2017 Pacific Coast Trip – Tucson, Arizona

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https://goo.gl/photos/kHUQbZas5WsJuFs9A

Thursday, March 23^rd  – Wednesday, March 29^th

Catalina State Park – Tucson, Arizona

The drive from New Mexico to Arizona was spectacular, as we chose to drive highway 60, a back road mountain drive. After spending a night at the Walmart parking lot in Show Low, Arizona, we woke up to a very cold morning and snow falling. Wow, we knew it was cold, but snow in March? However, Show Low is at a high altitude of 6345’. The scenic drive from Show Low to Globe, Arizona was one of the most beautiful and surprising drives we have ever taken. We passed over high altitude mountains, through a few passes and two major canyons. The first view to take our breath away was Corduroy Canyon, with multi-colored reds and browns along the canyon walls. Further along the road we passed through the Salt River Canyon, which was even bigger and longer. At a rest stop down in the canyon, we were able to view the river up close. This area was used for white water rafting and kayaking. We watched a few paddlers receiving training for an upcoming white water trip. After a few hours, the road wound out of the mountains and down into the Tucson Valley. We finally arrived at Catalina State Park, at the base of the Catalina foothills. We stayed at this park back in 2014 when were in Tucson. We love it there!

While there, we hiked some amazing trails in the park. The longest, most challenging trail is the Romero Canyon trail, which I hiked by myself, while Kurt mountain biked at the Golder Ranch. Kurt hiked Romero Canyon on the next day. Another day, I hiked my favorite trail, Montrose Pools, a smaller canyon with a creek flowing down through the canyon with multiple small waterfalls and water pools. The hike was challenging with steep climbs, rock scrambling and trying to follow the trail among the rocks and water. It was very enjoyable on a beautiful day in the mountains.

We also mountain biked at Tucson Mountain Park, on some great desert trails. After biking, we stopped at the Saguaro National Park Visitor Center. The Saguaro (sa-WAH-ro) cactus are unique to southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. This time the Saguaro were not yet in bloom, too early in the season. In 2014 when we were here, they were in full bloom with gorgeous white flowers on the very tops of the cactus arms.

On our last day there, we went back to the Golder Ranch trails. The weather was perfect for riding; sunny and a little chilly. We both rode trails that we enjoyed. At one point, I took a wrong turn and ended up in a field where cattle were grazing. No problem, until I realized I was not on the right trail, turned around and on the way back, a young black cow was standing right in the middle of the trail facing me. We had a standoff for a few minutes before he decided to move along off the trail.  Whew! I didn’t want to stand out there much longer, it was a little nerve racking. Anyway, I got back on track and really had fun on the rest of the ride.

Now it was time to continue westward. The next stop will be in Yuma, Arizona where we have never been.

2017 - Pacific Coast Trip - New Mexico

2017 Pacific Coast Trip  - Elephant Butte Lake, New Mexico

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/aM19J9gdxTmszTV66

Friday, March 10^th  – Tuesday, March 13^th  

Elephant Butte State Park, New Mexico

After spending an overnight stop in El Paso Texas (in a parking lot of Sam’s Club), we headed north into New Mexico. Our plans changed slightly and we ended up camping at Elephant Butte State Park, near the town of Truth or Consequences. This park lies on the west bank of the reservoir along the Rio Grande River, where it flows south through New Mexico. What a delight to find such a nice state park with a wonderful campground overlooking the lake. We stayed there three days and totally enjoyed it. If we would have known how nice it was, we would have booked more nights and moved our scheduled days out. I remember when as a child we lived in El Paso and our parents took us to Elephant Butte for a vacation, but my memories are a little fuzzy.

