Boy! Were we looking forward to this trip! And it came

very close to not happening at all. Before we could leave,

Terry had to get a big project out the door … a project

that was supposed to have been completed during the summer, but which had been delayed several times due to scheduling issues and family events in his client’s life…events out of his control, as well as his client’s. So here we were with plans that had been made some time ago (thinking the afore-mentioned project would be long-accomplished), wondering if we could/should really do it. “The best laid plans o’ mice and men ...” But determined to make it happen, Terry put the pedal to the metal, and managed to get the project designed, laid out, photos from a rush photo shoot selected and in place, and all approved and uploaded to the printer for production in the nick o’ time…10:30 PM the night before we left, to be exact. So we were able to leave as planned, keeping our return open-ended, to be determined by when the project’s proofs from the printer were ready for review. It was close!

Add to this already stressful run to the finish line the fact that exactly one week before we were to leave Sadie gave us a scare! She was fine one night, and the next

                       morning her eyes were bulging and swollen and blood red. We got her

                          to the vet immediately, and they quickly diagnosted the problem as a

                            “retrobulbar abscess”. This is a fairly uncommon (but nasty) type

                           of abscess behind the eye(s) that comes on very quickly, putting

                           pressure on the eyeballs causing them to bulge, be completel

                            bloodshot, and the third eyelid membrane to rise up over nearly 1/2 the eyeball. Not only did she look terrible, but she could not open her mouth without a yelp of pain...opening the jaw puts pressure on the infected area…so she didn’t want to eat or chew. Of course, we do not travel when one of the Girls has a health issue…it’s just not worth it. So everything was sort of up in the air until the last minute between work things and doggie health. 

The work thing was enough to make the week hellish, but add to that taking Sadie

to the vet every 3 days for re-checks and progress exams. Thankfully she responded well to the antibiotics and steroids pumped into her. By Sunday she was showing good, positive signs of getting better, and by Wednesday (the day before

we were to leave) the vet pronounced Sadie recovered enough to go on the trip.

Her eyes were almost completely back to normal and the antibiotics were doing

their job. Had this regimen failed, the only alternative would have been to put

her under and to surgically lance the abscess from inside her mouth. Yuck. That definitely would have knocked this trip out of the park.

If it has just been us making plans, it would have been one thing, but we had

made plans to meet our Airstream friends Jim and Rod from Placitas, New

Mexico, at Fool Hollow Lake — their first visit there, and our first trip with

them. If we were not going to make it, we’d need to let them know in time to

adjust plans as well. We didn’t want to cancel, but we would have had no choice.

So, with the production files for Terry’s project uploaded to the printer at the eleventh hour and Sadie stabilized, we proceeded with our plans. Needless to say,

the Wednesday before we left was a long and draining day, but we finally got the Bambi loaded up and poised for departure … that is, everything we could before actual departure day.

We finally got out the driveway about 11:30 AM on Thursday … a little later than we would have liked with a 4-hour trip ahead of us, but hey, we made it. Seems like things were stacked against us, even that day. Because we were headed northeast and we live central in Tucson, we had to get out of town by going across town … we were almost clear of the city traffic on our regular route north out of the city when we came to a street closed off by the Sheriff’s Department.  Unfortunately, this was the last street below the foothills that would take us over to Oracle Road, our final escape route from town.  This meant we had to do a u-turn in a residential area (this is when having a small travel trailer is a very good thing) and retrace our route back toward town to the next-to-last main street that would take us across to Oracle Road. It only meant a 2- or 3-mile detour, but it seemed ominous. Then, finally on Oracle Road headed north, we ran into construction where they are creating a major intersection to accommodate a new mall for the ever-expanding northwest side of town. (One wonders where they are expecting to get the occupants — let alone the water — for all the new homes and commercial areas that are going up in that part of town. And now a major new mall.)

We were finally out of Tucson, after nearly an hour of negotiating the obstacles. That’s only about 10 or 15 miles ... but 1/4 of the time it takes us to get to Fool Hollow, a 200 mile trip! But we pressed on in good faith and anticipation.

