Wednesday March 18th 2020

It was mostly cloudy this morning, but that was the best it as going to be. The cloud cover steadily increased and the temperature dropped. Shortly after the noon hour the rain arrived. It started with a thunderstorm before before becoming a steady rain with lots of wind. There was no pretty sunset to take pictures of today.

I managed to get a little exercise before the rain began. I walked through my camping loop, then across the desert trail to one of the other loops and back again. It was cool enough that I needed my hoodie to stay warm in the breeze. The rest of the day was spent inside my RV home. The wind caused the slide out room toppers to rattle and the whole rig to shake. I had to keep the volume on the TV cranked. TV watching along with some cooking and some eating made up the remainder of the day.

The storm system is forecast to linger for another day. By tomorrow afternoon it may be back to partly cloudy, but I’m not holding my breath. I don’t think I’ll get another chance at a sunset picture until Friday or so. At least it is the six to ten inches of snow falling at the higher altitude near Flagstaff AZ.

Tuesday March 17th 2020

The weather is on the down slop of the roller coaster. It was a sunny day, but there was more wind and a lower high temperature. The temperature peaked in the low seventies. Up to half an inch of rain is forecast for tomorrow into Thursday. It will also be cool enough that there will be snow at altitude.

I spent some time today investigating alternative places to spend the next few weeks. My reservation is up a week from tomorrow at this location. Assuming the state doesn’t close the state parks for camping, or the highway for travel I’ll stay here until then. At the beginning of the week I’ll decide if I’m going to move to my next two week state park stay or go into hibernation at an RV park. There is nothing wrong with the state parks. I’m basically in isolation at the parks anyway. It is rare that you get within twenty feet of another human. The problem will occur if a well meaning public official (bureaucrat) decides there is a public health value to closing the parks. I can see the value of closing the restrooms and restricting camping to self contained units.

Today was a two long walk day. The first was a walk on the trails this morning and the second was a walk around the camping loops as the sun set. I think I’m taking pictures of the same cactus over and over, but they are such interesting specimens.

Monday March 16th 2020

Today’s weather was a continuation of yesterday. It started clear and sunny without a cloud in the sky. As the day progressed a few clouds started to arrive in the area. More clouds are expected tomorrow and by Wednesday it may be raining. Today’s high temperature was just a little warmer than the Sunday. The temperature peaked a little above seventy five.

I finally got around to taking the hike I almost did on Saturday and Sunday. The difference today was I was prepared. I had water, my cell phone, a small pack and I was wearing my hiking shoes. It was a nice hike through the wildflowers and up toward the base of the Superstition Mountains. There are a few short steep sections of trail, but overall it was an easy hike. Round trip it was less than two hours. I took lots of pictures.

My mind wasn’t fully on the hike. I need to make up my mind about my travel plans. The COVID-19 virus is a major wrinkle in my carefully laid out plans for this years travel. As things stand right now I have one more week here, followed by two weeks in another Arizona State Park. Assuming an instate travel ban is not implemented, I should be OK. My next planned stop at the Grand Canyon is the first probable issue. Grand Canyon National Park has been shutting things down on a daily basis. The campground is operated by a concessionaire that also runs the lodge. When they decide to shutdown the lodge, I’m pretty sure they’ll close the campground too. I’d need to find another place to stay for that week. The next six nights at a private campground in Monument Valley might be OK, but I don’t think I’d be taking any tours. So, why go? The week after that is at Glen Canyon and Lake Powell. It has a similar problem to the Grand Canyon. Time wise, it is now the end of April.

I’m thinking the safe alternative is to find an RV park for the next six weeks and hibernate. I would then need to travel north quickly to catch up to my itinerary in the middle of May. The alternative with more risk both to my health and possibility of interruptions is to push forward and adapt as needed. Unless I come up with another great idea overnight, I’ll be on the phone tomorrow looking for an RV park.

Sunday March 15th 2020

The weather was just about perfect today. There were only a few high wispy clouds in the sky with a gentle breeze. The temperature reached the seasonal average in the mid seventies.

Last weeks rain has provided a boost to the flowering plants in the desert surrounding the Lost Dutchman State Park. I walked out the Siphon Draw trail a considerable distance today. Once again I wasn’t prepared for a long hike, so I turned back before getting to far into the middle of nowhere. There were many other people on the trail. I’m guessing with all of the things closed because of the COVID-19 virus people are choosing a hike in the desert as an alternative family oriented activity on a Sunday. We were all treated to a beautiful display of yellows and purples along the trail.

