Monday, Feb. 6

I took a hike on the Alamo Canyon Bathtub Loop at Catalina S.P. this afternoon. The narrow, sandy trail took me at a steady incline through rolling grassland. As the mountain views got better, the sand turned to rock. Wondering when I was going to reach the bathtub, I heard a waterfall off to the right. An active stream was plunging straight down into a canyon far below. I climbed down for a better view until a drop-off stopped me. Continuing a little further, I came to a small beach and the bathtub (pool). It was fun jumping from boulder to boulder, getting closer to the waterfall’s edge. While enjoying the mountain stream by myself, three mature ladies arrived at the summit and asked me to take their picture with the beautiful background. On my return down the trail, I had to agree with what a returning hiker said about the bathtub area – “It’s lovely up there today”.

Click on this link for more pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/L76gau4jdBnY3FgT6

Tuesday, Feb. 7

Today was a day of rest.

Amazon had delivered packages to two different lockers in Oro Valley, so we left in the late afternoon to pick them up, make a couple of stops, and get tacos at a family Mexican restaurant. I met a few of the locals while waiting for our dinners.

Wednesday, Feb. 8

Carol and Lois helped me all afternoon by sitting outside in the sun while I installed a new check valve in the water pump and installed a new kitchen faucet. It’s really great to have a pump that works again and a faucet that doesn’t leak.

Our plans to meet up with Brett and Nadia in Bisbee on Monday changed when we looked at the revised weather forecast. The nights are going down to 16 degrees at night. Carol found a site in Phoenix for a week, so we’re backtracking there for warmer temperatures.

Thursday, Feb. 9

With 3 adults, 2 dogs, mud, sand, and the constant traffic in and out of the Ham, our light-colored sheet vinyl floor takes a beating. Thinking the floor was looking a little dirty, I did a test area. After a few minutes of scrubbing with Awesome cleaner, we were embarrassed it had gotten this disgusting. I went to work and we ate supper off the floor this evening.

Friday, Feb. 10

The coyotes were doing some serious partying last night. Carol and I weren’t sure why they had to do it on our site at 3:00 in the morning, or why they had to come back at 7:00 to wake us up again.

The weather forecast was for sunshine, warm temperatures, and high winds. Because we were on the right side of the mountains, Catalina S.P. was completely shielded from the wind. It was a fabulous day. The ladies did the sunshine thing again and I went looking for another mountain to explore. The trail started by crossing over a rumbling creek at two spots. With lucky agility, I crossed the first one on a narrow fallen-tree balance beam. At the second spot, I rock-hopped to the other side without a splash. After a short walk, the trail continued up 70 railroad tie steps. It was great to have a bench at the top to view the mountains and hydrate. The trail for the next few miles was very similar to the one I hiked the other day. When I stopped at another bench, a man sitting there invited me to take a rest.  He shared his binoculars and a lot of great information about the area. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a large creature walking through the tall grass about fifty feet away. Already knowing the answer, I asked my new acquaintance if his dog had followed there. We stood and watched a very pretty coyote checking us out, but keeping its distance. It took me another fifteen minutes and another rock-hopping to get to the waterfall that he had recommended. I was very glad that I had stopped at the park bench.

Click on this link to view more pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/zA5q6cv4rPfDTT3QA

Today was a day I was not looking forward to. Our black tank is connected to the outlet valve with a flexible rubber connector. It had weathered, was leaking, and needed to be replaced. I won’t get into details, but my poopy job went really well and my visions of it breaking loose while driving down the road won’t keep me awake at night anymore. 

This evening was a special occurrence of nature. The cloudy skies of the day cleared up to the west. The orange sun lit up the mountains and the clouds hanging behind them. Every camper was out of their RV taking pictures. The evening then got even better. A Great Horned owl, roosting in a tree, was posing for pictures. As the campers converged on the tree, the owl, with its huge wingspan, swooped down and flew to another part of the campground. It was quickly discovered on top of an antenna at the bathhouse. The owl started entertaining the crowd with its hooting and a little dance, or so we all thought. He was actually trying to entertain a cute female owl. A second owl came flying over to the opposite antenna of the bathhouse. Darkness came and everyone knew it was time for the owls to do whatever owls do. 

We got to White Tank Campground in Phoenix for a late lunch and a short hike. During our previous trips here, I always noticed a large dome-shaped building in the distance. I found out today that it was the State Farm Stadium. We got to see some of the Super Bowl activities from our campsite, 15 miles away. We couldn’t see the jets fly over the stadium, but they flew over us first. The fireworks were visible from our site. Lois, Carol, and I moved, rocked, and shook to the music of Rihanna at halftime. And we did it while sitting down. We had to be seated because the high winds off the mountains were blowing the Ham in every direction.