Patagonia Lake State Park - Patagonia, AZ

Yesterday we camped at Patagonia Lake SP. We had not internet connectivity so no blog until today. It is a beautiful campground just 4 miles off the main hwy. It is best to have reservations as the check in ranger seemed a bit agitated as we did not and also we showed up at 10:30 AM when check out is at 12 and check in is at 2. They have potable water, showers and a dump station for $27 per night.

There is a high arching bridge over one of the bays. It is quite steep!

There are 2 birding trails in the area. I was able to explore 1 and was able to ID, with the help of a local birder, a Northern Beardless Tyrannulet. Life bird #402. We left there this morning headed for Tombstone. On the way I spotted a sign for the Paton Center for Hummingbirds so we made a quick stop and I identified Life bird #403 a Violet-Crowned Hummingbird!

The white belly, chest and chin make it stand out from other hummers! We are staying in Tombstone at the Stampede RV Park at the edge of town. We walked the streets and visited all the shops and touristy places. We at at Big Nosed Kate's Saloon. I had a delicious meat stuffed calzone and Amy  had a pastrami sandwich. Both were delicious. The decor is great with everyone in old west clothing and Kurt Russell's Tombstone movie playing on the big screen. One of the few modern items in the saloon! It has been a great day and we are worn out to I will be joining Amy in bed soon and it is only 5:30!

Santa Rita Lodge - Madera Canyon

The Santa Rita Lodge here in the Madera Canyon has a wildlife viewing area with hummingbird and bird seed feeders. It is an awesome spot to sit and watch birds and other wildlife like this Coatimundi.

This was my first ever sighting of this animal! I also saw 6 life birds. This is a Broad-billed hummingbird.

This picture shows a Rivoli's Hummingbird feeding next to a smaller Anna's Hummingbird. It is a very noticeable size difference!

Two other firsts were an Arizona Woodpecker

and a Yellow-eyed Junco.

I now have 399 life birds. There are still several bird species in this area I have never seen so maybe I will leave here with 400!

Madera Canyon - Green Valley AZ

We stopped in Tucson and stocked up on supplies then headed to Madera Canyon about 30 miles south. We had hoped to stay in Bog Springs campground but it was full so we are dispersed camping instead on Proctor Road just a mile down the road.

WARNING! Proctor road is rough and narrow. We took the first spot available along the way!  When I opened the 5th wheel door I found, that after putting away groceries in Tucson, I forgot to lock the fridge door. We had to clean up a gallon of milk and a quart of salsa from the floor! Fortunately no other contains broke or things would have been a lot worse! I did take a short walk but only saw 4 bird species. I did get to see white-tailed deer and Javelina.

As you can see the Javelina blend in very well. The animals here did not spook and run as they are used to people which makes picture taking easy! I checked the ebird lists for Madera Canyon and 6 species of birds I have never identified have been seen here in the last 30 days to I am hopeful to add to my life bird list tomorrow!

Lost Dutchman SP - Apache Jct AZ

We are now at the Lost Dutchman State Park. I stayed here several times last year. We are in a brand new addition to the park. The park is built on a gradual incline with the new addition at its highest point so we have a wonderful unobstructed view over the park on one side

and a view of the Flatiron mountains on the other!

This park is $25 per night for no hookups. I am not sure about the price with electric. They have flush toilets, potable water, free showers and a waste water dump. To top off today's blog. Here is a shot of this evenings sunset!

Back at Houston Mesa Campground

We spent 2 nights at Canyon Point Campground but decided it was too cold for our taste so we back tracked to Houston Mesa outside of Payson.

I did consider other routes away from Canyon Point but many of the other roads were too steep and winding for my taste so here we are. Although the 2 campgrounds are only about 30 miles apart, the difference in temps are about 10 degrees due to elevation. Canyon Point is on top of the Mogollon Rim, a 200 mile long escarpment that runs across a large part of northern top of Arizona. Canyon Point was almost at the 8000 foot level while here we are 5000 feet. One of the great things about travel is learning new facts about this wonderful country we live in!

Canyon Point Campground

After discussing temps and campground options, we decided to head northeast instead of south. We are now in a beautiful pine forest campground. It has free showers and waste water dump. Potable water and even sites with power. It is $14 per nite with my discount and just $5 more for sites with power.

I only have connectivity using a booster so hard to upload pics!

Tonto Natural Bridge

This morning we checked out Tonto Natural Bridge.

A short distance from the entrance is this sign warning of a steep grade!

I have seen warning signs for up to 8% grades but this beats them all! The bridge was made when the river flow underground thru the canyon leaving a bridge type formation above.

The arch looks small here but is close to 20 feet in height. The canyon walls have interesting geological features!

In places the plant life above is actually hanging over the wall!

We had hoped to see some coatimundis but no luck! I was able to ID a few birds and saw a number of small lizards darting about. Temps are starting to drop south of us so we are planning on heading out to new adventures!

