Traversing New Mexico

We certainly would have liked to stay longer in the Chiricahua Mountains, however the weather advised us to move on. With forecasted red flag warnings and high wind advisories along with projected dust storms we elected to head further east. 

Even though it was a bit windy when we left Rusty's RV Ranch, we left early enough to avoid the big winds. We arrived at Pancho Villa State Park about 90 miles later. Here we discovered that this area too was under red flag warnings, so we left a few slides in and hunkered down.  The winds blew for two straight days with dust everywhere and we were definitely rocking in the RV. 

We certainly had a lot more fun in our past stays at this neat little New Mexico State Park. After two windy days and with the forecast finally looking better, we left Pancho Villa State Park to drive another 77 mi east over to Sunland Park, New Mexico just across the border from Texas. 

We stayed at the Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino, a favorite stop of ours in the El Paso area. Here we spent several days at this first-come-first-served park and enjoyed eating red and green chili burritos nearly every day at our favorite eatery called L&J Cafe. 

Another bonus in staying at this park is we are able to go to Tru Fit fitness center for our morning workouts. The gym is part of the Silver Sneakers program which allows us free entry. Even better, we are able to use the program all over the USA.

We also had time to visit the Heritage Park for a nice little hike and some bird watching not too far away from the casino. It was nice to get out and about while not be attacked by the vicious winds. We even visited a few of our favorite haunts for happy hours, such as Aurelia's Brewery and The Union Drafthouse where we enjoyed $1 Pizza night on Wednesday. Hell of a deal, I might say!

All in all, it was a fun visit to the greater El Paso area where we were also able to restock our refrigerator for the big stretch of rural stays ahead as we enter Texas...

Chiricahua Mountains AZ

The next stop on the road of retirement for us was one of my favorite locations in all of Arizona, the Chiricahua Mountains. The park we chose was Rusty's RV Ranch, a park we've stayed at several times. 

The weather was not going to be perfect because it was forecasted to be very windy with red flag warnings and dust storms. We decided it would be okay since our day trips into the mountains would likely block most of the winds. 

The mountains in this part of Arizona are more reminiscent of mountains found in northern Mexico than they are in the Arizona climes. As a result, many species of birds and mammals can be found there and only there in the USA. 

Our first day we took a hike up into the South Fork Canyon where we saw a nice array of birds and had a very enjoyable hike. 

The next morning we planned a loop drive to stop at several sights and take a tour through the mountains. Our first stop again was at South Fork Canyon.  After a short hike and seeing a few new birds, we moved on to the Southwest Experiment Station. Here there are hummingbird feeders set up where we saw at least four different species of hummingbirds enjoying the free nectar. 

We left the experiment station and headed up towards Rustlers Park at the top of the mountain. The road to the park was very rough and rocky, but we made it as high as we wanted to before stopping to check out the birds in the area. We walked a bit and neither saw nor heard anything. 

Next, we started our descent from the top of the mountain back down into the valley where we stopped at a bed and breakfast in Paradise, New Mexico called the George Walker House. The owner welcomes guests to sit on chairs on the porch to view his bird feeders and often, as was the case this time, stops by to chat with the guests. 

Here we saw lots and lots of the birds that birders often come to see in the mountains of this part of Arizona. We stayed for about 45 minutes and had a nice chat with the owner before moving on to the last stop on our loop trip. 

Our last stop was another place owned by a local who allows guests to stop by to birdwatch the feeders at a spot known as Bob Rodriguez's yard near portal, Arizona. Here we saw a nice diversity of birds more typical of the lower foothills of the mountains. 

We had planned to stay another day but the winds were supposed to worsen for several days so we thought it best to slip out and move on to our next location.

Exploring Bissbee and Naco AZ

When morning day came, we left Sierra Vista Arizona and headed southeast to the town of Naco, Arizona. Naco is just a few miles south of Bisbee, Arizona and less than a mile north of the Mexico border. In fact, we could see the wall from our campground. 

The reason we took this circuitous way through Southern Arizona was to do a little hiking and bird watching. While in Naco we drove over to the San Pedro Reserve again, but this time further south at the Hereford Bridge where we once again saw lots and lots of birds while on a nice hike. 

We also took the short drive over to Whitewater Wildlife Refuge to do a little birding as well. There was not a lot to see in this area because there was little water in the ponds but we still had a good time walking around and looking at the few birds there. 

