Time To Change URL and Bloggers Celebrate!

THIS BLOG NOW LIVES AT www.winterindesert.blogspot.com 

Please go there for the most recent posts.

Thank you!!!

January 2015

 Lost Dutchman SP

No one has said anything negative.  No flame throwers are appearing.  Nothing is happening to make me give up the old Blog...the one with the casita n desert.blogspot.com address.

But I can hear some people's thoughts.   "Why is she calling her blog 'Casita in the Desert' when she clearly does not own a Casita travel trailer?"  So it's time to change before my Casita friends disown me and my Escape friends stop speaking to me!

I tried to change the blog name.  Thanks to all of you who noticed the name change to Winter in the Desert and changed it on your Blog Roll.  But even after I changed the name, the blog continued to exist under the old Casita title for most blog readers. I see no alternative other than changing the url.

A more tech savvy person might be able to do it differently and not give up all the followers and 4 years of blog posts.  But I'm not that techy.  My eyes cross when I see a sentence of code. So I am starting over.  The new blog address is
 www.winterindesert.blogspot.com.     (winter in desert)

Please come with me!!!!

November 2015

Gunter Hill COE

The blogging world has an early Christmas present today with the creation of Open Live Writer!   I'm celebrating being able to continue following some of my favorite bloggers!

  

Have not explored OLW today but hope to get with the new program as I work the bugs out of the new blog.

Winter in the Desert Summer in the Mountains

Teaser....next post on new blog will explain why we are still in Tennessee.

Remember  www.winterindesert.blogspot.com

Arizona Mountains, Medicine and Friends

Sunday, January 4th, we stop at Sunrise RV in Deming, NM, picking this park at random from the All Stays Camp and RV app.  Calling from 30 miles away on I-10, we learn the price is $17.  As the forecast is 21 degrees, the little ceramic heater needs an electric hookup.  

We have good friends just 30 plus miles south in Pancho Villa State Park but it seems too far away after the long drive.  I text Glenda    and make some tentative plans to meet later at "Q".  We winterize the windows and snuggle down for what we hope is our last frigid night.

Monday, arriving at Picacho Peak SP just north of Tucson, we feel warm...actually hot....for the first time in months!
It is like heaven to see the green desert foliage, the mountains and the beautiful sunset.  I-10 runs beneath us, endless points of light moving through the desert. Rocks around us glow red during the sunset.

Now we are only 60 miles or so from our favorite Arizona place, Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction!  If we time it right, we will be able to get into the overflow loop where no reservations are necessary.  No reservations and no electricity...we arrive at noon....check out time!
  
Quickly we claim a primo spot at the top of the loop, just a few feet from the mountain bike trail.  The mountain, Superstition Mountain, looms over us and I am feeling that it will heal me from this ### trip!
I take a few photos!!!

All I want to do is sit in the sun and stare at the mountain....but, life gets in the way.  We must find a place for David to get his blood tested and medications renewed.  And there are other chores....our refrigerator that worked perfectly in Deming and Picacho..now refuses to cool and we need ice. The truck is filthy from a muddy dirt road in San Antonio and we have no groceries.  At the end of the day all is accomplished, thanks to a Walgreen's that has a lab, and ice store and grocery all in the same parking lot.

Warning!  Wednesday is Seniors' Day at Fry's Supermarket!  (For you southeasterners...think about the grocery when snow is forecast....it was a nightmare!!)

The next day our Arizona friends, John and BJ, invite us for a drive through the Tonto National Forest.   Traveling over rough dirt roads in his wonderful little Tacoma, we explore potential boondocking spots while enjoying the Four Peaks area. No photos..guess I was enjoying the ride too much!

Decide to stay another day at Lost Dutchman to get some much needed exercise.  It feels great to get back on our bikes after almost 10 days of inactivity.  Now it's time to pack up and head for the Scottsdale backyard to visit with David's family.

Which takes us up to the present!  
Took a few photos on a walk around the neighborhood this morning.  This pm is all about the blog... playing on the computer while all the rest of the family is watching some very important football game...

The plan is to stay around this area until we can get the fridge into a shop and David's blood tested again.   Then we are westward bound.

Quiet Time on the Bay

It’s quiet in the campground with all the little eggs gone.  Some monster sized rigs have come in to take their place but it’s been so cold, everyone is holed up inside.

We went to bed early last night after spending all day inside.  Fixed an indoor meal of spaghetti and leftover chicken, splurged on a chocolate pudding cup and hot chocolate and jumped under the covers by 9PM.

Woke up hot this morning, threw off a layer of blankets and reached for my phone.  36 degrees outside according to the Weather Channel, how can I be hot?  Checked the temp inside and the gauge said 48 ⁰ .  I guess it’s the JC Penne’ comforter because the only place that’s warm is buried under the covers!

