Mt Lemon & Lake Mead

We drove into the Coronado Forest outside of Tucson where cacti became rocks and evergreens.  The Scion drove well up the steep roads and snow was still in the high altitudes from last weeks storm.

 

Snow was still in shaded areas



These people picked a great vantage point and set up chairs



It became very forested

We were at 8,000 feet when we reached the ski area and small town

Lake Mead  marina is a contrast from Mt Lemon outside of Tucson

Yesterday we left Tuscon and arrived in Boulder City, NV next to Lake Mead just above Boulder Dam.  We will be staying here until I fly to Connecticut to visit family.  Emma is taking care of John in Zion National Park while I am away.  He is traveling alone to Zion, about 2 1/2 hours away, where he will be while I am away. 

Waiting Mode in Tucson

Well, here we sit.  Friday afternoon we drove our car back to Lazydays.  It seemed fine so we made plans to go to Mt Lemon outside of Tucson Saturday to test the car.  We have until Tuesday/Wednesday when our MH part comes in to see if the car is running fine.  One week from Tuesday I fly out of Vegas to CT so we have time to check the car out before we travel on with it in the "toad mode".  But Saturday morning when we turned the car on, dash lights saying "take car to scion dealer" and "check engine" lite so we canceled plans and drove back 1 mile to the place we got the car the day before.  These engine lights were not visible when we drove the car to Lazydays. No one was there on a Saturday.  We called, emailed insurance and car place. Monday the car will be looked at.  So we are in the wait mode again for 2 more days - very discouraging and now we have been officially 3 weeks without little wheels.  I am antsy to move forward.  Time is running out!  But here we sit.  I will swim in the pool today and we must take an urban hike for a few groceries.  I have been patient enough and am ready to move on. Ugggghhhh!!!!!

Lazydays - Tucson

We are at Lazydays RV in Tucson, AZ waiting for replacment of our jack/slide motor and the Scion is still being fixed.  I feel like we are spinning our wheels getting nowhere but it is a nice place to spin around in.  When you get service at Lazydays and have to wait days for parts, etc. you are courtesy parked and hooked to electricity free of charge.  You can use all facilities of the campground including the pool, exercise room, laundry, dump station and water as you wait it out. We have been here since Thursday, the day the jacks and slide did not work.  At least the jacks & slide were in when the motor went!!!  Today the RV should be all fixed but the car is still in the shop - new engine, starter and they are assessing the damage to other parts.  It is frustrating but we are lucky to be safe and snug here.  March was a non-planned month so we have been waiting for our house on wheels and car.  John is much better at being patient than I am.  I get bored.  Tucson had a cold spell and rain (no swimming for me for a few days).  We could see snow in the surrounding mountains.  Mt Lemmon had 2 feet of snow on top but we saw only sleet and a little hail. We have been on an urban hike to Ace Hardware, Walgreens and the dollar store and taken the RV once to Target shopping so life goes on.  There was an RV rally here at the campground. We took advantage of a rig weighing vendor and had our MH weighed. We learned more about tire pressure.  We were not overweight but very unbalanced.  We are still unbalanced but much better now.  We also had a very good local Tuscon pizza delivered right to our rig last night.  We could not do that in Organ Pipe!  Life is an adventure and some adventures have more trials than others!!!

Lazydays feels like a hotel.  Here is the main lobby building with restaurants, lounge, etc.



We are hooked up with electricity in the waiting to be looked at spaces, not the campground itself.

The campground sites are like small streets with RV lots

I have been using the pool and hot tub here.

The surrounding mountains from Lazydays at Tucson

The flowers are beautiful here

Patagonia and Tumacacori



Patagonia Lake State Park has a bridge so one can sail also.



The lake is a dammed river but this lake has trees and actually fits the scene

Tumacacori is a mission established by Father Kino in the 1500's

We traveled south of Tucson to Patagonia State Park, 14 miles from the Mexican Border.  It is a dammed stream becoming a pretty lake with prime birding.  I saw 4 vermillion flycatchers, including a pair. They are sooooo beautiful, males being brighter red than cardinals on their underside and head and they are very small birds.  The males red & black.  There were so many birds the calls were almost deafening in the mornings. Of course they would not stay still for their pictures so no bird pictures but we took a boat tour birdwatching and saw lots of waterfowl.  The night program was on the geology of western National Parks, all of which we had seen, so it was interesting to us.  There was a birding tour with a ranger Monday morning and a very special bird, the Elegent Trogan, was spotted by someone in the park but sadly not by us.  After 3 days we traveled back north stopping at Tumacacori National Monument below Tubac.  We joined the ranger tour so it was a great time at the monument and a good travel day.  We are back outside Tuscon at the Casino del Sol parking lot.  The state park we called yesterday was booked.  It is school break here and everything is  full.  We had to move in Patagonia for almost everything was full there. We are going to Lazydays for their 3 days special for the weekend so here we sit waiting for word of our car. I am now wanting to hear when the car will be ready.

Friends and Trouble

Good friends of ours visited the last days we were at Organ Pipe and we went to dinner with them at a coworkers home who lives in Sonoyta, Mexico.  It was a great ending to special times in the "Most dangerous park in the US" (That is what the Yahoo reporter said and she was sooooooo wrong.)  We see things in reality living there for almost 4 months.  We will think of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument as a safe blooming green desert with warm hearted people.  We were lucky to be in such a "dangerous place".  The young reporter tried to make a name for herself on sensationalism.  I hope she does not succeed

Our friend Pam and John at an Organ Pipe

Our little toad did not make it out of the neighboring reservation without a huge problem.  John looked in the monitor and mirror to see smoke from the engine.  Little car was on fire.  We stopped and with help of a nice passerbye unhooked the toad so the fire if exploded did not take the motorhome with it and the Why Fire Department was called, then  cancelled. We managed to put the fire out quickly so we hooked the car back up and the nice couple who helped suggested a free place to stop outside of Tuscon so we could collect ourselves and take the next step.  Our emergency proved how good people are.  They were wonderful strangers in a very remote place. 

This gentleman put little car up there all by himself.  I thought it was our last goodbye to little car. 

A budded cholla

 

One of my last pictures at Organ Pipe. This is how I will remember the beauty of ORPI.

We spent three days at Casino del Sol outside Tucson, AZ in their parking lot.  Lots of RV's were there.  It was well lit and free and we had cell service internet.  We called our insurance company and got a tow truck out on Monday morning.  The fire happened on Saturday and you know how the weekend works!!!!!!!!!!!!  We shopped at Walmart right down the road on Sunday and by Wednesday we had signed insurance papers and the car was looked at.  It will be not be totaled and covered minus the deductable and we are fine.  We collected our thoughts and decided to spend some time at Lazydays in Tuscon waiting for word from the repair place. (stay 2 days and get 2 days free) I had a few items to buy and we now have some LED lights to boondock with so our batteries will last longer.  We were fine at the Casino for 3 days but now we are better off. We have decided to go to a state park until the car is fixed.  So despite the problem or because of, I used a hot tub and pool during the time winds closed I-10 down.  Life on the road is not boring if nothing else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!