We encountered only one more hurtle to a successful trip up to the mountains … between Winkleman and Globe there is construction planned that will go into 2009 sometime. We are not quite sure what they are doing along that

section, but it is a curvy, sometimes narrow road, so let’s hope

they are straightening it out a little, or perhaps putting more

passing lanes. There was a sign informing travelers that that

stretch of  Highway 77 was to be completely shut down for a

full day the following week for “blasting” so we knew we

wouldn’t be coming home that day! We only had a 5-minute wait at one point along the construction (and none on the way back down toward Tucson on our return trip), so at this point in time the delays (when not shut down for blasting) are minimal. If it gets to be more intense construction as time marches on, we can turn northwest at Winkleman, taking Highway 177 to Superior, AZ and then east on Highway 60 to Globe to by-pass the area. That would add perhaps 20-30 minutes to the overall trip.

Although we have traveled this route many times going back and forth to the White Mountains, each time we note seasonal changes and cycles and it is always a pretty trip. The last trip up, for instance, was in July and it was very green from our seasonal rains. This time you could see that autumn was on the way. Grasses were finished for the season and going to seed, there was a tinge of color coming to the deciduous trees (but not enough to call it “fall color”), and vegetation in general was definitely winding down for the cooler months. We had, as recently as two weeks prior, broken 100 degrees again in Tucson, and as we climbed to higher elevations the cooler air became apparent. That’s exactly what we were hoping for. The forecast was for wind and partly cloudy that day. The wind was not too bad and the skies were spotted with fluffy clouds. Overall it was a good trip up, even through the steep Salt River Canyon, and despite the universe trying to delay our travel along

the way.

We reached the ranger station about 4:30 PM … the ranger was shutting down the cash register when we arrived, so he asked us to go on in and come back in the

                                  morning and pay up. He recognized us from previous visits,

                                     and commented on how nice the Airstream was looking. We

                                        asked how busy the park was, and he said it was busier than

                                        they had expected. They had even opened up an additional

                                        loop to accommodate campers. One thing that was

                                         contributing to the crowd was a “Hi-Lo” Trailer gathering

                                           going on, with about 15 units.  Funny, because they were here during our last October trip, too. 

Because it was busy, we asked if we could informally “reserve” a space for Jim and Rod, who would not be arriving until Friday afternoon. The park does not take reservations, but he did say if we chose a pair of “buddy” sites — adjoining sites that share a concrete parking pad but have individual hook-ups — we could pre-pay for them, but only if there were arriving that day.  Hmmm.

So we drove on up to the RV camping loops to check out what was available. In the lower loops where we prefer to stay, there were only 3 spaces open … and two of those were a “buddy” pair. And there was only one site open on the hill-top loop. So we took one of the “buddy” spaces in Red Head Loop, our regular loop. We parked the truck in the other space to “discourage” anyone from setting up camp there. This is totally illegal, and we realized that if someone really wanted to set up camp there we could not officially hold it for Jim and Rod. However, we also know that unless there are simply no other spaces open, people do not typically want to camp that close to someone they don’t know. At least we wouldn’t. We were setting up when the camp hosts sropped by in the golf cart and said (as the gentleman host eyed our

truck parked in the adjoining site), “You do realize that this is a double site, right?”

Terry replied that yes, we realized this and we knew that if someone really wanted

to park right next to us, that we would have to move the truck We told them we had

friends arriving the next day and we were trying to save it for them, even though we

knew it was “illegal” ... and that we would go and pay for it for them the next day.

They were quite OK with that, as long as we understood. There were several spots

open in the upper loops, so we were pretty sure no one would want to camp in our

“back yard.”

The sites we staked claim to were on the down side of the loop road toward the lake, but far enough above the lake that the rather brisk breeze coming off the lake was softened … and though our little Bambi looked kind of forlorn there in that big space meant for two rigs, there was a method to our madness. We set up in the forward space since it is shorter, and left the longer, deeper space for Jim and Rod, who have a 2008 28’ Safari SE.

