April 16, 2025

   Hi Charlie, Oliver, and Lucy.  In hopes that you will find your way to my website and the secret link I put in just for you three, I will put some notes here to keep you updated on what is going on in my life.  Some will be short, and some will be long.  Boys, help Lucy along until she is old enough to have her own phone or laptop. 

    Spring is just around the corner, and in a few days, your mom will turn 43 years old.  Be sure to give her big hugs and wish her a happy birthday!  You may think 43 is old, and I’m sure your mom thinks so too, but guess what?  Papaw will be turning 70 years old a week later!  Now that is beginning to be a little old…  Ha!

   We take our camping trailer out for adventures four or five times a year and this first trip of 2025 will be to Arizona and New Mexico visiting some new places and going back to places we have been before.  We’ll be pulling out May 1st.  I will update you here as we go along. 

  

May 1, 2025 we left Trinidad around 9 a.m. and headed west going across La Veta Pass over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains into the San Juan Valley and then into the San Juan Mountains.  Here we had to cross over Wolf Creek Pass and it was snowing like crazy!  Fortunately it was just above freezing and it melted as soon as it hit the ground or us!  We arrived safely and plugged in for two nights.  

May 2 -  we took a day trip up to Vallecito to see the lake and and check in with friends at Blue Spruce Rv Park.   We then went back to our campsite and James prepared a couple filet steaks for my birthday.  

May 3 -  we headed for Navajo National Monument in  Northern Arizona.  It is within a very large area of land owned by the Navajo Nation including Monument Valley and many other awesome  natural wonders within its boundaries .  Navajo National Monument has three ancient  puebloan cliff dwelling locations and we were able to see one of them.  Many beautiful pieces of pottery were found in a sealed room and one of them.  Chase and Chewbacca had fun in the canyons. 

May 4 -  We head for Jerome, Arizona to see this fantatic mining town built in the late 1800s on the side of a mountain.  The drive took us through Flagstaff down through Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona, Arizona.  Just a few miles past Sedona we come to Jerome where we left the dogs in the trailer long enough to go dine on pizza and browse in the many shops and galleries.           

May 5 - We leave Jerome and head south through Phoenix to Lost Dutchman State Park.  Chase and Chewbacca were well behaved on the ride and when we set up they were happy to investigate our  campsite for three days.  We took them for a long walk  and then   James and I unloaded our bikes and took a ride through the park. 

May 7 - After three days at Lost Dutchman State Park we head to Tucson.  We always stay at the Lazy Days KOA which has a very large dog park and Chewbacca and Chase love it!  On the first full day in Tucson we drove up to the top of Mount Lemon.  It was 30 degrees cooler there!  On the Second day we headed to Saguaro National Park which is an unspoiled 93,000 acres of large saguaro cactus.  Between excursions we roamed around town and visited the cathedral.  Today we’re off to Bisbee, Arizona. 

May 10 - We head to Bisbee, Arizona.  Bisbee is a former copper mining town close to the border to Mexico.  While the mining has ceased, the town still exists with hundred year old buildings and hotels which used to support the mining operations.  There’s even a tour that takes you down into the deep mines on the old mining train where you sit like you are on a horse as it goes down into the mine.  One evening we went to our favorite Roka Cafe for a delicious dinner.  

May 13 - We head for Las Cruces, New Mexico.  The route was along the border with Mexico and in places the fence was only 200 yards away.  We stopped and drained the dogs at the monument for Geronimo’s surrender in 1886.  After we crossed the state line at Arizona and New Mexico, the wind picked up and got stronger and stronger until a fierce dust storm took over.  We were in the desert so dirt and sand was blowing over the road.  The storm picked up again the next day.  We have a favorite RV Park in Las Cruces which has a beautiful view of the Organ Mountains but since we arrived here we haven’t been able to see the mountains.  It is supposed to get better tomorrow when we head to Santa Fe, New Mexico.