USA February 2010

Monday 15 February until Monday 22 February
Roadtrek rally of Solotrekkers in Amado AZ south of Tucson....looks like there will be about 30 of us.

Sunday 28 February (White Tank Park to Casa Grande AZ)
P0ured down rain all last evening with lightning and thunder.....initially had views of the full moon and then it was gone! About a fifty mile drive from one side of Phoenix to the other....White Tank is on the west side and I drove early this morning along highways 303 and I10 to the southeast side with stops at Trader Joes and Whole Foods for food stuff then onto Casa Grande. This RV park must be full of Canadians due to all the whoopla I heard after their win of the Gold!

Saturday 27 February (Lake Pleasant to White Tank Park AZ)
Early morning departure from Lake Pleasant with stop here at Paradise Cafe on Happy Valley Road to catch up on the internet. Plan is to stay tonite at White Tank Regional Park before heading down to Casa Grande and say hi to the Juneau golfers before heading to Yuma and LA. Had a wonderful five mile hike into Ford Canyon before the rains started.

Friday 26 February (Lake Pleasant AZ)
A nice morning walk of about five miles around part of the lake to the other campground; there are two campgrounds here: Roadrunner and Desert Tortoise. The wind has picked up a bit and rain is predicted for the weekend. After lunch, I read a bit and then watched the traffic increase in the campground with the arrivals of the ATVs and boats for the weekend so decided to move out tomorrow.

Thursday 25 February (Sun City to Lake Pleasant AZ 22 miles)
Breakfast at '5 and Diner' with Bill from Juneau who is visiting his family and golfing here in AZ. I then drove to Lake Pleasant Regional Park and did short afternoon walk to visitor center.

Wednesday 24 February (Chandler to Sun City AZ)
Visiting with my aunt and uncle in Sun City AZ.

Tuesday 23 February (Gold Canyon to Chandler AZ)
The sun is back but still a bit chilly here. Spending the eve with Christine and hoping that the post office has managed to forward all of my mail....but it has not!

Monday 22 February (Amado to Gold Canyon AZ)
Drove north to Gold Canyon east of Phoenix to visit Jim from Juneau with several stops in Tucson along the way.....heaps of heavy clouds then heavy rain.....a miserable cold day in AZ.

Sunday 21 February (Amado AZ)
Most folks are departing today so we will say our goodbyes until we meet again somewhere!

Saturday 20 February (Amado AZ)
Yesterday's hike was cancelled because everyone that had signed up for the hike went to Kartchner Caverns instead so three of us went today instead. Yesterday's weather was much better because today it is overcast and windy and just as we returned from the hike, it poured down rain. It was a wonderful hike though for about 5-6 miles to view heaps of mining remains (Quantrell Mine). Evening event at the DeAnza RV Resort....Mardi Gras celebration with wonderful dinner and entertainment by Ron Kendricks.

Friday 19 February (Amado AZ)
Another hike in the Coronado National Forest near here....should be another full day hike but not as much elevation gain....but no hike today.....spent time chatting with everyone in the morning and then went with Gail in the afternoon to visit WalMart!

Thursday 18 February (Amado AZ)
A lazy day at the campground to rest my weary bones and muscles from yesterday's hike...maybe a soak in the jacuzzi!

Wednesday 17 February (Amado AZ)
Wonderful hike in Madera Canyon area of the Coronado National Forest on the Agua Caliente trail starting at 4900' and having lunch at 7300'...and that was after four hours and only 1.7 miles....and we encountered heaps of snow at the higher elevation much of which had turned to ice....and I had left my ice cleats back in the van...oh well!

Tuesday 16 February (Amado AZ)
We had great discussion day and toured each of our Roadtreks! I found that one of the women here is former IBMer from Seattle and she had visited Juneau in the early 80's. We had worked together on a project for the State of Alaska and she had looked familiar to me when I first saw her here in Amado!

Monday 15 February (Chandler to Amado AZ)
Drove south about 150 miles to Amado to meet the other Roadtrek Solotrekkers. Evening potluck.

