Apr 3 Out to Roper Lake State Park

... the last state park in S.Arizona that we have not visited
  Written up as a lovey lake recreational area with a natural spring hot tub, we head off to near the New Mexico border to add this park to our collection. It's nestled under the foothills of Mt. Which is 11,000 ft high and still has snow on top. The campsite is at 3200 ft.
  It's been beautifully (over) developed with amazing facilities, each campsite has an armada with table and there's a lake and hot tub, but all oh so small! As Ted said, 3 kids in the hot tub filled it. We do some strolls around the camp, to the 'island'. But the wind is blowing a gale and there are whitecaps at the little swimming beach. Nobody in their right mind is going in there any time soon. Even the palm trees are blowing horizontally!
  Having run into all sorts of vacancy problems, we booked a site. We could have gone anywhere, it's pretty quiet here now.
  Its another good place for birders and waterfowl. I guess out here in the middle of nowhere, its important as a flyway. We do see flocks of yellow-headed blackbirds which are stunning, especially in large numbers. A great white egret strolls the shore and lovesick frogs and waterfowl chatter away behind our campsite in the slough which runs into the lake. Lots of quail - not close enough to make it to the frying pan.
  We've encountered mosquitos for the first time this trip. A few nailed us but we got them before we went to sleep last night. Yeah. We'll shut the doors earlier tonight.
  There are 5 miles of trails here but it's unexciting hiking compared to around Tucson so 2 nights will be quite enough. It is still cold overnight so we will forego trips into the Chiricahua Mountains or Cochise stronghold campsites as there is no power there to keep our little overnight heater going. Getting soft in my old age.

Apr 2 - Sun is back

  The cold spell is over, but we are not back to 30s so its quite comfortable. OUr last day at /far Horizons, I take in the pool, get more gossip. Last night at our super-safe park - a car, a truck and two bikes were stolen. It is big news in the pool. We find next day that they caught the car thief, he was stopped for some reason and they discovered it then! Duh.
  We chat to the young couple along the row from us in a smaller van - they are from Calgary? Taking 2 weeks of spring break to come here! What a lot of driving in 2 weeks. But I guess we did that too when we were working. Ted tries out their big heavy e-bikes but isn't keen to swap his lightweight touring bike for one of those yet. I must admit, I would like to give it a try.
  WE've arranged to maybe meet a pal of Bob & Pat Allen but he's out of town and can't join us. We finally get to Downtown Kitchen, run by a local celeb chef. I bought his book on Chiles Rellenos at the national park store and am determined to try any of these super recipes. It's Sunday, so parking downtown with a 22ft RV isn't a problem. We are first in for happy hour so pick nice seats to watch the action.
  Aaron the barman reminds us of nephew James. He looks after us really well and insists on taking our photo too. Ted finds his fav local beer (Dragoon IPA) and I try the Victory Garden cocktail, a green affair of muddled cucumber and mint, gin and stuff....loverly.
  We take our time munching on the catfish tacos (Ted declares them the best we've had) with their own salsa, calamari (with mango, ginger, watercress and green chile vinaigrette), mole fries (not a repeat experience) and the delectable chile relleno stuffed with mushroom duxelles and lovely sauces. After we stroll the downtown treed avenues and enjoy the city ambience on a Sunday afternoon. By the time we leave, the restaurant is jumping, an inplace for the locals and the see and be seen people.
  We can't find the ice cream place so pop by Fry's to stock up on Magnum bars instead.

April 1 - rain - is this a joke/?

  Next day we get clouds and see rain elsewhere but none falls on us. WE are off early to meet up in the Catalina foothills with Vollie & Bill from Colorado, who have a house on 2 acres up there now. they have a lovely hike up to a waterfall planned and blankets of flowers all the way up. Not strenuous and very rewarding with yellow and orange California poppies everywhere. WE stop at a nice Mexican place for lunch then have tea and watch the birds and wildlife at their place for a while. It's cold when we get back to I make hot cocoa for me and green chile beans on toast for Ted.
  It's now time to make some serious bookings for the way north as e are running into booking problems all over the place. The camping in Page on the Colorado river is full, as is the camping in Sedona where we plan to stop off this time too. I cover my ass with hotel bookings and keep calling campsites til I get a booking. People cancel out all the time. You just have to keep on it. Bad news when we don't have wifi, I have a phone here but no data.

