Winter Travels 2019--Part 6: Patagonia Birding

Friday we joined a 9:00 Bird Hike on the nearby trail lead by a very knowledgeable volunteer named Di. She was a fount of information and deftly went from giving hints and identifying birds herself, to eliciting the identification from the 13 or so of us in her group as we learned more. Our most exciting sight was a flock of around 30 Mountain Bluebirds, males and females, posing at the top of a large tree. We were amused that the guide and locals were nearly as excited by a flock of Robins; these common backyard visitors (to us) are a rare sight here in southern Arizona. Similarly, people around here get all excited when they sight Northern Cardinals, while we’re more taken by the related but rare (to us) Pyrrhwoxia. The three hours went by very quickly and now we can identify the Black Phoebe and other new-to-us birds with the best of them. We had lunch and spent much of the afternoon reading in the sunshine as the temps rose into the low 70°s. (With temperatures at night in the 30°s and during the day in the 70°s we are shedding and redonning clothes throughout the day but we don’t mind.) Both of us felt like another hike around the campground before we made dinner and worked on the computer for the evening.

Black Phoebe

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Flock of Mountain Bluebirds

Close-up of the Bluebirds

Sonoita Creek before it opens into the Reservoir called Lake Patagonia

Our Birding group

Bluebirds seen later in the hike, right over our heads

Female Pyrrhwoxia on one of several feeders at the trailhead of the Birding Trail 

Winter Travels 2019--Part 5: Patagonia State Park

Jan. 23-Jan. 30: Our next destination was Patagonia Lake State Park in far southern Arizona. We had stayed at this reservoir, built in 1975 by a consortium of ranchers, farmers, and natural resource people, on our first trip out west and were eager to return to it. The drive was less than 5 hours and we arrived in plenty of time to set-up, including plugging in for electricity and water at our campsite. Such luxury!! Unfortunately, nestled down in the valley as we are, there is no phone or internet signal and we have to drive back to the highway to be in communication. The evening was for relaxing and enjoying the sunset and temperatures in the low 60s.

Thursday we got up at our leisure and made a good breakfast before taking a long hike around the campground, to the Visitors’ Center, and over the steep, high bridge over a channel(built to accommodate dreamed of sailing regattas that never happened), around the Marina, and back to the campsite. We read in the warm sunshine for a while before making lunch and setting off for Sahuarita, on the other side of the mountains. There were two destinations for the afternoon. We were expecting to volunteer at the Food Bank at the Church of the Good Shepherd, with which Sarah had put us in contact. Unfortunately, when we arrived it was crazy busy with volunteers and clients alike. Jim Armstrong, who knew Sarah, greeted us and made us feel very welcome but basically said they didn’t need the help and encouraged us to come to the services and stay for a meal on Sunday. We explained that we thought the church was in Nogales, which is half an hour southeast of the State Park. Sahuarita was actually half an hour or more northwest of Nogales on the other side of the mountains, halfway to Tucson. So we won’t be coming back that weekend, and instead hope to return both to volunteer and for the service when we stay in Tucson. Since we had most of the afternoon in front of us we drove to nearby Madera Canyon and took a hike on a small part of the Old Baldy Mountain Trail, far enough up to look down into the valley a thousand feet below. By then it was time to drive the few miles to Green Valley, our second destination for the day, to see Barb White and Joe Wolfort at the place they rent there. We arrived just in time to watch the MSU/Iowa Basketball game with them. Barb made a lovely fish dinner, we did two loads of laundry, and MSU pulled out another double-digit win to combine for a really nice evening with these dear friends. It was nearly 11:00 by the time we returned to the park where we went to bed, warmed by the good time and our electric heater, electric blanket, and mattress heater.

The view of the Santa Cruz Valley from Madera Canyon hiking trail

It was pretty cool up in the Canyon but the sun was shining strongly on the hillside.
The canyon is nearly straight west of Patagonia, on the other side of the mountains.