The park has several miles of hiking/biking trails, through a desert environment. The trails were well used and maintained. We biked several miles on the Lakeside Trail, the Dam Trail and also the shorter Luchini Trail. The weather was perfect, highs in the 70’s and sunny. The views of the lake were spectacular and the moon rise/sunsets were even better. There were a couple of sand bars where you could drive out onto. Some people even had their RVs and camped out there. On a couple of afternoons, we drove the truck down on the sandbar and let the dogs run off leash, while we snacked and enjoyed happy hour. It was so relaxing and fun. When we come back to New Mexico someday, we will certainly stay there for more days.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/b1YSFePgaWdjeYDR6

Tuesday, March 14^th  – Tuesday, March 21^st  

Coronado Village, Albuquerque, New Mexico

After our enjoyable time at Elephant Butte, we headed north to Albuquerque, where my nieces and their families live. We scheduled eight nights there and stayed in a really nice RV/Mobile home community. This was a great find, as it was a well maintained community with great amenities and a convenient location.

The first couple of days we spend mountain biking in the Sandia Foothills, at Elena Gallego Park (part of the Albuquerque Open Spaces recreation areas.) What a great location for hiking, biking and picnicking. The mountain biking trails were extensive, with all levels of abilities (novice to advanced riders). To top it all off, the views and surrounding mountains were so amazing.  One day Kurt rode with my nephew, Jim, and they went to trails on the east side of Sandia Mountain. These trails were more advanced and challenging. Kurt was so happy to ride with another guy that enjoys riding these types of trails.

My niece, Erin, is a lobbyist at the New Mexico Legislature. She introduced a bill to create the Teresa Muffolletto Brain Aneurysm Awareness Day of March 19^th, the day my sister Terrie passed away last year from a ruptured brain aneurysm. Some of the family was able to travel up to Santa Fe to sit as guests for the House vote. The bill passed unanimously, a good day for a tribute to Teresa. It was a great honor.

On Sunday, March 19^th, the whole family gathered together to go to Bandelier National Monument, one of my sister Terrie’s favorite places for hiking and viewing ancient Indian dwelling ruins. This day was the one year anniversary of her passing, so we hiked there in her memory and knew her spirit was with us. It was great to be with the family and spend this special time together. Bandelier is in the mountains near Los Alamos (where the Los Alamos National Laboratory is located). On the way out, we stopped by White Rock Overlook. This is in the small town of White Rock and is part of a city park. My father, Bruce, loved this place so much that he always stayed up there when he came to New Mexico. After his passing, my sisters spread his ashes off the overlook cliff which was his wish and very fitting for his love of the area. We went out to the overlook to enjoy the views and a special place.

One day, Kurt and I drove down to Old Town Albuquerque, where Kurt had never visited. It is the historic area of the city and is well preserved. There are many historic buildings, shops and restaurants there. We had a great Mexican food lunch. We walked around the plaza and looked at some of the shops. It was a beautiful day to walk around the town.

On our last day, I planned a family picnic day at Elena Gallegos Park in the Sandia Foothills. While there the family could hike, bike or relax in a great park. We had a nice day, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, relaxed and had fun. Kurt and Jim rode the mountain bike trails and enjoyed them. I left that day with heavy heart knowing that it will be at least a year before I can visit my family there again. These nieces and their children are special to me, as the descendants of my sister Terrie.

On our way out of New Mexico, we decided to take the back mountain roads toward Arizona. We were able to visit the Very Large Array (VLA) National Radio Astronomy Observatory, in a remote area of western New Mexico. This laboratory consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. We drove back into this remote scientific lab to see the amazing instruments that collect radio frequencies from around the universe and convert them to visible images that we have all seen in science shows. Kurt was so excited to see this, he always wanted to visit there.

