Author: Easin' Along

Almost two years ago, I discovered the blog Live, Laugh, RV. I’m not sure how it happened, but I probably found it listed on one of the blog rolls that I was following at the time.  Ingrid, the author, and her husband Al had retired from their careers as homebuilders and began a life as full-time RVers. The blog is very well-written, but, more than that, her photography is stunning.  They were living around Corpus Christie, TX at the time and Ingrid would hike around the lakes and ponds and capture incredible pictures of waterfowl. I was immediately drawn in by her art.

I commented on her blog several times and, when she and Al relocated to Arizona sometime later, I contacted Ingrid by email to ask for suggestions on where to camp. We were thinking about making a trip to Arizona once we learned that RV sites in Florida are nearly impossible to obtain in the winter. Ingrid was kind enough to reply and sent a lengthy list of suggestions. I began working on reservations immediately.  That was over a year ago. We stayed in touch and, as we moved across the Southwest, I contacted Ingrid and asked if she would be willing to meet us at Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction, AZ for some hiking and perhaps a photography lesson. Thankfully, it worked out, and they met us on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Ingrid and Al are a lively, fun couple. Helen and I liked them immediately.  After a period of getting acquainted and a brief tour of Lucy, we prepared for some hiking in Lost Dutchman. Ingrid suggested we take Jacob’s Crosscut Trail which is relatively flat and that we should be able to complete in less than an hour—perfect! While out on the trail, Ingrid walked me through some of the settings on my camera.  My travel camera is a Lumix DC-ZS70 that I purchased from Amazon. I love this lightweight, compact camera, but I have a lot to learn about it. It was only fitting that Ingrid would give me lessons on the Lumix because I bought it after reading her review on her blog.

We started with the lessons as soon as we spotted wildflowers. Recently, Ingrid posted an article on Live, Laugh, RV about bokeh, the process of blurring the background and leaving the main image sharp in the foreground. I asked her to show me how she does it, then set the camera and snapped away.  I think it went well for the first attempt.

We went through several camera settings for different situations and different compositions and, by the time we ended our hike, I had a nearly full memory card, and I felt an entirely new comfort level with this camera. Ingrid was very patient, accommodating, and very careful to avoid throwing more at me than I could absorb on one short hike in light conditions that would not change. She also did not bring her usual camera equipment on this hike, preferring instead to work with a new iPhone that she purchased a day earlier. After some usage, she said that she missed her camera.

I’m not sure how long we were on the trail, but time went quickly, and we made our way back to Lucy in time to go to Goldfield Ghost Town for lunch. Before we left for Ghost Town, I set up my Canon T6i camera on a tripod and took a group picture to mark the occasion. The Superstition Mountains are in the background.

Our lunch at Goldfield Ghost Town included both tasty food and delightful entertainment. We sat on the porch near a small stage where country western singers serenaded us as we ate.  Mingled around were characters dressed in cowboy attire as well as real cowboys and cowgirls who arrived at Ghost Town on horseback.  All, including us, had a great time, but Ingrid and Al had an hour or more drive to their home, and it was getting late in the afternoon, so we said our goodbyes and promised to stay in touch.  I am very grateful for their time and hospitality.

After a down day for laundry and housekeeping, Helen and I were ready for some more hiking.  We decided to bite off a bit more this time and follow the Treasure Loop Trail that would take us to the base of the Superstitions and cover slightly more than two miles. We were aware that there would be some steepness involved, but we felt pretty frisky on a beautiful day. Again, I felt compelled to fill the memory card on my Lumix camera.  The desert wildflowers and cactus blooms were everywhere, and the vistas from the high points of the trail had much to offer a wannabe photographer. I have placed a few examples here.

