Climbing Mt Lemmon

 We finally slept in and we all got up around 8:30 this morning.  Yesterday, we had decided to trek up to the top of Mt Lemmon, about an hour and a half drive straight north of us.

We had a leisurely breakfast of the full three courses and laid around awhile enjoying the fresh morning air and the complete solitude at Nancy's beautiful small ranch.  

At 11 o'clock we started north to the mountains.  Took us quite awhile just to get past all the town traffic.  But soon we were on the right road heading up and up for 25 miles to the top.

Wasn't long into the climb till we reached the height where Saguaro cacti grow.  I'm guessing between 2 and 3 thousand foot level.  

On our first vista view Yuma met a beautiful Husky named Mixer.

Looking southwest over Tucson.

From here I will just show you pictures of the gorgeous views as we took the winding turns to the top some 8000 plus feet.

Not for me!😨

Hoodoos ahead

Getting into the pines now.

I think we'll stop at the pines for the night and I will finish up with tomorrow's blog.  I think tomorrow will be a day of rest after today's hard climb.  Nick did all the driving but I'm tired from wrestling Yuma with the two of us trying to share his one small seat!  We got home at 4:30, so it was a five hour drive.

After resting a little, I decided to try my idea with the Dish.  I decided since Nancy's place is on the north side of a small hill directly behind her driveway, I wasn't connecting with the low flying satellites in the south.

I went up top of the White Lion where I had placed the Dish Tailgater yesterday, but I took a small table and placed the table on the AC vent.  Put the Tailgater on that and that elevated it about four feet and went down to try it.  First attempt and I had TV! 😅  After three hours of trying and failing last night, my pea brain finally figured out the problem.  Now I'm ready for Yellowstone tomorrow night.

Time for dinner and to bed.  Hope to see you back tomorrow to finish the climb with us.

Travel Plan Delay

 Woke this morning at 8 o'clock and when I came out to the living area I was surprised to see Nick up and petting Yuma good morning.  Today is the day for the repair man to come out and sure enough at 9 o'clock I got a message he was on his way.  Great, because if he finishes by 11 o'clock I can get out of here and not pay for another night.

JB, the repair man got here before 10 and went right to work digging through the water panel and getting it removed so he could see the problem.  Sure enough I had a huge crack in the gray side of the "Y" pipe on the outside of the valve, so only leaks when I open the valve.  Thank goodness for that.  At least I am keeping it in.  Just can't empty it without flooding the ground.

JB was done and off with $120 of my money by a little after 11 o'clock.  The office will come up with an estimate to get the job done and give me a call for the go ahead in about two days and then once approved order the "Y" pipe and stuff.  This could be another three days.

After he left, we finished packing and Nick led the way to Nancy's house in the Jeep about 18 miles east of the park to Vail.  She has a beautiful place and with us parked in her drive we have a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.

After unpacking, we laid outside and rested for awhile and then had lunch.  After lunch we decided to explore a little of the ravine behind Nancy's house.  It was rough terrain until we hit the railroad tracks.  We then walked the road along the tracks for awhile.  Found a Saguaro close enough to walk to, so Nick got to touch his first one.  Also, Yuma managed to find and chase a rabbit, but the rabbit was too fast for him.😀

We got back around 4 o'clock and I started working on the Dish for tonight's Gold Rush.  With all my attempts and effort I could not pick up the channels, so at 7 o'clock when the show was over I quit trying for today.  I have an idea that I will try tomorrow.  I can catch up with Gold Rush next week.  I HOPE!

Working on my blog now and may have a little dinner but still pretty full from lunch so may just have dessert. 😃  It is such a beautiful evening with 66 degrees and calm winds we may just lay outside for awhile before bed time and search for shooting stars.  Nick saw one last night. Tomorrow we plan to climb Mt Lemmon in the Jeep.  Goes up 9000 feet so we'll need to take a jacket.

Thanks for stopping by.

Full Day of Rest in Tucson, Arizona

 Tried to sleep in last night here at the quiet Pima County Fairgrounds but still woke up around 7:30 and got up at around 8 o'clock.  Took Yuma out trying to be quiet and let Nick sleep.  It was such a warm and beautiful start to the day so Yuma and I sat outside till 9 o'clock and finally I figured it was time for breakfast.

