At Last! We’re Back in the Desert

The football games got played and watched, our laundry got done, and finally, Monday came and we paid our bill at Dreamcatcher RV Park in Deming and began the final legs of our odyssey to Arizona and our desert camping spot.

We got our sites at Pima County Fairgrounds just outside of Tucson, did minimal set up and drove back to Benson to meet JoAnn and Doug for a quick “Dinch” at the local Chinese Buffet.  It was a much-too-short visit with them, and we hope to get together again soon!

Deb and Rod needed to do some shopping back up in Tucson, while Jim & I made a run to the local Safeway in Benson before returning to the fairgrounds.  We had not been aware of this handy overnight stopping place until Janna mentioned they stayed there on their way out here.  It’s a typical dirt-lot fairgrounds camping area, but it is only $20 for full hook-ups.  The sites are close together, but for an overnight stop where we wanted to be able to dump and fill the appropriate tanks, it was a great stop.

Deb and Rod made it back from their shopping excursion just in time for sunset:

Deb made sure she was ready for a cook-out, she got a huge package of Ball-Park Beef Franks!

Promptly at close to 10 a.m., we pulled out of the fairgrounds for the final travel day.  The wind gods were kind and gave us a tailwind most of the way.

Along I-8 after we got out of the city traffic, we passed through the National Sonoran Desert Monument.  As we drove through the forest of saguaros, I started feeling a peace settle over me.  I have a hard time explaining how the energy of these gentle giants affects me, but somehow, being among these special creatures gives me a feeling that all's right with my world.  I feel like I’m home.

Finally, we arrived at our place.  I snapped this picture just for a quick perspective of our location.  Behind us are Deb & Rod.  Way back, hardly visible (that little dot in the center), are Brenda & John.  Out of the picture way on the left are Janna & Mike.

Brenda hosted us at their rig for dinner.   Janna made a fabulous recipe of chicken and veggie kabobs, Brenda made her famous cheesy potatoes, and there was salad, wild rice and to top it all off, Brenda also made a peanut butter pie.

What a journey, and now, we’re back home in the desert!  Jim got our solar panels tilted up and cleaned, and we’re set.  Thankfully, they were not damaged in the Rockport hail storm.  We turned the inverter off overnight and the batteries stayed charged.  We’re sitting here now, inverter running, furnace on, coffee pot on, and the batteries are still on full charge.  I love it!

This morning, Jim is driving with me up to Lake Havasu City so I can go to my Weight Watchers meeting, and we’ll get some errands done there before we get back and welcome Gina & Rollie today!

What a great life.