 

Late that afternoon, we drove to nearby Mesa, AZ for dinner at Organ Stop Pizza, a favorite of Ingrid and Al, featuring the largest Wurlitzer Organ ever built. We placed an order for our pizza, then struggled to find a seat in the sizeable arena-style dining room, complete with balcony. About the time our order was served, we located seats on the main floor in the corner of the room. The organist (and his HUGE organ) is on a stage above the crowd.  Behind the organ are rooms (yes rooms) filled with pipes and bellows to amplify the music. The organist played old favorites and show tunes like the theme from Star Wars, and It’s a Small World After All. During some of the songs, a light show would appear and fill the room with hundreds of moving lights. The pizza was delicious and topped only by the outstanding musical show.

We arrived back at the Lost Dutchman State Park Campground right at sunset. I grabbed my camera, adjusted the settings, and snapped until my fingers were numb. I don’t know if my teacher is proud of her student’s progress, but I’m sure proud of this picture. I still have a long way to go however, so I’ll continue…Easin’ Along.

Our plans in Tucson called for camping at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, one of the few military campgrounds that do not accept reservations. We weren’t worried however because the campground has 198 sites plus an overflow area and felt confident that there would be space for Lucy. Wrong! On the way in, Helen received a message from her friend Pete about a huge airshow scheduled during our time there and space would be very tight. He recommended Voyager RV Resort near the Base as a place to contact. It’s good to have friends.

It turns out that the Voyager Resort has an affiliation with the Thousand Trails organization and we obtained a membership when we purchased Lucy. Therefore, we could camp at a first-class resort for about less than the price of the Air Force Base. Learning this, we extended our stay in Tucson for two extra days. Voyager Resort has three swimming pools, dozens of pickleball and tennis courts, a pub and grill, and a laundry. We would indeed be “glamping” for the next four days.

Helen did her usual research and decided that on day two, we should drive to the summit of Mt. Lemmon, the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains at an elevation of 9,159 feet. We heard that there was snow on the ground there along with great opportunities for picture taking. The ride up was fascinating as there were Saguaro (Say-wa-row) cactus on both sides of the road up to about 4,000 feet where they suddenly disappeared. At that point, the rock formations stood out and were equally fascinating.

As predicted, we began to see snow at around 7,000 feet. Snow had fallen recently, and snow melts slowly there. The ski resort closed for the season on the day we arrived. We walked through the small ski village before beginning our trek back down the mountain. We stopped for a short hike at one overlook and grabbed a few pictures from the side of the mountain. Tucson is visible in the distance (image above).

The next day temperatures were delightfully crisp and the sky a brilliant bright blue; a perfect day for a hike. Pete, a childhood friend, neighbor, and former classmate of Helen’s agreed to serve as a guide for a couple of tenderfeet from Tennessee. Pete has lived in Tucson for over twenty years and is a student of geology. He has a passion for studying the Prehistoric inhabitants of the desert and uncovering the tools, artifacts, and drawings they left behind–things that Helen and I know little about. We met at his office and drove to a private ranch north and west of Tucson in an area Pete referred to as the Chirreon Canyon. Once we left the main highway, a Diamondback rattlesnake came out to greet us. He seemed a bit miffed that we disturbed his nap, so we drove around him.

Pete’s knowledge of the desert and almost everything found there is remarkable. He always carries a rock hammer with him and is continually picking at the sun-baked sand while he walks. From the moment we left the car, we began to find pieces of pottery about the size of silver dollars. One part that I picked up had coloring that indicated a design of some sort painted on a pot or bowl. These pieces were everywhere around us.

Also around us were cacti of every variety including Saguaro, Cholla, and Barrel cactus. Helen, wearing only sneakers and not boots, suddenly felt something sharp on the bottom of her foot. When she removed her shoe, Pete used his knife to remove three cactus spines that had penetrated the sole. They came from Barrel cactus and served as further evidence of Helen’s tenderfoot status.

The ruins that we uncovered most likely came from the Hohokam (Ho-ho-kom) culture that occupied the area from around 700 to 1300 AD. The Apaches arrived about 1300 AD, and the Hohokam migrated out. According to Pete, the ceramics we found are the most defining markers of the cultures in general and the Hohokams in particular.

