Patagonia Lake State Park (AZ)

Jan. 31, 2012 - We explored the surrounding area today.  Our first stop was in Patagonia, a small town along Highway 82.  We wandered through the shops and chatted with the owners.  The corner gas station caught our attention with this sign:

Patagonia's corner gas station

We ate lunch at a small cafe in Sonoita called The Cafe.  The Raspberry Chicken Chipotle Wrap was very good, but it left my tongue and lips burning!  Tasting wines at two wineries in the Elgin area cleared my palate.  We loved being greeted by five dogs at the Kief-Joshua Winery.  Great wines, too.

Tom and I kayaked on Patagonia Lake near sunset.  We are so close to the lake that we can drag our kayaks into the water from our site.  It was a little cool to be paddling, but it was so nice to be on the water surrounded by hillsides of scrub brush and cactus with flocks of birds around us.

Tucson (AZ) to Patagonia Lake State Park (AZ) - 54 miles

Jan. 30, 2012 - We loaded the kayaks on the car, attached the car to the RV, and headed south to Patagonia Lake State Park, which is at an elevation of 3,800 feet.  Our campsite for the next few days is close to the lake.  It is quiet and peaceful here. We spent the rest of the day birdwatching, reading, napping, snacking and sipping wine.

Tom says:  The hooligans love watching the birds but don’t really care for sipping the wine.

Tom relaxing at campsite at Patagonia Lake

Tucson (AZ)

Jan. 29, 2012 - Tom and I got a late start hiking the Tanque Verde Trail in Saguaro National Park today.  It was in the mid-70s with intense sun by the time we got on this uphill trail.  I was hot and wishing for some cloud cover!  We got to be trail angels coming down the trail.  An older man was taking a break by the side of the trail and was about out of water with another mile of trail yet to cover.  We had plenty of water and gave him some of ours.

Tanque Verde Trail in Saguaro National Park

On Monday, we're heading south to Patagonia (AZ) and on to Sierra Vista (AZ) for the weekend.  There's a Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Sierra Vista next weekend that we are going to.  One of our favorite singer/songwriters, Chuck Pyle, will be performing there.     

Tucson (AZ)

Jan. 28, 2012 - We hiked at Saguaro National Park East this morning.  The hiking is so different here compared to our Pacific northwest.  You can see your shadow when you hike here!!  I love the Saguaro cactus plants, especially when a Gila woodpecker is singing from the top of one of them.

Look...There's a shadow!

Pat on trail in Saguaro National Park

Back at the RV, we looked through Arizona Highways magazines that I had brought along.  There is a lot to explore in this amAZing state of Arizona.  The hot tub beckoned again late this afternoon.  It has been another fine day...

Tom at the hot tub

Tucson (AZ)

Jan. 27, 2012 - Tom woke up with a toothache and ended up at a Tucson dentist this morning to get it taken care of.  I stayed at the RV and finished settling in while he was gone.  When he got back, we relaxed outside on the lawn chairs for a while.  Sat in the hot tub this evening.  A very relaxing day - at least, for me!  I'm not so sure Tom's day was all that great.

Gila Bend (AZ) to Tucson (AZ) - 137 miles

Jan. 26, 2012 - We're back in Tucson.  We arrived at our RV by noon today and spent the rest of the day getting resettled into our home on wheels.  It's sunny and 70 degrees here - oh, so nice for taking breaks on the lawn chairs!  Bought groceries.  Went for a walk after dark to look at the night sky.

The RV lifestyle starts now...

Twentynine Palms (CA) to Gila Bend (AZ) - 318 miles

Jan. 25, 2012 - Returned to Joshua Tree National Park this morning to hike among the Joshua trees (which are not a cactus, but in the lily family) and huge rock jumbles of this desert landscape.  The mile-long hiking loop at Hidden Valley was fantastic.  There is more moisture in this high-elevation area of the park which allows for a wide variety of plants within the valley walls.  Old-time cattle rustlers discovered this valley oasis and hid cattle here until they could re-brand them to sell them to some unsuspecting buyer.  There were quite a few rock climbers out today.  Joshua Tree National Park is one of the top rock climbing destinations.

Joshua trees at Joshua Tree National Park

Trail in Hidden Valley - Joshua Tree NP

After leaving Joshua Tree NP, we headed east toward Tucson.  We passed through the gridlock of Quartzite (AZ) and decided to keep on going.  What a tangle of RVs and cars and vendor booths!  It's not quite our RV style.  But there are lots of rock-hunting RVers who look forward to the rush of life in Quartzite.

Drove on to Gila Bend (AZ) where we spent our last night in a motel room.  We are in Mountain Time Zone now.  We will be in our RV tomorrow night.