March 29. Back to the big city

Our 3 days in the desert are up so it's back to town for showers, the pool, Also to contact people we want to see and set up some times to do that.
  It's a day to wander down to the 4th Street shops, restaurants, etc. There is a great bookstore and I find lots of neat things in there. Also some nice gifty souvenir thins too. We stop off on the way home to Poco & Mom's Cantina, where the garden patio in back with a fountain is a welcome sit. I order the best chiles rellenos with Mom's green Chile verde sauce its sour cream, a match made in heaven. Ted tries the pork stew and it's good too.
  Back to the resort, it's pool time with a book and listen to the gossip at the pool!
  There's a shower overnight and it cools things down, 8 overnight and 19 by day. It's a miserable windy start to the day so Ted cooks up eggs, beans/green chile for my version of huevos rancheros, but the tortillas are dry and chewy so we ditch them in favor of the lovely bread.
    Movie night has come around again and for $1 we get p popcorn and "Lion" with the great Dev Patel. But it's long and slow and although a true story, not that exciting really. I can see why it didn't get Oscars...

March 26 Back to the national park and stately saguaros

  It's sunny with a few clouds, a bit of wind and 25 so we are off to the desert with power but no showers so limit: 3 days. We climb up over Grants Pass and the national park is spread before us.
  I bought a small hummer feeder at a bird store in Tubac last week so I am keen to see if I can attract some. Unfortunately it's a bit windy and maybe not enough shade around our rig as none have come so far! Ted saw a little yellow bird at it.
  Next morning we are up early and out to catch the raptor display at the wonderful Desert Museum out here. It's amazing how the birds come out to show us their stuff but the show is being cancelled as more and more of them don't come back, some for 3 days or so, so it's hard to time a show twice a day. Yeah the birds. It's a lovely useful with all the indigenous flora, fauna and wildlife from this part of the world. The cougar is out pacing, we see a baby hummer sitting just out of its nest but not yet ready to fly. Cute. The mama is flying around us picking off the bugs that like humans apparently. We learn a lot about the flora and fauna here and the cacti and flowers are at their prime now.
  The national park runs many many interesting programs but we are happy to do our own hiking trips on our own time. Their gift shop also has lovely things and Ted finds another great T shirt there.
  I am practicing my flute some evenings, getting better, neighbors love it and come by to tell me so. That's inspiring that it's not hard to listen to even when I am learning new tunes.
  We do several hikes in the mountain parks. No Saguaro have bloomed yet but signs are that it will be soon. ?The hedgehog cacti close to the ground and some of the others are already blooming. The star gazing program is on that evening but its too cold for me once the sun has gone down. I am getting settled  in our cosy wee nest.

March 25 Mountains and Mozart

 It's great to be back at Far Horizons  RV resort and Ted can do the morning bakery run. It's Saturday and we have tickets again for the MET live HD opera broadcast. Idomineo by Mozart is playing. Again, very comfortable movie theatre seats, not the huge recliners from Phoenix, and not a lot of people this time.
  After that we drive up along Skyline drive, beautiful views of the mountains and the city below through very nice residential areas to revisit Wildflower restaurant and happy hour. Prices are good, the food is lovely and the price is right. Ted is not so impressed as the first time with his short rib ravioli with wild mushroom sauce. But for tempura shrimp/zucchini, guacamole, the ravioli, 3 $3 beers, a $4 sangria the total is $40. Driving back along the sunset drive as the sun goes down is beautiful. If I were going to stay a month in a condo in Tucson, I think I'd like to be up here.
  This evening we chat to Ursula and Dieter who are leaving Palm Springs shortly, but we may yet meet up with them on the trip north, as we all aim to be home Apr 14 and take a similar route.

March 24 Sabino Canyon trails - and $1 movie night

  Nestled at the base of the 11,000ft Mount Lemmon mountains north of the city is Sabino Canyon. It's stacked with kids and tourists as it's spring break here. The tram ride runs once an hour and the lineup is an hour til the next one.
  We take off along the lovely desert trails and soon lose pretty much everyone. It's a pretty walk along the canyon, following the river which I s running and the cacti are just beginning to bloom. A lovely jaunt til it gets too hot. We then head for one of the 22 brew pubs, a nice little place by the university with a pile of good beers on tap.
  Back to camp, I brew up seafood soup, I'm getting good at this then $1 gets us into Friday Movie Night with a bag of. Popcorn. Its Manchester by the Sea, quite good, a bit depressing, too long, but hey for $1 who can complain.

