March Transitions from Winter

Current Location: Old Fort Road Apartment in Klamath Falls.  Sunny and Cold at 42 degrees F

I had to go back to look at the last time I posted something to our ongoing story of our transition from living at Rocky Point, living for a time at Mo’s apartment complex, living part time in Grants Pass, and eventually living over there full time (at least when we aren’t traveling). I have a private blog for all this transitional stuff, and yet as I looked at this post, I realized that I might as well just share it on the “real” blog, the one people can see.  It isn’t about travel, I have no travel to talk about at the moment.  Yet, I do sometimes write about other things on this blog, and so here you go. So for my friends who have the secret link to the Transitions Blog, you don’t have to bother.  It is all right here.

I had no idea what I managed to keep track of and what has slipped by.  Winter this year has been long and cold, and yet at the moment the grass is at least a little bit green, and the snowflakes that are falling won’t stick.  Looking at that last post reminded me of how winter really felt, and as cold as the wind is today, it really isn’t winter, it is Spring. 

Mo and I know it is spring because we are raking.  Lots and lots of RAKING.  This year we have only 3 homes to care for instead of 4.  I am praying that by this time next year we will only have the Grants Pass property and these apartments.  The apartments are easy. 

After we returned from our southern trip to California, we spent several days at the Cottage.  It was amazing to travel from the cold snowy landscape of Klamath Falls over the mountain to brilliant sunshine and green grass, to the powder puff pink of flowering almonds, the brilliant golden yellow of forsythia, and daffodils in bloom everywhere.  What a treat! 

The Cottage felt welcoming, and after a few hours with the gas heat running, it was warm as well. 

We had a list of accomplishments we wanted to address, but the biggest job to tackle was the leaves.  Lovely old oaks, and just a single pine tree to add the dang pine needles to the mix.  We spent each day raking for several hours, and rather than waiting for a burn day, we hauled all those leaves to the compost section of the Josephine County Dump.  After the 4th load, the girl knew us well, and knew exactly how much to charge us for the trailer load of wet leaves.  The dump is about 10 miles north, and it is a pretty drive.  We didn’t really mind the break it gave us, taking Mattie along each time to smell the fresh air and bask in the sunshine coming in the truck windows.

I did a bit of weeding as well, and enjoyed the daffodils blooming inside our fence.  There are also several clumps of gorgeous huge daffodils outside the fence in the entryside mound that we built, but the neighbor thought they would make a nice bouquet.  I suppose she figured we weren’t around so it didn’t matter.  She had no clue that Mo and I were anxiously awaiting our time in Grants Pass and hoping we didn’t miss the daffodil bloom.  Nice that Glenn owned up to the theft however, and the next day he brought us a bouquet of bright yellow mums.  Still can’t figure out why they didn’t bring daffodils since the mums were six bucks and I saw daffodils in the store for 2 bucks a dozen.  Bet she doesn’t pick them next year!

Mo worked on the bathroom walls, finishing the taping and texturing and I completed the painting.  Silly in a way, but neither of us can stand how awful that bathroom looked all unfinished like that, and now it feels fresh and much nicer.  We are even going to add a cheap tile floor.  For a year.  Maybe more, but it could be as little as another year when we take a bulldozer to that sweet little cottage.

The most exciting thing that happened, however, was our meeting with the prospective builder, Dave Adams.  Turns out he is the one that built the fabulous  Taprock Grill, right on the Rogue River in town.  He builds 2 to 5 houses a year, and seemed quite delighted with doing our house.  He is a designer as well as a builder, and he took our chosen plan and tweaked it a bit, thinking out loud and making little drawings.  He was actually impressed with our choice, and while sitting in the modest kitchen at the cottage, listened to our thoughts and dreams.  Once we took him outside, and he saw the expansive view from the back northwest corner of the property, he got more excited.  He could see then why we wanted our living areas to be open to this direction, for the view and the sunsets.  He got it.

