What We’ve Been Up To

7 January 2016

Hello all, it has been a while!

We are at Catalina State Park and today it is pouring rain and snowing in the mountains. Even with the wet and cold we are enjoying the breathtaking views.

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Shout Out to the Big Horn Sheep Up There Somewhere
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Our View of the Catalina Mountains

Since we have been offline for awhile I’ll recap a few things we have been up to.

While we were in New Mexico we received a call from our realtor letting us know we had buyers for our house. We were so excited because we thought it might take 6-12 months. On 18 November we closed on the house becoming true nomads on wheels. We have been dreaming about being “Full Time RVer’s” for the last three years and here we were.

We left New Mexico and headed back to Bisbee and Sierra Vista Arizona. We were lucky to get a site at the very popular RV Park Apache Flats at the base of the Huachuca Mountains on the Fort Huachuca. It is a beautiful park with views of the mountains and the San Pedro Valley. Weather wise we still had freezing weather at night and it snowed!!! I’m not sure when we will find shorts and sandal weather.

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Snow at our Apache Flats Site

 

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View of the Huachuca Mountains

It was great to visit with some of our friends but due to a maintenance appointment in Tucson we did not have time to get with everyone we wanted to see. We plan on returning to Sierra Vista next fall to be able to spend more time with our friends.

After leaving the Sierra Vista/Bisbee area we went to the Tucson KOA to keep our appointment at Lazy Days RV. We had some annual maintenance completed and replaced the microwave. The microwave had a dangerous problem of not turning off when we opened the door. Very scary!!! Of course we had breakfast at Sunny Daze Cafe while there.

Lisa flew out of Tucson on 18 December to visit her family in Dallas for the holidays. She had a wonderful visit except for the tornado barreling through the North side of Dallas coming very close to her Mom’s house. That night was spent sitting in the hallway with her Mom and big Sis for 1/2 an hour. Pepper and I were very happy to pick Lisa up at the Tucson Airport on the 28th far away from tornado alley.

During Lisa’s absence, I moved from the KOA to our current location, Catalina State Park. This park has been a favorite of ours since our early RVing days. We would recommend it to anyone. For a great Park review read Nina’s at Wheelingit. Our first site was one that backed in and only had neighbors on one side. This area has a wealth of wildlife, Coyotes, Javelina, Mountain Lions, Bears, Big Horn Sheep (transplanted in the last few years) and many other critters.  One animal we try not to surprise at night are skunks.  Of course, Pepper wants to chase those.  I shudder at the thought of a Skunk with a hair trigger. UGH!!!  It is also a great place for Bird Lovers.

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Campground B Site 12 Next to Hiking Trails

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Western Meadowlark near site 12

We planned on leaving on 2 January to boondock near Blythe or Quartzite, but due to El Nino the weather is no better or worse than here.  So we are going to wait out the rain at Catalina SP and head towards Yuma on 11 January.

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5 January Picture of the Catalina Mountains

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5 January

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Rain in California And a Few Days in Bakersfield

Rain, rain and more Rain
Rain, rain and more rain

October 31 – Nov 3 

Pepper settling in for another day on the road
Pepper settling in for another day on the road

We left San Jose on a bright sunny Halloween morning. What a beautiful day to be on the open road. We stopped for lunch at Casa de Fruita before heading over Pacheco Pass. Our waiter was a bit grizzly but provided service with a smile.

Friendly waiter at Casa de Fruita
Friendly waiter at Casa de Fruita

We arrived at one of our favorite RV parks – Orange Grove RV Park off of Hwy 58 on the East side of Bakersfield.  The staff were very friendly, facilities were clean and the spaces roomy, with long pull throughs.

Recommend Orange Grove RV Park if you are near Bakersfield
Recommend Orange Grove RV Park if you are near Bakersfield

Sunday found us setting out to see one of the “famous” sites in Bakersfield-Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace. We had a very nice brunch and enjoyed the Buck Owens museum.

Sign for Crystal Palace
Sign for Crystal Palace
Outside of the Crystal Palace
Outside of the Crystal Palace
Mural prior to walking into the main area of the palace
Mural prior to walking into the main area of the palace
Looking back from the stage to the top of the Palace
Looking back from the stage to the top of the Palace
Buck Owens
Buck Owens
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This jacket was made for one of Buck’s Japanese Tours.
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One of the jackets Buck wore on tour. Lisa likes this as it reminds her of seeing him on TV.

Due to rain and windy road conditions we decided to hang out in Bakersfield a few days. We were able to get some needed errands done. One of the best things about staying for a few extra days was learning Bakersfield is known for its Basque food.  What a pleasant surprise. We had a fantastic lunch at one of the local favorites – the Wool Growers Restaurant. So good and more food than we could possibly eat.  Thank goodness for to go boxes.

Unassuming entrance to a fantastic restaurant
Unassuming entrance to a fantastic restaurant
Two of the very friendly workers at Wool Gatherer
Two of the very friendly workers at Wool Growers
The starters, really a meal of its own.
The starters, really a meal of its own – Cabbage soup, pinto beans, salad, pickled tomato, and bread
Then came the entree - ribs, spaghetti, and green beans
Then came the entree – ribs, spaghetti, and green beans

Tomorrow the storms will pass and we will continue our travels to New Mexico.