OK. We’ll admit it...we really like going to Picacho

Peak State Park. As many times as we’ve been there

we are always happy to light there again, whether it’s on our way home to Tucson at the end of a longer trip, or as a destination in itself. Despite the fact that it’s so close to home, we are never disappointed...and each time we find new things to enjoy while revisiting old spots we’ve enjoyed many times before. We suspect that this love-fest will continue until we’ve exhausted the opportunities, which we don’t think will be any time soon. So we hope you will bear with us, as we share this episode of Picacho Peak with you. Anyone who has been there will surely understand.

This outing was an effort to witness the bounty of the Desert’s Spring Bloom. We had been at Picacho several years ago during a rainy time in February and were amazed at the lush beauty we found, and we wanted to revisit our old friend during this time of year again. The local news casts had been showing glorious pictures of the bright desertscapes of yellow-gold poppies in full force for the last couple of weeks, so we knew we had to go this weekend or miss out on it completely. This year’s bloom was being touted as the best bloom since 1989...and it only happens when we get sufficient winter rains to coax the wild flowers out.

Last weekend was the annual Civil War re-enactment, so we didn’t go that weekend because of the hordes that attend that event. We are sure it’s interesting, but it’s the crowds that keep us away. Maybe we should have bit the musket ball, though,

                          because when we arrived at the ranger station on Thursday

                             afternoon about 2 pm, despite the fact that there was heavy day-

                              tripper traffic showing great expectations coming into the park,

                             the volunteer in the office said the poppies had already peaked...

                            and were pretty much on their way out. Dang! That was

                             disappointing to hear, but she added that other varieties were still in bloom and yet others were about to bloom...so we remained hopeful. There was

so much in-bound traffic, in fact, that a rather bedraggled looking ranger was stationed outside along the road with his money box taking admission fees and handing out orange day-use rear view mirror tags. He stood under a sun umbrella

that had seen better days...it had obviously suffered a gust of spring breeze...and some supports had given out...reminded us of those rain umbrellas you see that

have been turned inside out and never quite look right again. (Yet do you notice that people continue to use them? What’s that all about?)

The incoming RV traffic was pretty brisk as well...had to wait in line to pay for

our campsite, but were reassured that there were enough spaces for everyone. 

As we proceeded to the camping area, which is probably a mile and half into the

park from the ranger station, the road was lined with purple spike flowers (don’t

know what they are called) and yellow black-eyed-susan-like flowers that are the

bloom of the brittle brush bush (say that fast 5 times!). Brittle brush is a cool

bush…it is a tightly leafed bush that puts out long stems for blooms so when it’s

in bloom there’s the ball of a bush underneath the blossoms…looks like someone came by and stuck flowers into the bush. As we drove along the road to the camping area, we saw signs that had been placed along the road that said “No Parking,” no doubt to keep folks from pulling over onto the edge of the road wherever they pleased to view the flowers. There are plenty of parking lots and picnic areas in the park to accommodate cars, and the roads would be impassable if people parked along the sides…especially for trailers and RVs. But with some people you have to point out even the simplest things. When we reached the campground, there were signs up

                                 at the entrances to the three camping loops asking non-registered

                                   camping guests to stay out…I suppose there would be some

                                      temptation for day-trippers to park in camping sites and

                                   therefore limit the availability of spaces for actual campers.

                                     Guess it’s called “crowd control,” and probably necessary during these high-traffic days.

We selected a nice space that we’d never stayed in before in the 3rd loop…

we chose it because we’ve learned from previous visit that if you are facing

the wrong direction, the sun can be unforgiving on a clear day, and too low in the southern sky to be shaded by the awning…so our chosen space faced northeast from the curb side…giving us nice morning sun, with the low-in-the-southern-sky afternoon sun street side, which meant we’d be shaded by the Bambi in the afternoon. That first afternoon the weather was especially wonderful…nice gentle breeze, clear skies and nice temps…spring was definitely in the air and everyone in the camping areas seemed to be taking full advantage it…walking the loops, saying “hey” and just enjoying it all. We deployed the awnings on the rear and street side of the Bambi, and just enjoyed the afternoon.