After a long day of driving we finally made it into Arizona. Stay tuned for the updates on our Arizona adventures.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Big Bend National Park

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/FdZ9EXzt7HnkgGzz6

Saturday, March 4^th – Thursday, March 9^th

Rio Grande Village RV Campground

The drive to Big Bend National Park required a one night stopover in Ft. Stockton, Texas. From there the drive was 150 miles south into the park that exists along the Mexican border. As we drove south, the amazing mountains of Big Bend came into view and finally we arrived at the Rio Grande Village, where the RV campground and another non-hookup campground are located. This area is right along the Rio Grande and the Mexican border. There was a Visitor Center, well stocked camp store, fuel (including diesel), and good Wi-Fi access. The views were stunning from any location in the park. Our hikes included the Boquillas Canyon trail along the Rio Grande, the Rio Grande Overlook/Hot Springs trail, the Window Trail in the Chisos Mountains, the Rio Grande Nature Trail on the east side of the campgrounds, and Kurt hiked the 12 mile South Rim Trail around the Chisos Mountains. The day that Kurt did this hike, I stayed back at camp with the dogs; early that morning a huge wind blew through the valley, ultimately ended up as a dust storm. All day long there were sustained winds of about 40 mph, gusting up to 60mph. The park is so vast that the wind wasn’t even noticed in the Chisos Mountains.

We also drove the beautiful scenic drive on the western side of the park to historic areas with remains of settlers’ ranches and an old store, which is now a Visitors Center. The Santa Elena Canyon was also on the westernmost side of the park. On one exploratory drive, we went back into the historic hot springs along the Rio Grande, where there were remains of a resort from the 1800’s. There was a bath house over the hot springs, now the walls are gone and visitors to the park can soak in the hot, mineral waters there.

One day we decided to “cross the border” and visit the village of Boquillas del Carmen. We easily went through Mexican customs/immigration using our passports. Upon returning, the U.S. immigration was just as easy. They used an electronic system where we inserted our passports, a phone call came in from an agent in El Paso and using cameras asked a few questions, then we were allowed back in the good old USA. However, we did have a fun time in the village, had a very good Mexican lunch and tequila/beer. Most of the villagers make a living selling their hand-made crafts to the tourists. Without tourism there, the little village could not exist. The people were very friendly and welcomed tourism. On our last day there, we were able to get Kurt on the Rio Grande River, he was just wanting to kayak that river so much. We drove down a 30 mile gravel road to the put-in, then he paddled back to a boat ramp that was near the campground and I picked him up there.

Wow, all I can say is this is the most amazing, vast desert wilderness we have seen. So many different eco-systems, terrain and mountain geology. We are so glad we didn’t drive by Big Bend this time. It was a wonderful surprise, not at all what we expected. We highly recommend our friends and family to visit there (they even have a lodge for non-campers), but stay at least six days. There is so much to see and do.

Next, we are headed into New Mexico to visit some places we’ve never been and spend some time with my family in Albuquerque.

2017 - Pacific Coast Trip - Canyon Lake, Texas

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/mEeha7S8Bui595XaA

Friday, February 24^th – Thursday, March 2nd

Cranes Mill Campground – Canyon Lake, Texas

We drove through the eastern side of Hill Country, a lovely part of Texas. The destination was Canyon Lake, just northeast of San Antonio and halfway to Austin. This beautiful, blue, clear water lake is a dammed reservoir of the Guadalupe River run by the Army Corps. We setup in Cranes Mill campground, the only ACOE one still open on this lake. In 2014 and 2015, there were major floods in this area, which wiped out many lakeside recreational parks, including two ACOE campgrounds. The sites were very spacious and all had a view of the lake. There was a fishing pier next to the campground and a boat launch just down the road. Again, the Army Corps campground met all of our expectations.

On the north side of the lake is a peninsula with the Madrone Trails mountain biking and hiking system. We headed up there on the second day to find several miles of very rocky trails with many drops and elevation changes. These trails are so different from any we’ve ridden. The geology in this region is all limestone base, with a desert atmosphere. We rode the trails as best as possible, but they were not the fun flowing trails that we really enjoy.

Hiking trails were mostly non-existent here, other than the Madrone Trails. A couple of days we made our own hiking trail by taking the dogs over to a closed tent camping area and let them run off leash. We all enjoyed the walk around the lake shore.