Once settled in, we put our jackets on and took the Girls for a nice walk…the breeze got stronger and colder toward the lake … we knew it was going to be a nice, cool weekend for us! We gave Rod and Jim a holler on the cell phone and let them know we’d arrived safely and that we had a space “blocked” for them so they didn’t have to worry about getting here and having no place to park. They were driving 300 miles for two nights of camping. That’s a long way to go and not have a place to camp! That night we just relaxed and caught up with ourselves after a hectic week.

We also did a product test that evening. In an effort to move

ourselves toward more dry camping situations on occasion

(camping without water and electricity hookups), Terry had

been researching catalytic heaters. These run on propane, but

do not have fans, so 12v power is not needed.  The furnaces

in trailers and RVs are quite efficient in terms of heating the

space, but they do require 12v electricity for the blower fan...which is one of the heaviest draws on the house batteries … and when you’re dry camping you want to conserve battery power. Many RVers use catalytic heaters. They are typically mounted permanently on a wall surface and connected directly to the trailer’s propane supply. The problem with that for us is that there is not a wall space large enough to mount a catalytic heater in a Bambi. So Terry was on a quest for a portable catalytic heater that could run on a propane canister like those used on camp stoves, etc. Bingo! Coleman makes several varieties. Some are bare-bones and more targeted to tent campers and backpackers who need to minimize weight and bulk … but they also produce one called the ProCat Portable Catalytic Heater that not only runs on  disposable propane canisters, but also has a fan built in that runs on “D” batteries. The difference between this model and the bare-bones version is basically the housing of the heater and the fan feature…the guts are pretty much the same. This one is not practical for backpackers because of its housing which is not heavy, but creates bulk. However, it is perfect for a small space like that in a Bambi. We ordered one on line, and happily, it arrived the day before we left for this trip. So we were able to try it out for the first time Thursday night. And we gotta tell you, this little catalytic heater is great…we had it on for only half an hour and the interior of the Bambi was totally toasty warm.  Even the Girls liked it…at first Sadie was a bit skittish of it because of the fan whirring away, but before long she parked herself about 2 feet away from it and enjoyed the warmth. The face or “head” of the heater gets hot of course, but the housing and the metal ring surrounding the head do not and are perfectly comfortable to the touch. The heater will run on a standard small propane canister for 6-8 hours, and the fan will run about 20 hours on two “D” batteries. We are pleased with the purchase. We found it priced in various places from $80 to $170. Guess which we paid! We got ours from Amazon.com with free shipping. NOTE: With all catalytic heaters, it’s very important to have a window or vent cracked so that you have some fresh air entering the unit, whether it’s used in a tent, an ice-fishing shed or an RV. This is because even though there is no open flame with catalytic heaters, they do consume oxygen. Also, as with any heating apparatus, you need to keep it safely away from flammable materials, etc. Just common sense stuff, really. Also, the heater will function without the fan turned on, but it won’t circulate the heat as well.

While we’re talking new products to cut down on battery draw for dry camping ... this was our first trip since replacing the forward bank of seven overhead halogen lights and two reading spots with cool white LEDs from IMTRA Marine Products. The light is much whiter than the halogens, they emit a softer, less “landing strip” sort of light, they generate minimal heat as opposed to the very hot halogens, and the electircal usage is significanly less than halogens. We opted for “cool” white LEDs rather than “warm” white lights. They take a little getting used to simply because they emit a different kind of light that what than we were used to, since the halogens have a “warm” white light. We are liking them more and more as welive with them. Soon we will probably replace the rear bank of lights over the bed area and vanity, which we don’t use nearly as often.

Friday was mostly a day of getting prepared to welcome Jim and Rod…and waiting for them to arrive. We drove to the ranger station in the morning and paid for part of

                                our stay and for Jim and Rod’s two nights so we could hang a tag

                                   on their site post and be “legal” about it.  About 2 o’clock Jim

                                     and Rod pulled up. We exchanged our greetings, and Rod

                                    handily backed their Airstream into the space next to ours. It

                                   worked out very nicely, as their “patio” space was directl

                                      behind our Bambi, which created a cloistered-feeling area where we could congregate and be protected from the wind and be away from the loop road.