He will be making some sketches, and some proposals and will get back with us when we go back to the cottage in Mid April. 

Last sunny afternoon in Grants Pass with green grass and sunshine

In the mean time, we are doing everything we can to get Rocky Point ready to put on the market, also something that we hope to have happen before very long now. 

Back to Rocky Point and the melting snows

After our days at the cottage, we returned to the apartments for just a couple of days before packing up again and heading out to Rocky Point.  We stayed three days this time, again mostly raking and more raking.  Rocky Point has so many pine trees that those pine needles imbed in everything everywhere.  Also, this year we had such deep snows that the voles had a field day in Mo’s gorgeous lawns and they are riddled with grooves and trails, and large areas that look like there is no grass left at all.  It seemed worse than it has ever been in the past, but when I reviewed some of our photos from 2011 and 2013, I could see pretty much the same amount of damage.  The lawns do eventually recover.  Where in the world do those pesky beasts come from and where do they go for the rest of the year? 

It is hard to explain how I feel about Rocky Point.  When we stopped in several times over the late winter and early spring to get wood, it seemed dark and somber, cold and lonely. Once we started cleaning up the yard again, once the sun started shining and Mo built a big cozy fire, I loved being there.  I actually love being everywhere I am it seems.  Each place has its own special parts, and Rocky Point is so lovely, so solid and well built.  It was nice having a few days with the big deep kitchen sinks (the apartment has thin stainless steel tiny sinks), with the garbage disposal and best of all, that fabulous Rocky Point water. 

We switched out our TV service from Rocky Point to Grants Pass, with a receiver that would work with our travel satellite as well, supposedly.  We have yet to make it work.  But it works fine in Grants Pass where the official address is located.  Mo hauled the receiver up to Rocky Point, and without a lot of hoopla, it worked just fine with our old Direct TV dish that is no longer officially in the system.  I guess the receiver is the part that matters.  So we had warm fires, good food, some basic tv (with no DVR however) and great weather to get all our jobs completed.

Mo finished patching the nail holes in my bathroom (yeah, I had a ton of pictures) and I managed to repaint them using the 4 colors of faux paint I used to make that bathroom look like a Caribbean seascape. Can’t tell at all where the patched holes were located any more.  I also painted the pantry doors and we raked and raked some more.  Managed to get all the grass raked, and next trip we will tackle the flower beds and all the trimming of overgrown stuff from winter.  So much work out there, but it really is lovely.  I’ll miss it.

Back to the Apartments on Old Fort Road

The other project related to our Transition process was finishing up Apartment D.  Mo was in no real hurry, but had been working on it off and on over the winter.  However, last month we thought that Melody’s Robert would be getting a job in Klamath Falls (he currently lives and works in Medford) and would like to rent the apartment.  Mo worked hard on the painting and carpentry, and while she was away for ten days at her brother’s place, I worked on trying to do the heavy cleaning.  I stripped floors, cleaned the dirtiest stove I have ever experienced, cleaned the fridge and fixtures, and finished up some of the painting. 

Robert won’t be moving as soon as he hoped, the job didn’t pay well enough, but he is still looking.  In the mean time, we are completing the process of getting the apartment ready to be rented.  Most complicated project for Mo was figuring out why the floor beneath the carpet was sagging.  Turns out there was a hole in the floor, with no explanation.  She managed to get down in there, repair the hole and in the process found out that the crawl space was fully enclosed in cement, dry and clean.  No clue why there was a hole in the floor, but she didn’t find any bodies.

We have had a slow springtime, with snow coming and going, and most of March has been rainy and cold with biting winds.  It has seemed as though our progress has been a bit slow, but then again when we see how much we have accomplished, it doesn’t seem so bad. 

Easter this year came really early, and Mo and I returned from Rocky Point on Saturday so that we could entertain the family here for our traditional Easter Brunch.  We had a great time, and in spite of the quite small dining area, we managed to seat 9 at the table.  This year we actually played Charades, which used to be family tradition that went by the wayside for a few years.  It was a lovely day, with Deborah driving 2 hours from Shady Cove and Melody’s family walking down the path from their apartment here in the compound.