The bloom was not as wonderful as we had hoped, unfortunately, but it was very very green for the desert, and there were splashes of purple and yellow in

every direction. Every once in a while there were a few poppies,

too, so all was not lost! The creosote bushes, one of our

favorite desert plants because of the distinct aroma

(especially after a rain), were also in bloom with their

bright yellow blossoms. We could see that some of the

other flowers had bloomed and gone to seed…and yet

others were about to spring forth. All it would take

was a little time and a nice warm day. The hedgehog cactus were almost ready to bloom as well with big flower buds ready to pop open…these are low-standing cacti that have a brilliant magenta colored blossom…always a treat in the desert. We have some of these in our yard at home and they are truly spectacular. One of the varieties of flowers that had gone to seed—again, we’re unable to give you the name—have these tiny cork-screw like stems on them...and they love the cockers’ long ears, so after each walk with the Girls, we’d have to torment the Girls with the brush to get their ears brushed out...even at that we picked them off the furniture and rugs the whole weekend.

All in all, it was a great beginning to a nice stay at Picacho Peak. By nightfall, nearly all the campsites were taken…maybe a few still left, but not very many.  We agreed that this was probably the busiest we’d ever seen Picacho. It’s always nice to get somewhere a little ahead of the fray…when we arrive in a park by Thursday, we can get all spread out, relax and watch the rest of the world arrive and settle in for the weekend, a step ahead of the rest. We say we’re going camping, but it’s not really what one thinks of when you think of “camping”...like we used to do with the tent and sleeping bags and such...it’s more like going and watching other people camp! 

Friday was another very warm day…we took the Girls for walks in the morning but hung out in the shade in the afternoon as the dogs get too hot if we walk them in the heat of the day, especially Annie with her breathing issues. Sadie, who’s recently suffered a sprained hind leg was walking better by this trip, but we didn’t want to push her too much either…no sense in pushing anyone, really…we were there to enjoy, after all.

When we got to Picacho, we were the only Airstream in the park…but Friday afternoon, a newer 25’ International Airstream came into the park…we were out on a walk on the main road when he first got there…he’d missed the turn to the campgrounds so he did a u-turn to go back to the 1st electrical loop…we had the camera with us so we caught a great picture of it with the Peak in the background (see below)…he ended up on the side of the loop nearest ours so he was in a neighboring site facing us. He was by himself getting everything all set up, but we felt like he was waiting for someone, and sure enough...later the wife showed up with the brood. Later in the weekend, they were walking by our site on their way home from a hike and stopped to say “hey.” They introduced themselves by saying they were the ones in the other Airstream over yonder.  We talked briefly, asked them if the loved it, and they said, “We do…we wouldn’t trade it for anything!”  We concurred…and it was clear that they and we were happy campers.

Friday afternoon the wind picked up...we put away the awnings and that night we folded up the outside chairs and weighted down the carpet with rocks so none of our “stuff” would end up in the desert or the neighbors’ sites during the night. It blustered through the evening, but never did develop into rain that the forecasters had predicted.

Saturday was calmer in the morning and a bit cooler than the day before, and still plenty warm to be out and about. In the afternoon a 34’ Airstream came into the other electrical loop, stop at a campsite, then left it…then we saw them in our loop…drove around a couple of times and ended up landing in a campsite on the far end of the loop from us. And then just before sundown, Airstream number four came into our loop and took the site next to us, which had been occupied until earlier in the afternoon. This one looked like it was in transit…it was an older Excella…maybe 30’…Texas plates on the trailer, but California plates on the truck. The guy towing it was alone, and was obviously just stopping for the night. We spoke to him briefly…he said our Airstream looked so nice, and we told him the property values in our neighborhood went up when he pulled in..  He replied apologetically, “But mine’s an old one…” to which we replied, “That doesn’t matter!”  He smiled and walked on his way… He was gone the next day when we got up. And then there were three.