March 23 Shoe shopping...and free lunch

  We've been all over town looking for shoes for Ted but at the end of the road from our RV site is KOHLs. It's a big department store and they are practically paying you to take things away. Ted has found shorts for $15 and belts for $10. While he hunts for sandals, I find a pair of Sketchers hybrid walking shoe/sandals for $65. Pointing out a mark on the floor sample model (last size 6) I get $20 off. Then they try to get 20% off  for joining their club but as I am Canadian and not eligible, they knock off 15$ anyway. II put them on and walk home. Really comfortable.
  The new management at our RV resort is really sucking up to their tenants so today is free lunch on them. Edges has catered Italian subs, with chips and a cookie, all the beer and wine you can drink and fruit ices for dessert. We meet more Canadians - from Sabrina! All that way. I thought they went to Florida but apparently too hot and too many people there.
  That night more people invite us to pot luck supper. I have nothing to take. They say, just put some chips in a bowl and come. So I don't make dinner either. But pot luck isn't Ted's idea of supper so I make him salad with leftover filet of beef after. He's pretty happy with that.

March 22 Hispanic influence

 Tucson and area are one of the oldest inhabited areas of the US, including the original natives residents, the Spanish, the Mexicans and later all the ret of us.
  One of the interesting things in the area is the two Missions, one historic and closed and one a very active community centre of the current Indian tribe (all PC descriptions here.)
  The Hispanic influence is great to this day, in the culture, the food, the community the plants, food grains being re cultivated, etc. Proximity to the Mexican border ensures a steady flow of Mexicans to keep up the traditions. At least so far it was...
  South of the city Tubac has developed into a nice little tourist enclave with many artists, artisans, and the nearby Tumacacori mission retains its old world charm. As well as a huge spice trading company just outside the walls

March 20 - back to Patagonia in AZ ranch lands

  A cross country drive through lovely ranch lands down to Nogales on the Mexican border brings us back to Patagonia Lake.It is spring break for many schools so we can't camp at the state park. But we find a good little RV park in town which is great and close to shops, and with wifi. A pair of vermilion flycatchers are nesting there too,, nice to see these bright red birds.
  It's interesting driving here as the main road north of the border is lined with huge warehouses for goods and food coming in from Mexico. What will happen to all this trade if Trump gets his way closing the border and making life difficult for everyone involved in this huge export/import trade region??
  We are only stopped at one border checkpoint, hardly even that, a cursory glance and waived on.
  There are many fancy dude ranches here where wealthy Americans come to ride the wide open spaces, hole up at spas and hotels, but you would hardly know it from the locked and gated entrances to many of them.
  It's still cold in the mornings, only 8, but going up to 24 in the sun later in the day. Our heater has continued to go on every night down here this year.
  The local gift shops, restaurants, ice cream parlors are doing good trade even in this now quieter time.
  Patagonia is a bird watcher's paradise and it is here that last year I bagged an Elegant Trogon photo. Not so lucky this year, but lots of colourful birds in this important flyway between North and South America. Walking along Sonoita creek always rewards with view of the
  WE learn that wealthy arts patrons have built an opera house in this tiny town and we are lucky enough to be there for the first concert of their classical program, a viola/piano recital. Beautiful acoustics in this little gem of a performance venue. I wear a black top and lacy black long skirt and am not out of place!
  I return to HIgh Spirits flutes to buy 2 new instruction books and am tempted by a double "Nova" flute they have experimented with. It has two bores, two mouthpieces that you have to coordinate blowing into, but one side is a drone, like bagpipes. Difficult to play. I will persevere!
  It's great to have good wifi down here as I've been able to check in with Liz and Clive in Cambridge to hear how Clive's new hip is mending up. The miles between us just melt away on that Facetime.

March 17 - Madera Canyon and the birds

Now Lupita (our RV registration LUP111) is feeling good again, we are off south to stay at a notable bird area at Madera Canyon in the Santa Cruz mountains. We get lucky as someone is checking out of their campsite late and spend 3 lovely days there, hiking, watching many birds, especially hummers. Most hikes are straight up the canyon walls, relentless climbs, but views of  Mt.Wrightson reward.
  I've taken to playing my flute at nights and neighbors come b to say how much they like it. I plan the sunrise and sunset Zuni tunes as well as some more recognizable. My red tablecloth weight hung in the tree attracts hummers but it would be nice to have a feeder instead!
  WE are enjoying eating lightly in this heat. The asparagus is 87c a pound so we are gorging on those all the time. Strawberries also as low as  89c a pound sometimes. Otherwise $2.