Another day we drove east to San Marcos, where there are more mountain biking trails. This system at Purgatory Creek was well designed and maintained, but still very rocky single-track. There were some “moderate” trails that were filled with huge, volcanic rock that was mostly impossible for me to ride, so I hiked my bike through many of these trails. However, there were trails through forested areas and open fields, a little more interesting and fun. We enjoyed these trails and got a good workout.

Kurt did put his kayak in the lake and paddled around while fishing, which he always enjoys. The Guadalupe River runs through this region, upstream and downstream of the dam. We drove around the area looking for kayak put-ins and take-outs. We quickly found that most of the river bank lands are privately owned, with little or no public access. It is a beautiful river and is famous for fly-fishing. But basically, to get on the river you must pay an outfitter and you cannot use your own equipment. So disappointing.

This stop also allowed us some down-time, relaxing and hanging out around camp. This is such a beautiful place, we definitely would consider returning here if we ever come this way again.

From here we are heading to Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas. So excited to explore this park and see what it has in store for us.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - East Texas

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https://goo.gl/photos/4cNQ2rzdseAHfnBV6

Monday, February 13^th – Saturday, February 18^th

Village Creek State Park – near Beaumont, TX

The drive to Village Creek S.P. was a long day. It was a familiar drive and campground, as we had camped there in 2014. This Texas S.P. is very nice with a great paddling creek running through it. The creek winds through the forest and has many white sandbars along the way. We were able to paddle an 8 mile section of the creek with an RV couple who also had a kayak, so we ran our own shuttle from put-in to take-out. There were many hiking/biking trails throughout the park, which we enjoyed with the dogs and a few times riding our bikes. This park was also in the process of repairing flood damage that had occurred in the last couple of years. While there we did eat out for Valentine’s Day at a local Mexican restaurant in Lumberton, the nearest town. Again, we noticed the growth in the area since 2014. We keep seeing this population/building boom in places where we have been before. It seems that one day we will have to move back out to the boonies to get away from the sprawling cities and towns. After six days there, we continued westward to a new adventure in Texas.

Sunday, February 19^th – Thursday, February 23^rd  

Bastrop State Park – Bastrop, Texas (southeast of Austin)

We found this State Park while looking for nearby great mountain biking trails. Also, this was a highly rated State Park campground, with full hook-ups for our RV. We were able to schedule a full week, with the plan for a lot of hiking and mountain biking. After taking the back roads like we prefer to do, we arrived at the park, where we were able to see the effects of the “Lost Pines Forest” fire in 2012. The fire burned 34,000 acres and destroyed 1660 homes during a bad drought period. It has been known as one of the worst fires in the state. The forest is beginning to regrow, but very slowly. There used to be a golf course on the property, which was also destroyed during the drought and fire.

The dogs enjoyed hiking off leash with us in the park, the trails were along the steep hills and were mostly rocky, red dirt and mud. The whole park was very hilly with steep roads. The campground is well maintained with spacious campsites. The second day there we drove over to the mountain bike trails, Rocky Hill Ranch, near Smithville. After arriving we checked in and paid the small fee. There were no other riders there and we proceeded onto the trails. After about 3 miles of riding the trails we rode back into a forest area, where we found the trails extremely muddy and not rideable. Our tires were caked with about 1-2 inches of red mud, making it impossible to ride; plus it is a known rule not to ride muddy trails as it will destroy them. There had been a couple of previous days with a lot of rain. So we turned around and headed back to the truck. Wow, what a disappointment, we had planned to ride there at least three days. As a side note, while looking at the satellite view of the trails, we noticed a huge field with carved out letters, LUEKE. We googled this and found out this was on an adjacent ranch and is the farmers name. He carved the letters by removing pine trees for cattle grazing and left the letters for his name. It was designed so precisely, that NASA uses this view to measure photos taken from the ISS space station. If you want more information on this interesting story, check it out:  http://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-luecke-farm-landmark-you-can-see-from-space

The remainder of the week, we drove around through the Hill Country, hiked some more trails and rode bikes around the park. We also used the time to get some maintenance done, work on/clean our bikes, shopping, laundry and a night of great TexMex food. We really enjoyed the town of Bastrop, which was much bigger than expected. Texas seems to also be growing in population and development. However, the Hill Country around the area is so beautiful. This wouldn’t be a bad place to live, as long you one is out in the country.

