Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

November, 2021 

After we left Joshua Tree National Park in California, we headed to the southwest part of Arizona.  I had never been to this part of Arizona, so I was really surprised at how lush and diverse the vegetation was in this area.  I could not stop taking photos of the greenery.

Let me just say, the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument has the best campground I have seen in all the federal lands that I have been on.  Of course they did not have electric hook-up, but wow the water and dump station and campsites themselves are lovely.  They even have showers, albeit 1-2 per restroom, but they were a bonus.  This National Monument is so close to the border that active Immigration police everywhere you look.  There are two long roads that go around the monument.  They both skirt the edge of Mexico, so don't be intimidated by the signs that we read everywhere "Illegal smuggling in this area...beware."  The park staff seemed to be aware of everything that was going on and were not alarmed.  We took our lead from them.  

The first day, we tentatively drove out on the Puerto Blanco Mountains Drive and hiked on the Senita Basin Trail.  We thought it was a beautiful trail until we realized that we were going to be walking in sandy wash for a mile in and mile out.  For those of you who have not experienced this-think about walking in a sandbox for 2 miles back and forth.    I was a little tentative too as we kept seeing water bottles and abandoned clothing...when we got back to the beginning of the trail, an Immigration officer  came driving up immediately.  "Did you see anyone?" he asked.  I told Ken I am not sure I would have told the truth if I had seen a refugee coming across the border.  It they got this far--go with God.  After that trail, we wandered back to the Visitor Center and I stocked up on Christmas gifts.  

This landscape definitely made my fingers itch to draw and paint.  What I am realizing is that you can't hike extensively, travel, and draw.  This will have to wait until I am settled in one place for a while.  

The second day, we drove the Ajo Mountain Drive, which led to two really cool hikes.  Arch Trail was short (3/4 of a mile), but led to a view of a double arch that appeared and disappeared as you went up the trail.  We got to the tough part going straight up on rock and decided "nope" and came down.  

The second hike though was the jewel in the crown of the visit.  The Estes Canyon hike was one for the books.  It was a gradual climb for about 2 miles, and then went straight up a rocky side to the Bull Pasture Trail.  Though I had read it had great views at the top, we were satisfied with staying in Estes Canyon. The backside of the Estes Canyon trail is pretty much straight down, but we came upon the perfect spot for a bench with a killer view of the canyon.  We sat there for a while just glad to be alive.

For those of you who are wondering, the temperatures in this Organ Pipe National Monument were perfect in November.  Just right for hiking in the daytime and chilly at night for sleeping.  I would not attempt to visit this place any later than February.    

I used my Boss Griddle for a lot of this trip.  It was warm enough to cook and eat outside, so I made everything from eggs to grilled chicken.  I am still trying to figure out why the connection freezes even though there is still propane gas in the canister.  There must be a technical glitch, but I am not sure what is happening.  We did not spend much time in the two towns next to the park (Lukeville to the south and Why and Ajo to the North).  The grocery stores and content in Ajo were much to be desired, but there was an antique barn that looked very inviting at the southern end of the town.  If we go back (and we will, I want to stop there.  All in all it was a very pleasant trip to Organ Pipe National Monument.  

Nomads in Arizona and Joshua Tree National Park, California

We loaded up the car with a complete Thanksgiving dinner, including items for a vegan and travelled up to Tempe, AZ where #4 is going to college at ASU.  It was not our typical 12-person dinner at home with, homemade bread (baking I do miss), but it was the sweetest little dinner that we made.  Our youngest daughter bussed in from California and stayed with our youngest son.  We ended up at a fancy-dancy hotel down the street.  We have been on the road now since May, 2021 and I feel like we are starting to get a handle on travelling and flexibility.  We ended our Thanksgiving with a little hike up Hole in the Rock Trail in Papago Park right outside Tempe, Az.  A great way to end the holiday.

I have been thinking lately about what a Nomad really is.  The dictionary defines a nomad as one who wanders around aimlessly, frequently, without a fixed pattern of movement.   That is definitely NOT the way I travel around.  I am a hopeless romantic about the places I go.  I have thought about the places that I am travelling to right now...my whole life.  I was given a set of books involving children in different parts of the world when I was 6 years old.  I still remember thinking "I am going there one day."  I have to laugh though these days the price of gas definitely defines where one is traveling to.  

After Thanksgiving we went back to Tucson and picked up "Little R" to do a local trip for about 10 days.  We traveled to Quartzite, AZ where the movie Nomad was made and stayed for the night in the BLM La Posa Longterm Campsite.  Since we drove in late, we did not realize that you can only buy a longterm permit for this area...so the next morning, when I went to pay for the permit, the guy laughed at me and said "no charge."  I will tell you that place is organized by volunteers and they are serious about the way the water and dumpsite is used.  You form an orderly line and go through the process without issue.  In this area of Arizona, water is a real luxury and so we have been very careful for the last 4 days.  We went through about 14/20 gallons of our water tank.  