This was our first face-to-face get-together with them, though we have corresponded frequenly. We are both active on the Airforums, and we are both members of the Four Corners Unit (4CU) of WBCCI. We hit it off nicely right away and the weekend had officially begun! Jim is a retired architect and Rod teaches music in the Albuquerque pubic school system. Part of the reason for us meeting at

Fool Hollow was to get better acquainted with each other. We

had invited Louis and Sergio from Phoenix to join us but they

weren’t able to make it. The 4CU Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Rally had been the weekend before, and Louis & Sergio (also

members of 4CU and the Airforums) had been to that one, so

this weekend was a little soon to go out again for them. Jim and Rod had been to the ABQ Rally, too, but they live only about 15 minutes from where it was held, and went home every day to take care of their kitties, and Rod had even gone back and forth to work for a couple of the rally days ... so they were ready for a  onger trip.  (We didn’t go to the 4CU Balloon Rally, though it was a total blast according to all who did attend. It’s just as well, considering the way Terry’s work situation developed and Sadie’s unexpected health issue…that project would never have been done in time and we would have been traveling to ABQ the day Sadie’s eyes bugged out, and that would not have been a good thing!)

After Jim and Rod got settled in and got the camp set up we sat down for cocktails and chat in our little compound area … Jim and Rod presented us with a copy of the hot-off-the-press cookbook, Simply Good Food, which they co-authored. It’s a delightful book of favorite recipes — some of their own, and some from their families and friends. Each recipe is accompanied by a short anecdote or recollection relating to the recipe and/or the person associated with it. The book is dedicated to Jim’s mother, Lucy, and many of the recipes are hers. She was a wonderful Italian cook, from what we’ve heard and read. If you’d like a copy of Simply Good Food, call Jim or Rod at (505) 350-6151. We cannot wait to try some of the dishes featured. Just thinking about it make our mouths water.

Jim and Rod fixed dinner for us Friday evening … wonderful grilled sausage patties with sautéed peppers and onions…with an accompanying pasta salad. Mmmm. This followed with a glazed apple spice cake for desert. We hooked up with the right guys! That night we gathered around the campfire and swapped tall tales of this and that and other things. It was a great time.

Friday in the middle of the night we all got surprised by a good amount of wind and heavy rains. It rained the rest of the night and carried on till morning, complete with thunder storms and lightning. While rain in the Airstream provides a wonderful pitter pat in the background, it caught us all off guard. With no expectations of

                 storms or rain, Terry had turned in without putting the lid on the firewood

                     box, so that night all our fire wood got soaked and was eft stnding in

                       about 2 inches of rainwater … and our folding chairs were exposed to

                     the elements and got soaked to the core. It didn’t get that cold (in the

                       40s) during the night, but everything sure got wet! When we woke up Saturday morning it was still raining pretty heavily so we sort of languished in bed because if we get up the Girls insist on going on their morning “constitutional” and there is nothing worse than two wet dogs in a 19’ trailer … and of course, they always wait until they are inside to shake.  So we pretended it wasn’t time to get up for a while. Fortunately, the rains subsided about 9:30 AM and we could see sunshine breaking through the rain clouds …

Rod and Jim had risen earlier and taken off to town for breakfast … we heard the truck crank up. (Terry wished we’d gone with them when they described the totally calorie-laiden breakfeast they’d enjoyed.  Terry loves a good ol’ fashioned lumberjack-satisfying breakfast!) So with the sun peeking through, Terry got up and took the Girls out … we weren’t the only ones waiting for the rain to subside, apparently… all of a sudden fellow campers were on the loop road, exchanging storm notes and giving their dogs a chance to do their thing. It was like a community dog walk! By the time Terry and the Girls got back to the trailer, Greg was in the last stages of converting the bed to its day-time state.