On to our next adventure in Texas, it’s a big state!

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Gulf Coast

Photo link:
https://goo.gl/photos/8AY4wg8dYxy9YEpeA

Sunday, February 5^th – Wednesday, February 8^th

Davis Bayou Campground – Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi

After an easy drive out of Florida and into Mississippi, we arrived at the Gulf Islands National Seashore and setup our RV at the Davis Bayou campground. We were fortunate to find out about this campground from a fellow RVer in Salt Springs. Since this is a Federal campground, we were able to use out Senior National Parks pass and get a 50% discount. The campground was very spacious with a nice shower house and friendly camp host. We rode our bikes around the park to discover the layout and trails. The next day we were prepared for the major storm that was forecast for that day. We hunkered down in the camper with the dogs and waited out the storm. For the second time on this trip, we were under tornado warnings for most of the storm front. This was the storm that produced tornados in east New Orleans. We were fortunate that it was not that bad as it rolled over us. After that, the weather cleared and cooled down. The next day we were able to ride our bikes around the area on a designated bike trail. It was nice for a good workout and getting outside. This park was a few miles east of Biloxi. One day we drove over to Biloxi and checked out the area. Davis Bayou is located in the town of Ocean Springs, MS. This was a very nice historic town, which had a beautiful beach along the bay shore. We spent some time there walking the dogs and enjoying the nice weather and sunset. After four days there, we were ready to head to the Big Easy.

Thursday February 9^th – Sunday, February 12th

Bayou Segnette State Park – New Orleans, Louisiana

For the next adventure we headed west to New Orleans, Louisiana. We decided to stay on the south west side of the city at a nice State Park, so we could easily get into the French Quarter and have some fun. Friday, the next day, we went into the city. There is a passenger ferry that leaves the south side and crosses the Mississippi River and lands right near the French Quarter. The ferry ride was easy and fun, a short walk to the French Quarter. We first went to lunch as we were both starving. Oceana was a typical NOLA restaurant with Cajun food and a lovely courtyard, which we enjoyed very much. We explored the Quarter, saw all the famous sites and visited a couple of bars. Since Mardi Gras was less than a week away, the Quarter was preparing for the big Carnival. Some of the early krewes were already practicing throwing beads from the balconies, so we caught some beads and didn’t even have to show any body parts! There were the typical street performers and musicians. Some were very talented in their specialties. It was a lot of fun seeing NOLA again, it had been since before Katrina that we had visited there together. Kurt decided to go back into the Quarter the next night, as the first parade was scheduled. I didn’t want to go, that stuff is too crazy for me. He had a good time, but was disappointed in the krewe, as they were not as good as he expected. Very crude and primitive floats and messages. However, he did enjoy the city for Mardi Gras.

On Sunday, we drove down to Houma to visit with Kurt’s extended family who all live there. His sister-in-law, Helen, had a get together at her home. All the family members were there, Kurt’s nieces and nephews and their families. It was a great time, good food (including raw oysters) and a nice time seeing them all again. We truly enjoyed our visit there, it’s too bad we don’t get to see them often enough. Maybe we could get some of them to move to Florida….

We continue our trek westward, on to Texas for some adventures there.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip – Leaving Florida, Heading West

The plan for this upcoming trip is to slowly work our way across the southern United States, ultimately heading to southern California and then north along the Pacific Coast. We plan to return across the northern states, then head south through some midwestern states. After that we will head south towards Florida. We are not sure how long this will take, but predict we’ll be back in south Florida around October.

