A wash with water…

 Likely one of the most prominent issues in Arizona is ‘water’.  Whether it’s falling from the sky, laying down as white stuff (snow), or drying up before your eyes and creating deserts, it factors into most conversations and many problem solving maneuvers. As I write this I’m enjoying sunshine and a warmish breeze in Kartchner Caverns State Park (which I will tell you about in another post). Todays accounting is about leaving Catalina SP; the how and the when.  

Weather over the past week has not been too friendly. Between winds gusting and causing campsite challenges and water falling in sheets of rain, we’ve had to be more aware of our surroundings than we might be otherwise.  For instance, when we arrived at Catalina, and after we’d set up camp, the resident Park Host appeared to advise us against altering anything to do with the small trench running off the rear of our parking pad.  “That”, she explained, “is a trench we dug to drain water off your site.” Little did we know how much we would appreciate that wee groove.

Our second to last day was marked by watching the trench fill up and then trickle down and then fill up again.  The closest the water got to Lucy was on one side only and that was two feet away, so we felt quite lucky.  Our last night there was Wednesday night and the weather pattern of gusting winds and heavy rain continued through the night.  Thankfully it stopped sometime before dawn and the water drainage system did its thing, leaving us with a dry parking pad.

We rose early on Thursday morning for two reasons; to leave early enough to arrive at our next destination before the high winds forecast for Kartchner Caverns SP appeared - and so as to, hopefully, book a campsite for next year (which needs to be attempted at precisely 0800 one year in advance). Now then, you may recall I told you about the flash floor warning passed on to us by another camper. I remembered it too as transiting the ‘dip’ in the road was part of actually being able to leave Catalina SP and… that is the dip that apparently floods during heavy rains.  Luckily I noticed the uniformed Park Ranger speaking with our neighbouring campers and I meandered out to see what was up.  It was about 0730 hrs. and Kathy was on line getting ready to press “send” at 0800. We had the truck and trailer hooked up and the  ony thing left to do was to unplug the power cord and secure a few things.

Am I ever glad I wandered out to speak to the Ranger. After the usual pleasantries, I asked him how things were going. He replied “the water’s running”.  I confirmed he was speaking about the wash and then asked if he thought we could still get out.  He eyeballed our rig, paused for a moment, and said “yup, it you leave NOW.” “We’re leaving NOW”, I proclaimed… and the race was on,

Electrical cord unplugged, wiped clean and stowed; check. Dog into backseat of truck with blankets and toys; check. TV laid to rest on bed; check. Security bars into fridge; check. Trailer legs wound up and locked in place; check. Pieces of wood boards used for said legs stowed in truck; check. Kathy’s computer and all her workings safely stowed; check. We were ready to go in less than 15 minutes and peeled out of there before the water got much higher.  The wash wasn’t as high as I had feared it would be and we managed to swoosh through it at a good clip - spraying muddy water up the sides of Lucy and definitely washing off the bottoms of both Lucy and Ricky.  Then we found a side road marked “Authorized Vehicles Only” and, agreeing we were certainly an authorized vehicle, we turned into an open area suitable for parking and completed the campsite reservation process. We then stopped at the ‘Dump Site to complete the last, and most important, domestic duty… before leaving the Park and heading on our way.’

So, that is my story for today…. a little peek into the trials and tribulations of camping in the desert during unsettled weather. Thank goodness for well organized Parks and friendly staff.

Hope all is well with each of you, your trenches are clear and your washes are dry. TTFN. CJ

A few more photos from Catalina SP

 

Hiking with our friend Donna, camp sites and puppy dog.

A few photos from Catalina State Park

 

Some spectacular cloud formations and sunsets; shades of what was to come??

Tue. Feb. 21: Heavy rain, thunder storms, lightening, snow and flash floods

That is today’s weather forecast… for today, tonight and tomorrow.  Just thought you’d be interested. 🤔  I know many of you are still dealing with freezing temps and snow but the desert weather this year is definitely nastier than usual. We had to move sites today (it’s called the Catalina Shuffle and this will be our third site in four days).  It has become very difficult to book sites in the Arizona State Parks system.  It was hard before but they have recently ‘upgraded’ their booking system to something so poor that not even the staff know how to manage it. It’s very difficult to book sites for several consecutive nights; hence the Catalina Shuffle and a timing issue for those leaving each morning and those waiting to do the shuffle and move to another.