Gila Woodpecker

We can't remember this woodpecker. Any help would be appreciated!

A Bridal Sparrow according to the "expert" near the feeders.

Gila Woodpecker

Winter Travels 2019--Part 4:City of Rocks State Park in New Mexico

 Thankfully, on Monday everything seemed fine despite a low temperature of 27° and we had stayed cozy and slept well. After breakfast we biked about a mile down to the headquarters to explore their exhibits on how the distinctive rock pillars were formed and watched a short, old, not very informative video about the area. We returned to the main formation to climb around and take pictures. After lunch, since the temperature was still only in the low 40°s, we decided to take one of three scenic drives in the area that would take us to Silver City and around the long way back to City of Rocks. We visited the Silver City Museum and learned how a fierce storm and subsequent flooding in 1899 turned Main Street into “The Big Ditch” that remains today as a stream running through the town. The small museum, in one of the largest mansions built during the Boom Days in Silver City, was informative and interesting, telling more about the extensive mining, especially copper, that made fortunes that dissolved when the economy went bust. On our way out of town we stopped at an O’Reilly’s Auto Supply and had them analyze why our Check Engine light kept going on and off. We found out the truck had two cylinders that were misfiring and the air temperature sensor we have had trouble with before was again malfunctioning. Since Marv was no longer feeling the cylinders misfiring, we figured they had righted themselves and that the sensor wasn’t a problem so we won’t take time to fix them unless the problems seem to worsen. We took a scenic ride back to the campground along the now dry Mimbres River valley as the temperatures dropped into the 30°s. We made dinner and took a hike around the loop again by moonlight and went to bed early to stay warm and save the battery, which had been charging with the solar panel in the on & off again sunlight all day.

I called this "Kissing Rocks".

See how we're bundled for the cold?

This giant boulder is balanced on two points at the right edge
and one small rock right in the middle. Amazing!

This captures a little bit how one has to climb up into the rocks;
they are not on the flat plain of the surrounding area.

Winter Travels 2019 --Part 3: Crossing Texas to City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico

Jan. 19-22: Every time we come to Texas we’re overwhelmed with how big it is and how far it is east to west on I10. Since we left Houston after noon, we only went as far as South Llano River State Park near Junction, TX and pulled in after the office had closed, but they had told us to just find a site and we’d settle up in the morning. We had supper and then took a hike around the silent camping loop by the light of the nearly full moon. It was really beautiful. We were happy to have electricity that night as the temperatures went below freezing and we woke up to frost, which dissipated quickly when the sun rose and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The next day we drove to an RV park west of Balmorhea State Park. We had planned to stay at Balmorhea but it is closed for renovation and so we couldn’t. The little RV Park at Van Horn, TX turned out to be surprisingly nice, and quite cheap with full hook-ups for only $21.50! There were a few clouds that night but I did get a glimpse of the red Super Blood Moon as I walked back from the wash house after dark. As we traveled I10, we paid as much as $2.95 a gallon in the Middle-of-no-where, TX and as little as $1.60 at the Costco in El Paso, where we also got a quick lunch, before entering New Mexico.

We have stayed at City of Rocks State Park on every trip west because we like it so much. The fanciful shaped pillars and huge boulders of tuff from the Kneeling Nun eruption 34.9 million years ago are scattered in a condensed area like a child might leave a pile of blocks when called to dinner. The paths winding through them remind one of narrow streets in a medieval village. There are very few campsites along the edge of the main area of rocks, and a new loop of even fewer sites around a nearby “suburb” of more rocks. That is where we had our reservation.