Friday, December 30^th – Saturday, February 4^th  

Photo link:
https://goo.gl/photos/3dWbZkSZ847EZEPP7

After leaving Hobe Sound, the first stop in Florida was Fisheating Creek, our favorite campground to celebrate New Year’s Eve. The weather was good, but the creek water level was too low for any serious kayaking. We enjoyed four days there hiking, relaxing and celebrating the New Year. While Kurt was out looking for campfire wood, he found a discarded Christmas tree, which he brought back for a New Year’s Eve super-fire. When he lit that tree, it went up like a bomb. Wow, way more than we expected, but it was fun to watch. While we were packing up to leave, I accidently smashed my left hand middle finger in the truck door… OUCH. I know the finger above the knuckle was crushed and it was very painful. I just wrapped it up and went about my business. It will take weeks to heal and I will lose the fingernail eventually.

After FEC, we headed toward our favorite Florida mountain biking location, Alafia River S.P. As usual, the campground was great and we settled in. We spent four days there, but I was not able to ride the trails, due to my injured finger. While there, our friends the Lea family from Clearwater, came over to visit. Lindsay brought the kids over for the day, Walker (Dad) had to work. We made tacos for lunch and went on a hike. It’s always a great time to hang out with them, the kids are so much fun. On the last day there, I did get out on the trails to see if I could ride with my injured finger and was pleased to be able to. We would have loved to stay longer, but there was no more availability.

Next, we headed to Santos Campground, south of Ocala. Another great mountain biking experience and I was able to ride each day. We were there for 6 nights and enjoyed it as usual. Next we headed to Salt Springs in the Ocala National Forest for 12 nights. Our friends, the Leas, also camped there for the weekend. We had a lot of fun playing with the kids (Pickett, Makena, Brynnan and Tallulah) and catching up with Walker and Lindsay. 

Manatee Springs S.P. was our next destination. This park is near the Gulf Coast of Florida, where the Suwanee River dumps into the Gulf, near Cedar Key. We have camped there before and enjoyed our two night stop. Next we headed toward Apalachicola on the Gulf coast and stayed at Coastline RV Resort, a very nice RV resort. It was a new park on the bayfront. We normally don’t stay at RV resorts, but this one offered very good discounts and made it worth the price. This was one of the nicest, well designed RV resorts we have ever experienced. One day, we drove around the town of Apalachicola, and St. George Island. We stopped at a great seafood restaurant and had raw oysters and fish. Also, while there we went on a hike in Tate’s Hell State Forest. There was a marked “hiking” trail that we decided to take with the dogs. The hike started out very nice, a normal hiking trail through the forest, but then it quickly evolved into nothing but huge sandy, double-track trail right in the middle of hunting season. We were over halfway into the 6 mile hike and decided to continue forward. It was mildly frightening as we were not wearing bright orange clothing, as all the hunters were. We hiked as fast as possible to get out of there. What was so annoying was the trailhead advertised a hiking trail, but no indication that active hunting was in process. We were so happy when this was over, and later when Kurt spoke with a FWC officer he mentioned this lack of notice. The officer also indicated that it was heavily populated by black bears (again no notice at trailhead). Wow, I wonder how many tourists get into this situation!

Our last destination in Florida was Blackwater River S.P. north of Pensacola. One of our favorites due to the great paddling in the area. While there we paddled Juniper Creek (with the dogs) and Kurt paddled the Blackwater River. We were also very excited to find a new mountain biking trail system just a few miles north in the forest. It makes this campground even more inviting for future camping. While there, we drove down to Niceville (near Pensacola) to visit our friends, the Falzone family. We hadn’t seen them in a couple of years, so our visit was wonderful and it was great to see Lily and the kids, Abby and Craig.

As we left Florida, we were excited to move westward and visit some new places.