Made it to Tucson

After driving 950 miles over past 2 days, we have returned to Catalina State Park north of Tucson.  The first 850 miles were by Jeep to Tempe, neat Phoenix, arriving at the storage place around 10 AM this morning (doesn't that sound like we went overland through hill and dale?). We had prepared the RV for storage during a driving rainstorm last December and it sat unattended in a secure, covered storage facility for past 2 months. We had filled the gas tank with stabilized fuel, drained the water and waste tanks and lines, and disconnected the batteries. One reason for selecting Phoenix was the likelihood of the temps remaining above freezing which happened.  Nevertheless, we were prepared for something to have gone wrong.

Our Catalina campsite

Well, cross your fingers, but it hasn't happened yet.  We reconnected the batteries, checked the levels and started up the engine on first try!  Woo-Hoo!  then checked the tire pressure, visually inspected everything and were out the door by 10:45.  Drove 5 blocks to a shopping center to hook up the jeep and have lunch then headed for Tucson, arriving at the park around 2:15 PM local time.  Fortunately we had made a reservation last December for our original spot because we had just realized it is President's day weekend and the campground was full.  So we pulled in, received our passes, drove to the campsite and proceeded to hook up.  We noticed the brand new 40 foot motorhome next door made by the same company as ours when the Claire drove up to it and I asked her who was the "Gator" fan of the family to which she replied, "Both of us" then came over to introduce herself and invited us over for a little tour.  She and her husband, Chuck were long time RV'er's from North Carolina having spent time out here in previous years and were roaming around the southwest for the winter.  They had bird feeders out, drawing the finches and woodpeckers, which made Sraddha real happy. Real nice neighbors, with 2 beautiful Collie dogs, and we hope to see them again.

We wanted to get back to settling in and were hoping all the water lines were ok, which they were along with all things electrical.  Whew! After stowing gear for 2 hours we headed out 3 miles south to replenish a few needed fresh supplies to get us through a couple meals.

Desert flower

The desert is beginning to bloom here and I saw this cool little flower nearby which was only 6 inches high so I  managed to grab my camera with the closeup lens and shoot a few pics of it in the late afternoon light.  If any of the readers can identify it please comment so I can caption the pic.

We prepared some dinner after a little quiet time and were remarking how blessed it is to be here again.

As I am typing I can hear the coyotes howling in the distance, a nightly occurrence.  it is approaching bedtime and the campground is getting real quiet. It will be great to get a good nights rest and enjoy the quiet.