A must visit since we were so close was to Bisbee, Arizona, one of our favorite Arizona towns. It is known for its 1,000 stairs race in late October, but this quirky artist town resembles towns seen in Europe or in the Colorado mountains. 

Adjacent to Bisbee is the town of Lowell Arizona. A visionary had the idea to create a nostalgic historical snapshot in time. Many old cars, trucks and buses can be seen lining the roads with storefronts of days gone by. An old vintage bus we saw looks like it would be a worthy project for a bus conversion. Someone with a lot of money and time could bring this beauty back to life. 

Before leaving the area, we had to revisit our favorite little Brewery in Bisbee, the Old Bisbee Brewing Company.  There was a nice selection of beers and we chose a very tasty IPA. This is where we discovered adding Sriracha on popcorn which makes it infinitely better. The brewery still offers free popcorn as a snack with Sriracha on the side. The locals trained us on how to use it and to this day we put Siracha on our popcorn at home.

A couple of other watering holes we visited and enjoyed were Electric Brewing and a place in Naco right on the Mexico border called Gay 90's Bar (no, it is not a gay bar). The Gay 90's Bar is a dive bar with a nice feel to it. We really enjoyed chatting with the proprietor and recommend this as a fun place to visit.

Yet another stop on our trek east has come to a conclusion so it's time to move on.

Enjoying Sierra Vista AZ

We sure enjoyed our stay in Tucson, well at least until the last day when something hit me like a ton of bricks. I suspected it was a bad case of allergies. Nonetheless, it was time to go and we headed out of Tucson and drove the short distance down to Garden Grove RV resort in Sierra Vista, Arizona. The park in Sierra Vista is a no frills park but in an excellent location and at only $16/night it couldn't be beat. 

While in Sierra Vista, we visited the San Pedro House Riparian Reserve. We actually visited this place several times during our stay because it offered such a nice hike along the San Pedro River and some great birding. We saw lots of nice birds and more Wilson's Warblers than we've ever seen anywhere. Besides hiking there, we also took a hike up in the Huachuca Canyon just inside of the Fort Huachuca military post. This hike included more elevation but we could tell it was extremely dry there. Luckily despite the lack of water, we did see a few fun birds on this trip. 

Another spot we stopped at was the Brown Canyon Ranch historical site. This was also an interesting place to bird and hike. Going far enough on this trail, hikers would end up in Ramsey Canyon way up in the Huachuca Mountains. 

Our last hike in Sierra Vista was a desert hike to see some petroglyphs and view the ruins of an old mine. This hike was on the Mellville Historic Townsite trail.  It was scenic and although  we didn't really see many petroglyphs, we were glad we went.

The only downside of our stay was that I was not feeling well most the time so we didn't  visit with friends of ours whom we were hoping to see. Those allergies I experienced became a probable sinus infection. Fortunately, we had some antibiotics on hand for me to take but I feel the best "medicine" I had was at the Tombstone Brewery in Sierra Vista. There was a nice assortment of IPA's which may not have cured me, but sure made me feel less miserable.

Alas, now it is time to move on to our next stop.....

Leaving Mesa AZ to the mountains

Well, the time finally came for us to leave Mesa Arizona where we spent the winter. Before leaving during our last week we spent time to give the inside and out of the RV, a thorough cleaning and waxing. As many of you know who do this, it really takes a full week to get it done.

Some always ask why I don't have my RV washed and waxed by a vendor and I always remind them that I love to do hand waxing at least once a year by myself so that I am able detect any of the flaws in the exterior that may otherwise would go undetected. 

Once we finished getting everything cleaned, we packed up the rig and it was time to hit the road. Our next stop was in Tucson, Arizona, a favorite stop of ours on our way East. 

While in Tucson, we did a few hikes and birded the Sweetwater Wetlands Reserve in North Tucson. The reserve is always a great place to stroll and see the birds of the area before they migrate away. 

We also took a day trip down to Florida Canyon adjacent to Madera canyon south of town. Here we walked the trail at a steep incline to do a little more birding and sightseeing. It was another great hike.

 

The day before we were supposed to leave, we went over to Saguaro National Park East where we took the loop drive. Since the weather was a bit on the chilly and drizzly side it was a great way to spend the day as can be attested by our many pictures. The desert and the mountains project a different mood when it's overcast and rainy.

Our plan after Tucson is to head down to Sierra Vista, Arizona to do a little more hiking and birding. As it turns out it will be a good  move as it is projected to be much better (cooler) weather there so we are glad for that!