Right in back of the BLM land of Quartzite was the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. We drove to Palm Canyon Road inside the Refuge where the southernmost population of California date palms are growing.  It was about 1/2 mile hike in and out, but definitely worth the time and effort to get there.  After that, we headed to Joshua Tree National Park.  Woo doggies-when we got there, it took $80 to fill up the van at about $4.80/gallon.  Not sure we are over the shock of that one.  We stayed at Indian Cove Campground, which is inside the Park, but just a little pocket of campsites outside of the city of 29 Palms.  

This time (as we have been in this park before) it was much warmer.  The last time we went in the spring and though we saw some beautiful wildflowers, it was soooo cold.  We were able to sit outside in the sun and have a comfortable campfire.  We met up with some campers from Portland, Oregon and enjoyed talking with them about all of our travels.  

While we were there, we drove the Geology Tour Road and learned about how the landscape has weathered: Pinto gneiss, monzogranite, Blue granodiorite, apolite, and basalt formed the valleys and mountains according to time and weathering processes.  The gneiss was 1.7 billion years old!  The monzogranite on the other hand was a baby rock at 85 million years old.  The Geology Tour road is 4-wheel and we were glad that "Little R" was able to make it around the loop.  It is one-way so you can't turn back.

The next day as I was walking out of the Park Visitor Center, someone called my name...what a pleasure to see Jan Abu Shakrah and her husband Samir.  This lady changed my life and taught me how to age well in all of the Gerontology coursework that I took from Portland Community College.  She is now retired and travelling to as many natural place as she and Samir can get to.  It was a pleasure to see how happy she and Samir are in retirement.  

We also hiked a lot this time.  I spent some time taking black and while pictures along Split Rock, Skull, and Discovery Trails.  The lighting is just so much more distinct when you have large rock landscapes in black and white.  

Even the Joshua trees seem more unearthly in grey, black, and white tones.  

However, here is a comparison though where color is better than black and white, so the concept does not always hold true.

Finally, I got a Pit Boss Griddle to take along on this trip and love it.  We have been trying to conserve the battery power of our chassis as it is time to replace the AGM batteries when we get back.  So I have been cooking either half-way through the day (then we are at full capacity when we stop for the night) or if we are in one place for a while--the griddle is a great alternative.  So far pancakes,  hamburgers and salmon and potatoes have come out pretty yummy.  

There are Wild Things Roaming around our House

There are wild things about the house in Tucson.  Because it is still open in the back-wildlife are starting to invade.  We had to scare a baby screech owl away that thought it had made a fine place to rest at night in our new air-conditioning duct in our bedroom.  So far, we have scared it out of its lovely space twice.  We are jealous of him.  He got to sleep in our bedroom.  We have not seen it for 9 months.  

This is the time of the year when you start to see things up close and personal in Tucson.  We discovered a swarm of honeybees next to our car this week.  Though we have sent out messages, no beekeepers have come to collect them.  If we had still been in Portland, Oregon the local beekeepers would have made a "bee"line to the house to get them.  Here there does not seem to be much interest.

We are just adjusting to being in Tucson, but not being in Tucson.  This week, we welcomed friends from Portland, Oregon and took them up to Mt. Lemmon.  So nice to see Karlen and Karin.  Our youngest daughter and their daughter went through Mandarin Immersion for all 13 years of school,and graduated fluent in Mandarin.  We met during academic events, parties, dinners, sporting events, happy and some sad times.  But always the girls stay connected with the large group of kids that took Mandarin all those years.  Now we are all retired and guess what?  Still meeting up.  So delightful to see them for the day.  We will be back in Portland and they will continue to come out here for vacation.  They next time, they can spend time in the hot tub with us.  

This last week, we opened a bottle of Copper River Ranchers Red wine and sat out on the porch to watch the sunset.  I felt like I was home having some wine and cheese before dinner.  Oh wait I was.  

We also went to Hamilton the musical at the Centennial Hall on the campus of University of Arizona.  This is usually how we celebrate the holiday season (wherever we are).  I can't tell you how wonderful that musical was.  I need to get the lyrics to the songs, so I can actually understand everything.  The musical included some really cool facts about that time in history, but I was so busy enjoying the music, I missed some of them.  

It has been a busy week and we are  getting ready to travel again.  We will be travelling up to Tempe, AZ to visit and cook dinner for #3 and #4.  They are excited to get a home-cooked meal in the dorm apartment.  I am just sorry we were not having the dinner in the Tucson house, but we will make the best of it.  After that we will be making our way to California.  I hope we survive the gas prices there.  

