Tucson

It seems that all roads lead to Tucson.

We seem to keep finding ourselves here when on the road.

We left you last in Midland Tx.  

The weather had warmed into the upper70's and I was in shorts.   

During the night however the DogHouse started rocking and getting cooler inside.  

By morning the wind was howling and it was 27 degrees outside.  

The wind chill was close to zero.

Winter had returned with a vengeance.

Our travels the last two days.

After leaving Midland we drove about 7hrs west to Rockhound State Parkin Deming, NM. 

On the way we crossed back onto the warm side of the previous nights cold front

so thankfully the temperature once again climbed back into the 70's

We really like Rockhound and its nearby sister park,

City of Rocks which is north of Deming.

Rockhound is located on the side of a mountain, and overlooks Deming.

The views are great during the day and once the sun sets the shimmering lights of

Deming far below lend a beautiful backdrop.

Morning paints the mountains to the west, as viewed from our perch.

If you've been to Rockhound, but haven't been there in a year or more you

might be surprised at the upgrades.  There has been a fair amount of landscaping done

and the bathhouse and showers are new and delightful.

Only $10 a night for a boon docking site or $14 for water/electric.

Morning dawned clear and crisp.

It was a chore waking up the Doodles.

A quick 4 hour drive found us in Tucson, Arizona.

Tonight we are at Gilbert Ray Campground in Tucson Mountain County Park.

Gilbert Ray is in a beautiful natural Sonoran Desert Setting.

Normally we have the greatest sunsets from here but it is cloudy today

so I think we're not going to get one tonight.

Tomorrow we'll move about 20 miles to Catalina State Park,

north of Tucson where we will spend 5 days tending to business

and just chilling.

Tonight however a very light rain has begun to fall...

That means the smells of the desert will soon begin to lift up from the soil.

Anytime it rains here in the desert it seems as if every pore of the planet

opens up to consume the rain, and in the process releases 

the most amazing cacocphony of sweet scents into the air.

It promises to be sweet sleeping tonight!

Dashing West

Tonight we are in Midland Texas.

Garden Spot of the US...   Not!

We had planned on visiting Hot Springs Arkansas and spending a couple of days

 but cold weather continues to push us west.  

Our travel map for Fri, Sat, and Sunday

We left Asheville NC with snow and 27 degree temps.

Below is heading west thru the Appalachians on I-40

7 hours after leaving Asheville we were on Pin Oak Lake

in Natchez Trace State Park in Western Tenn.

Its a lovely state park and we would have loved to dawdle but

we were in search of warmth.

On Saturday we pushed west another 450 miles to Texarkana, Tx

and the Shady Pines RV Park.

Upon arrival we were greeted with 75 degree temps...  nice!

The park is just southwest of town on some nice ponds.

Its a pretty location with good services and only $27.

Here at the park we found an interesting RV of sorts.

A 1928 Ford.

This morning we left Texarkana and pushed another 500 miles west and are now

in Midland, Tx where we will spend the night.

Tomorrow will be Deming, New Mexico then on to Catalina State Park

in Tucson where we will spend 5 days tending to our road sores.

We also made appointments at an Optometrist for eye exams and then

will pick up some new eyeglasses before we head to Europe.

One sad note:

If you've followed our blog for a while you know about 

Mary Coyles Ice Cream in Phoenix.

We learned from our friends that after almost 70 years, 

on Sept 30th Mary has closed her doors.

Another institution gone.

We are thankful that we had the chance to experience the nostalgia before it closed,

and thanks again to Lindsay for sending us in that direction.

A reminder once again that nothing is forever...

So enjoy life while you can.

We will do our part.