Everything is green this time of year. Later in the year it will be brown, but right now the green background is complemented by lots of yellow blossoms. When you get closer smaller purple and blue blossoms can be found near the ground. The cactus still haven’t started to blossom, but there big green presence punctuates the landscape.

There was a fair amount of turnover as the weekend came to an end in the campground, but this area was full again tonight. Most of the campers in this area seem to come for a night or two before moving on. There are a few that are here for the two week limit like I am.

Saturday March 14th 2020

After four rainy days today was a bright sunshiny day. The temperature peaked just north of seventy. It is still a little below the average temperature for the day in this area. Tomorrow is forecast to be a little warmer.

I was slow getting started this morning. I rolled over a couple of extra times before getting out of bed and then spent extra time lingering over my breakfast coffee. Once I did get out of the RV, I wandered around the campground to get a little exercise. Today was a big turnover day. There were a lot of empty sites by the noon checkout. This evening they were all full again.

Toward the end of my walk around the campground I ventured onto the trails behind the campground. The trails head up into the Superstition Mountains. They gain altitude but not very quickly. I stopped a little way along the trail and reversed direction. I wasn’t prepared for a long hike. My cell phone, extra water and few other sensible hiking aids were back at the RV. I’ll return prepared for a hike another day.

A couple of helicopters one of which was the Sheriffs were operating out of the far side of the park this noon. I don’t know if it was an exercise, demonstration of some sort or a real emergency. One helicopter started up and departed the area over the mountain. As it was returning over the park the second helicopter lifted off and departed the area in the other direction. The first helicopter then hovered for a couple of minutes before leaving the area. It sure seems like some sort of exercise, but who knows.

The day went by quickly even without live sports on TV. I couldn’t get into the replays a couple of the networks tried to use to entertain us. Games shows, cooking and home improvement shows are going to get more of my attention than they deserve on the weekends without sporting events.

Friday March 13th 2020

Today was the fourth and hopefully last day of rain for this storm. The forecast calls for three nice days before the next storm system moves in off the Pacific Ocean. The wind blew and the rain fell hard during the night. The sounds woke me up a few times, but only long enough to roll over. The day had large periods of time with visible blue sky and even a little sun, but you had to watch the horizon for the next rain storm. Every day since Tuesday bands of rain have been moving across the area from southwest to northeast. When it did rain today it was hard and windy. The temperature only made it into the mid sixties.

During the breaks in the rain I continued to explore the campground and the state park in general. There are some beautiful views of the Superstition Mountains from all over the campground. As the day went by the campground continued to fill up for the weekend. The sites with electric and water service have been full every night, but some of the sites without services were available during the week. It looks like they will all be full this weekend. There are some ranger lead events scheduled for tomorrow, but I’m guessing they will be canceled as a virus spread mitigation. I hadn’t planned to attend anyway.

As the sun was setting I thought I was going to get a very nice red sunset. I hiked up hill and away from the parked RVs to get a better view. Before the sun reached the horizon another storm line moved in between me and the setting sun. I got some interesting pictures looking toward the sun and away from the sun toward the mountain, but not the real sunset I was expecting.

Thursday March 12th 2020

It was a matter of waiting for the next rain storm today. I think there were a few showers overnight. They weren’t hard enough to wake me up, so I’m basing my conclusion on the wet roads and ground this morning. Rain threatened all day. Big storms were visible on the horizon in all directions. The first shower didn’t arrive here until late afternoon, but it was followed by a very brief appearance of the sun. The forecast is for more rain with the chance of flash floods through tomorrow afternoon.

During the dry part of the day I got in some exploring around the Lost Dutchman State Park. It is a beautiful area. Much to my surprise there are many Saguaro cactus here. I thought I left the area of many saguaros yesterday. Most of the saguaro cactus in this area are bigger and older than the ones in the Lake Pleasant area. Saguaro cactus live more than 200 years and don’t put out any arms until about fifty years of age. Around here many of the cactus have multiple arms and are very tall.

There are many trails to hike in the park and the neighboring National Forest. The ones I walked today were soft from the rain. A couple had muddy areas and standing water to dodge. The great view of the Superstition Mountains was often obscured by a crown of clouds. Once the sun returns, dries out the trails and casts a better light on the mountains it will be a beautiful area to hike.

The rain seems to have returned at full force. As I’ve been writing this blog entry, the rain has been making its presence known on the roof of my RV home. A quick check of the weather radar shows a lot of rain to come. The forecast calls for a sunny weekend before a chance of rain returns next week.