Saturday it was finally getting cloudy as the weatherman had been saying would happen for the last couple of days...and blustery…the combination of the breeze and the bloom was playing havoc with Greg’s eyes…new allergies seem to be emerging for him. Terry’s eyes watered a lot, but he was spared the irritation element. Despite the breeze with strong gusts occasionally, the day was pleasant…with clouds building as weather approached  from California… By late that afternoon the weather forecasters’ predictions for the weekend finally started to unfold…cloudy skies, brisk breezes and falling temps… About 4 pm

                    Saturday it started to rain…and was pretty much off and on for the

                       rest of the evening. We had planned to have a campfire that

                         night, but we opted out because of the rain and wet. It was never

                         a downpour but a steady drizzle for most of the late afternoon…

                        then a lull in the rain just in time for a spectacular display of a

                         stormy weather sunset. You know…the kind where the clouds

                           are still in the sky, but the sun brilliantly shines through the breaks in the clouds through that clean air…complete with “heaven rays” coming from behind the clouds and the whole works. It was very nice.

The evening set in and the temps were chilly but not freezing cold, the breeze persisted and there was rain off and on. The Girls were happy to just go out and water lilies and come right back in, spoiled as they are. And that was fine with us.  We timed the duty walks just right and never did have to dry off the dogs after a walk…no fun in a small trailer…a little wet dog goes a long way, y’know.  It’s amazing how fast things can dry off after a rain...the ground was wet, but the roads were dry. And Sadie’s so low-slung we usually have to dry her belly off, too, if it’s at all wet outside at walk time! There were sprinkles through the night…accompanied with some wind, but nothing too dramatic. We had stowed the outdoor chairs and little microwave we carry in the truck when the rain started so they would stay dry.  Good thing we did…we had major wind gusts with sprinkles off and on through the night…we rocked and rolled a bit, but remained cozy and warm inside.

We had a nice thing happen on Sunday. It actually started on Saturday evening when Terry took the Girls out for their last walk, when he ran into one of the guys from the 34’ Airstream on the other side of our loop. We had the running lights on the Bambi turned on using the house battery. The guy from the 34’,  Richard, was wondering how we did that. I explained that we had a

gizmo called a “flashCube” connected to the trailer umbilical cord

that normally goes to the truck during towing…with the cord

plugged into the “flashCube” we could turn on the running lights

and/or emergency flashers. The practical side of it is that we could

leave the Bambi beside the road in an emergency, with flashing lights

for safety’s sake. (This is how you justify it.) The fun side of it is that we can have the running lights on in the campsite without being plugged into the truck! (Party lights! This is how you’ll enjoy it.) I showed the “flashCube” to Richard. He thought that was just too cool. We struck up a conversation, we traded Airstream notes and chatted for a while and said we’d see him Sunday.

On Sunday we were walking the Girls by the 34’ trailer and the guys (Richard and Ralph) were outside, so we stopped to chat and meet Ralph. They invited us in and showed us what there were doing with the inside of their 1996 34’…even the Girls were welcome, and of course, they are not good guests because they are totally nosey and have to examine every nook and corner, invited or not. There is not only lots of interior space in those big ’uns, but they have lots of wheels (3 axles and 6 wheels…as opposed to our 1 axel and 2 wheels)! The guys are from Scottsdale, AZ, which is just east of Phoenix and part of the Phoenix Metro area. Pleasant and amiable folks…we hope to cross camping paths with them again. They are also members of the same online Airstream community we are, Airforums.com.  This is the second set of fellow AZ Airstreamers we have met from the Airforums, plus several that we have been corresponding with from CA. One of these days we’ll have to gather them all together in one place! Our new Airstream friends had to take off Sunday evening just before dark, unfortunately, but we’ll no doubt see them again.