I spent quite a bit of time early on Easter Sunday looking at old photos of Easter’s past, especially the ones at Rocky Point.  I guess I did miss that old dining room, the big kitchen, the wonderful yard where we had many an egg hunt. 

Remembering the old days at the Rocky Point house with all that space!

Still, with paper plates and plastic glasses, we managed a wonderful meal in the tiny kitchen and cleanup was a breeze. The only problem seemed to be that there is no way to get a sit down table photo of everyone at once.

Such mixed feelings.  Sometimes I think I could be perfectly content here forever, but other times I find myself daydreaming about having space again, another roomy kitchen, a bigger dining room, and oh yes…more than one toilet. 

The builder talked with us at length about how people build homes with extra rooms just because they don’t know what to do with all the furniture that they have inherited.  We laughed a lot about that, and why build a big house just so family can share holiday meals a few times a year?  So hopefully our house will not be too big, with rooms and furniture not used.  Sometimes I think I could really live here forever if needed, but I do want to get out of the snow.  This winter reminded me of just how long and cold and hard winter can be in the Klamath Basin. 

Sure, we can do as we have in the past and wander for a few months at a time, do the Snowbird thing. But we both love our home as much as we love traveling. So other times, my mind drifts to the plans, the photos on Pinterest of kitchens and colors and cupboards and floor choices.  Mo has built a home from scratch, the house at Rocky Point, but for me it is a brand new experience.  I am looking forward to it, and yet trying so very hard to stay in the moment and appreciate each wonderful place that I have right now to be.

Tulips blooming in May at Rocky Point 2012

02-17-2016 Valentine’s in the Basin

Current Location: Old Fort Road Klamath Falls at 43F with clouds and a strong breeze

Keep in mind if you want to see anything up close, click on the photo and it will take you to the SmugMug gallery for that photo.

Valentine’s Day is a misnomer for me.  It is more like Valentine’s Month.  When we returned from the sunny desert I was faced with taking down all the Christmas lights, those little brilliant sparks around the porch and fences that hold the dreariness of winter at bay. 

I solved that problem almost immediately, after all, it was at least February before I brought out the two small boxes that hold my Valentine lights and decorations.  I had to laugh because I kept a couple of old Martha Stewart magazines that looked Valentine pretty.  One was from February 2010 and one was from February 2001.  Before 9/11.

I am back to quilting in the upstairs apartment, back to trying to get in my daily 10,000 steps with Mattie.  We walk from the house here on Old Fort Road, and can manage 3 or 4 miles of roadside walking.  I am waiting for the snow to melt before we tackle the mountain trails again. 

When I don’t want to face the steep hills of my local road, I’ll drive a few minutes toward town and walk the 4 mile round trip of gentle paved bike trail that borders Foothill Blvd.  Always surprises me that the trail seems to get so little use.  A biker here and there, a runner sometimes, but I have yet to pass a dog walker. 

February may be a dreary month, at least in this part of the world, but the best part of February in Klamath Basin is the magnificent migration.  We drove to Medford the day after Valentine’s Day, winding around Lakeshore Drive on our trip to the big city, and rounding a corner along a water saturated grain field we saw a magnificent sight.  Thousands of tundra swans and white front geese were gathering in the fields along with many other unidentified geese and at least ten bald eagles and one golden eagle. 

It reminded me of what I had forgotten.  If the days seem dreary or chilly and quilting and housework and tv get tiresome, just load up the car with cameras and jackets and go find the birds. 

I had only a phone with me for the trip to Medford.  Birds were not on my mind.  We had a plan to go to the quilt stores, Mo to spend unlimited browsing time at Harbor Freight, and then to celebrate a late Valentine’s Day with fabulous halibut at McGrath’s Fish House, and to purchase two luxurious pounds of hand picked chocolate from See’s, a Valentine tradition.