We saw other evidence of a Prehistoric culture when Pete led us to some ancient drawings or “petroglyphs” made by ancient peoples on the large rocks in the desert. Pete said these drawings were created thousands of years before the Hohokams arrived, maybe 5,000 years earlier. We saw a faded sketch of what appears to be a horse or antelope, and another drawing of a group of men. Again, fascinating.

On our way out of the area, Pete suddenly stopped his car then walked to the side of the trail to pick up three rocks about the size of softballs. These are called Manos and probably came from the Hohokam period. The Hohokams used these rocks to grind grain into flour on a more massive stone called a metate. The grinding movement eventually wore one side of the Mano smooth as shown in this picture. Pete gave us one of the Manos and said it was museum quality. It will stay with us forever.

At the end of a great day, our last view of the desert was a patch of Bluebonnets along our trail. Thanks, Pete. It was great Easin’ Along with you.

Del Rio was interesting and beautiful, and we were in no hurry to leave, but the time came to move on.  I always heard that Texas is big, but, until you attempt to drive across the state, it’s hard to fathom how big. Our destination was White Sands, New Mexico and a campsite at the White Sands Missile Range, but there was no way we could get there in one day.  Therefore, we booked a one night stay at Hilltop RV Park in Fort Stockton, TX, a town approximately halfway between San Angelo and El Paso.

Hilltop RV Park had the best reviews on RV Trip Wizard, and I understand why.  The Park is owned and operated by a lovely couple who were very welcoming to Helen and me.  The Park had spacious campsites, and the showers and bathrooms were spotless. That’s about all one could ask for during a one-night visit. Once we pulled in, we met Judy and Warren from Seattle who owns a fifth-wheel that is the same make as our Lucy.  Warren had a wealth of information on some of the features of Lucy that I had not yet discovered. The most valuable bit of information was a feature that resets our fifth-wheel to the precise position it was in when we unhooked and before we leveled it.  This feature allows us to reconnect without going through a bunch of steps to reset the hitch height.  Sounds trivial, but it makes a big difference on moving day.

I took three pictures in Fort Stockton; the park office, a statue of a Roadrunner, and a group of metal cowboy and Indian figures that stood on a hill across the highway. I thought they all made good pictures.

White Sands is a fantastic place and so very picturesque. All along the roads leading to the Missile Range, the California Poppies painted the desert floor a bright yellow (photo above). We stayed here two years ago on our first RV experience in Sherman. On this trip, we were assigned the same campsite on the end of the row of the eight sites there. I remember thinking on our last visit that this campground has to be the best-kept secret in the Military Campground inventory.  Only four of the eight sites were in use. As soon as we pulled in, a speedy Roadrunner greeted us.

 

The next morning, we woke early to catch the sunrise as the rays fell on the Organ Mountains to Lucy’s front. The view certainly added a pleasant experience to our morning coffee. We caught up on email and phone calls for the rest of the morning then watched our Tennessee Vols win a Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament.

 

The White Sands National Monument is about ten miles from the Missile Range.  Helen wanted to hike one of the Nature Trails before dark, so we were off as soon as the final whistle sounded in the basketball game.  We arrived to find a surprisingly large crowd of tourists at the Visitor’s Center. Helen picked up a trail map and got a few tips from a nice Park Ranger.

 

The White Sand is white gypsum that comes out of the surrounding mountains and has no place to go. Water does flow into the area, but it settles through the gypsum into the earth below, and the white, granular material settles in the valley. The winds shift the “sand” into huge dunes. Driving in, we saw a lot of kids sledding down the dunes on plastic discs.  One girl fell off her sled as she chased her friend down a dune hill and gave me a chance to take her picture.

We chose a one-mile Nature Trail about three or four miles from the entrance.  Information markers along the trail pointed out the wildlife, reptiles (rattlesnakes) and plants found in the White Sands desert and made the short hike very interesting. According to the markers, most of the wildlife came out during the night to hunt for food.  We saw only a few hawks, but the scenery was the star of the show.

We left White Sands the next morning. Our visit was short, but we felt rested and ready for Tucson, AZ and a wonderful time searching for ancient Native American artifacts.  Please come back.  Until then, we’re Easin’ Along.