_______________

I wrote the above paragraph yesterday afternoon. It’s now 0554 Wednesday morning and the wind and rain have moved in overnight just as predicted.  Little Lucy is rocking with the wind gusts and her hatches are rattling even though they’re closed tight.  I don’t think we’ve lost anything but it’s still too dark to look and, until the fast moving gusts slow down, I won’t be opening the door to find out.  I wish I could remember if we closed (and secured) the lid to the propane tank cover.  Anyway, we three are fine; at least two are sleeping soundly and the other… well that’s me and I’m chatting with you - so we’re all accounted for.

The wind and rain are expected to continue right through today and we have fingers crossed 🤞that the little run-off trench created by our park hosts at the rear of our site -  works. Apparently this particular site (A15) is a ‘wet’ one in heavy rains and, in this case, ‘wet’ could easily read ‘floods’.  The trench was doing its job at last light so we’ll see how it’s doing when dawn arrives.  I should mention we received a small piece of paper from another camper yesterday. She had been given it when she arrived and it is a notice about the tendency for flooding at this park.  It seems there’s a dip in the main road that becomes a stream or river during some of the heaviest rains.  Should that happen access (and exit) to the park will be impossible until the water runoff stops. Hmmmm. This should be an interesting 48 hours. We are scheduled to leave on Thursday morning (tomorrow).

Until then we shall remain buttoned up, content to read and nap and play a little Jenga (if Lucy isn’t  rocking too much :-). I’ll try and post a few photos later.  Hope all is well with each of you and remember…. “No news is good news”.  I’m just glad we’re not half way down the coast in a 32’ sailboat. My thoughts are with those who are and I hope they all make it.

Must go now and check the hatches 😜.      Until we meet again - adios.      CJ

www.cjdaley.ca

www.ruddyduckpress.ca

www.svshannon.blogspot.com

Wednesday, Feb. 15: A wee breeze in Borrego Springs

 There are times when sailing that the wind is gusting to such a degree, it’s best to wait for it to die down before venturing into the next manoeuvre ( like backing out of a slip or attempting to dock on an exposed jetty or electing to drop a larger headsail in favour of a smaller one). Apparently the desert has similar characteristics…when she’s in the mood.

We’ve had some winds here lately; winds that kind of get your attention. Like ants in a colony scurrying to secure their valuables, we desert RV site dwellers have been doing a lot of scurrying these past few days as we attempted to secure awnings, table cloths, outdoor carpets, hummingbird feeders etc. We weren’t surprised that the winds came; they’d been predicted for several days and, being good sailors, we check the forecast every day. They were magnificent nevertheless. 

Imagine standing beside your little trailer (on the lee side of course) and watching 50’ palm trees really bending and tossing their crowns about, first in one direction and then the other; while the wind… the wind is literally whistling and screaming as it challenges everything in its path.  And then, it was like someone in charge changed her mind and flipped the switch - instantly stopping the noise and the 50-60 MPH winds. In the time it would take you to snap your fingers the world turned into a silent, still place…just waiting for the next onslaught. And, right on cue, up it comes again, roaring in like a freight train… but this time from the opposite direction and creating havoc for the loose items now vulnerable.  

And then there was the sand. Horizons in all direction were blurred with the driving sand and even in our little RV Park the air was filled with it, along with some of the finer bits of small gravel used in each site as a base.  Sadly we missed a huge opportunity … never even thought to try. We should have taken video of the screaming wind and sand…sorry. You’re stuck with my written description of a rather amazing experience.

All this did not deter our farewell get together however and a small group of us, using trailers and buses for temporary shelters, worked our way to the clubhouse with snacks and drinks for a wee happy hour. We then returned to our domiciles and listened to the wind and rain pound on our walls and roofs until the middle of the night.

It is now Wednesday morning. The sky is clear and blue and the sun is shining. Today is also moving day; we head to Yuma to see good friends and have a visit before we continue on our state park crawl of Arizona.

Hope all is well with each of you and you are secure and warm and enjoying each day.

CJ

www.cjdaley.ca

www.ruddyduckpress.ca

www.svshannon.blogspot.com

Borrego Springs…a desert garden

 Catch-up time… yes it is! I’ve been negligent….caught up in the surrounding beauty of the desert, the deep and comforting joy of good friendship and of just generally having a restful and peaceful time. Even wee Maddie is getting into the swing of it.  Her anxiety around driving is relaxing (perhaps due to the short trips to the wine and beer store (oh, and groceries of course :-) and she’s enjoying the walks and hikes she’s able to join us on. She has also figured out the survival technique of moving from the sun to the shade, and back again, as required.  So, things are good here, very good. The days are flying by way too fast but I wouldn’t take back a one. We’re very glad to be here and to have the opportunity to share the beauty with friends.

I could go on, as I do most years, about the surprising beauty of the desert (photos below); but I won’t.  I’ll travel a different path today.

