Monday, let the packing begin!

Yesterday morning we met Cindy P, Walter and their daughter Geneva at Benson's Horseshoe Cafe.    

steaks & spirits - not to mention
delicious waffles and eggs benedict!

They drove over from Tucson ostensibly to have breakfast with us, but I know the trip was really made to pick up the Julian Pie I had for them.    We forgot to hand the pie off to them the other day when they visited us at Catalina State Park and it must have been weighing on Cindy's mind.....she's such a sweet face.

sweet face Cindy P!

Whatever the reason it was great to see them and Geneva again over a yummy meal.

Geneva

The rest of the day was spent baking cookies and sorting through Christmas clothing.    I remember one of the reasons I love traveling in Beluga so much - no deciding which clothes I might need and then trying to jam them into a suitcase!

Today Beluga got her last bath of the year (we drove through lots of rain on our way here) and I filled the bed, chairs and dinette with clothing, Christmas decorations to take, food, dog supplies, etc.

We had to eat our lunch on the couch because every other available space was filled with things staged and ready to be packed.  The dogs loved the break in routine and took full advantage.

By the end of the day the jeep was loaded and ready for our drive to Christmas!

We'll leave early in the morning and drive to somewhere near Albuquerque.  The next morning we'll finish our journey to Santa Fe and Jesse and Erin will join us there on Christmas Eve Day.   We can't wait!

my last Arizona sunset of the year!

  

Saturday

This morning we said good bye to Catalina State Park and drove an easy 60 miles to Benson, Arizona.    Most of the day was cloudy and cool, contrary to the weather reports.    Tonight we're settled into the site where Beluga will stay until after the holidays.  

 
Cloudy days bring spectacular sunsets in the desert.

Friday

Yesterday Cindy P and Walter came over to continue our abbreviated visit and have lunch with us.    The sun was warm by the time they got here and we were able to sit outside and enjoy the views.

After our meal we had time to take a short walk down the bridle path.   They brought one of their little Dachshunds (Simon) along so he joined us for our walk.

Warm in the sun, cold in the shade, however.   We encountered ice in the puddles on the trail.

puddles turned to ice in the shade

Today was our last day here and I'm bummed.   I don't feel like we were really able to take advantage of all that Catalina has to offer.   Perhaps we can squeeze another visit in later this winter.

It was a beautiful morning so we enjoyed a very long second cup outside watching our bird friends.

even the dogs were transfixed by the bird traffic

this finch spent a long time splashing wildly in our "water feature"

The afternoon was spent washing both dogs and trimming Lewis' sweet face in preparation for Christmas with Jesse and Erin.   I made the dough for some chocolate crinkle Christmas cookies and froze dough for another.

Dear friend Judi made and sent us some of her famous cutout cookies last week and I had all intentions of frosting and decorating them.     Best laid plans.....

decimated box of cut outs

She even sent colored sugar to make them pretty.   Sorry Judi, they were just too darn good.    It doesn't seem worth it to make frosting for the remaining 6 bells...

sunset's rosy glow

Brrrrr Catalina

We left Picacho State Park in the rain, never fun.   It rained the entire way to Catalina State Park.  

 It was still pelting when we arrived so we decided to wait it out in the picnic area.     As soon as the puddles looked still, we raced to our site and settled in.   We love this park, most of the sites are quite large and the campground is situated in a grassy forest of mostly mesquite and paloverde trees, perfect for birdwatching.   There are a number of interesting hikes within the park from easy to difficult.    The beautiful Santa Catalina Mountains form a majestic backdrop giving us the feeling we're in the middle of the wilderness (except for the other campers, of course....) but the close proximity of Tucson gives us access to the ever important Whole Foods, Trader Joes and assorted restaurants.   Best of both worlds.

snow on the Santa Catalinas as Dave begins hooking up

my new front yard

The weather turned from rain to clear and calm.   Clear and very cold.

our black jeep's frosty roof

  Monday night our furnace thermostat was acting wonky, locking up and not allowing us to change temperature or zones.   Dave fiddled with it a bit and everything seemed to be fine so we went to bed with the heat on to ward off the predicted hard freeze temperatures.   Around 4:30 a.m. we were propelled out of our bed by a loud, grinding, whirring, banging noise.    Dave quickly decided it was our furnace, looked for a breaker to throw and, failing to find one,  finally unplugged the thermostat and the noise stopped.     28 degrees outside and no furnace....

Long story short, Dave did some internet homework, called a few people and decided to make an appointment at Premier Motor Coach Services in Tucson.  John Wright had used them in the past and recommend their work.

I busied myself packing up some things I thought we may need for a day away from home and perhaps a night at a hotel.  

Premier called back and said they would be able to squeeze us in for a diagnosis so off we all went.      Eric and his staff were very accommodating, they pulled Beluga right in the shop and assured us they'd get to the bottom of the problem.