Wednesday March 11th 2020

It rained overnight and into the day today. I had to pack, dump the tanks and travel in the rain. Fun is not a work I’d apply to today’s move.

I took my time packing trying to stay inside during the harder rain showers. It was just before the noon checkout when I vacated my site at Lake Pleasant Regional Park. There wasn’t anyone else at the dumping station when I arrived so I took my time dumping the tanks. It will be another two weeks before I will dump again. I finally left the park and started my journey around 12:30.

The rain wasn’t bad during the first part of my journey. I only had the windshield wipers on the low intermittent setting. As I got closer to Phoenix the traffic picked up and I encountered a construction zone. Traffic was slow, but it kept moving. Not long after I finished with the construction zone, mother nature decided I needed another challenge. One of the heaviest showers in this storm system passed overhead. The wipers got cranked to full on and I started to watch for standing water on the roadway. Heavy rain doesn’t seem to be something the desert dwellers are very familiar driving in. Many motorists slowed way down, so I had to slow down to keep good spacing. Luckily by the time I had to get off the highway onto the surface roads the rain let up. The only remaining problem was dodging flooded sections of the road. The water never covered the entire road. It was just necessary to wait for on coming traffic so you could go around the water.

I arrived at the Lost Dutchman State Park northeast of Apache Junction after 2PM. There was a line up of other RVs waiting to check in. For the first time today, it wasn’t raining. It took a good ten to fifteen minutes to get checked in which was really only a question of telling the lady my name and getting my car pass. I paid for the campsite about a year ago. The rain returned while I was setting up.

Tuesday March 10th 2020

The sunny weather that I’ve been enjoying since I arrived here at the end of February has gone away. Last night it began raining. By morning it had stopped, but the sun did not return. It remained very cloudy and threatening all day. As darkness approached so did the next wave of rain. This one is expected to last into the morning. Hopefully it will stop early enough that I don’t have to pack in the rain. Tomorrow is a travel day.

I got my grocery shopping completed by early afternoon. I want to keep a few extra days supply of food in case concern about the COVID-19 virus escalates in this area. So far there are only a few identified cases in Arizona. People have already made a run on some of the “basics” on Walmart’s shelves. The toilet paper aisle was empty and the cleaning supplies aisle looked sparse as well. Stocking up on toilet paper would never cross my mind. Of course, I don’t have room to store lots of extra roles.

At the campground this afternoon I got started on some of the packing tasks for tomorrow’s travel. I only have about eighty miles to travel from the north side of the valley to the east side. Checkout time here is at noon. I’ll try to leave as close to that hour as possible so my site at the new campground will be available when I arrive.

I also used some of the time before the rain returned for another walk around the park. The saguaro cactus are starting to show some white fuzz on the tops. That’s the first step toward blossoms. Unfortunately, I won’t be here to see them. I don’t think there are as many, if any, saguaro in the area I’m moving to. The pictures in this blog entry are from my walk today.

Monday March 9th 2020

The first three quarters of the day was sunny and warm. The temperature made it into the low to mid seventies. As the sun got lower in the sky the clouds associated with the next weather system moved in. It is forecast to start raining tonight and continue off and on for the next three or four days. Between one and two inches of rain is possible over the time span.

Today’s big event was another Spring Training game at the Peoria Sports Complex. The teams in today’s contest were the Los Angles Dodgers vs the San Diego Padres. Since the Dodgers have been in the post season the last few years, I actually recognized the names of more than a couple of players. At the previous three games the name recognition has been low.

There were more than 7,000 people in attendance. Once again it seemed like there were more fans of the visiting Dodgers than the home Padres. The MLB network was covering the game, so there was a little more ceremony today. A local high school ROTC group provided the color guard and another high school girls choral group sang the National Anthem. The first part of the game was competitive, but the Dodgers really took advantage of the Padre’s bullpen.

The final score was Dodgers 14 to Padres 2. I didn’t make it to the end. I left at the top of the ninth inning. The extended family that was sitting behind me most of the game finally got to be to much. They spread out as people left. By the top of the ninth I was surrounded on three sides with conversations going right through me. I could have moved again, but it was easier to just leave.

Back at the campground I was provided with a hot air balloon show. At least nine balloons were floating in the moderately still air over the desert to the south. I don’t think there was enough air to allow the balloons to cover much distance from their launch point. As darkness settled in they all returned to the ground.