AZBAMBI...On the Road Again...

[TBRich]

Hi all...finally got our travel log (link below) updated to include our trip to the Lower Colorado River above Parker, AZ, staying at Buckskin Mt State Park...we were there from 27 Dec through 5 Jan, then headed back to SoAZ to spend a few nights at Picacho Peak State Park...back home by 7 Jan. I've posted a few pictues from Buckskin below...for the full story and lots more pictures go to our website... It was a nice trip! Pics below:

1 & 2: Views of Buckskin from a trail above looking across the Colorado River toward CA...
3: Our camp site at Buckskin (elect + water...full hookups available too)...
4: Bill Wiliams River where it feeds into Lake Havasu...
5: The London Bridge (and Terry with the Girls) in Lake Havasu City...
6: Sadie & Annie looking all pretty in the Bambi...

We have also expanded previous log entries for Roper Lake State Park (adding 14-17 Dec 07)...and Picacho Peak State Park (adding 23-26 Nov 07)... Trips to Gilbert Ray Camp Ground (18-21 Jan 08) and Patagonia Lake State Park (31 Jan - 4 Jan 08) will be up soon, so stay tuned!

Hope you enjoy...

[azflycaster]

Great pictures. I know the area well. About a mile south of the Bill Williams picture on the east side of the road is where my company pumps water out of the lake and sends it to Phoenix and Tucson. It's a 7 story building, but only the 7th story is above ground.

[TBRich]

Hey... We have our Gilbert Ray long MLKing weekend getaway up on our travel log website (link below)... It was a great little trip far enough away to "be away," yet close enough to Tucson to not spend the entire time driving... We arrived on Friday afternoon and came home on Monday. Gilbert Ray is operated by Pima County and is very near to Old Tucson and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (a must-see)... The park has beautiful thick desert vegetation and desert vistas looking out the valley west of the Tucson Mountains. We are always struck with the natural beauty there...it's a pleasant place to be and the best place we can recommend to those who want to hang out int he Tucson area for a while and enjoy the desert up close...yet still be close enough to Tucson to take advantage of attractions there... Below are some pictures... but check out our travel log for the full story and more pictures... We also ran into another 19' Bambi on this trip and made a new AS friend whom will will no doubt camp with again...

Pictures below:

1) the view south from our camp site...
2) our camp site
3) the desert looking north and east
4) Tucson Mountains jsut before sunset
5) Saguaro cactus up close & personal
6) the desert in black & white
7) sunset at Gilbert Ray...

Enjoy...and our most recent trip, to Patagonia Lake State Park will be on line soon, so check back!

[PeaceGirl]

It's nice to see so many AS'rs here from Tucson Metro! btw, great photos, and I love the one of the sunset reflecting off your AS - it has great color!!!

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by PeaceGirl

It's nice to see so many AS'rs here from Tucson Metro! btw, great photos, and I love the one of the sunset reflecting off your AS - it has great color!!!

Thanks, Giovanna...glad you enjoyed the travel logs... We alway stry to take some "AS architecture" shots when we are out that show where we are and at leat a part of the AS... That shot of the AZ sunset at Picacho Peak reflecting off the AS window is one of my favorites...

There are several of us in Tucson...and another bunch in the Phx metro area, too!

Ease on down the road!
TB

[TBRich]

All right! We are finally current with our travel log (link below)...with our last trip to Patagonia Lake State Park, the southern most Arizona state park in which you can camp, and very close to the Mexico border, Sonoita, Patagonia and Nogales...we were there 31 Jan through 4 Feb 08...kinda chilly at night (high 20s) but nice daytime weather. Patagonia is a big birding area, and most of those we ran into were birders. The park is a large area with nice dry camping sites and about 35 electric/water sites. Try to get there mid week if you can if you want an electric site, as it is a very popular park with locals in the summer for camping fishing, swimming, skiing, pinicking, and general day use...and popular with winter visitors in the winter. There's a store, dump station, gas station, a marina, and rest rooms and showers, of course...a nice visitor's center and lots of ramadas around for gatherings. We arrived on a Thursday and found several open sites, but by Friday noon they were pretty much gone. One of the several highlights of the weekend was running into 5 other Airstreams in the same park, plus an Avion... And we met up with an AS friend we'd met earlier in January at Gilbert Ray Camp Ground, too, which was a lot of fun... Below are some pics, but go to our travel log for the full story and lots more pictures...

Pics below:
1) our Bambi (with red truck) and our friend's Bambi...see the Excella down the hill between us?...
2) dry camping area...
3) the lake...looking north across
4) the lake looking west...
5) the lake shore...
6) rocky outcrop on the shore...
7) high arch foot bridge over lagoon where the maria is located...
8) the bridge from the marina looking out toward the main lake
9) under the bridge...
10) Greg on the bridge looking toward the marina...

Enjoy!

[PeaceGirl]

The post right above my last one, of the Tucson Mountains is right by my house - I forgot to mention that when I posted last, but your reply reminded me! that shot of the Tucson Mountains is a close up view I have from my kitchen and living room, only from a very slightly different angle. PS, thanks again for keeping us posted on your travels. The photos are the best!