Since we had to scrap our days lunch plans with Cindy and Walter I called to see if we could drive over and visit while Beluga was being worked on.  I packed a quick lunch and loaded the dogs into the jeep.   It only took us about a half hour to reach the Health and Harmony Ranch where they are camped while visiting their daughter.  

desert dwellers Walter and Cindy P

 It was so great to see them again.     They were such a part of our everyday lives   when we were neighbors back in Geneseo and its hard having such long absences now.     They brought their lunches out into the desert and we sat in the sun and had a great chat.     They're coming over tomorrow for that previously canceled lunch.

After our visit we went back to see how Premier was making out in finding our furnace problem.   We had steeled ourselves to the need for a new furnace, the kind of noise we heard made us sure the news would not be good.

Good news!   The furnace was fine, they were just putting it back together again after a little adjustment and then cleaning out all the fur and left over body parts......It turns out that the terrible noise was the result of  a mouse crawling into the furnace fan blade, tangling with it and causing the fan to grind to a stop.

Who'd have thought that!    We were prepared for a big bill and a possible overnight away from Beluga but were happily surprised.   A real holiday gift.  They ordered a new thermostat since this one is known for being fussy and we were on our way.     I can't say enough about the guys at Premier Motor Coach Services and would use them again for any thing Beluga needs int he future.

After a very long day, and breaking a cardinal rule (driving Beluga on unfamilar roads in the dark AND pulling into a campsite after dark) we had a nice warm sleep.

This morning, once again, everything was frozen over and the poor birds were practically tapping on our window for their pan of water and hummingbird feeder.   I bring it inside now so they don't have to try and drink frozen nectar!

a bad picture of a pair waiting for their morning drink!

I opened the windshield curtains and through the frosty glass I saw this little man looking in the side mirror, just quietly waiting.....

I'm waiting.....

Today was a bit of a catch up day.   Dave did a little work around Beluga, changing out rear tail light lenses, fixing the shower door latch and deciding how he would go about installing an automatic fire extinguisher in our exterior refrigerator compartment.

 
We ran some errands in Tucson and ended the day at Pam and John's for a yummy birthday dinner.    Pam made her famous version of Paella and they bought me a beautiful little jewel of a birthday cake.....they even sang at me!    Such good friends we have, thanks guys.   See you after the holidays.

Sunday

Today just got away from me.    We woke to impossibly blue and cloudless skies.   So much better than yesterday morning....

 Today's second cup outside required our fleece vests, but it was glorious nonetheless.    The air was quite chilly, but the sun was nice and warm.  Birds, birds, birds.   I added a bird book and binoculars to my usual cup of tea and digestives and spent a long morning just watching the little birds coming and going.    Dave put a shallow pan of water under the seed feeder and  more inquisitive, thirsty friends joined our second cup.    We were busy juggling tea/coffee, digestives, book, binoculars and camera so not many photos were taken.    Second cup stretched til well after noon.    So nice to have no schedule.

Since we're leaving here in the morning we haven't refilled the seed or hummingbird feeders but the precocious pair of Gila woodpeckers managed to fill their bellies at both.     Where there's a will there's a way evidently.

I've identified three new to me birds....three to add to my life list.   Dave noticed a Loggerhead Shrike atop a nearby Saguaro, we've been visited by a very busy flock of little Lark Buntings, and two shy Black-throated Sparrows have been hopping about below the seed feeder.    In addition to these three, we have enjoyed watching Cactus Wren's, Purple Finches, White Crowned Sparrows, Crissal's Thrashers, and a gregarious pair of Gila Woodpeckers to name but a few.

We did get up off our outside chairs a couple times to take Lewis on a desert walk and to do a shortish (about a mile and a half) hike to a nice viewpoint in the peaks above the campground.

a quick duck under the wire fence and the desert is ours

view from Calloway Trail.   Beluga is the white speck to the left
of the lava stone mountain rising from the desert.

This doesn't look like a trail Dave.....

We set off on an "alternate" trail and did a bit of rock scrambling and tree ducking (I'll follow him anywhere.....) before picking up the clearly marked trail and enjoyed some pretty views along the way.

I send Dave on ahead to scout for the real trail

Our climb did not entail the use of chains, cables and catwalks like the 6 hour one that Pam and John chose.    I'm sure you're not surprised.

Sunset tonight was a non-event, the sky was completely clear and the sun dipped quietly below the horizon.

Last nights, however, was another spectacular one, preceded by a huge rainbow right over Beluga.

Tomorrow morning we're off to Catalina State Park for a week.    We have friends to visit there.

Happy Hour Show

Today's cloudy skies slowly dissolved into a most beautiful sunset.    What spectacular entertainment Mother Nature provided.

A treat in every direction.

TA DA!

What can I say?

next stop

After a four and a half hour drive we're happily settled into our site at Picacho Peak State Park, north of Tucson, Arizona.     We were surprised at how green the desert was along our route.

Picacho Peak in the distance

my new front yard

our sunny site through Beluga's windshield

We have a nice site with a lovely view of the sunset.   There are a few people in some of the other sites, but we're situated in such a way that our site feels very private.

day dreaming at happy hour

reflected sunset