Sunday 14 February (Chandler AZ)
Happy Valentines Day!
Early drive to Trader Joe's to stock up then a bit of time poolside since it is a very sunny and warm day! Spent the afternoon in the kitchen cooking up a veggie spaghetti sauce for our pot luck tomorrow at the campground.

Saturday 13 February (Chandler AZ)
Received a telephone call from the Juneau Post Office, finally! I have not been receiving my forwarded mail and I need this mail to do my taxes so have been on the phone every day this week leaving messages with the Juneau PO. When I received no reply, I went online to submit a complaint. The Juneau PO man told me this morning that the telephone number that I was ringing is not checked for messages and it appears that my po box in Juneau is full of mail! He will send to Chandler and I will pick up on my return through...yea!

Friday 12 February (Chandler AZ)
Meeting Christine's yard cleaning person this morning.

Thursday 11 February (Chandler AZ)
Morning walk then a bit of time by the pool hoping to renew my tan. I spent time catching up on paperwork and trying to organize stuff for doing my taxes. Unfortunately the post office has failed to forward all of my mail to me so tis a bit frustrating. Blonded my hairs again!

Wednesday 10 February (Chandler AZ)
Early morning walk through the neighborhood while Christine works and gets ready for her flight. After taking her to the airport, I stopped to visit IKEA but nothing of interest for me plus it is a maze walking through the store. It rained on the return drive from the airport but then just overcast for the remainder of the day. Spent time looking at the electrical system of my van and found that one of the circuit breakers for the battery charger appeared broken (my battery was not charging when plugged in)....but I futzed with it a bit and it now is working.

Tuesday 9 February until Monday 15 February (Chandler AZ)
Stayed at Christine's house last evening in Chandler. She is flying to the east coast on Wednesday (she is hoping that she makes it there safely through this next storm!). A day of errands for me...oil change for the van, haircut for me, Trader Joe's to stock up on food and a bit of time by the pool in the sunshine!

Monday 8 February (McDowell to Chandler AZ)
I had planned to camp tonight at Usery Mountain County Park but when I arrived before 10am, they were totally full so I headed to Lost Dutchman State Park (this is one of many AZ State Parks that are closing this year due to money shortage) and they were also full. I am now hoping that Christine will let me arrive a day early....and she did!

Sunday 7 February (Estrella to McDowell Mt Regional Park AZ 51 miles)
Sunday morning drive across Phoenix (and not much traffic) to another Maricopa County Park on the NW side called McDowell...great hiking to top of some hills with great views.

Saturday 6 February (Estrella Mt Park AZ)
Early morning 7am hike with park ranger Patricia and volunteer Tom and newly arrived in AZ Wanda...over three hours wandering the hills of the park

Friday 5 February (Why to Estrella Mt Park in Goodyear AZ)
I drove to El Dorado Hot Springs at Tonopah but it was quite busy and really no place to camp so headed to Estrella Mountain Regional Park (part of the Maricopa County Parks that I have visited (Lake Pleasant, White Tank, Cave Creek)) and dry camped for two nights for cheap.

Thursday 4 February (Arivaca to Why AZ 184 miles)
Heavy rain all day on Wednesday so did not do any hiking...hopefully will be able to do that today as the moon and stars are brightly shining this morning. Early morning hike at Arivaca Cienega (boardwalks were a bit frosty) then drive up to Kitt Observatory.

Wednesday 3 February (Amado to Arivaca AZ)
Rain this morning but hopefully will not be too heavy because I would like to do a bit of hiking at Arivaca.

Tuesday 2 February (Amado AZ)
Beautiful sunny day! Stir fried some veggies then walk to Rex Ranch about one mile down the road. Met some folks here at the campground who grow gourds in Minnesota then spend the winter here decorating and selling them.

Monday 1 February (Tucson to Amado AZ)
Drove south of Tucson about 30 miles to visit with Gail in Green Valley then another 15 to spend a few nights at Mt View RV Ranch.