Spring & Summer 2026

     Greetings friends and family! The spring was busy following Rick's volunteer time at Ethnos in January & February.

                                                  The Cruise

    We were blessed to be able to take a short cruise to Catalina Island & Mexico in early March. Should you have the opportunity, we'd recommend enjoying a cruise: no cooking and no cleaning, just time to relax and enjoy beautiful locations. 

Cruising, via golf cart, made for a fun-day on Catalina Island!




 

                                                  Camping with Grandchildren

    March also brought the opportunity for me (Rick) to take my three grandkids on a camping trip. I like to use apps like "Freecampsites.net" and "The Dyrt" to find campsites in Arizona and the western US. I located a nice first-come/first-served campground at "Powell Springs"; it is located off highway 169 between I-17 and AZ 69, near the town of Cherry. 

                               We really enjoyed the beautiful campground for several days. 

 


The hammocks were a big hit! The children decided to spend one night sleeping outside in hammocks, and I made use of a cot. This only happened because I was outvoted! And though it was a little cool throughout the night, it was a memorable experience for them.

We also enjoyed playing cornhole, board games, cards, and a day-trip into Prescott for pizza and ice cream.


The Dragoons
We really love southeast Arizona and all the outdoor opportunities it provides. One of our favorite spots is The Dragoon Mountains. Camping is allowed on either side of this small mountain range. Three miles north of Tombstone, via Middlemarch Rd, a 10 mile drive will take you to the west side of the Dragoons--our favorite. Entrance to the east side is via the small town of Dragoon. There is a pay campground on the east side and free dispersed camping on both sides of the range. 
On the west end, we set up "The Chalet" (our inflatable tent) and enjoyed 4 nights and five days of relaxation, hiking, strolling, and playing games. 

View from near our campsite: "Slavin Gulch" is a creek that runs at the bottom of this road. Though there are seasonal pools and flowing water, the bed can dry up during hot summer months thus, summertime is not ideal to camp in the Dragoons.








Dragoon west directions. 

Dragoon east directions. I-10 to Texas Canyon, Dragoon exit.




SUMMER
Colorado here we come!

We left Tucson on April 3rd to begin our summer journey. Before we headed to Colorado, we made a few pit stops. White Sands National Park was our first destination. Should you visit, be certain to take sandals and sunglasses. Sandals will eliminate collecting sand in closed shoes, and sunglasses will block glare preventing "snow-blindness". It was a really neat place to see and experience.






We stayed at a family run RV park in Alamogordo, "Lawhorn RV park". The interesting thing was that it was set right next to "Pistachio Land"! Mr. Lawhorn from the RV park offered us the use of his golf cart. We took a run over to check out Pistachio Land...pretty much the tourist trap. 


Next stop: Brock, Texas!
From Alamogordo we drove to Brock, Texas to visit Joshua, Mariah, and Cole, (Rick's family).
During the week we were there, we enjoyed playing games, dining out, hanging out and a wildlife park.


On To Chama, New Mexico! 

We have a friend who lives off-grid in the mountains of Chama so, we planned a few days to hang out in the area. We stayed at Lake Heron State Park campground. We enjoyed a few meals with our friend Barry and, strolled around his 10-acre, forest homestead at 8500' elevation. He built a charming "tiny cabin" meeting every need to accommodate his lifestyle in the woods.  


We enjoyed putzing around the small village of Chama, had a cup of coffee at The Iron Rail Inn, and took a scenic drive along the highway that runs parallel to the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. 


Priest Gulch!
Arriving the third week of April, we experienced a few light snow storms into mid-May. The highlight of our summer was a planned visit from one of Noreen's daughters and grandson. The sneaky surprise was when, said daughter, drove into Cortez for a "shopping" day-trip, and returned with ANOTHER daughter that had flown in to surprise Noreen for her birthday🎈
We all took a planned camping trip to Molas Lake (10,500 feet) for three nights: enjoyed the beautiful scenery, fishing, cruising the lake on the canoe, a trip into Silverton and, a scenic drive into the Mineral Creek area where we were treated to a partial view of a moose (just his antlers) and a huge bear! 
We ALWAYS look forward to family/friends visiting us here in the summer!

Molas Lake 


Rick & Liam - nice Rainbow trout!
The trout fishing was fantastic!

Fish on!



Alexandra & Liam out for a cruise.


Big ol' Bear.



Thank you for taking the time to travel along with us. 
We look forward to sharing new adventures with you soon!











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