This is our last full day at Fort Pickens Campground and the weather station promised abundant sunshine!  Not sure if it will be warm enough to kayak before we leave….and the bikes remain packed in the back of the truck.  I’m thinking maybe a long hike to the fort and back?

Tomorrow we’re heading east along the panhandle to join friends from home who are camping (for the month) at Mexico Beach.  Not sure what to expect but they’re fishermen, well, she’s a fisherwoman!  Hope to learn a little about Florida surf fishing.

This has been a great place to camp, just wish it had been a little warmer.  Noticed that next weeks temps are all in the 60’s!

 

 Notice the big grins!  A frequent sight among our Casita group.

 

Unidentified orange flower… thought it might be Florida rosemary but the petals are not right.                                                                        

         

 

                                              

                                            Sunset over the gulf

 

                                                                                                  More unidentified flowers.    

Some locals showed me a path close to the nature trail that led out to the bay.  Although I was not too far from the campground, it felt like I was in my own private world. 

The rest of the pictures are from that walk.

                                                                   

                                                                      Jellyfish

   Dead Octopus

 

 Little black balls with a tar-like feeling.  Wondered if it was from the oil spill?

 More sea creatures???

Pensacola Bay front

 

                                                              Sand Pipers (?)

Don’t know if we will see much more of the beach after this week as most of our plans are for the interior of FL.  I have loved this ocean time.

Blog+Travel=Change

Seventy days!  That's how long it's been since we took out the Casita for a trip, no wonder things do not feel right in my world!

But all of that is going to change within the next few days as we are heading south (and, hopefully, into warmth) sometime after Christmas.  Our plans are to join a small group of egg campers in the panhandle, celebrate New Years, and then decide where to spend the next few weeks before heading down to south FL.

Don't know why I drag my feet about writing a post...and when I delay, there are so many topics to discuss.  There has been the winter solstice, always very important to me, and the end of the world that did not happen.  I am one of those who want to believe that we are starting a new civilization, one of heart, love and peace, like the age of Aquarius we sang about in the sixties.  Also there is Christmas and my coping skills to just get through it, the end of the year review, the history of this blog and the life changing experience of camping in the southwest last winter.

So where do I want to start this?  
Twelve months ago, I started blogging, a big deal for someone who has never had the courage to share thoughts and feelings in print, did not realize that my life was changing. The blog was started to keep me off of Facebook while traveling the southwest.
The winter trip to Arizona was wonderful, blissful, spiritual, peaceful and exciting at the same time. We would be heading back this week if there was not another western trip on the horizon for spring.

So a year ago we were excited and scared, 2000 miles is a long way from home and anything could happen.  But everything that happened, we handled.  
I quit writing as soon as we returned...after all, there was only a handful of people following us.  But in July the blog got resurrected by adding "in the Mountains" to the title while we were camped up on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
This is when the blog started changing.  Sharon,(http://www.tinycamper.wordpress.com), sent me an email asking campground questions and we started emailing. Through her encouragement, I kept writing.  Thank you, Sharon.

And I want to thank all of my readers including my special blog friends...you know who you are...for being there.  Merry Christmas and may your new year be full of wonderful, exciting travel adventures!

2012 had the Chatta-Egg going out every month but two, March and August.  Thought it might be fun to document the year in pictures.

January and February

This rock towered over our campsite at Tortilla in the Tonto National Forest.  I climbed it!

View of Canyon Lake and our campground from the top of the above rock.

Our favorite campsite of the whole trip...12 days in January and 10 days in February.  At Tortilla Flatts.

April

Bald River Falls in Cherokee Forest

Tellico Plains, TN

May

Cumberland Falls, KY

June

Little River, Elkmont Campground, Smokies

July

Davidson River Campground 

Brevard, NC

Blue Ridge Parkway view

Turks Cap Lily

September

Farnum Creek gathering

Milford Lake, KS

October

Happy Holiday RV park, Cherokee gathering

Thanks, again, for stopping by and allowing me to share our year with you.

Life Between Trips and Harrison Bay State Park

We have been back from the Cherokee rally for over a month, a month without a camping trip!  Life, including bad weather and sickness, has conspired to keep us home.

It's strange how I switch gears after a few weeks in the house.  All the things that never seem to get accomplished, now they haunt me. So a few things have been done.  Started cleaning out the office and it was so bad.  Stacks of paper were on every surface and on the floor, boxes of more paper.

It's the shredding process that slows things down.  Why does our name need to be on every single piece of paper?  I want to throw it all in the garbage.  I think of living in the Casita, what would I save?

