Tucson Mtn. Park, Gilbert Ray Campground, Tucson

January 12, 2011 Gilbert Ray Campground.
We got up early today as it was time to move from Usery Mountain Regional Park to our new destination Tucson Mountain Park and the Gilbert Ray Campground. We pulled out of our site by 9:30 and were on the road after stopping at the dump station by 10:00. The weather was cool but sunny warming from the low 50's to the upper 60's.

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The trip consisted of interstate travel and then some two lane roads as we traveled west of Tucson. We followed the directions provided on the Gilbert Ray Campground website. The road into the park was full of dips and narrowed dramatically inside the park. We came to this park for the purpose of visiting The Saguaro National Park and the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.

After traveling 124 miles we arrived @ 12:30 at the entrance to the campground, there were no attendants but a self-pay kiosk. The posted instructions stated to find a campsite and then return to the kiosk to pay for the site. Each RV site is $20 a night for electric only. We discovered that only loops H and C were open. However, there were no signs indicating the larger loop A was closed. So naturally we took off for loop A only to have to turn around in the dump station at the back of the campground. Subsequently we checked out loop H and C before settling on site 114 in Loop H. The sites have 30 amp electric only. We must fill our water tank in our rig and work off our pump for water. I always carry about 20 gallons in the tank so we will start off with that amount. There is a water spicket close enough to our site that I can use to fill our tank if needed.

Site H114

We pulled as far back as we could into our site. I decided to keep the truck hitched to the fifth wheel as we would only be staying for two nights. Staying hitched will give me a time advantage for making an early departure. We plan to head for Las Cruces from here and that will be a long drive for us at nearly 300 miles.

I used the Bigfoot Levelers in the manual mode to level the rig as much as possible without lifting too hard on the rear of the truck.

View out our back window.

Gilbert Ray Campground is about 13 miles west of Tucson near the Tucson Mountains. So, it's a considerable drive into town. However, we don't plan on visiting the city on this trip. As you may recall we visited Tucson last June. President Obama arrived in Tucson today for the commemoration on the "Tragedy in Tucson". Our hearts and prayers are with the fallen, injured and the families affected. 

Tomorrow should be a busy day.

Visiting with Friends from our New Life Style

January 9, 2011 Usery Mountain Regional Park.

Another Beautiful Sunset

Yesterday, we invited some friends Betty and Dale to come visit with us. We had met Betty and Dale last spring at Cottonwood Creek RV Park. We had made an instant connection and enjoyed their company. They are staying in a RV park in Goodyear on the west side of Phoenix. They RV in the winter months to escape the winter weather of the Midwest. Betty and Dale arrived around noon and after catching up we enjoyed a wonderful lunch of chili with chicken sandwiches. Betty brought a wonderful lemon pie. 

We took a short hike around the park showing off it's many varieties of cactus and the wonderful scenic vistas. Later we took a ride in the Jeep out towards the Superstition Mountains.  We took them down the dirt road to the First Water Trail Head, where we had previously done a hike. At the trail head we discovered the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) had a Search and Rescue Party that was apparently wrapping up their operation. I captured this picture of their helo taking off.

Today we learned that they had found the remains of lost hikers/ explorers. Ironically from the same area where we had nearly become lost.

MCSO Finds Remains of 2 People

Updated: Saturday, 08 Jan 2011, 5:27 PM MST
Published : Saturday, 08 Jan 2011, 4:31 PM MST

MESA - The Maricopa County Sherriff’s Office has found remains they believe are from two people in the Superstition Mountains Saturday afternoon.

The MCSO mountain rescue team and helicopter spent most of Saturday searching for the remains that were found by a man hiking on Friday night.

The man told MCSO that he thought they might belong to the three hikers from Utah who went missing in July, according to MCSO spokesman Jeff Sprong.

Sprong said officials will be checking to see if they are the remains of two of the hikers.

He said because of the conditions of the remains, the Medical Examiners Office will be trying to identify them. It was unknown how long it will take to identify the subjects.

Related Story:

Sheriff Ends Search for Missing Utah Hikers

After witnessing the activity at the trail head, we took a ride and stopped along the way to take photos of the Superstition Mountains.

Dale, Betty and Joyce

We really enjoyed visiting with Dale and Betty and we sure hope to see them again sometime down the road. Who knows, maybe someday we will stop and visit them on their farm in Nebraska.
Today, we took a ride with my Father and Karen out to the Gold Canyon community to meet some of their friends and have lunch at the country club. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing the area and the company.

Our new site at Usery Mtn. Regional Park and a short hike.

January 7th, 2010 Usery Mountain Regional Park.

House Finch feasting on a half orange

As you know, we had to move sites per the park's rules after the initial 14 days in one site. So on the 4th we moved from site 9 to site 30. It's on the outer loop but an inside site with a great rear view of Pass Mountain.

Site 30

Side yard with fire pit.

Rear window view.

After our last dramatic hike where we felt a bit lost, I did some thinking about what kind of gear we should carry with us. So the next day at Walmart we picked up a first aid kit, some portable foil emergency blankets, plastic ponchos and a waterproof match stick holder. Back at home I packed both our packs with the above gear including a small flashlight for each and a pair of leather work gloves. In my pack I also packed a small wool blanket extra batteries and fire starter. I've basically determined that my pack may be too small with the added gear for hiking in the desolate backcountry mountains. 

I also purchased a Bushnell Original Back Track from Sam's Club. 

                                                              

GPS MADE SIMPLE!

BackTrack utilizes GPS technology in its most basic format, BackTrack has only two buttons and stores up to three locations – just mark it and forget it until it’s time to return. At the end of the day, select your location and the BackTrack displays direction and distance to travel. Use it to find your car in a crowded parking lot, your treestand or the trailhead, even to rendezvous with your group. It’s extremely compact and stows conveniently in your pocket, pack or purse.

It's a very simple GPS that can mark up to three locations at a time i.e. you car. The Back Track then gives you a directional arrow and distance (as a bird flies) to your car or whatever location you set into the Back Track. At $39 it was certainly cheaper and less complicated than a full scale portable GPS.

I did a short hike today down to the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest to test the Back Track.

The Bushnell Back Track so far works as advertised. I obtained a satellite signal after getting out and set the Back Track to the location of my vehicle. The unit powers off after a short period of inactivity. When you turn it back on it immediately obtains a satellite signal and picks up in the mode from which it turned off. It measures the distance initially in yards and then eventually in miles and tenths of a mile. Right now I'm very satisfied with it.