the Cottonwood campground at Roper, like three ducks in a row!

This is a view from the other direction with the Pinaleño Mountains in the background.  The highest point is Mt. Graham, which reaches 10,720 feet.   This year, lots of storms brought an unusual amount of snow to mountains across the state, so we were able to enjoy the snow capped peaks during our visit.  The little shelters at each site were a definite plus.

A small lake attracts waterfowl and people who want to swim, fish or take their small boats out on the water.  

It is also the only place I've found and gotten photos of yellow headed blackbirds!  To say they are in abundance here is an understatement!  Flocks of them fly between the trees and cattails several times each day.  I love the contrast between their black bodies and bright yellow gold heads and breasts.

A coot looks for vegetation in the lake water....

 while the resident roadrunner nests nearby in a tree.  His natural camouflage makes him hard to spot.  We would have never found him without the help of another camper.

 The Vermillion Flycatcher was never in one spot for long.  He's a little fellow, always flitting from one tree to the next. 

The days were in the low 70's, but the cold wind made it hard to sit outside without a jacket at times.  Mornings brought beautiful sunrises like the one below.

And several evenings brought beautiful sunsets that lit up the sky like fire.  

Whatever the weather, we have fun together!

The Elusive Saguaros

Have you heard of the Adopt-A-Saguaro Program at Catalina State Park?  For a nominal fee each year, you pick one of saguaros on the list.  The website gives you a picture of the cactus and  the GPS coordinates.  Doris had 3 different cacti picked out that were located off the Romero Trail.  Off we went to find at least one of them.

Strategy is very important.  Doris discussed the "game plan" with Sherry before we hiked up the hill.

 The Romero Trail had a few more steps than I remembered.....and they were built for people with much longer limbs than mine.  I think the trail was built by guys who were over 6 feet tall and had long strides. Each step up for me was either two little steps or a big stretch for my short legs.

 You do get a gorgeous view of all the saguaros with the mountains in the background once you reach the top of the steps.

Doris pointed to the direction she thought we should go.  Hmm, in a "forest" of saguaros, it's really hard to find the right one.

 So, at this point, is Doris tired, or re-thinking the reason for our being out here?!

 After traipsing around for over an hour, we gave up and headed back to the campground.

Maybe next year we'll have better luck.  Even though we never found the ones Doris was looking for, we enjoyed the nice hike and walked off some of the calories from breakfast.  It's always a great day when you are able to enjoy walking in the desert while thinking of friends in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota or Michigan who are dealing with slick icy roads and freezing temperatures.

Fram-ily

Friends and Family=Framily!  And that perfectly describes our group at Catalina.  This year we even made up an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of who was coming and going!  Over the years, friends have become members of our extended family,  We look forward to gathering together to tell stories, eat wonderful food, drink good wine, and basically enjoy ourselves. 

This year, the gathering spot was at Doris' site.  The group changed slightly every few days, as some people left and others arrived. 

But one thing remained the same:  good food!  It's not just hot dogs and hamburgers kind of camping.  No way!  One morning, Allen and his friend Roberta fixed us an excellent breakfast of buckwheat pancakes with whipped cream, fruit salad, sausage, OJ and coffee.

 
Other mornings, we had beignets made by Jerry; and peanut butter pancakes with prickly pear jelly and blueberry pancakes made by Gay.  Don and Jerry made fried Spam, which we even convinced Sandy to try again.  Let's just say she's not a fan of Spam.

 

Gay likes to turn the tables and give Don a hard time.

Patty picked a cooler day to make homemade beef vegetable soup, a pot of chicken soup and biscuits that would impress Colonel Sanders!

One Sunday was cloudy and overcast, with occasional sprinkles.  None the less, Jerry did a shrimp boil.    Jerry and his son Jeff were in charge of cleaning the shrimp from Rocky Point.

 The women worked in their outdoor kitchen, chopping vegetables for the shrimp boil.  It was all hands on deck, so to speak.

 Can you tell Doris got a bit cold?!  LOL

 It's supper time!

 Steam was rolling off the hot shrimp, Kielbasa, and veggies and Jerry ladled it on to the table. 

Last, but not least, was the peach cobbler made in the Dutch Oven.  Jerry was the supervisor while Roberta fiddled with the pot and charcoal.  Sandy had prepared the mix, so it was a team effort.

By the end of the 11 days, it was time to go home and go on a diet!

Catalina State Park Circa 2019

Here we are, at the parking lot of In-N-Out, right across from Catalina State Park.  It seems the park rules changed this year, and it said we couldn't get into our sites until 2 PM.  No problem.  It gave Ron, Patty and their son Jeff their first chance to eat at In-N-Out, and they all loved it!

We headed into the park, with Ron and Patty following us.  It's time to do some camping!

Catalina State Park never disappoints.  Each night the mountains change colors, looking ominous when the dark clouds roll in, and absolutely beautiful when the sun sets and they turn into softer shades of purple and violet.

Below is what it looked like early one Monday morning, looking southeast towards Sandy and Jerry's 5th wheel.  So much better than being in the Midwest and looking out at dead trees and dirty snow.

Looking north towards the Catalinas, you can barely see Doris behind her truck.  We were both out early to watch the sunrise that changed the clouds into pinks and golds.

.  Besides that, we enjoyed many amazing sunsets, such as the one below:

The park is peaceful and quiet, except for the occasional coyotes yipping during the night.  I could have sworn one was right by us at 3:15 AM one morning.  It woke me right up!