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.

West side of Tucson, Gilbert Ray County Campground

Were surrounded by Cacti which makes a cozy little spot.

There are mountains out the front window of the camper.

Our day time view of the mountains.

It was a cloudy day until sunset.  At the last moment the sun cast the red onto the mountains,
within the blink of an eye it was all gone.

Check out Moose with a two foot round
Saguaro right out the window.

Our campground was off Kinney Rd., and well,
my maiden name was Kinney.

We rode our bikes around the campground and found many vehicles with their hoods up.  Upon inquiring, we were told that their are pakrats in the desert that will eat your rubber and electrical wires.  To ward this off, open your hood at night and put on lights to deter them.  Guess it worked everything seemed fine after two nights.

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.

Arizona, Chiricahua National Monument

We landed in Bowie Arizona to venture out to Chiricahua National Monument.  As you enter Chiricahua you are climbing up a sky island-an isolated mountain range rising above the surrounding grassland sea.  The Chiricahua Apache called these pinnacles "standing up rocks."  Created 27 million years ago when eruptions from the Turkey Creek Volcano spewed ash over 1,200 miles.  Cooling and subsequent uplifting created joints and cracks in the rhyolite.  Eons of weathering by ice wedging and erosion by water enlarged the cracks.  Weaker material washed away, leaving behind an endless variety of spires, balanced rocks and other shapes.

After leaving the visitor center we drove up Bonita Canyon Drive stopping to hike the Echo Canyon Trail out to view the Echo Canyon Grotto.  It was an easy hike with amazing views.  We continued up the 8 mile road to Massai Point, elevation 6,870 ft. with a 360 degree view of Rhyolite Canyon and the mountain called Cochise Head.

We left New Mexico and entered Arizona February 28, 2019.  We left Carlsbad Caverns and went South into Texas through El Paso and back into New Mexico.  It was snowing in northern New Mexico so we changed our plans and followed Interstate 10, instead of heading north into New Mexico to visit a few spots.

Deck was using our camera to do a 180 degree view, this place was amazing.

The rocks were so unusual.

They say pictures are worth a thousand words, I'm not sure the picture's due this place justice.

Coatimundi or ring tailed, similar to raccoons just walking around when we drove by.

Standing Up Rocks named by the Apache.

The trail was an easy hike with mountains all around.  There was snow on some of the mountain tops and some on the ground along our hike.

The trail was very rocky yet easy to walk.

So many rocks were balanced upon each other.

The Grotto's were Stand Up Rocks that you could walk through.

Cochise head, can you see him?  His forehead is to the right, his chin on the left, and the nose.

Carlsbad Caverns

After the Guadalupe Mountains Texas we headed north to Carlsbad, New Mexico

Entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park 

The road up through the mountains to the caverns

Still going up the twisting turning road to the top

After  a quick stop at the caverns we traveled to Carlsbad for camping

First night KOA

Nice park for the night

Second and third night at Brantley Lake State Park 

Brantley Lake State Park was a very nice location, very remote with amenities.

Lake Brantley State Park Site

Returned to Carlsbad Caverns self guided tour, what an adventure

Back to the National Park

Looking from the visitors center to the self guided tour entrance

Amphitheater overlooking the cave entrance

Cave entrance

After entering the cavern the bat cave was to the left

After entering the cavern the views were awesome 

There were some narrow places

The pictures don't reflect the beauty

Some info on the climb down, 1 1/2 hour

At the bottom is a snack bar/ souvenir shop

Facts on the Big room

Unbelievable Caverns

Again pictures don't give the view the credit it deserves

What was beveled to be bottomless turned out to be 140 feet

Beautiful curtains

Small trail outside of the visitors center, it was a 9 mile loop