The newer exhaust fan in our bathroom was not made for height-challenged people. Carol and Lois are height-challenged. They had difficulty reaching the knob that opens the vent. It was also difficult to see the control buttons at night. I watched a few episodes of MacGyver and made these improvements to solve the problems.

Monday, Feb. 27

Goodbyes are tough, but we were ready to move on and Brett and Nadia were anxious to start their new lives in Bisbee. How exciting for them! 

After hugs, we were backtracking to Tucson. The Southwest is going to have high winds and a winter storm this week so we can’t travel. Carol found us 6 days at Catalina SP, and that’s where we’re going to hunker down. We drove through Tombstone on our way and got to view this stagecoach when we turned the corner. We figured things couldn’t get better than this and rode off into the sunset.

The in-your-face mountains are still here. We don’t think it’s possible to get tired of looking at them.

Tuesday, Feb. 28

On our walk this morning, we got to see a Cooper’s Hawk, Anna’s Hummingbirds, Western Bluebirds, Gila Woodpecker, Cactus Wrens, Northern Flicker, Northern Cardinals, and two Great Horned Owls. Birdwatchers love this park.

Catalina is in Oro Valley. This city is known for its 90 miles of paved, well-used bike trails. I left the park on Carol’s e-bike, with no destination, on the Canada trail. 90 minutes into the ride, I decided I wasn’t enjoying myself and it was time to go home. I was cold and the scenery was mostly the back of commercial buildings The return was uphill and my legs started getting tired. When it got windier and the clouds took over, the temperature dropped. It was time to push the “cheater” button and let Carol’s e-bike take over. Back in the Ham in record time, the guilt feeling of passing so many hard-pedaling bikers soon disappeared over a mug of hot tea.

Wednesday, March 1

A nice, sunny morning got us out with the birds again. When we returned, a ranger had put a notice on our windshield about the approaching storm this evening and its potential for flooding. To be prepared, we went to the dump station and made a WalMart pickup. In the early evening, the winds started. They weren’t the Dramamine gusts, but there were some, “Whoa, that was a big one” gusts. We watched the huge rainstorm coming down from Phoenix on the radar. At 9:00, we took the dogs out before the heavy rain started. Between 9 and 11, we never heard rain on the roof before we fell asleep. A few hours later, I woke up to a freezing RV. I had forgotten to turn on the furnace when we returned from our afternoon outing. Returning to bed, I lay there wondering why we never heard any rain from the storm.

Thursday, March 2

My nighttime wondering was answered when I opened up our bedroom shade this morning. Snowflakes don’t make noise!

Was it beautiful? Maybe. Was it disgusting? Definitely! The dogs didn’t care about the snow or that it was in the thirties. They still made us take them for a walk. We had to do it again in the afternoon.

70 degrees in Norton, OH, on the same day it snowed 3 inches in 30-degree Tucson, should make everyone concerned about climate change.

Friday, March 3

The day started with a knock at the door. The campground host was informing all of the campers that the only road in and out was flooding due to the quickly melting snow. If we wanted to leave, we needed to do it now. We were staying until Sunday, so we were good. 

With the park closed, the trails were virtually empty from day-use hikers and bikers. We had a long, quiet hike to ourselves this morning.

By early afternoon, the sand pile had been removed from the road and the park was reopened.

I left Carol in the 56-degree sun for a bike/hike on the 50-Year trail. It started out with a steep hill that I had to walk my bike up. When it leveled off some, I mounted and pedaled the uphill trail. Large rocks turned the trail into an obstacle course. Eventually, I couldn’t ride over the rocks anymore and had to start walking again. My ride/hike routine went on until I finally got to the 200-foot summit. With green vegetation on both sides and great views across the park to the distant mountains, this was the prettiest trail in Catalina that I had been on.

Friday, March 3

The park is closed again this morning due to flooding. Saturday is always a big transition day for campers. Both the departing and arriving campers were lining up on opposite sides of the flooded road getting frustrated. I guess we’ll have another quiet hike this morning.

The park remained closed for the rest of the day, only allowing high-clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicles through. People hung out at the wash all day waiting for the idiots with the wrong type of vehicle to get stuck. It happened, but I wasn’t there.

Click on the flooded road video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/y7AUZkcKvnR1GfD77

It was our day to leave if we could get through the flooded road. The Catalina website was no longer posting that the park was closed, so we were good to go – we hoped. As we got closer to the wash that crossed the road, a crowd had already gathered to watch the idiots. The road was more flooded than when I had checked on it last night, and the water had started running again. When we approached the flooded road, I heard Carol saying, “Look at all of that water. There’s no way we can drive through it. It’s way too high.” Since I thought she was just talking to the dogs, I entered the water. People in the crowd, on both sides, were shaking their heads in disbelief. I continued on. The road through the wash dips down before rising back up. When we got to the bottom of the wash, Carol, Lois, and the crowd became silent. We were all the way in now. The Ham started its upward climb. We were going to make it. The crowd started clapping, high-fiving, and cheering. We were on the other side, on dry ground again. I stopped the Ham, got out, and took a bow. At that moment, a ranger pulled up, retrieved 2 cones from his truck, and closed the road.  We made a 4-hour, dry drive to Rockhound S.P. in New Mexico.

The mountains gave us a show at sunset and then again about 15 minutes later.