[TBRich]

You're welcome, Giovanna...glad you enjoy! Since you live there you know how beautiful the desert is on that side of the mountains!

TB

[wagnerda]

Hi TB,

Just want to say thanks again for your posting all the nice photos and for your super web site. We're sitting up here in Maryland with 1/4 inch of ice coating everything outside so I spent some time perusing your web site to warm up a little with your beautiful desert photos...

You have probably said somewhere which kind of camera you are using, but whatever you are doing each and everyone of your photos look like postcards... No matter what I do my photos look like snapshots...

Thanks again & keep on posting...

best regards, Dave

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by wagnerda

Hi TB,

Just want to say thanks again for your posting all the nice photos and for your super web site. We're sitting up here in Maryland with 1/4 inch of ice coating everything outside so I spent some time perusing your web site to warm up a little with your beautiful desert photos...

You have probably said somewhere which kind of camera you are using, but whatever you are doing each and everyone of your photos look like postcards... No matter what I do my photos look like snapshots...

Thanks again & keep on posting...

best regards, Dave

Hey Dave... Thanks so much for your kind words about our travel log and photos...neither myself nor Greg are f-stop kinda guys...so we use what is basically a point and shoot digital camera...a Canon 270S, 7.1 megapixel with a 3.6 built-in zoom..it's about 4 years old...it will zoom higher, but the results are not the best...for what it is, it does pretty good and if I read the manual closely enough and pay attention, there are lots of things it is capable of by changing settings, exposure times, etc...but the fairly wide range of pre-settings are pretty good, too. We have been very happy with it. A few tricks we use...taking the highest resolution images the camera is capable of (then reducing for internest & web use), creative cropping (that is, cropping the junk out) and straightening the image if it's a bit crooked...and sometimes popping the contrast a bit...

We are at Kartchner Caverns State Park near Benson, AZ, just south of I-10 this weekend and will be meandering about the SE corner of Arizona during the coming week...hopefully getting to the "Ghost Town Trail" that runs east from Tombstone, AZ, and also the Chiricahua National Monument in the extreme SE corner of AZ...may get back up to Roper Lake State Park near Safford to lay back for a few days, too... We got here Friday early afternoon...and got into the campground...had we been any later, we would not have gotten in...it was fiull by 4:30 PM...it is very popular with the winter visitors...we are going on a cavern tour tomorrow afternoon...it was booked the day we arrived...they do a very brisk business... Our first time here, even though it's a mere 55 miles from Tucson...

AND we have seen 10 Airstreams and an Avion this weekend to boot! In fact, there's an Excella a couple of sites away from us...always a bonus!

So look for this trip as our next post on the travel log!

See you down the road!
TB

[TBRich]

Hey all! Time for another installment from AZBAMBI! We return from a week-long "meandering tour" around southeastern Arizona. We left Friday, 22 Feb and got back Saturday, 1 Mar... We were never more than 125 or so miles from Tucson, but despite that, it was a nice, relaxed time and we saw lots of sights, including:

(Photo 1) Kartchner Caverns State Park near Benson, AZ...only 55 miles from Tucson, but we'd not been there yet...go figure... (Sorry, folks, they don't allow pictures of the caverns, dang it.)

(Photos 2 & 3) Arizona's "Ghost Town Trail" running east from Tombstone, AZ...

(Photos 4 & 5) Rattlesnake Crafts of Elfrida, AZ...

(Photo 6) Texas Canyon and Dragoon, AZ...

(Photos 7 & 8) Chiricahua National Monument in the far SE corner of AZ...

(Photos 9 & 10) Roper Lake State Park near Safford, AZ, where we have been many times and we are never disappointed...

For lots and lots more pics and our ramblings about the trip, check out our travel log on line (link below)...this link takes you to the main trip list page...the "A Meandering.." trip (last in the list) is this trip, but feel free to check out the other trip logs while you're there...

Enjoy!

[TBRich]

Heading out to Picacho Peak State Park for an extended weekend tomorrow through at least Monday...to see the desert wildflower bloom that's in progress...supposed to be the best bloom since 1989, as we had lots of rain this winter...looking forward to it...

If you're passing by on I-10 and wanna take a break, stop on by...we'll be in one of the 2 electric loops... We'll have internet, too, so give a PM if you're headed in and we'll keep an eye out.

[TBRich]

We're here at Picacho! Beautiful weather today...the campground is pretty busy...busiest we've seen it, actually...so busy they have a ranger at the road near the ranger staion taking fees and handing out passes for the day...lots of day-trippers here to see the desert in bloom. Some of the flowers have peaked, but others are coming in...and it is so green!

[Jimandrod]

Rod and I are roaming around Arizona and New Mexico scoping out campgrounds. We stopped by Roper Lake yesterday. It's a beautiful park! We're in Phoenix today for a Cabela's stop and we're heading back home tomorrow via Payson AZ checking out the camping in that area.

The Airstream goes on order Thursday - to say we're excited is an understatement!

TB - your pictures are fabulous! I'm really enjoying them!