I threw in a visit to the dermatologist, where she burned off a few more reminders of my southern california upbringing near the beach.  I remember Monday mornings after long beach weekends when I couldn’t go to school because I was sick and feverish and had huge blisters on my legs that were so bad I couldn’t straighten them out enough to walk.  Who knew.  I should have been dead by now.

Returning from town that evening, I put a big note on the calendar.  BIRDS!  So Tuesday morning we loaded up the truck and the dog and the cameras and headed for Lakeshore Drive.  Skies were a bit cloudy but clear until we reached the birds, where a low bank of fog protected them from view and gave both my cameras fits trying to get some good shots.  Sure do wish I had one of those big lenses like Judy. My Nikon lens has a hard time at that distance as does the longer zoom on the Lumix. 

Still, the best moments had nothing to do with the photos.  Mo managed the truck along the narrow road while I walked searching for better shots.  In the distance, something spooked the white front geese and in a moment there was a huge lifting and rushing sound of thousands of wings and calls.  I stood there transfixed, knowing that no photo, no recording, nothing could capture that feeling and that moment except my own memory.

The sounds somehow felt uplifting.  As the birds lifted and their calls reached across the fields, I felt as though maybe there was hope for the world.  The birds are still migrating, the patterns of the seasons still bring snow melt and sunshine and hope.  It was a good day.

02-07-2016 We Are Home

Current Location: Old Fort Road Klamath Falls Oregon

It is good to be here, although this day has slipped by rather quickly without much to show for it.  I guess it is often like that when returning from a winter escape.  Lucky for us, the weather is gorgeous, and even though there are huge mountains of frozen snow piled up in berms around the driveway, the temperatures are in the 50’s with the same predicted for the rest of the week.

We had a good trip, with the weather angels staying by us most of the way.  The huge winds that were predicted in the desert happened around us, and we managed to avoid being on the road when they blew.

Highway 58, opened once again after our one day delay, was dry and bare, with snow all around the hills but none on the road.  We had no rain to speak of all the way home, even though some was predicted.

The passes in Northern California and into Oregon, both over Mt Shasta and the Siskiyous, were bare and dry, with gorgeous sunny skies accompanying us as we zeroed in on the cottage in Grants Pass. Mo and I took an extra day there to clean up the cars and the MoHo, to get all the laundry caught up and make sure the little cottage was all spiffy for our next visit this coming month. 

On our way home, we stopped in at Rocky Point to check on the house, and while still buried in snow, everything looked just fine. It is good to have friends and neighbors watching the house. There isn’t much left there to worry about anyway, with most everything moved either here to the apartments or to Grants Pass. Who knows with the winter we have had this year when the snow will melt and we can get on with the project of making the house look pretty, spiff up the yard, and put her on the market.

We traveled about 2800 miles in the three weeks we were out, spending less than $66. per day.  I can only attribute that low daily budget to the much lower gas prices we encountered throughout both California and Arizona.  It was rather amazing to pay $1.53 for a gallon of regular 87 octane gasoline.  Even California had prices below $2.00 per gallon in many places except the Coachella Valley.

We spent $412 on camping, and only $695 on fuel. When gas prices are high, traveling in the MoHo is on a par with traveling in a car and staying in hotels, but when fuel is this low, it is much more economical to travel in our RV.  We love it so much more anyway, we would choose it over motel/hotel travel most of the time anyway, especially in the western part of the United States.

We have a few small trips planned in the next months, but our main focus is getting the Rocky Point house ready for sale and sold.  Who knows what life has in store.  I learned from close friends recently, and from a private incident in my own family, that the cards can turn on a moment’s notice.  Time to appreciate every single moment with those I love and live my life fully in the present, rather than day dreaming about what is coming next. I am glad to be home.