A House is not a Home-if there is no ceiling...correct?

This week, we squeaked by several plumbing leaks.  We thought we were going to have to change up the piping all the way out to the septic tank, however the rusting stopped at the u-joint at the end of the bathroom...but we had to chew up quite a bit of concrete and dig a bunch of dirt till we found it.  Good thing that our plumber on site is really good, so he knows how far he has to go to meet code.  

My partner began looking at the ceiling after we pulled down drywall from a bedroom wall to soundproof it with foam.  There was termite and roof damage.  He made a decision to take down the whole ceiling and see if there were any leaks or more termites.  Of course we found 2 ceiling leaks in the bedrooms.  Have you ever heard the "renovation scream?"  It is somewhere between a sci-fi scream and sob.  I am so frustrated with all these things we keep finding wrong in the 50+ ya home that was never protected from termites or taken care of.  This last week, we got the disgruntling news that we would not be able to move in until after the New Year. For me, it was more of a grieving and acceptance--get on with it- kind of a thing. But for my partner, who has a really strong sense of "home" in the house he lives in...it was pretty maddening.  I was well trained as a Peace Corps volunteer some 35+ years ago that we are only on this Earth a short while and I have always questioned whether we really do own anything anyway.  It helps me when things like this happen.  

On the plus side, our front doors went in this week, and they are awesome.  Really changes the appearance of the house.  So today,  I got out our patio furniture and cushions for friends who are going to come see our not-yet-home house.  I unburied the teak oil and oiled the wood and put the cushions together, then sat there for a while enjoying the feeling of "being on the porch."  It gives me pleasure to know that I will be doing this for the rest of my life in between all my travels. 

This week has a been a delightful one here in Tucson.  I finally found a local beer called Barrio Rojo that has a nice aftertaste.  We paired that with Angry Calamari found at local restaurant Risky Business that is  close to our house.  Interestingly, I don't know why we have not been there.  They have great salads too. We continue to find really cool places here in Tucson, but I still have a bit of the Nomad in me so we will be heading  out to Tempe, AZ for Thanksgiving with some of our kids and then off to CA to explore places unknown.  

Meanwhile Back in Tucson

 

We arrived home to some scary stuff.  The beams were still not incorporated into the house for our renovation.  Apparently the contractor, engineer, and draftsman are going round and round about putting in an I-beam for the the back of the house.  I have been told that these beams are so strong, they go into skyscrapers.  Needless to say, the contactor thought it was overkill.  So he waited for 2 months to make a decision, while we were travelling around.  I was not a happy camper.  I have house guests and family coming for Christmas this year.  So, finally the contractor just bit the bullet and put in what the engineer was requesting.  

So as we were incorporating the beam and pulling back the sheetrock, we all noticed a lot of shaved rafters...not good.  The termite damage was so extensive in the back room and kitchen that 8 of 12 rafters had to be replaced.  Meanwhile the time is ticking away.  Our landscape and pool guys cannot get started until the support beam (constructed) were taken down. All this work was finally finished up on Friday.  

View of the "open" space on the back side of the house

If I have to look at the positive side, it likely means we will be getting in the van for another couple of weeks, as I cannot see the house being finished by Dec. 1.  If there is a last Hail Mary out there --please give me an indication, but I am not seeing the house finished until around Dec. 15-21.  Thank goodness it is warm in this area.  I am planning a trip to Joshua Tree and the California Coast. and then rounding down the southern side of AZ.  It should be fun.

I have also been down the last three days as I just completed the COVID-19 Pfizer booster.  I am sure if I had not taken the vaccine--I would have died from the virus.  My response all three times has been off the wall for 3 days...and then everything goes back to normal.  I finally got a chance to make the chicken soup that I had been planning and it tasted pretty good after sleeping for 3 days.

Lahaina Town, Maui back to Tucson

 I spent  in time in Lahaina Town on Maui this last week.  This is a small old-time whaling town that was originally the capital of Hawaii.  This town is about 5 miles from the Papakea Resort where we were staying.  It is so small that you have to get there early in the morning to find parking.  There are several public parking lots, but you can only stay parked for 3 hours....though locals indicated there is no one to monitor that in town. 

Lahaina provided several opportunities for fun including a sunset cruise

We ate some really good fish, did some serious Christmas shopping, and spent time looking at the art galleries.  We actually brought home several pieces of art from this town.  We booked a snorkeling tour to go to the neighboring island Lanai and a sunset pupu (snacks) cruise.  These trips turned out to be the highlight of our trip.  Maui definitely has a lot to offer, but the expense of living on Maui is outrageous.  There were plenty of people camping at the beach "permanently."  It is also hard to get on and off the island.  