March 13 Finally - to Tucson (Some repeat)

En route from Phoenix to Tucson, we have to stop in at the outlet store mall at one of the huge Indian Casino/Hotel complexes. We go into every sho store but Ted can't find shoes or sandals to fit or he likes!! And they say women are the shoppers. We do find bargains at our fav Columbia store.
We return to Far Horizons RV resort, our home for 4 days. Its a 55+ park with nice pool, good facilities and nice people. Also right in town so shopping is close. Plus Ted takes a walk every owning to the French patisserie bakery for almond croissants, small lunch croisssants (great with smoked salmon), pain au chocolat and divine coconut macaroons.
  We have bad noises from the brakes on the way to Tucson so we check in with Mercedes and Sprinter van dealers and spend the next 4 days waiting for - the bad news - brakes need complete overhaul - parts to come, daily call, still not in. Finally on the 3rd afternoon, the parts arrive ad we spend another 3 hours at the dealership getting them fixed for C$1000! Not a great start to our Tucson visit, but necessary all the same. It's still stinking hot - at least I can go to the pool.
  Meantime we have found Poco & Mom's Mexican resto, Huge lunches or great chiles rellenos and tortilla soup means light suppers of avocados stuffed with shrimp and cheese and crackers.
  The park has new owners. They are selling off the rental units - park models - little mobile homes. Some as low as $6500! Unbelievable. If you wanted to be someone's landlord, it's a steal but you have to maintain it too. Not fur us. The new ones go for $65k.
  Glad we can get good wifi as Murray, Nadal, Djokovik and Federer are facing off at Indian Wells. I am delighted when Federer pulls off another amazing win.
  I find the time in Tucson waiting around for car work has been good for shopping. I return to one of my fav stores, Chicos, clothes, jewelry a lot different from Calgary. I pick up a nice outfit for all the golden wedding events coming up this year. There are 5 of us in the ski club alone, and the parties have already begun.

March 9 Indian days...and huge Phoenix (Some repeat..)

  We head back to Fort McDowell Indian reserve with a big casino and matching RV resort. We
Have stayed several times before, hard to get in, but close to Scottsdale where Mary & Mark have their condo apartment now. Also Apache Junction (AJ).
  That night we drive the 30 miles to join ski pals Lloyd & Sigrun for mariachi night at their RV resort golf club restaurant. Lots of fun with other Calgary friends Mia and Don.
  Next day we are up early for Mary & Mark to pick us up to enjoy Scottsdale. We can't park our RV there so they ferry us around on a scorching hot day to lovely lunch downtown, the annual Scottsdale Art Market, later cool drinks at the lovely McCormack Ranch golf club. Our RV temp hit 99 today, about 34C.
  Saturday we have tickets at the local cinema showing the Live in HD from NY MET opera broadcast of La Traviata. The cinema is something else. Huge (or as Trump would say - yuge) lazy boy seats you get lost in. Traumatic getting there: my GPS takes us into the middle of Indian reserve nowhereland, the main highway ramp is closed when I find an alternate route, we run into the baseball parking lot traffic and finally into the cinema just as the movie starts! Later we drive all over the place trying to find our fav TJ (Trader Joes) and Frys grocery stores, home hot, hungry, tired and low in blood sugar! I make smoked mackerel pate,  lobster bisque with catfish and finish with ice cream bars, light and easy supper for this hot climate.
  We have good cable TV so watch PBS and TCM in the evenings. I take advantage of the pool and laundry facilities and have a lazy day at the resort, another 33 day and lovely sunset.
  BTW when we arrived home from dinner in the dark the first day, a group of wild horses were there to greet us with their little foal at the RV resort entrance. Neat.

March 5 Back to Arizona and Chandler

 Driving out of the Palm Springs area of California we cross the state line into Arizona and lose an hour on the pretty much boring drive across the desert.
 We join our Banff friends Bob & Pat Allen at their lakeside condo in Chandler which is the southernmost city in the huge conurbation of Phoenix. Its a bittersweet time as Pat is in Ottawa for her brother's wedding. The ought after she gets back, he passes away and we are all rather sad.
  Bob hosts us for dinner at home first day and he and Ted embark on trying various reds, especially Zinfandels. Then we find a great local restaurant next day:  Flos, Asian Thai fusion. The coconut chicken soup is to die for so we take an order home for next day too.
  Ted and I hare happy to poke around the area on our own, returning to the Burrowing Owl reserve where I catch a pair outside guarding burrow nest on film.
  Pat has a yen to visit Boyce Thomson Arboretum, a lovely day trip out to this lovely canyon nature preserve. We stop in at the funky little old silver mining town of Superior, now the site of the largest copper reserve ever found in the US. Lunch at Porters is an experience and on the way back we stop in to see Susa and Merv, Pat's old Banff neighbors, and are pressured to stay for BBQ chicken dinner. Not a difficult decision to watch the sun go down.
  Before I leave Chandler I use Pat's coupon clipped from the local paper to get a $7.99 haircut. I got my money's worth - hardly any hair left. But OK for camping and the pool. I keep another in case Ted fancies a cheap haircut on our travels too.