02-01-2016 A Day at The Living Desert

“I had time after time watched the progression across the plain of the Giraffe, in their queer, inimitable, vegetative gracefulness, as if it were not a herd of animals but a family of rare, long-stemmed, speckled gigantic flowers slowly advancing.”

From “Out of Africa” by Karen Blixen, first published in 1937

Sometimes a simple moment can really take your breath away.  Mo and I were at the end of our long and pleasant day walking the grounds of The Living Desert, a zoo and desert botanical garden in Palm Desert, in the Palm Springs area.  We knew there was a baby giraffe, born just a week or so ago.  We also knew that folks said they were keeping the baby away from the crowds so we weren’t really expecting to see him up close.

This photo is from their website

It was late in the day, and we were walking along the savannah exhibit where the giraffes are kept, looking at the pretty landscape, when suddenly Mo gasped as a long neck appeared beyond the hills. It was just too funny, and within minutes two adult giraffes were walking the trail over the hill and then there he was, the little one.  They were amazing to watch.  I only picked up “Out of Africa” to read a few days ago, but in the very first chapter the description I quoted above can be found. 

After watching them amble out of sight, I can only imagine what a thrill it must be to see these beautiful animals in the wild.  I decided I needed to go back and view Erin’s Smug Mug photos of their African Safari to see if she had giraffe photos to add to her amazing wildlife repertoire. Sure enough, she does. If you have a moment to enjoy a real treat, check out her photos here.

We left our boondock site at Ogilby Road on Saturday morning on January 30.  I think the two days we spent there were some of our favorites of this season.  The wind that was predicted for just about everywhere in the southwest left us alone, and we enjoyed the days from sunrise to sunset.  An especially endearing moment was watching Mattie when she saw the vastness of that desert landscape for the first time.

Instead of jumping out of the MoHo to explore, she parked herself on the inside step, viewing that huge space with what seemed to be a bit of trepidation.  You could almost see her thinking, “This is just to big and open and scary.  Think I’ll stay right here in my house.”  Once we took her out, she loved it, with so much space to run and play without any restriction.  We walked with her, but no leash was needed and she loved that.

We decided to return to Desert Hot Springs for a couple of days at the Catalina Spa pools before continuing north back to Oregon.  Two nights were enough, we thought, but the weather had other plans.  The big winds hit hard on Saturday night and some of the trees next to the dog park behind us succumbed to the high winds.  The predictions were for even higher wind warnings on Monday when we planned to leave.  Nope. No need to get hasty about getting on the road, and we simply extended our stay for another day.

Monday February 1 dawned mostly clear and gorgeous, with the winds at Desert Hot Springs strong but not unbearable.  It was a perfect time for us to explore one of the more well known attractions in the Palm Springs area. We had never been to the Living Desert, for several reasons.  It is a bit spendy, at $17.95 for seniors, with other charges for the little extras. (We chose to skip the special shows).  We also had a dog, and the place is not dog friendly.  Be aware that even the parking lot on a cool, cloudy day is not dog friendly.  Dogs left in cars will be reported to the Humane Society.

We planned accordingly and parked Mattie safely in the shade down the road from the official gate entry where there is ample street parking with all day shade.  With temps in the 50’s, we had no worries about her overheating.

I enjoy zoos, some of them, and took time to read that this one is accredited with the AZA, which may or may not be enough to keep some people happy about zoos, but it is good to know it has been reviewed, that the habitats are as good as they should be for captive animals, and that they participate in breeding of endangered species for the world. 

However, what I most wanted to see at The Living Desert were the gardens.

From their website:

“The Living Desert was one of the first public gardens to represent the plants from a given geographical region through “immersion” gardening. These gardens are created with the purpose of giving one the sense of having been dropped into the middle of the area being represented. Among the Geographic gardens are the Mohave, Upper Colorado (the local region of the Colorado Desert of southeastern California at 1,500 to 3,000 feet elevation), Yuman (southwestern Arizona), Vizcaino (central Baja California, Mexico), Foothills of Sonora and Chihuahuan (Big Bend area of western Texas). Village Watutu, East African Garden, Savannah Exhibit and Madagascar Gardens all strive to achieve the same affect.”

