A Change in Weather

A tough week!!  The sunshine left, we had wind and rain, and the lovely temperatures we’ve been having are gone although the sun is back and it certainly is a bit nicer.  As a result, we have stuck pretty close to home.  It was really nice to see a couple of rainbows after the rainstorms.

I got some sewing done so we now have new wheel covers for the motorhome.  We have been looking for some for a while now and were having trouble trying to find the correct size.  Well, I got all four done and was very pleased with myself on the finished  product.

There is quite a lot of controversy regarding the wall being built along the Mexican border so of course we had to take a drive to see it.  There are several sections, some long and some shorter, not very far from where we are.  This wall is about thirty feet high and is being built in sections.  I have included several photos – I will let you be the judge of how it looks.  There is also a lot of controversy about this wall regarding the usefulness, the effectiveness, and the cost – some say yea and some say nay, and often the comments are not that subtle.

We go for a daily walk and you never know what you might see – here is an interesting cactus that makes you wonder why it became so gnarly.

I have noticed, particularly in the southern part of Arizona, there are quite a number of shrines.  I believe that these are in honour of someone who have been killed in an accident at that particular spot.  Some are quite simple, and some are very elaborate,

An as usual, I can’t miss including another amazing sunset!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Down to Ajo

This week was moving week as we had spent our allowed time of two weeks near Tucson.  So we drove a few hours west to an area just south of Why, AZ which is about thirty miles just north of the Mexican border.


Just before we parked, we had to dump our sewer and fill with fresh water.  In the midst of a parking lot that at one time was a service station is a water tap.  I tasted it and the water tasted great so we filled up.  As we were filling, a large motorhome, towing a car, came off the highway onto the lot.  For some reason, he chose to leave the highway far faster than we would have – that motorhome bounced and rocked across the lot – I imagine a cupboard or two got re-arranged.  That all done, we drove out to the area and were able to park in quite a nice spot.

A desert woodpecker on a tall cactus

And you never know when you might have to lend a helping hand.  The washes, while not necessarily very deep, they usually have some pretty soft sand.  Here is where we got to use the Jeep as a tow vehicle.

As usual, we went for our daily walk, and as usual, we often stop to chat with other folks who are parked along our walk.  We stopped to chat with a couple that were true believers in extraterrestrial beings.  They shared a number of things – there were subs and cruise ships in outer space and anti-gravity devices are used.  They speak to the “beings” on numerous occasions.


The weather has been absolutely wonderful.  This gave me the opportunity to refinish a stand that I felt would just perk it up.  I brought it out, set it up, sanded it and started to varnish it  - oops – the varnish slipped out of my hand.  It is unbelievable how a small amount can spatter.  In my rush to get it off of my glasses, and to wash my shirt, I forgot that it may have spattered on to my hair.  Well, it did, and after it dries, there is no washing it out.


It was time to go into a larger town which is only ten miles away, Ajo, AZ, to get some groceries.   With it being Saturday, there were markets and a festival at a church. 

The church where the festival was held

There was a Mexican band that were very good and they did a great rendition of The Orange Blossom Special.  They also had a group of young girls dancing.  It was a real joy.

The town has a large artist’s school, complete with dormitories,  which is evident with all the murals in town.  There is even an alley called Artist’s Alley.

This is a great idea for the kids

One of the areas had a lot of old and different things.  I came across  this small poster which I thought was so incredibly true.

From 1916 to 1985, there was a huge copper mining operation in town.  While it is no longer operational, there is a view point at the top of the mine.  It is one and a half miles across and twelve hundred feet deep at which has quite a deep lake at the bottom which is spring fed.  There was a couple at the information centre who were incredibly knowledgeable.  The man worked at the mine for 40 years so he and/or his wife, know pretty well everything about this mine.  When you consider that the mine closed almost 35 years ago, he worked there for 40 years – well you can do the math on his approximate age.

 From there we visited the museum  - the curator was very informative.

Mid-week, some folks we had met while at Tucson, came and camped near us.  It is great fun to get together for our evening happy hour.


Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to next week.  I hope you all have a great week!

A Great Week

This week was spent just outside of Tucson enjoying the area, the wonderful folks camped near us, and the weather.   We started the week by going out for a drive in search of other camping spots in the area.  As most of you know, we tend to  boondock which is staying in an area with no water, sewer, or electricity – often this means out in the desert.   Since we are totally self-sufficient, this gives us lots of nice quiet areas while we are still able to enjoy the amenities of water and electricity.  While we were not able to find anything new that would work for us, we did see some great scenery.

Not far from here is the Titan Missile Museum.  This is the only remaining missile that has been preserved of the 54 that were spread throughout Arizona, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.  It was in  place during the Cold War years from 1963 to 1987 in the event of an attack by another country.  This missile promoted the belief of Peace by Deterrence – peace would be attained simply  by the threat of a nuclear attack.  I found it rather disconcerting by the fact that the missile could be launched by the order of only one person but fortunately that order never came.  The tour was very interesting!!

Radar to detect outside intrusion

The control room 

An antenna outside the site

The missile

Suits that had to be worn to deliver the fuel

Much of the area was built on springs like these to eliminate movement during an attack

Another day on a drive we came across the Wipple Observatory which is part of the Smithsonian Institute.  There were a number of huge telescopes as well and a large one on top of a mountain.  We were not able to go up to the one on the mountaintop as they were doing some road construction. 

A couple of telescopes

Research activities include imaging and spectroscopy of extragalactic, stellar, solar system and extra-solar bodies, as well as gamma-ray and cosmic-ray astronomy.


The weather this past week has, once again, been perfect.  As well, there is a group of folks here that have been incredibly friendly and fun to be with.  While some of them have moved on, many are still here and we enjoy their friendship daily – hopefully we will be able to meet again down the road.

Our Site

Us from up above

An Arizona Sunset

Thanks for stopping by - hope you have a great week!!

Perfect Weather

We started the week in Page, Arizona with full intentions of spending the week touring and checking out the area.  Sunday morning was a beautiful day so we decided to take a drive out to Horseshoe Bend which is a horseshoe shape of the Colorado River – a very scenic spot which is often photographed and displayed in articles featuring the American Southwest. Unfortunately, my photos really don't do it justice!!

There is a lot of red rocky areas.  It looks like slices of rock were pushed - quite amazing we find.

The weather prediction said – high winds, cold, chance of rain and/or snow flurries.  Enough said so we decided that our plan was going to change.  That afternoon the wind blew and continued through most of the night.  Come morning, the wind had died down, we looked outside – no snow, so we packed up and headed south down the road.  While we didn’t get any snow, it was obvious that some areas did get some of that white stuff as we saw a lot of vehicles with an inch or two of snow on their roof.  And any snow removal from the windows was often haphazard at best – a swipe with the hand, and they were good to go.  It was warm enough that the snow on the pavement quickly melted although it did create that road grime splash.

We got down to Tucson and the sun was shining and the temperatures were exactly what we were looking for.  We found a spot to  park temporarily; however, we quite like what we found so will likely stay here for a couple of weeks which is the maximum length we can stay.


We went for a drive out into the country and it seems that there is a lot of cotton grown.  In past years when we saw cotton fields in this area at this time, the fields are mostly harvested.  I don’t know if perhaps we were later in the year, or maybe the crops were later, but the fields seem to be quite green although we did see one field being harvested.

Since we did hit some mucky roads, it was also time to clean up the motorhome so it is now polished and waxed.  This means that we can spend the next week or so enjoying the incredibly lovely weather that we are now getting and  to check out more of the area.


I hope everyone has a great week and hopefully you will stop by again!!