JJ

     Oh my gosh, what a stressful day!!  I knew I would have some downhill grades going from the Plateau at 7200+ to  Tucson at 2300+ but did NOT expect almost as many uphill grades as the downhill ones.  Lots of two-lane highway, but I expected that after going over my planned route with Warren.  Since he is very familiar with getting from the Plateau to Gilbert, he helped my figure out some easier ways to go.  Such as taking the Saguaro Lake “shortcut” and ways to bypass going through Mesa.  Still, the route was confusing and I depended upon my phone app, while being aware that it assumes a passenger vehicle, not an RV that might have height, length, and width restrictions.  And, keeping an eye on the tire psi and temperature on all the trailer tires.  And, then, the truck tires began to heat up and I couldn’t remember the upper limit for them.  I began to bite my knuckles a bit as the temp climbed past 100 degrees.  However, the psi was fine and no alarms went off, so I hoped it would be ok.

     On my gas stop I called Discount Tire to make sure they were ready for me and was told I should call and get in the “queue” about an hour out.  I did and then got into traffic so it was about an hour and a half later that my app was guiding me through a series of right turn, left turn, right turn.  It seemed a bit more straightforward when I looked at it on Mapquest…..  Then I saw the destination and my heart went right into my mouth.  Instead of a big parking lot with few parked cars,  I found a very small parking lot and many, many parked cars.  I pulled into a driveway, realizing that the only way to get out was going to be to back up.  When someone came out, I found that they had not put my name in and they wouldn’t be able to get to me for a couple of hours.  Since it was already 3:00 pm, this wasn’t good news.  They had me  park in an open parking lot down an alleyway from them (they had two guys out blocking traffic on the side street to get me out of their lot) until it was my turn.  So, Jake and I hung out in the empty lot behind Izumi Sushi.  Had a sandwich, fed Jake, and read while I waited for them to call.  Once they were ready, they had me pull straight in and park the truck in the bay and they changed out the tires in the parking lot.  Jake and I watched a really pretty sunset, but I was sad, because I didn’t know how I would find my campground and get parked in the dark.  Lord, I’m trusting in You on this one!

     My trusty phone app took me right to the campground.  Gilbert Ray Campground is in Tucson Mountain Park and right outside Saguaro NP - Tucson Mountain District.  It is off 5 miles of narrow, paved, bumpy road with no shoulders and the entrance isn’t well marked at night.  I parked near the entrance, took out a big flashlight and walked to my sight so I could see what I was in for.  Thought about just sleeping there for the night and parking in the morning, but that would have been embarrassing.  I said, Lord help me do this and got back into the truck.  It took a couple of tries, but we managed to get it done.  I just plugged in and went to bed, leaving the rest of the unhooking for tomorrow.

 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9                                                                                       SDG