We had a wonderful day browsing through the deserts of North America, marveling at the incredible variety of what we commonly thought were simply barrel cactus, the columnar cactus family, the many varieties of yucca, including the Joshua Tree.

A section dedicated to the Cahuilla (ka-we-ah) people was fascinating, and I was happy to at last discover how to pronounce this word that I have seen in many places as we travel around the southern deserts of California.

The beautiful palm oasis was very much like the Thousand Palms area where we have enjoyed many hikes into the cool shadows of desert palms and rare watering holes.

By the time we had wandered the desert gardens, it was mid afternoon, and most of the animals were snoozing.  The Jaguar was simply a beautiful but unmoving mound of spots, viewed through lacy stems of shrubs.  The coyotes were snuggled into their dens, with photos through one way glass impossible to decipher unless you knew you were seeing a coyote sleeping.

The Mexican Wolf was also napping in the afternoon sun.

The Big Horn sheep however, were posing nicely on their rocky hill, and the Ibex and Gazelles were out and about. 

A few birds were in the walk through aviaries, but it was hard to get terribly excited about them when I have seen so many in the wild.  There was a 25 year old woodpecker, named Dewey, retired to the hospital due to some physical limitations. 

I had never seen a Sandcat, gorgeous creature.  Much like a big fat tabby housecat.  The meercats were among my favorites. Who can resist those watchful eyes and adorable faces!

We were at the end of the day when we discovered the giraffes, and they were the highlight.  Such incredibly amazing animals. 

On the way out, we passed the huge model train display which rivaled model trainI have seen anywhere.  Brought back memories of my childhood September days at the LA County Fair, where the model train setup was as big as a city block.

After our day at the Living Desert, we meandered west toward Cathedral City to try supper at a well reviewed restaurant, New Fortune Asian Cuisine.  It was a small, very tidy little restaurant in a stip mall.  The service was good, but the food was just OK, nothing to write home about.  Someday we might try Wang’s in the Desert, only it would have to be on a day when we felt like dressing a bit more and spending a bit more cash for the highly rated cuisine.  Maybe next time.

Next:  Home to Oregon

01-27-2016 “Winter is Coming” so let’s go hiking at Catalina State Park

Current Location: Catalina Spa and RV Resort Desert Hot Springs, CA

Starting up the Romero Canyon Trail at Catalina State Park

I guess winter is already here if you are in the right place.  For us, it is another week in the future, unless you want to call rain and wind in Desert Hot Springs at 60F “winter”.  We have a few more days before we continue on the trek toward home and back to a real winter.  Looking at the weather today for Klamath Falls, it is 20F with snow predicted.  Remind me again why we are going back home?  Full timers will laugh at us, but we are NOT full timers and have no desire to live “the life”.  I love my hearth, my quilt room, my family close by.

Visiting Wes and Gayle at their home in Sauharita

Thinking about this a bit in the last few days, probably because we are around the snow birds and full timer’s who snowbird south in the winter.  I know lots of people who are doing the full time life and love it, but not for us.  Thinking about why, perhaps, it isn’t for us.  I used to want to do it, would daydream about it, but traveling for a few months at a time is plenty, and has reminded me why I love the roots of home with the freedom to travel.

There is something about a familiar shape in the landscape, a ridgeline that I know, mountain peaks all around me that I can name and have visited in person that settles my soul.  I feel “home” in so many places, but returning to a familiar landscape where I know the plants, the trees, the rocks, the soils, is as much a part of being at home as the familiar house and bed, books and sewing machine.  For Mo it might be her workshop, a project to work on, something to fix that gives her that home feeling. I love our life just as it is. Still, I might like waiting a bit longer before returning to winter in Klamath Falls.