When we are off traveling in the Casita, I cannot imagine being home.  Home disappears from my mind, ceases to exist unless someone calls with a rude reminder of responsibilities.

Now, after a month at home, I can't fathom giving up the house that has the morning sun shining into the kitchen and reddish gold leaves falling in the backyard.  

That being said, I am still ready to head south as soon as the holidays are over.

We have been doing a little work on the Casita....got another good coat of polish on it and we have installed a new propane regulator for the gas tanks.  Our fridge has not been working on propane and someone mentioned that maybe we should replace the regulator as it was over 10 years old. We are not the handy dandy types but we did manage to get it installed. 

There's a small difference in the stove flame but the fridge is still broke on propane.  The next step is to take it to the local rv refrigeration guy.  Sure hope it can be fixed as new fridges are $$$.

The weather here has been gorgeous for the past two days.  I took advantage of it yesterday and visited Harrison Bay State Park....wanted to see if the campground had been updated.

Harrison Bay is the oldest state park in Tennessee turning 75 years old this year.  Unfortunately it is overdo for a makeover.  The old bathhouses are kind of grimy and the only open loop in winter was hilly with few level sites.  But the park sits on Chickamauga Lake and has miles of shoreline.  Great for fishermen and boaters!

The marina.

                   This is loop C which is closed in the winter.

                                Some winter residents.

                           View from one of the trails.

A little more info: sites are not reservable, only first come.  Winter rate is $16 which includes water and electric.  Mileage from Chattanooga is about 16 miles.

We camped there in our 13' a few years ago but did not manage to get a waterfront site. I think we'll try again in the spring. 

Reminiscing Joshua Tree

RV Sue, http://rvsueandcrew.com, one of my favorite bloggers, yanked my memory chain recently when she mentioned Joshua Tree National Park.  I closed my eyes and went back to that winter desert scene, our little Casita enclosed by huge boulders isolated from the world.

I could not remember posting about it but I did.  Four pictures that did not do the park justice.  But to be fair to me, posting anything last winter was a major undertaking due to my inexperience and lack of internet connection.  I remember sitting in the McDonald's at Twenty Nine Palms trying to compose while across the room a man in a white cowboy hat raved on and on about the fascists.  I did not understand his message but remember wanting to do him harm.

We spent 5 days at Indian Cove campground in the Joshua Tree N. P.  The park staff tried to steer me toward another site with a dump but it was at a higher elevation and I had already been cold enough.  Indian Cove felt isolated but Twenty Nine Palms, with restaurants, grocery and laundry, was 10 minutes from camp. 

One of my friends questioned me, after we returned home, trying to understand what was so special about the desert.  Words never came to me that described our experience.  Only being there will explain the vastness, the isolation, the incredible energy that springs from the rocks.  
The same friend, a writer, also wanted to know what we did each day.  When did we get up and what was our routine?  The sun ruled our day.  As the sun came up, we went outside to enjoy our coffee with the sunrise.  Then it was breakfast and more feasting our eyes on the nature around us, then hiking or exploring the area.

Now I wonder about our next trip to the southwest.  Will it be as magical as the first?  

 One of our excursions at Joshua Tree was to Skull Rock.  Do you see it?

It was a three mile hike to Forty Nine Palms.  We found these trees nestled in a lush canyon.

This is the hiking trail to 49 Palms and below is one of the views.

  
I have enjoyed sharing last winter's memories; must get back to present time.  A warm day with Casita polishing awaits me.

Fall Color....at home

Plans don't always work out.  Two weeks ago when we returned from the Cherokee rally, I intended for us to camp again within a few days.  Did not unpack the truck, clothes or food!  Then a campsite was not available where I wanted to go (to Allatoona with Tiny Camper) so put the trip off to this week.  Sunday night I started getting sick with sneezing and feeling lifeless. By Monday the trip was off, it was time to rest.  

So this has been a week of rest and I am trying not to resent lying around while we are experiencing some of the most beautiful autumn weather.  And, according to the forecast, this is it...the last sunny warm day!  

The trees have just peaked here and I wanted to get some shots of the dogwood tree I see from my kitchen window.  Once outside, I kept shooting.  It's a long time to next October.

I just had to get a shot of the Chatta-Egg peaking between the branches!

Squirrel food!

My favorite shrub is a native plant, oakleaf hydrangea.  I am fortunate enough to have a few in my back yard.  You can see why I love it.

This is our neighbor's yard.

Another neighbor.

I had to take a few flower shots.  I feel so guilty about our gardens....we travel now instead of pulling weeds and mulching. The plants are just hanging in there. 

Cleome or spiderflower.

Cypress Vine

My husband is a talented bird house maker.  Just throwing in one more shot with color.