February and March in Arizona

It almost never rains in Arizona, we seem to bring out the beastly weather where ever we travel.

Tucson is where the rodeo was held, the rain stopped after we arrived and didn't start again until the rodeo was over.

Ride em cowboy!

This cowboy won on Saturday, the finals were on Sunday.

It was fun watching theses  guys ride horses.

This would give me a headache for sure.

The horses were wild but bulls, it was crazy.

An 8 second ride of your life, 

Some fun and games too!  It's a relay race riding horses after you twirled around a few times.

There was barrel racing, calf roping, 5 year old kids riding sheep, and some other stuff that went on also. 
Jack Daniels' was a sponsor, some drinking and good eating.



The black pins represent the National Parks, we still have a lot to see.  The red string was our year long travels and the blue is this year since January 2020.  That is 2,200 miles from Michigan to Sierra Vista, AZ.

Some Arizona altitude facts.

Sierra Vista's elevation is 3,041 feet and it's 76 miles north to Tucson.

Tucson's elevation  is 2,389 feet and it's 113 miles Northwest to Phoenix at 1,086 feet above sea level. 

From Phoenix to Camp Verde is another 90 miles at an altitude of 3,041 feet.  Heading north into Camp Verde there is a 6 % grade descending for 7 miles into the valley.  Not sure how we descend from 1086 feet into a valley at 3,041, there were some sharp curves and engine breaking going on for miles.

Taking a short cut from Sierra Vista to Tubac to buy some pottery,  It was a beautiful drive.

The road on the left dropped off into a canyon, much more dramatic in real life.

Another hike in the Coronado National Memorial Park, with our camping neighbors Scott and Linda.  We started at the top and are descending for 3.1 miles.  I'm leaning so I don't fall off the trail, it's a long way down.

It was a great hike, very happy we hiked down and not up.

We LOVE Arizona

We rolled into Arizona on February 28 and camped 3 days in Bowie then onto Tombstone for 3 more days.  Our current stop is Tucson, the only place we could find a spot.  Luckily we can stay here 2 weeks.  Tomorrow we must vacate and haven't been able to secure a reservation anywhere, we have decided to head south to the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  January - March are the months Northerners and Canadians come to the southwest ,darn there are a lot of people here and it's been difficult to continue our rambling ways.  That will all change April 1st when everyone heads home,we have to survive 10 more days.

It's been great staying in Tucson, a real city with stores and all kinds of things to do.  What a change from the month of February where everything was few and far between, really nothing there at all.   It's amazing the contrast between enjoying our natural beauty then returning to civilization as we know it with our Starbucks, Target, Lowe's, Applebee's and endless stores and restaurants,we were ready for it.

The weather has been great, the sun shines 265 days of the year were told, I'm a believer.   We could easily buy a home here and we may down the road, we like it that much.  So many people we have met have traveled like were doing, then came here to stay the winter and travel during the summer months when it gets really hot starting in May lasting until September.  July and August are referred to as the monsoon season. There are dry river beds everywhere, it must be wild when the rain starts and flash floods are of concern.   Right now it's very dry, sandy and rocky including little rocks that get stuck in your shoes daily and you have to pick them out.  Oh that's just an observation and one we can live with.

We are in the city of Tucson.  
Behind the store and below the clouds are the mountains.

We have a mall across the street, beyond the bushes there is a busy boulevard.  If you look below the clouds you can see the mountains in the distance.

Guadalupe Mountains

After Big Bend we traveled to the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas, The drive was very exciting with the high wind gusts and 7-8% long mountain road grades. We experienced our first desert dust storm, unbelievably large.We stayed at Pine Springs National Parks Campground, pretty much a paved parking lot with no hook ups. You can hike right from the campground with a starting elevation of around 5600 feet.

Guadalupe Peak 8751 feet tall from about 20 miles out

Guadalupe Peak from about 10 miles out

Guadalupe Peak as you enter the park

Entrance to Pine Springs Campground in the Guadalupe Mountains 

This is our camping spot, no hook ups in a paved parking lot

View of the Campground from the beginning of the trail

The start of Devils Hall Trail

Devils Hall Trail

The trees were very different

Cactus getting ready to flower

Wildlife

Marathon Southwest Texas

We left the Hill Country heading west on 10 then south towards Big Bend National Park.

The drive south to Marathon TX is the beginning of the desert.

Our campsite at the Marathon Motel and RV Park.

 

It's desert, brown and very little green vegetation.

View from our campground.

 

Inside the walled area was a place for campers to picnic or have a fire.

The GAGE Hotel in Marathon
a really cool place to stay if your not camping.

Inside the lobby of the Gage Hotel.

An exterior wall of the Hotel.