Above and in Haleakala's Crater (in the clouds)

We also spent time up on Haleakala National Park, which is a volcano on Maui.  It is a spectacular piece of federal real estate, giving one a sense of being in the clouds.  We were also able to visit Hosmer's Grove, a botanical disaster of a bunch of tree species that are non-native.  However, coming down to meet this grove is a native Ohia tree grove within a riparian area.  We were able to see I'iwi, a bright red honeycreeper that migrates there when the Ohia trees begin to flower as they eat the nectar.  They were too fast to photograph, but I included a picture from the interpretive sign to show you all how gorgeous they are.  

Hawaiian Honeycreeper (I'iwi)

We said goodbye to the beauty of Maui and flew home to Tucson.  Both sunset and sunrise over Maui have similar colors...go figure.  As we lifted off of Maui early in the morning, the sunrise was just beginning.  

Both sunset and sunrise have similar colors on Maui

Meanwhile back home "Little R" our Winnebago Revel was in the shop for fixing that darn automatic door.  It took them forever to figure out that the door just needed to be adjusted (somewhat like a normal door).  We flew back into Tucson that last couple of days, to find out the house is still not being worked on.  For those of you with simple mathematics-the engineer wants the contractor to put in 2*8 beams steel.  The contractor does not have enough space to put that in the ceiling.  He is suggesting 2*6 size.  The engineer is suggesting 2*7 as a compromise, but they have to special order from Wisconsin for this, delaying the house renovation further.  We compromised by putting in the 2*8 beams and "wrapping" the drywall around the extra one inch of beam. There is also an additional cost of 10K for this special order, so much discussion has taken place.  We are in an Airbnb for the month and my partner is not happy about that either, but on the other hand I go with the glass being half full. This gives us additional time to explore Arizona during the cooler season.  The hosts are terrific and very interesting.  They live and play in their van for much of the year too.

My goal this month is to start to build some solid community around me in Tucson. I am realizing as I get older that this is so important.  That social aspect of aging keeps your mind young.  Keep tuned while I go about this.  Today, I spent time with some lovely ladies making succulent arrangements.  I really miss gardening in my home and this little gathering reduced my isolation in town and gave me a hit of gardening.  It is funny, though I am enjoying being home, I am already planning the next trip with "Little R."  We are going to explore camp hosting this next spring and summer for a large park or state park in Florida and/or Alaska. I am excited about this.  It is one of my retirement dreams.  

The Road to Hana....Maui

We flew to Maui a couple of days ago.  Whereas Oahu is on steroids, Maui has that relaxed feel of  "taking your time." There is still a lot of traffic, but you feel like you have time to drive on this island.  I have been sleeping deeply here, which is what I needed after being on the road in the van for so long.  We are staying in my timeshare at Papakea Oceanfront Resort.  My goodness, it is so pretty here.   It is right next to the ocean and there is a water fountain right outside our window.  I am at the moment drinking my Maui coffee looking at the palm trees and the island of Lanai across the ocean.  What could be better?

I drove the "road to Hana" the other day and also completed the loop around the eastern part of the island.  It is not for the faint of heart. but wow was it gorgeous. The road to Hana loops the highest part of the mountain of  Haleakala Volcano from north to east to south.  The ridges that run from Kipahulu, Hana, and Nahiku up to the highest part of Haleakala (10,023 ft.) are some of the rainiest places in the world and the vegetation and waterfalls reflect this.  I felt like I was in a tropical jungle (wait! I was).

This road dates back to the 1500s when the great chief Pi'ilani ordered his people to build a trail (alanui) around the entire coastline.  Before that there were places in the trail at Waiohue where "a traveler must cling like a lizard to the pali [cliff]"  (Sometimes I felt like the car was clinging to the road).  When completed, the road measured six feet wide and 138 miles long.  Remnants of this road still exist on the island, but the current road still has 617 hairpin turns and countless single lane bridges that are hundreds of years old. 

When we arrived at Hana, we stopped at the historic Hasegawa General Store and I could have picked up the "I survived the road to Hana' T-shirt, but I felt like the memories and pictures were enough.

The town of Hana is really the halfway point for the road.  That part where you are clinging like a lizard was after Hana and it was mostly rutted and unpaved on the southeastern portion of the island.  Now that was a technical challenge to drive that portion.  All my years of driving government vehicles in forests and over rough terrain came into play.  When I finally hit paved road, we had been on the Hana Road for 6 hours.  The reward was this magnificent sunset behind the islet of Molokini.  The sky was on fire.  It actually rivaled those sunsets that we have in Tucson, AZ.