Day 29 ~ Saguaro NP Tucson Mountain District
JJ
Started the day, by showing off how well God and I did last night getting parked! Not too shabby considering the rocks and cactus and table complicating things.
I did not know that Saguaro NP is actually two parks separated by about 33 miles. It takes a good hour to drive from one to the other and each has something unique to offer. One thing I did not take into account when making my plan is that this park is NOT going to be pet friendly. Duh!! It’s all about cactus!! Thus, there are only a few trails that allow pets and for very good reason. If you’ve never been around cholla cactus, it propagates by breaking off and clinging to shoes, clothing, hats, and skin. So you are just as likely to encounter it on a trail as anywhere else. Fortunately in November the weather is cool enough that Jake could stay in the truck safely as long as I wasn’t gone very long. That said, I only went on a couple of short hikes and only the ones that he could go on with me. But I did leave him in the back when I parked at a pullout to set up my tripod and shoot for an hour or so.
I spent today at the closest spot, it is only about 4 miles from Gilbert Ray Campground to the NP entrance. There is no gate, but entrance fees can be paid at the visitor center. There is a paved .5 mile nature walk that Jake and I took that provides information about the various types of cactus and inhabitants of the Sonoran desert. We also spent time driving through the park and taking advantage of the various pullouts.
I need to find a store and also need to fill up the truck. So, off we go again into town. Diesel was easy, getting to a Walmart not so much. But we got there and I found the water filter I needed along with the 1/2” extension for the torque wrench. Just a few groceries so it didn’t take long. Time to get back to camp, have lunch, and start the evening drive in search of photos. Except, right next to Walmart is a Blake’s Lotaburger. Hmmm, I wonder…. Yep, sure enough, right there on the menu, “a NM style hamburger with our signature Hatch green chile”. Guess what I had for lunch?! ^_^
Some of my best shots were taken right from our campsite. Sunset and sunrise. Both parks offer a driving loop through the various cacti with points of interest and/or trailheads to provide photo ops.
Day 30 ~ Saguaro NP Rincon Mountain District & Rincon Mountain District
Today is cloudy and windy so we spent the time mostly driving. First through the Bajada Scenic Loop, an unpaved, washboard road through some beautiful cactus formations. Back to camp for lunch and then off to the east portion. It is very windy, lots of sand/dust in the air and cloudy in the park. So, not a lot of opportunities for glowing landscapes, but the sun peeked out every now and then and I took advantage. This loop drive is all paved, thank goodness, and it is one way for most of the way so you don’t have a lot of need to pull over for passing vehicles. I used the pullouts to let people around when it was obvious they were anxious to get to a trailhead, not just enjoying the scenic drive.
Day 31 ~ Preparing for the trip to White Sands NP
Today was spent getting ready to hook up and go to Alamogordo, New Mexico. I need to put the TPMS sensors on the new trailer tires, double check my route, and button everything up.
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
Day 22 and 23 ~
Learned that running the furnace all night pretty much drains the battery on the trailer. Oops! So, since it is pretty chilly up here on the Mogollon Plateau at 7200+ fee, this will be a good time to bust out the generator and figure out how that works too! Not bad at all, but I do need to get a small gas can and some gas. Since my original plan did not include dry camping, I left just a small amount of gas in the generator before I loaded it up in Montana. Since most of the trailers in this camp are toy haulers, they come with a fueling station built in. Thus, I can refuel from here, but will need a gas can eventually anyway, so off to Flagstaff and Walmart I go. This turned out to be an excellent idea as you will see later on.
Just hanging out, reading, walking Jake and in general relaxing. I think I have met everyone now except for one guy that left for a few days to celebrate his wife’s birthday. Spent some time reviewing photos and catching up my blog.