It seems I have a smattering of my grandparents Fred and Eva Daley in me.  In the 1950’s and ‘60’s they towed their small trailer from Vancouver to Apache Junction every winter. Now imagine with me, if you will, what that trip (there and back) must have entailed. I know how I feel today, driving on the major and not-so- major highways between here and there…but think back, back to the 1950’s, and visualize the roads meandering and rough along the route and particularly as they grew closer to the desert wilderness. Think of all the amenities we have today; supports like Rest Stops with water and washrooms, gas stations strategically placed at the edge of the highways, emergency telephone call boxes, BCAA and AAA services for flat tires, tires actually designed to withstand the rigours of long distance travel, hotels and motels to stop in if needed, RV places to stop at for the night and that offer electricity, washrooms, even a hot tub at times. Imagine all the places we can stop for groceries and grog… and then think about the 1950’s.  I believe you’ll get my point when I say “hats off” to Fred and Eva and all the other RV pioneers who forged paths and roadways into the wilderness that folks like us enjoy today… “hats off” and thank you!

Speaking of photos, the pics I’m sharing today (in no particular order as I’m just learning how to post the darn things)… include: blooming cactus and flowers on the desert sand.  We are early for the official ‘Bloom’ which usually occurs in March, but this year there was a surprise bloom in December and it’s still going strong. Not going to talk about climate change here, but….   Anyway, hope you enjoy the photos, including one of my favourite ‘seats’ with stone walls and an open to the sky ceiling, there is no better ‘place’ to ‘relax’ and now I know they are officially called “vault toilets”. There are also photos of the beautiful sunset last night and the charred Palm trees at Palm Tree canyon. Luckily the trees were not totally destroyed in the fire a couple years ago and the ground cover is beginning to recover.

That’s it for today and for a few days as we will be continuing to relax at Borrego Springs until we leave on Wednesday morning and head east into Arizona.  Hope all is well with each of you….  TTFN  CJ

Living in small spaces…

 Now I m not one to utter complaints - much) and this isn’t one now. It’s just that, well, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly a carefully stowed item can up and disappear; and in some cases never be found again until a great deal of time has wandered by.  

For instance, not two weeks ago I succumbed to skilled marketing and purchased a lovely set of matched kitchen utensils (the finest Walmart had to offer :-). Do you think I can find them today?  I suspect they’re hiding out, along with everything else I can’t find, in some nebulous crevice….so carefully camouflaged I can’t even see it exists…sigh.

So all I can report on this topic is that woe betide you if you carefully select the perfect place for … well… almost anything as you may never find it again.    

The caption for today s photo is.  “ I just know it s in here somewhere”.

Feb 5: Holiday Homes RV, Borrego Springs

Howdy all.  For those of you worried cuz I haven’t written for a few days, please don’t.  If I wrote every day you’d be bored silly. That being said, I’m happy to check in and tell you where we are today.  We finished up our time at Rio Bend and, albeit a little reluctant to leave, we headed out and onward. Our route took us NW and we ended up at Borrego Springs.  The last couple times we were here we bunked in at the State Park and we’ll do that again on a future trip. But, this time we’re happily settled in at Holiday Homes RV Park which is less than a half mile from the State Park and short distances from the hiking trails and Visitors Centre. While here (which we are for two weeks) we have the use of a pool (warm) and a hot tub (warmer) and we have the desert at our back door…literally.  A quick step through the shrubs at the back of our site and we’re on the desert floor surrounded by sand, rock, cacti, etc….all the desert has to offer.  And, like so many desert locations, we have hot sun during the days and, almost immediately at the end of day, the temps drop to near freezing. Thank goodness Lucy has her little Cafrano heater that keeps the chill off overnight. I don’t want to leave without mentioning the coyotes. We know, from previous trips, to keep our wee Maddie on a leash when out and about, especially during early morning or late evening hours. But, it still sends a chill down ones back to hear them yipping and kayaying, obviously as a group, so close to camp.   Yikes!  Being fairly seasoned we always take these things into consideration and recognize there is more than one use for a stout walking stick :-)

Below you will find some photos (and there may be one at the start, only the iCloud Gods know for sure) so here are some photo explanations.  

First, “The long road ahead… and this is an easy one…”, then

Miss Maddie found a friend when we visited the zoo.

CJ’s rather fond of these creatures (awesome metal art)

OK, there’s another one

The back yard of our current location

A few other creatures at the zoo…

The pool at our new digs

Kathy at the zoo (metal art creatures)

More zoo creatures

Stressed out Maddie (not) in her chair waiting to play

The sunset from the trails behind our place (pretty nice)

Hope you are all well and enjoying your own adventures.  CJ