A bit of a hike

View of campground and lake from the ridge

We have enjoyed Roper Lake. It is a quiet place and we’ve met some very nice folks while we’ve been here. The other night we spent it around a campfire with the couple next to us from Colorado. He was the Postmaster at Yellowstone for quite awhile but recently retired and they have some land in Colorado they eventually want to build on. He has had some health problems so they are just traveling full time this winter. They had a lot of great stories and we all laughed a lot and enjoyed a beautiful Arizona night. 
Steps up the trail
On Thursday we went out for a hike. There is a trail that goes up along the ridge behind the campground. It wasn’t too steep or too long but make for a nice little hike. Another of our neighbors, a couple from Albuquerque, told us they had seen a Great Horned owl in the trees at the day use area so we went to find it. Met them out there looking again too. Laurie was just sure she had found it, pointing to the area. John said “it sure looks like a squirrel to me” and sure enough that’s what it was. All she had seen were the little ears sticking up. John had fun teasing her about the squirrely looking owl. The real owl was no where to be found. I did have the pleasure of listening to him the night before after we went to bed.
I don’t think I mentioned before that this campground has it’s own hot tub. The water in it is from a natural hot springs. We haven’t tried it out but mainly because I would call it more a “warm tub” vs a hot tub. I did take a few pics of it.
Natural Hot Tub
Tomorrow will be a travel day. We are headed toward Phoenix and are hoping to stay at Cave Creek a Maricopia regional park. John has decided on a Banks exhaust system and brake package and Banks set us up with one of their certified installers in Phoenix. Cave Creek is the closest of the Maricopia parks to him. We know they are popular and will call ahead as we travel to check on availability. There are two other Maricopia parks in the area as well, McDowell Mountain and Usery that are also possibilities. We also have several people we would like to visit in the area. It looks like we can stay up to two weeks and still make Vegas with a stop in between so we don’t have to travel any long days.
Our squirrel siteing
Happy trails.................

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Time for me to learn to drive this rig.

Image
Trail at Squaw Creek park Yesterday we moved back to Morgan Creek park (about a 15 mile drive) and I drove the rig! We have always said that I needed to start doing this but I never seem to do it. The first year I think John just felt he needed to get proficient at all the driving & parking things before he had me do it and then we just got lazy. It was just easier for him to do it. Recently friends of our that we met in Tucson, John and Terri had a very harrowing experience that reminded us why we both need to be able to drive this rig. John they think had a seizure while driving, luckily not towing but still it is amazing that they survived it. What this meant is that now Terri had to do the driving back to their former home town Sacramento and like me she had not done much driving. She did great and they are now coming off the road and starting a new phase of life. All of John's test look good so far and we wish him the best and hope that it was just a one time isolated...
Read more

Three plus years of full timing....what have we learned

Image
Zion National Park,  Utah, December 2010 Harris Hawk at Sonoran Desert Museum, Tuscon Feb. 2011 When we left Cedar Rapids it began our 4th year of living and traveling in our RV. The last three years have flown by and we are still not ready to go back to a sticks and bricks life. We have traveled a lot of the western US but even with time out there all three years there are so many places we have yet to discover. This year will be our first going south and east, all new places for me and many new ones for John. I think one of the things that I learn every time we find somewhere new is how beautiful this country is. If you slow down and take the time you will find amazing things everywhere. I think the thing I appreciate the most about this lifestyle is that freedom to take it slow. BLM land near Quartzite, AZ in January 2011 Putah Creek, Winters CA in Jan.2013 Crater Lake, Oregon, fall 2012 Diamond Lake, Oregon, fall 2012 When we first took off we w...
Read more

The Urban Life

Image
The view from our balcony I have been thinking about this post for awhile. When we are not traveling I find it hard to sit down and write but I have wanted to tell you about our new digs and what living downtown has been like for us. Another balcony view We moved into a one bedroom apartment on the west side of the river in the downtown Cedar Rapids area. This is a brand new building that actually they are still working on. The first floor is businesses, floors 2 and 3 are apartments and floors 4, 5, & 6 are condos. We love the building. Every apartment and condo has a balcony that looks out over the river and the McGrath Amphitheatre. Our little apartment in this building is 767 sq. which, after living in our 5th Wheel for 7 years, seems huge. We feel these apartments were well thought out. The kitchen is wonderful. It has a large island (all  solid countertops - quartz I think) with a large sink and plenty of seating room . We started by buying 3 barstools but f...
Read more