We had originally planned to return home on Monday, but with the rain, we felt we’d missed out on some fun, so we decided to stay another night, and go home on Tuesday. Monday, we got up to a cool but not rainy day…nice fluffy clouds

                           in the sky!  So we decided to take a little drive up  the Interstate

                             and get off at the town of Picacho, where we’d never

                              explored…but have driven by for years. We knew there

                              were pecan orchards where (they line the Interstate for a

                                stretch), but other than that, we didn’t know what was there. It was interesting…one of those lazy little places that would probably a bit of a ghost town if it weren’t for its proximity to the Interstate and the pecan orchards. A little depressed, perhaps, but definitely with a character of its own…we took a couple of side roads and found a well-hidden RV park surrounded by palms, prickly pear cacti and oleander bushes…it is really well-hidden. WE had no idea it was there. We even spotted a lived-in Airstream on one piece of property…and some nice views of Picacho Peak in the distance over the fields.

Back onto the freeway we went.  Heck, we’re this far so we might as well hit Eloy, AZ, which is just a bit further down the road. Eloy was not what we expected…we’d been there years ago and had enjoyed an antique shop there, but this trip we couldn’t find the antique store and we ended up getting off the main drag and kept running into dead end streets along the freeway in our attempts to get back to the main street. We finally made it, and found our way back to the Interstate. It was an odd experience…so close to Tucson, Phoenix and Casa Grande (which is a bit further up the road toward Phoenix), yet  surprisingly run-down and in a state of disrepair. Granted, we haven’t really been “through” Eloy for years (just “by” it on the freeway) but we were struck by the desolate atmosphere we felt there…a sort of overall sensation of being a town on the way out.  It was a sad feeling.  It made Picahco feel less depressed and more “quaint” by comparison.

We had intended to hit Casa Grande, but instead we decided to stop at an outlet mall on the Interstate near there. We know…hardly what you might expect to be doing while on a camping trip! We wondered around for a while…

didn’t buy anything except a few neat little items for the Airstream…

a new set of brushed stainless steel salt & pepper shakers/napkin

caddy that looks great in the Airstream…and of course, we had

to look through a couple of shoe stores… By the time we were

done there it was getting late in the afternoon, and we needed

to get back to the campground and tend to the Girls. They were

so glad to see us…we know they just nap when we’re out, but they act like we’ve been gone for days!  It’s nice to be missed. Took them on a walk around the campground and began to fix dinner. It was a pleasant day and we are glad we decided to stay the extra night…  A few overnighters came in that evening, and we noticed that the 25’ Airstream had left in the afternoon…so it was just our Bambi and a handful of other RVs that night.

Tuesday morning we didn’t rush getting ourselves packed up and out and on the road…it’s only an hour’s drive, so what’s the hurry?  Of course, the overnighters were long gone and the campers that were still around were mostly out on side trips or hiking…  We finally pulled out about 2 pm, made our stop at the dump station to take care of business, and we were soon on the road home. 

When we got to Tucson, we discovered that the road we take across town to avoid the Interstate construction going on in Tucson was also under construction…so we had to take a round about way to bypass the construction and pick it up again…we saw a part of Tucson we’d never been in before!  But we finally got back on track and made it home about 3:30 pm…put the Bambi to rest, let our neighbors know we were home, and settled in for an evening of rest and going through mail. Home again, home again.

It’s fitting that we went to Picacho Peak this particular weekend, as Picacho is where we went on our maiden voyage with the Bambi almost exactly a year ago.  It’s been a good year, having put just shy of 5,000 miles on the Bambi and 10,000 on the truck, mostly in Arizona, save for our trip to San Diego. One goal this year is to broaden our travel horizons some.

You can click on the slideshow button below to view the pictures, and below the pictures you can click on the “Other Trips” button to go to our main trip list page…We hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of our “Picacho Notes!