Jim

[eubank]

Originally Posted by Jimandrod

Rod and I are roaming around Arizona and New Mexico scoping out campgrounds. ...
Jim

Oh, sounds like fun! I've been doing a lot of that recently, albeit all virtually. Been thinking a lot about Aztec and the surrounding area ...

Lynn

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by Jimandrod

Rod and I are roaming around Arizona and New Mexico scoping out campgrounds. We stopped by Roper Lake yesterday. It's a beautiful park! We're in Phoenix today for a Cabela's stop and we're heading back home tomorrow via Payson AZ checking out the camping in that area.

The Airstream goes on order Thursday - to say we're excited is an understatement!

TB - your pictures are fabulous! I'm really enjoying them!

Jim

Thanks, Jim...Glad you are enjoying the pictures...see our post below with pics from last weekend at Picacho Peak...and check out ur travel log for the Full Monte on that trip...lots more pics.

While your're roaming up that way through Payson, go east toward Show Low...there are lots of NF camp grounds and private ones in that area...on on east toward NM... In fact we are heading up to Show Low Wednesday, staying at Fool Hollow State Park for a week+...it's one of our favorite places to stay...this is our annual Spring visit up there whiel we can stil get the winter "eal...7 nights for the price of 5...have to love it...and that's with full hookups.

[TBRich]

Hey All...

We went a little nuts with the camera as usual, but now that we've gone through the photos and uploaded our trip log to our travel log website (link below) of our trip to Picacho Peak 13-18 March, we thought we'd post some photos here to let you see how beautiful it is at Picacho Peak in the springtime and tempt you to visit our travel log for more pictures and details of this trip to Picacho...

We experienced 80 degree days as well as low 40s nights and a couple of spring rain storms coming from CA...it was a very pleasant stay... And fitting that we should go here, as this is where we went on our maiden voyage in the Bambi exactly 1 year ago!

Pic #1: Picacho Peak from the campground...
Pic #2: Desert flowers with Peak in background...
Pic #3: Detail of window rock formation...and clinging plant...
Pic #4: Saguaro and the Peak...
Pic #5: Cloudy sunset...
Pic #6: Saguaro at sunset with Peak in background...
Pic #7: Cloudy sunset...
Pic #8: Classic AS sunset...
Pic #9: Campsite with another AS in the background...see it?
Pic #10: A neighbor's kite from our campsite looking NE...

We are leaving Wednesday for our annual spring trip up to Show Low, AZ to stay at Fool Hollow State Park, another favorite place...while it's still cool, as we have begining to hitting the 80s here in Tucson these days... We'll be there a week+ and are really looking forward to it... If you're in the neighborhood, stop on by! Always happy to see other Airstreamers!

Stay tuned for our pics & notes on that trip!

[Jimandrod]

Originally Posted by TBRich

Thanks, Jim...Glad you are enjoying the pictures...see our post below with pics from last weekend at Picacho Peak...and check out ur travel log for the Full Monte on that trip...lots more pics.

While your're roaming up that way through Payson, go east toward Show Low...there are lots of NF camp grounds and private ones in that area...on on east toward NM... In fact we are heading up to Show Low Wednesday, staying at Fool Hollow State Park for a week+...it's one of our favorite places to stay...this is our annual Spring visit up there whiel we can stil get the winter "eal...7 nights for the price of 5...have to love it...and that's with full hookups.

We made it through Payson and stopped at Houston Mesa. It was a beautiful CG but the road noise was a bit much. We headed east as far as Heber then we cut up north towards Holbrook. We didn't make it as far as Show Low. There were a lot of FS camp grounds but they were all closed and locked. Houston Mesa was the only one we got a chance to see.

I saw the Fool Hollow web site. It looks really nice. We'll have to check it out sometime.

Enjoy your trip and post lots of pictures!

Jim

[Jimandrod]

Originally Posted by eubank

Oh, sounds like fun! I've been doing a lot of that recently, albeit all virtually. Been thinking a lot about Aztec and the surrounding area ...

Lynn

Yup Lynn - it was fun. Exploring campgrounds is almost as much fun as camping itself! We saw some pretty nice places. After seeing Terry's pictures of Fool Hollow St Park I'm sorry that we didn't get a chance to see it yesterday.

Aztec sounds pretty cool. We'll have to check it out.

Jim

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by Jimandrod

We made it through Payson and stopped at Houston Mesa. It was a beautiful CG but the road noise was a bit much. We headed east as far as Heber then we cut up north towards Holbrook. We didn't make it as far as Show Low. There were a lot of FS camp grounds but they were all closed and locked. Houston Mesa was the only one we got a chance to see.

I saw the Fool Hollow web site. It looks really nice. We'll have to check it out sometime.

Enjoy your trip and post lots of pictures!

Jim

Jim...

We are at Fool Hollow Lake now (got here Wednesday) through next Thursday...it's fairly quiet, even for a Friday...beautiful weather...60s in the day and high 30s/low 40s at night...clear skies, light breezes... Spring has not sprung here yet...just a few early dandelions here and there...but still very nice... We lucked out and got our favorite camp site, and we have an excellent air card internet connection from it (first time here with the air card). Here are a few pics...more to be posted on our travel log once we are back and can upload...so stay tuned! No other Airstreams here (yet)...