Home is also about friends, but those friends do come and go.  Wes and Gayle are friends who have shared many good times with us, both at home in Oregon and in Arizona.  Since they at last sold their home in Rocky Point, it was important for us to get to Tucson to spend some time with them.

Their home is so much fun to see.  A lovely home, perfect for the desert, with wide views toward Madera Canyon on the northwest face of the Santa Rita Mountains, it is filled with Gayle’s artsy touch.  We have been the lucky recipient of Gayle’s excellent entertainment skills for years, with wonderful cooking served in magical settings on dishes that match whatever meal she has decided to serve.  Tuesday’s lunch was no exception, and after lingering in the sunny dining room a bit, Wes took Mo outside to show off his beautifully landscaped desert garden.

Mattie loved it too, with high solid desert walls that protected her safely from any critters who might try to eat her, and lots of spaces to explore.

Later in the afternoon we drove up the canyon, enjoying the views, looking for birds and laughing a lot about the sillouhette of the infamous Elephant Head that I couldn’t see no matter how much I squinted.  Takes a good imagination! 

Wes and Gayle had a great surprise planned for us that evening, and Mo and I thought it must be pretty good as we followed them in our car for almost an hour driving through Tucson.  We were headed for dinner at Little Anthony’s Diner, where the hamburgers were big and juicy and I had an Orange Crush soda that was like stepping back into my childhood. 

We thought that was the end of the surprise until we were led out the door of the restaurant to the entry to the Gaslight Theater, a Tucson institution for almost 40 years.  We had no clue.  The show playing was “The Cisco Kid”, and I haven’t laughed so hard in a very long time.  It was just the kind of comedy that gets to me, a touch of really stupid slapstick with some hysterical audience asides and a bit of Saturday Night Live.

The pianist was excellent, and got better as the night went on, and the songs were so funny.  Broadway type songs set to rock n roll music with lyrics that fit the silly melodrama.  We had so much fun with our friends.  Thanks so much to both of you, Wes and Gayle!!

With perfect weather in the forecast, we planned another day together on Wednesday, with our friends driving north to the park to have lunch with us before our planned afternoon hike.  We enjoyed a few appetizers and set off.

Our first hike was an easy one, walking from the campground along the Bridle Trail to share the Romero Ruin trail with our friends and Mattie.  We went back to the rig after an hour or so, and decided to save lunch for later in the afternoon when we returned from the Romero Canyon Trail.

Mo and I had hiked to the lower pools on the Romero Canyon Trail in 2014, but we had Abby with us, and no dogs are allowed in the wilderness to protect the Bighorn sheep. We left Mattie to rest safely in the rig and drove to the canyon trailhead for the next hike.

I had read that the hike to Romero Pools is considered a “moderate” hike.  Probably would be moderate for Bobbie and Mark, but for the four of us, it was fun, but on the upper edge of moderate.  After a little side trip to the lower pools, the trail gets progressively harder, with some fairly steep and rough sections as the trail approaches the crest.  After the crest it is another half hour or so down to the pools.

We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, and probably could have managed the hardest part of the trail up the last switchbacks to the crest, but decided against it.  So, no, we didn’t make it all the way to the pools.  We laughed a lot with the people coming back down, with some saying it was worth it and others saying “absolutely not!”. Best part of the hike was the amazing views from the upper parts of the canyon.

I suppose someday we will have to try again and find out for ourslelves, but I will go with a different frame of mind, ready for seriously rocky cliff climbing to reach the pools.  Rough granite and gneiss, the bedrock in this part of the Catalina Mountains, crumbled and sharp, with lots of loose stuff isn’t my favorite.  I’ll take Utah slickrock any day! 

After a few hours on the trail, we were all ready to enjoy our picnic lunch at the campsite with a cold beer to top it off.  By the time Wes and Gayle waved goodbye it was almost dark.  What a great way to spend a couple of days in Arizona.

Just for you, Joanne, some face time for Mattie!