So now, Tom and I are trying to come up with a plan for the summer. Right now, we're thinking of it being an exploring of options, visiting with family, and making sure that we are compatible and want to continue on together. For now, life is good and I'm hoping it continues. We definitely have our differences but have been able to work through them.
On Sunday, my good friends, Susan and Dean arrived for a few day's stay in Scottsdale. I had 3 cleaning jobs on Monday and Tuesday but managed to get together with them on Monday afternoon and Tuesday evening to hang out. It's always nice to connect with old friends. We met at Rula Bula on Mill Avenue, Tempe on Tuesday night for a good dinner and conversation and Roger and Dean enjoyed a cigar out on the patio.
Wednesday morning, Tom and I loaded up the Wildweed (my nickname for his Wildwood travel trailer) and were on the road by 10:30, heading for Roper Lake State Park and a few days of camping. Our site #33, is a very nice pull-through and the park and Trails are well kept and the facilities are clean and tidy. We don't have a view of the lake, but can see it from the north end of our site.
On Thursday, we hung out in the park, took a long hike on the trails surrounding the park, checked out the visitor center and the mineral spring hot tub, had a nice campfire and passed the day away like that.
Today, Friday, we took a drive along Highway 366 to Mt. Graham, about a 20 mile drive through the Coronado National Forest. We made a few stops at campgrounds and hiking trails but it was cold and windy and there was snow on the ground too. The campsites are mostly for tents, are quite secluded and, for now, unoccupied. About 18 miles in, the road was blocked and we couldn't go any further and had to turn back. The road was out and back anyway - we just had a to turn back earlier than we expected. There was lots of evidence of the Frye fire that went through here last July.
Saturday, January 27. We decided to take a drive along the Tanque Road today, toBowie, AZ. Not far from the turn-off from SR-191, the road became dirt and we tried to follow it on the Gazeteer. We saw a sign that said it was 20 miles to the Hot Well Dunes and we finally came upon a few campsites, a Riparian area, and 3 hot well springs - nothing else for miles and miles, as far as the eye could see. The camp sites are on BLM land and went for $3/day (half that for seniors with the national park pass). Neither of us would have any reason to return or to ever want to stay there. The rest of the way to Bowie was paved road. There was NOTHING in Bowie.
We headed back north and took SR 266 to the west to Bonita and Fort Grant (both looked like there might be little settlements. Fort Grant, once a historic site is now closed to the public and is now a State Prison. There is nothing but an elementary school at Bonita - nothing else. We explored a few camp sites along the road as we headed back to Roper Lake, all very primitive with rough road accessing them. Again, NOTHING we would come back here for.
We had a beer at C&C Bar before heading back to our campsite, also stopping to see if we could extend for a night but our site was already reserved, so we will return to Mesa as originally planned.