For this trip, we’d opted for our newest AZBambi Décor, “San Miguel” which is based on a wonderful dual grey and red Pendleton blanket we bought

to use as a bedspread, then bought coordinated Pendleton blanket-

weight yardage to make matching bed pillow shams and throw

pillows with black trim. We’d paired it with the dinette and curtains

in Ebony and Cayenne. It was perfect for the cool temps we were

having. The nice thing about this décor is that it’s reversible … the

blanket has a white background with grey, charcoal and red accents on one side and the flip side has a grey background with charcoal and red accents.  So each day alternated between a “White Day” and a “Grey Day.”

Saturday was Rod and Jims only full day on the trip, and between the blustery coolish weather and late start on the day, it was a pretty laid back and lazy one. Jim had recently badly injured the middle finger on his right hand in an accident (he’s a lefty, thank goodness). He’s had surgery and had just gotten out of the cast before this trip, so he was nursing that and working on the therapeutic exercises he needs to do periodically to help reclaim range of motion. He’s got a long rehabilitation ahead of him and more surgery down the road, but we are hoping he will regain most of his dexterity. This was another excellent reason to just take it easy. And we did.

Rod joined us for a nice walk with the Girls in the afternoon. We explored more of the park’s offerings with him. We came across some of the sites on the upper loops that don’t have sewer hookups, but are really quite nice. Their views are great … the camp sites are situated on edge of bluffs overlooking shear walls of stone down to the water. The fire rings are placed right at the edge with spectacular views. We just might have to give a couple of those a test at some point, though we don’t want to do any sleep walking in those sites, and we need to be sure we know where you are going in the dark! Many of those are “buddy” sites, too…

That evening it was our turn to cook dinner. We started with our “Killer Guacamole” and chips, followed that with grilled beef and veggie shish kabobs with spicy rice on the side. It went over pretty well, we thought. (Remember these two

                     have written a cook book, which as a tad intimidating at first, but then,

                       no one has ever complained about our cooking skills, either. We had

                       German’s chocolate cupcake for desert. We were all sated. Friday

                       evening we’d eaten outdoors since it was not too cold, but Saturday

                         night we dined inside at the Bambi’s dinette…and were pleased that

despite the small space we all seemed perfectly comfortable. The key to entertaining in a tight space like this is to be organized. The guac rice was prepared ahead of time and the kabobs were all ready for the grill ahead of time, so once grilled we were good to go.

We opted out of a fire that night as we were all tired and it was cold…and there was that wet wood thing, although Jim and Rod had brought a bag of wood as well, and it was still dry. It did get cold, too…this was the first night of 4 in a row of sub-freezing temps, something we were ready for but didn’t really expect on this trip. It got down to 28 degrees that night. When Terry  heard it was going to be below freezing on the late news that night, he went out and disconnected the water hose and brought in the water filter to avoid the hose and filter freezing … not good for either. The next morning there was, indeed, ice in the disconnected hose. Brrrr.

Sunday was Rod and Jim’s departure day to head home to New Mexico. Our visit was all too short! It was a long drive for them for a 2-night stay, and I’m not sure I would want to do that, but we are sure glad they came over. We enjoyed meeting them, and we look forward to more time with them in the future ... out on the road.

They wanted to get an early start on their 300-mile drive, understandably. The drive over had been on a particularly windy day and I-140 had been a challenge in some places, so we hoped they would have a less windy drive home. Wind is no friend with a trailer in tow, for sure, even if it’s an aerodynamic Airstream! They pulled out about 10 AM or so … it was a calm sunny day, so we knew they would have smoother towing going home. Once they were gone, it seemed especially “roomy” in the double site. It was actually kind of sad since we’d had such a nice time in our little Airstream compound.

Click on the slide show icon below to see pictures of “Rendezvous I” — the first part of our trip shared with Jim and Rod. Click on the “Rendezvous II” go to the second part of our our trip — after Jim and Rod left for home.  You can also click on “Other Trips” at the end of the pictures to go back to the “trips” page..