Warren helped me figure out the problem with the locking ramp. One ramp keeps locking up and it maybe is tweaked somehow. At any rate, he let me know what tools I need and how to go about correcting the problem if it happens again. In any case, I’ve found that lifting Jake in and out of the truck is easier and faster than dragging the ramps out every time. I’ll still need the ramps for the generator, but Jake is good to go for now.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” — 2 Corinthians 5:7
Day 24 ~
These guys are really roughing it…. In between hunting forays (so far 3 tags filled) they are listening to the football games. After the evening hunt today, someone hooked up their big screen TV outside the camper and they’re all gathered around watching the late games. A bit different from our hunting trips, but to each his own!! ^_^
Day 25 ~
This morning as I am sort of reviewing and inspecting this and that, I noticed that the front tire on the off side of the camper is showing signs of cracking in the firewall. Fairly significant cracking. I did check the manufacture date on them as I was working to set up the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and found that they were built in 2012. The general rule for camper tires is 5 years, mostly due to UV damage from being parked where the sun beats on them. However, Warren and I both inspected them in Montana and pronounced them OK. However, the weight of the loaded trailer and the miles I have put on them are apparently breaking them down. I’ll ask Warren to help me change this one for one of the spares I have before I leave.
This afternoon, the guys were told by the Forest Service that they would have to vacate the area as they have exceeded the 14-day period. I am the only one allowed to stay. At which point, I told Warren what I found on the tire and he agrees it needs to be changed, but right now the priority is getting everyone moved to a new location. I told him I really didn’t want to have to load up and move, and that I would be fine staying here by myself as long as he comes back in the next day or two to help me change the tire. So, within an hour, I was suddenly dry camping by myself! Lucky I made that trip into Flagstaff to get more gas for the generator since all the fueling stations up and left!
It is a little weird being by myself. But, it isn’t like I haven’t been alone before. In 3 years of consulting work, there were many times that I found myself alone in situations where it could have been problematic. Going to a movie by myself was weird the first time I did it. However, for over a year now, I have been on my own, making all the decisions, and taking care of myself. I do have sufficient firepower available should it be needed. I have God and his angels to call on, together we can meet whatever challenge comes along!
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Deuteronomy 31:6
Day 26 ~
I didn’t sleep well last night, maybe because it is just sooooo much quieter!!! After all, the guys seemed to stay up pretty late each night even though they were up before daylight to hunt. The good news is that I don’t have to be quite so diligent about Jake staying close to me. There are no other camps near so he can wander a bit further and still be in sight. Mostly, he just stays by me or in his crate. I really enjoy having time to read without feeling guilty!! It isn’t as if I can work right now anyway since the laptop is working only on the battery.
Warren came over and we got the tire changed. This morning, I checked the other tires and checked the air in the spare I want to use. Good thing, it is at 30 psi instead of 50. So, fire up the generator and get out the air compressor and air it up. Take the TPMS sensor off the bad tire and put it on the spare so I’m all ready. Get out the breaker bar and the torque wrench and look up the torque chart in the Jayco book (although I don’t understand it) because I know we’ll need it! Warren left his awesome hydraulic jack and 4-way star wrench here so we had all we needed. He walked me through what he was doing so I would understand, which I appreciated. He said I also needed to get an extension for the torque wrench as it is too short to use the way it comes. Found that the rear tire on the off side is also beginning to crack so I called several tire places in Tucson to see who could replace all the tires on Thursday. I’ll go there first and head to the campground once the tires are installed. Hindsight being 20/20, I probably should have done that before I left Montana.
Tomorrow I’m planning to drive to Mormon Lodge to see what is needed to dump the holding tanks before I start down off the Plateau heading to Tucson. I told Warren I would stop by the new deer camp to say goodbye.
” A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Proverbs 17:17
Day 27 ~
Slept better last night, maybe because I stayed up a bit later or maybe because it was a bit warmer last night. Drove to Mormon Lake Lodge to see where to go tomorrow morning to dump the holding tanks and then stopped by the new deer camp to say goodbye. Nobody was there when I arrived but it wasn’t long until people started to drift in for lunch. Stayed a couple of hours and then headed back to Nohana to start getting ready to head to Tucson tomorrow morning. It will be warmer tonight so I decided to load up the generator and get the truck rearranged for traveling. Already made arrangements to buy 4 new tires for Nohana in Tucson at Discount Tire. I want to get there as early as I can to be sure I have time to get to the campground while it is still light as this is my first back-in site….