Sunday night there were only three campsites taken and the other two were on the east side of the rocks so we couldn’t see another person. We were all alone on the west side, with an empty expanse of desert range land stretching as far as we could see. After getting set-up, we hiked back to the main rock formations and spent a long time climbing around and exploring. We took pictures of the sunset and enjoyed leftover lox and bagels in solidarity with Betty & Herb, who had told us this was their Sunday night custom. Then we walked around our camping loop, again with nothing but moonlight. We got back and listened to the second half of the MSU/Maryland basketball game, which MSU won convincingly. The only problem was that there was a fierce wind out of the NW with gusts up to 55mph, temperatures in the 20s predicted for the night, and we had no electricity. (Surprisingly, we have strong internet and phone signals here at the edge of the range lands and can communicate as long as our batteries last!) It was getting colder and colder and so we went to bed under lots of covers, with all the cupboards open to protect the plumbing, and the furnace set for 50°, to conserve the battery but hopefully without freezing any pipes. 

City of Rocks from the ridge leading into it

Our wonderful campsite in the rocks

City of Rocks by moonlight

Winter Travels 2019--Part 2: Houston

In Houston on the 19th, we arrived at the Lakeview RV park where we have stayed in the past, with time to un-winterize the trailer, soak in the hot tub, take showers, and get ready for my cousin Betty Ann, and her husband, Herb, to come and pick us up for dinner. It was 73° and very windy and we were glad we had taken the track we had. We were sad to find out that, along with Betty’s advancing Alzheimer’s Disease, they are dealing with Herb’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. But since Herb is an excellent story teller and conversationalist, we had plenty to talk about and had a lovely evening at Pappas Bros. Steak House, where we enjoyed Wagyu steaks, which weren’t on the menu, but Herb insisted we should order. They were heavenly, along with the lobster-stuffed deviled eggs, and the beet salad I ordered. Because it was 11:00 and raining a bit when we finished dinner, Marv and I took an Uber back to the RV park, where we fell in bed with full tummies and listened to the howling wind.

The next morning Herb and Betty returned to pick us up and take us to Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Deli for a great Brunch. Again, the conversation flowed and we reveled in the good company and warm feeling of being with family we don’t see often enough. Lox and bagels with cream cheese, and eggs to go with them would make it a two-meal day for us, and they packed up the leftovers for us to take with us (which afforded us two more meals on the road!). It was very hard to say good-bye when they took us back to our trailer, and I think we were all wondering when and if the four of us would be together again. Betty clung to me as we hugged and I felt that she had enjoyed our time as much as I had. 

Betty didn't really smile for this picture....

...so we cracked up when she gave Herb this big, cheesy grin.

Herb, Betty, Peggy & Marv at Kenny & Ziggy's New York Deli

Winter Travels 2019--Part 1: Getting to Texas

(I am taking a giant leap from Winter 2018 to Winter of 2019! During 2018 we traveled to Portugal (which I still hope to add to this Blog) in the spring and camped in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the Summer. In the fall we did a big loop with the trailer from home to Sarah's in Carmel, to the Lincoln Trail in Illinois and exhibits in Springfield, to Iowa and seeing Jean Murray, through Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula and to home. Then in October we took Sarah and Craig's family and stayed for five days in a rented trailer at Fort Wilderness at Disney World in Florida. Eli, Jordan, and Analyn were the perfect ages for that adventure and we will repeat it in about 5 years when Ken and Jen's kids, Josh and Josie are old enough to truly enjoy the magic. For now, I will try to keep up with our Winter Travels 2019 to the southwest part of America with the trailer.) 

Jan. 16-19: It was cold in East Lansing but there wasn’t much snow in this thus far unusually warm and dry Winter of 2018-19. That meant that we could easily pull out the trailer, and it made packing and loading easier than some years. After doing last minute things we left East Lansing and headed to Sarah and Craig’s with a short stop for lunch along the way. We had changed our plans at the last minute to avoid a major Winter Storm that was going to reach from California to the east coast. We decided against trying to stay a few days in Oklahoma (one of the two last states in which we want to stay overnight, along with Delaware) in order to head straight south to Houston, where the storm was supposed to bring wind and lower temperatures but not the snow and Arctic temps expected for much of the country. In Carmel, we took the family out for dinner at Max & Erma’s for Analyn’s 8^th birthday dinner. That left us three more hours to drive before we changed time zones and stopped at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Effingham, IL, where we could stay the night for free in their parking lot.