The Payson area

The campground we are in is located in a pine forest.

It has a nice interpretive walking trail with informative signs about the trees and shrubs. Just outside the campground it is all Juniper and Manzanita!

Today we drove a few miles to Water Wheel hiking trail. Just a short walk from the trail head is an old metal water wheel.

The trail continues up a canyon along a rocky stream with several small falls.

It was pretty rough terrain so we only went a short distance. It gets warm quick here so by 10 am we head to the shade. It only gets to upper 70's but the sun seems pretty intense. We havent decided on our next stop. We will be checking maps and temps.

Houston Mesa Campground, Payson, AZ

We just got set up at the Houston Mesa Campground! Nice clean federal campground, just outside Payson. Campground sign said "Full" but took a chance and found one open. Got all set up and camp host came by and said the site was reserved although no signage signifying that. She did find us another site just opening up so a few minutes later, here we are!

Lots of big pine trees and just enough sun for solar! Flush toilets, potable water and a dump site. There was a small town fall festival back up the road we might check out later. Nights were a little cool back at Pine Flats. Forecast here looks good at mid 40's to mid 70's. The showers are $3 and there is a $10 dump charge. Sites are $13 per nite with my senior discount.

$edona, AZ

The title does not contain a typo although it appears to! We decided to check out Sedona as so many people have raved about it. The area does have some beautiful scenery.

The streets were lined with resturants, artsy shops, tour operators and a number of places to get magic crystals and psychic readings. The streets were narrow and congested. Paid parking along the main streets. We didn't notice the pay signs but was fortunate to leave before we got ticketed. We wanted ice cream but at $6 a scoop we passed! Instead we drove back to Flagstsff and bought making for steak and chicken fajitas, drinks and desert for sbout the same cost as 4 scoops of Sedona ice cream!

Pine Flat Campground. Sedona, AZ

We moved to a lower elevation campground in hopes of avoiding the nightly temps of low 20's and high winds predicted for where we were. This is a beautiful campground along Oak creek just a few miles north of Sedona.

It is a federal campground so only $11 per night. It has potable water and pit toilets. It is right by the highway so some road noise but traffic is light. It is surrounded by steep sandstone canyon walls.

We will stay a few days and explore Sedona and Flagstaff

Boon docking on yhe Naval observatory road

We are boon docking near Flagstaff,  AZ on the Naval Observatory road. We were too warm at Lake Mead and it was too hot to go south so we headed east into the mountains near Flagstaff. I have never been here so it seemed a good choice. Temps are 70/30 so a bit of a change ftom 90/50. This is a free camping area and is covered with pine and oak trees. There are no facilities here but we filled up with fresh water and emptied waste water before leaving Lake Mead.

I did a short walk to check the area and look for birds. Only 4 species so far. Looking at ebird, I will probably see the same species we have in Oregon. I am always hoping to add to my life list but this might not be the place!

Boulder Beach Campground at Lake Mead

This campground has become a regular stop on my winter trips south. All sites are 1st come 1st serve but there has always been plenty of open sites but not this year! We pulled in to a campground full sign.  We drove thru hoping we might find someone leaving. Sure enough, several sites were being vacated and we got one of the few with a lake view!

The water level appears to be lower than previous years so is a bit farther to the lake.

The reason the campground is full is that they have half of the sites closed for upgrades. We are just happy to be here and with a great view!

Afton Canyon Campground

Not sure how to describe our location but we are 3 miles south of Interstate 15 about 1/2 way between Barstow, CA and the Nevada border. We spotted this campground on a map and decided to stop. I did not want to drive all the way from Lake Diaz to Lake Mead in 1 shot. The road is a bit rough but easily driveable.

It is a BLM campground so my senior discount is valid. Only $3 a night with discount. 1 potable water spigot snd 2 pit toilets. The Mojave river is nearby but there is no water in it. I did go birding but not many species. Too hot this afternoon. Maybe better in the morning. I did see a roadrunner which was a treat.

Lake Diaz, Lone Pine, CA

Woke up this morning with freezing temps for 4th day in a row so decided to push south to warmer temps! Here the temps are mid 40's to upper 70's. Looking east we have the lake and mountains! Death Valley is just over those hills.

Looking west we have more mountains. We have great sunrises and sunsets here because of the mountains. We may spend a few days to unwind after all the driving but we get restless pretty quick

Lahontan Reservoir, Silver Springs. NV

This location has become an annual stop in my snowbird trips. This year I get to share it with Amy! It was another beautiful sunrise!

Despite a cold wind, the birding was good and I identified 27 species. I even added a few more to my list for this location. Here is a link to the ebird checklist. Now if you read my previous post you may be wondering about our rendezvous with Jay near Lakeview. A quick look at the Oregon hwy cams which showed 2 snow covered passes between me and Lakeview was enough to cause us to abandon that route and head south to warmer and drier climes!