It had been almost exactly one year ago that we had

been to Gilbert Ray Campground in the Tucson

Mountain Park on the west side of the Tucson

Mountains (which are just west of the city). It’s located

off Kinney Road between Old Tucson Studios and

the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. It was during our Gilbert Ray trip in January of 2008 that we met our now good Airstream friend Chan. And this seemed odd that it had been so long since we visited  since it’s a great little Pima County-run campground, yet so close to home … a mere 19 miles. So it was good to get back. We left home on Thursday about 1:30 PM after taking care of some last minute business and we were there by 2:15 PM. Yet because of its location and beautiful desert setting you’d not guess that it’s so close to civilization. It was time for us to get back the Gilbert Ray and enjoy the basics of camping in our own back yard … not a lot of fuss, no a lot of bother, and a whole lot of natural beauty and nice weather.

There are 3 loops in the campground with both tenting and RV sites. Most sites have electricity and there are water spigots throughout the park, but there are no water hookups or sewer hooks at individual sites. Potable water is also available at the dump station. There are flush bathrooms but no showers available. Charcoal fires are permitted unless fire restrictions are in force, but there are no ground fires

allowed.

We prefer the “A” loop because the sites are more private and nestled more intimately into the desert setting. Unfortunately (and to our surprise, since this is

                            the busiest season), that Loop “A” was not open, so we proceeded

                                   to find our weekend piece of desert heaven in Loop “C.”

                                    We circled the loop to see what sites were available, and

                                   decided on one on the east side of the loop that was across

                                     the road from a pull-through site that was occupied by

                                    another Airstream! We thought we’d fit in very nicely there.

As we were beginning to unhitch, the neighbor came to welcome us. First, Toby,

the adult son, came over, then later we met his folks, Don & Margie. They were

from Minnesota. Don & Margie have a winter home in Mesa. Toby lives

year-round in Minnesota, except for when he is out visiting his folks during the winter. Their Airstream is a well-cared-for ’68 International … in the 28 foot

range. They were very amicable folks and we chatted on and off all during

our stay. Nice to have Airstream neighbors.

Thursday was a very nice day … in the high 70s and definitely “shorts weather.”

Of course we brought clothes for cooler temperatures because we knew the

nights would cool off dramatically once the sun sank in the west. We got the

camp set up fairly quickly and got the Girls out for their first walk around the

loop. As always, they were rearing to go and explore the park with their sniffers

in full operation.

Terry had to take care of a few business matters that had come up just before we left, so he cracked out the laptop and found that we had an excellent air card connection in this location.  He worked for a bit and got everything squared away and sent back to the client for their review and was able to put away the computer until the next day when he would finalize the project.

Our first evening at Gilbert Ray was very pleasant and slow-paced — just how we like it on our quick long weekend getaways. We’ve found that we don’t have to go far from home to be able to feel like we are “away.”  Because Terry works from home, just getting out the door seems like vacation time!  After a beautiful

fiery sunset in the western sky, we fixed a simple dinner and

settled in for the evening.  About 9:30 PM we were

serenaded by a pack of coyotes that seemed to closely

surround the park that night. Their calls are very

recognizable … they burst into quick exchanges of yips,

barks and howls between members of the pack and then

suddenly all is silent. The Girls are used to hearing

coyotes now, so they don’t react quite as much as they used to … unless it happens in the dead of night. Even then they just raise their heads, make a little “woof” of acknowledgement and go back to sleep.

Friday was a very laid back and restful day. And we took leisurely walks around the park to take some pictures and enjoy the weather. Terry finished up the project that had come up on Thursday, and we chatted more with our Airstream neighbors and we exchanged guided tours later … always fun to “get the tour” and “give the tour.” We got to show off our newest décor, “Los Ojos” which is Spanish for “The Eyes,”  and bases on a Native American motif. This is another interior using a Pendleton Wool blanket and matching pillow shams. It’s basically black, grey and white, and all pieces are reversable to give us dual looks. We combined  this wiith “Cayenne” dinette and “Ebony” Curtains and used accent pillows of each to tie the whole thing together. Very sousthwest, and looks great in the Bambi.

Since we were only staying until Sunday, Saturday was our last full day. Our friends Deb & Loretta from Tucson, came out to the park  to visit. They brought along their Alaskan Husky, Casper. Annie & Sadie had never met Casper, but they seemed to

                           get along fine. Casper is a rescue dog who has some trust issues and

                               has finally begun to come out of his shell a little. The name

                                 “Casper” fits him beautifully since not only is he white, but he

                                  disappears when people come around. Only lately has he begun

                                to stay in sight when Greg & Terry visit Deb & Loretta. They are

                                  trying to get him acclimated to being out more, and trying to get

                                 him ready to come along on a camping trip. Can’t wait … we love camping with them!

We took a walk around the park with Deb & Loretta, Casper and the Girls and then settled in at the Bambi to chat. It was pretty warm that day and our site was such that our “patio” faced south. With the Arizona sun low in the southern sky, we didn’t have much shade, even with the awning down, so we broke out the umbrellas so we didn’t cook while sitting outside. The Girls are getting good at finding spots of shade and taking advantage of them. (Note to self: we need to come with a shade option arrangement for those times when we are camped in the sun.) We saw Deb & Loretta off mid-afternoon and retreated to the Bambi until the heat of the day was over. It was in the low 80s … in January!

We decided to grill chicken strips for dinner that night, so we stared the charcoal grill as the sun was beginning to sink and fixed dinner under another beautiful sunset … the kind of sunset that you see on post cards that people in other places always think are faked. Well, they are not faked. They are real and they really are a spectacular as they look on the post cards!  And dinner was yummy, too. What a nice evening was has by all.

Sunday was check out day. Check out time at Gilbert Ray is 11:00 AM but they are not too strict about it unless people are lined up waiting to get in. We learned on Saturday that they had opened up the loop we originally wanted to stay

in the day after we got here. Dang! Oh well … we had a good time

and this only gave us a good excuse to come back before the heat of

summer sets in and the rattle snakes come out (literally). We packed

up, made a stop at the dump station and were out by 11:30 AM.

We were home with the Bambi put away and unpacked by 1:00 PM. 

What a nice restful little getaway it had been. After our two-week

winter trip to California this little trip seemed to go by way too fast.

Guess we are getting spoiled and used to being able to extend our time out. We’ll have to work on that! But one thing is for sure ... we will be back to Gilbert Ray before another year passes!

Click on the slide show icon below for pics from this brief trip. You can also go back to the trips page and visit trips made in 2007 and 2008. We hope ou enjoy your visit!