Staying for free means no electricity but we can manage just fine for a night at a time when we’re in a hurry. The temperature got down to around freezing but we stayed warm enough and, after a nice breakfast (I found out their Good Morning Breakfast has only 3 WW points!) we got back on the road for a heavy day of driving. With few stops, we made it to south of Texarkana, TX and stayed again in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel. This stop we took some time to organize our provisions a bit and realized we could easily make breakfast and lunch from what we had packed. So we ate breakfast in the camper and got an even earlier start after a not-quite-so-cold night.

Winter Travels 9

March 1-3: Going Home We stopped at a Walmart in central Alabama for the first night. As we drove along in the late afternoon that day we went through a little bit of rain and had a strong WNW wind, so in a few miles and about 30 minutes the temperature dropped from 87° to 64°! The second night we ended up at a Cracker Barrel in Scottsburg, Indiana after the Walmart there said they didn’t allow overnights anymore. The Cracker Barrel said that, because of liability issues, they couldn’t give permission but they wouldn’t kick us out either, and by morning we had one neighbor. Although there was a lot of development and building along the freeway, the area around the Courthouse in the town square was mostly abandoned when we went into Scottsburg to find a local dinner. There was one nicely decorated Bar on the square that was full of locals and we had pretty good sandwiches. Saturday morning we stopped at Sarah’s and bought doughnuts to enjoy as we celebrated Jordan’s 10^th Birthday and then went on to Ken’s to watch the Spartans lose to u/m in the Semi-final of the Big Ten Tournament. That made our return to the snow and cold of East Lansing that evening doubly depressing. But we had traveled many miles in safety and comfort and were grateful at least for that. 

Jordan opening his present as Analyn and Boppa look on.

He wanted to do his U.S. map floor puzzle right away, even before he opened his card.

He was really excited when he saw his special amount for reaching double digits!

2018 Take-aways to remember:

1.     We had sun and record high temperatures nearly the whole time we were gone, and had rain only the second night at Hillsborough River State Park and the second to the last night at Holder Mine, and none other. Even the natives and meteorologists were exclaiming that it felt more like summer in Florida. The only things that changed were the humidity and the wind.
2.     We left Michigan as the Larry Nassar scandal came to a head and we followed from afar as he was sentenced to many consecutive terms in prison, where he will live the rest of his life for abusing young girls as a gymnastics doctor.
3.     On Valentine’s Day we were horrified to hear of the massacre of 14 high schoolers and 3 teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, FL, and followed both the Florida and national debates on gun control and mental health issues.
4.     We found that we really, really enjoy our new trailer. It is easy to set-up and take down to move, and gives us a nice amount of living space during the day when the bed is folded up and we can be outside so much. My favorite thing is the bigger refrigerator with freezer which doesn’t require us to shop so often and I don’t have to be on my hands and knees to look into. The one bad thing is the very low gas mileage (around 9 MPG) we get when pulling it, even with our Ford 150 truck with Ecoboost.
5.       While we were gone we managed to watch all but one MSU Basketball game, and all but the last one were wins. We watched two of them from our campsite and most of the others at Beef O’Brady’s and were surprised that we rarely saw others who were interested in the game, on either team’s behalf. The first few games, in the midst of the Nassar troubles, when people would see our Green and White clothing, someone would always comment on the scandal but no one was ever nasty about it. Later it became a none-issue, I guess, as it faded from the News.
6.      For the first time in years. I got a cold that remained in my head and never went to my lungs. Since it was a really bad year for flu, I was so grateful to just be sneezing and blowing my nose and not feverish or achy. We took it easy a couple of days and I took Day-Quil and Night-Quil and managed to get through okay.