Almost all of the adventures we have had on this trip have been from a hike, bike or mountain climb by me, and I need a long rest. We’re really moving east this week, after one last hike up a mountain. For the rest of the trip, we’re going to let the adventures come to us. And they did!

Monday, Feb. 7

Carol had made an appointment for Lucy to see a veterinarian in Tucson for an ongoing medical issue that flared up again. Because of the Tucson Gem and Rock Show, there were no camping sites available in the Tucson area. We got lucky again and two consecutive nights popped up on Catalina’s website. We got to the campground in time to watch the setting sun put shadows on the mountains.

Tuesday, Feb. 8

We took a long morning hike again on Bridle (Horse Poop) Trail with the girls. After lunch, everyone started their afternoon duties – Lois outside in her chair, Carol tending to Lucy’s medical needs and me climbing a mountain.

Romero Canyon Pools Trail is longer and higher than my preference, but I have an obligation to my readers for more pictures, so I biked to the trailhead. The trail was steep and incredibly rocky. But the higher I went, the better the views became. The water at the pools was low, but it still was a great destination. I hope you enjoy the 77 pictures. It took over 20,000 steps to get them.

Click on this link to view the hike. https://photos.app.goo.gl/DFzPZWFVcBjjmh4v5

Wednesday, Feb. 9

We’re staying at Roper Lake State Park for the next two nights. Before we got out of Tucson, we spotted a taco truck on the other side of the road. We’re suckers for local food trucks, especially tacos. I made a U-turn and drew attention by pulling into the small parking lot. The tacos were great! A blue lake in the middle of the desert seems a little out of place. The lake is fed by an underground hot spring. When you turn around, there is a 9000-foot snow-capped mountain a few miles away – Mt. Graham. We got here late, so we’ll do our exploring tomorrow.

Thursday, Feb. 10

Out of the Ham this morning and onto the desert trails. We found a vacant beach by the lake so I turned Christy loose. It’s always fun to watch her run. This afternoon became a time of sitting in the sun and shade – not a cloud anywhere, 70 degrees and a light breeze. We enjoyed watching and listening to the many gambel quails. They run around in groups, making funny sounds. A male and female cardinal came to visit us at our site. We’re pretty sure they were the two that live in our backyard in Ohio. When we got bored with the birds, we watched the snow melt on Mt. Graham.

Friday, Feb. 11

Interstates are normally the roads most people use to travel on. They do get you there faster, but you have to share the road with all of the trucks. Today, we took the road less traveled. We’ve done this a few other times and were rewarded. There was no exception on this drive. It was easy to relax with no trucks, few cars and wonderful mountain scenery. The Ham took us to a country club in Deming, NM. We had a view of the golf course and mountains in the distance. In exchange for a free place to stay, we ordered lunch from their restaurant. Afterward, the girls took a tour of the grounds with us. I replaced a part that was not allowing our RV batteries to charge while we were driving. It’s so great to have the batteries charging again.

Saturday, Feb. 12

A few miles from our destination in San Elizario, TX, we were traveling down a busy highway. Up ahead, tail lights started coming on and the oncoming traffic was nearly stopped. As we slowed down, we looked for damaged cars and flashing police lights. We continued to approach and observed the most hilarious scene. A white pitbull and his best dog friend were prancing down the middle of the road and blocking all the cars behind them. They looked like they had been voted Grand Marshals of this parade and by their faces and body language, they were very proud of the honor. Every now and then, the pitbull would look back to see if all the parade units were still following. He would then appear to say something to his friend with a big smile on his face. Carol and I couldn’t quit laughing. We waved as we passed them by and I’m sure the pitbull gave me a manly nod.

The Mexican restaurant we were staying at is in the middle of a historical district and we spent the afternoon walking the self-guided tour. Every building has been restored and is now being used by restaurants, art galleries, stores and city hall. The still-functioning mission is the centerpiece of the district. It was fun to read about the history and see the old-style structures. The food was great from the restaurant, especially the cheesecake chimichanga. Lois made us eat it.

Before Carol and I fell asleep, we listed all the neighborhood sounds that were most likely to wake us the next morning – the barking dogs, roosters from the farm across the street, pickup trucks with loud exhaust, mission bells, Border Patrol helicopters, we could see the Mexican border from our site or generators from our neighbor’s RV. 

Sunday, Feb. 13

We woke at 6:44 this morning. It was 28 degrees and the sun was coming up over the mission. There was a loud noise right outside of the Ham that woke us. Were we really hearing what we heard? Send me your sound guess before clicking on the following link and if you’re right, we’ll bring you back an authentic taco from a local Taco Bell. Make sure you click on the video speaker icon. https://photos.app.goo.gl/cebAgEcgRBoZmJYdA

Carol and I lay in bed, not sure what was really going on outside. I took Christy outside and found out that this morning was the El Paso Marathon and the route brought hundreds of runners within ten feet of our RV. To celebrate the runners, a mariachi band started performing for them at 6:44 am, one hundred feet in front of the Ham. During breakfast, I threw a sombrero on the floor and Lois performed some of her favorite traditional Mexican dances.

That was our first day in the big state of Texas. We’ve got six more to go.