Nick got up and we fixed breakfast and sat outside to eat.  So nice to have two cups of coffee and 12 crackers with peanut butter and cheese.  Then two boiled eggs followed by half a grapefruit and tangerine.  And I was done before noon 😊  Going to be another warm day.  Already 75 going to 82 later today.

After breakfast I decided to dump the gray tank.  Uh oh!  When I pulled the release, it started pouring out from a crack in the pipe below the shut-off valve.  Got on the phone and called a mobile repairman and luckily, someone is coming out tomorrow morning to look at it and give me an estimate.  Might be a quick fix if they don't have to order parts, otherwise it may be a week.

After that problem had a handle on it, we decided to drive to the west side of Tucson to find the BLM land I stayed at last spring.  We had to hunt for awhile but finally located it so we drove around and located the perfect spot in case we are going to be waiting for parts.  Can't see paying $30 a night waiting around.

On the way back I missed the turn-off to the RV park and ended up at the Vail exit.  Having been there before visiting Nancy, Kissack Adventures I knew there was a food store in Vail.  This a beautiful little town and growing like a weed.  A few views of mountains overlooking the town.

I sent Nancy a text telling her we were visiting her town.  She's at her other home in California till the end of the month.  She sweetly wrote me and said that I could park in her driveway if need be.  I would like her place better than the BLM on the west side of town, so if we're stuck here, I'll take her up on it.  Thank you for the kind offer, Nancy😍

We finally made it home around 3:30 thankful there was AC in the Jeep.   Nick had a little lunch and as I was sitting outside, a blog reader of mine came up to me and introduced himself.  Dave is a good friend of Nancy's and she had told Dave we were here and they decided to make this place there home for the evening.  Dave has a blog too, of course.  Going RV Way .  We had a nice talk.  He and his wife Marcia and of course their little two year old cutie, Indy were coming from the Sacramento area heading back home in Florida.  They've got a ways to go.  So glad to meet a fellow RVer and blogger.  Thank you for taking the time to stop by.

Afterwards, Nick, Yuma and I walked over to the RV Sales show they are having here at the fairgrounds.  Got to walk through a $500,000+ Tiffin MH that was huge.  Nick looked through the camper vans to travel in.  Only $77,000.  What a deal!  He'll have to get a job first. 😁

The next two are too expensive on his budget!😀

Finally time to call it a day and have dinner and watch a little football!

Fifth Day on the road: Finally made it to Arizona!

We had a very quiet night at the Deming Walmart.  No RVs but tons of trucks.  When we woke at 8 o'clock we had breakfast and when I stepped out into the warm morning air I saw that my exit from the parking lot was filled with a truck, so Nick and I quickly unhooked the Jeep and I backed the White Lion out of our parking space and hooked back up.  No big deal.

We were on our way toward Tucson, Arizona by 9 o'clock.  The western section of New Mexico was pretty with all the mountains.  The grades up the mountains was sometimes stressful with the stress on the MH but we made them without too much problem.

It was only 86 miles to the Arizona border.

Finally, we have officially arrived.  And Yuma was not impressed!

More mountains and a grove of pecan trees.

We took our first rest area break at Texas Canyon.  Couldn't miss that beautiful area.

Yuma meets a friend.

It wasn't long before we entered Tucson and I saw the sign pointing to Pima County Fairgrounds and decided a couple days rest at an RV Park would be just what the doctor ordered.  It was about 1 o'clock and the temperature was 85 degrees.  HOT!  Heard on the news later that today broke the heat record for this date set back in 1922 at 84.

We both took showers and did a little resting before it was time for me to setup the TV for "Survivor" tonight.

Beautiful sunset on the mountains near here tonight.

We had dinner and watched the news and then it was showtime.  It was a good one with a great twist and all came out right.  The person I wanted out was voted out!  Sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings.

Time to finish this blog and hit the sack.  Already after 9 o'clock and past my bedtime!😔