Huachuca City (AZ)

Feb. 6, 2012 - We packed up this morning to move on to the Superstition Mountains.  Before we got ready to roll, Tom made several phone calls to the Apache Junction area to find an RV park for us and discovered that they were all full!  So, we decided to stay another night at the Mountain View RV Park here in Huachuca City.  Later, Tom made more phone calls and found an RV park near Apache Junction, where we got one of the last sites.  This is a very busy time of year in Arizona when all the Snowbirds flock down here to bask in the sun and warmth of the southwest desert. 

With a free afternoon, we hiked at the Ramsey Canyon Preserve, a Nature Conservancy preserve.  We got a great workout by hiking up 700 feet in elevation in just one mile to an overlook of Ramsey Peak and the canyon below.  This is a haven for a great variety of hummingbirds, but we didn’t see any hummers this early in the year.

Tom at Ramsey Canyon Preserve

I Love You, Arizona

Lyrics to:  I Love You, Arizona
by Rex Allen, Jr.  (1981)

I love you, Arizona;
Your mountains, deserts, and streams;
The rise of Dos Cabezas
And the outlaws I see in my dreams;
I love you, Arizona,
Superstitions and all;
The warmth you give at sunrise;
Your sunsets put music in us all.

Oo, Arizona;
You're the magic in me;
Oo, Arizona,
You're the life-blood of me.

I love you, Arizona;
Desert dust on the wind;
The sage and cactus are blooming,
And the smell of the rain on your skin.

Oo, Arizona;
You're the magic in me;
Oo, Arizona,
You're the life-blood of me.

Huachuca City (AZ)

Feb. 5, 2012 - Tom dropped me off at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering for the afternoon main stage performance.  He took off to shop and hang out in Sierra Vista.  I have really enjoyed my time at this wonderful event.  Arizona is celebrating their centennial this year - 100 years as a state on Feb. 14.  The Arizona people have a great sense of pride in their land and their history.  It truly comes out in the songs and stories I have heard throughout the weekend.  "I Love You, Arizona" is a beautiful song that I heard more than once over the past few days.  I think I'm going to like exploring this amazing state.

Tom went to the Club House to watch the Super Bowl game tonight while I took off to write and hang out in the RV.

Huachuca City (AZ)

Feb. 4, 2012 - Back to the Cochise Cowboy Poetry & Music Gathering for a full day of music, poetry, and stories.  It all touched my soul and made me want to be a cowgirl!  Yip-pe-ti-i-ay!  I have never seen so many blue jeans, cowboy boots, big belt buckles, vests, cowboy hats, and mustaches being sported by the men.  The women were decked out in fancy skirts with fringe and cowgirl boots and leather vests and dangling earrings and cowgirl hats.  They were beautiful.  It was interesting to get a glimpse into the rancher's way of life.  It's a world so very different from the one I know.  I've always thought of cowboys as a rough and tumble kind of lot.  But their stories bring out the tender and loving depths of their human spirits.  I'm hooked.  I'll be looking for more Cowboy Poetry & Music Gatherings to go to in the future.

Huachuca City (AZ)

Feb. 3, 2012 - Drove 37 miles into Benson this morning to look around and see what we could find.  (There is a lot of space between towns in the Arizona desert.)  We found the Singing Wind Bookshop, a bookstore in two front rooms of a ranch house, down a half-mile dirt road.  The 82-year-old ranch wife started the bookshop many years ago to make southwest books available to readers.  The books are shelved on thick mesquite boards from floor to ceiling.  There was also a Used Bookstore in Benson with a vast selection of books.  If we ever choose an area to park our RV for months at a time, I'd stay near Benson so I could keep coming back to the bookstores.

Back at the RV, we relaxed and read before going into Sierra Vista for the main stage performance of the Cochise Cowboy Poetry & Music Gathering.  It was a great evening of music, poetry, and stories.  We sat next to a woman with a stack of programs on her lap and found out that her husband and his horse were pictured on the cover of the program.  We also got to talk to Chuck Pyle (one of our favorite singer-songwriters) and his wife when I was buying his CDs after the show.  What an evening!

Program for the Cowboy Poetry Gathering

Patagonia Lake State Park (AZ) to Huachuca City (AZ) - 44 miles

Feb. 2, 2012 - Moved on late this morning to Huachuca City near Sierra Vista.  We're staying at Mountain View RV Resort where we have a good internet connection.  I never realized that I was addicted to the internet until I got into areas with no coverage!  We spent a relaxing afternoon in the RV.  The winds are very strong this afternoon; the RV is rockin'... and we're not doing it.   We went to the Club House this evening to listen to Dennis Gaines, a Texas cowboy storyteller.  He was great!  We can't wait to go to the Cochise Cowboy Poetry Gathering this weekend in Sierra Vista.  It will be a weekend full of cowboy music, stories, laughter and good times...

Tom editing my blog entries

 

 

By the way, Happy Ground Hog's Day to those of you living in wintery climates.  Hope the ground hog has been good to you!

Patagonia Lake State Park (AZ)

Feb. 1, 2012 - Tom went into Patagonia this morning to get cell phone reception and a Wi-Fi connection.  He found a place for us to stay near Sierra Vista this weekend for the Cochise Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

We kayaked this afternoon.  It was a warm and sunny day.  We checked out one small inlet and heard the buzz of... could it be bees?  We didn’t linger to find out.  We’ve read enough desert warning signs to know that African bees can be a problem here.  It was a leisurely paddle, though, with more bird sightings.  Tom is still looking for the elusive Elegant Trogon, but then, so are a lot of other birders!

We played Cribbage after dinner.  It has been a long time since the two of us have played Cribbage together.  We played a lot in college, but that has been a long time ago.  We do play with a friend in Sequim (WA) and really enjoy a three-handed game.  Anyway, it was nice tonight to play a game together.  

Kayaking on Patagonia Lake