Wow - lots has happened since I posted last! Dick was just beginning his Arizona Trail hike and now he is almost to the town of Pine which is approximately 460 miles under his belt. Over the past few days he is having problems with heat in the 90's and water has been scarce. Everyone is saying it's hotter and drier than normal. I didn't hear from him last night but he tells me not to worry, if anything happens while he's hiking then he died happy. Is that comforting or what? At the beginning of his hike he would come in every 2nd or 3rd day. During this next leg I will not see him for about 12-14 days.
We enjoyed our stay in the Patagonia area. Our base camp was Patagonia Lake State Park. Since Dick was hiking for several days, I introduced myself to a group of RV neighbors that pulled into camp on St. Patrick's Day. They invited me to join them for a true Irish meal. After a couple days I drove 45 miles north to pick up Dick and when I brought him back to camp he right away walked over to introduce himself to my new friends and said, "Hello, I'm Gaila's long lost husband. I smell bad, I look bad, but I feel good!" He was immediately accepted into the group even without a shower.
We connected with friends from home, Maryanne Macy and Gregg Chance, who were renting a place near Patagonia Lake. |
This beautiful Elegant Trogan winters in Patagonia Lake State Park. Photo taken by Dick Mallery |
On this trip I read a book called WOMAN OVERBOARD by Camille Gannon and could relate to many of her feelings. I enjoyed the book so much I decided while in the Tucson area I would contact her and see if we could meet. Dick and I met up with Camille and Peter and had a fun evening talking about our adventures.
A fun read. http://www.womanoverboardbook.com
Our campsite with the Catalina Mountains in the background. |
We've had several visitors here.
My parents only live about 32 miles from me so I see them a couple times a week.
Carl Fromholz and Lisa Grise, from home, had been in Mexico all winter and stopped
to camp a couple of nights with us at this park. This park has lots of
rules. After only one night's stay, the next morning they knocked on our door to tell us that they'd been booted out because their trailer was older than 15 years and their breed of dog wasn't allowed.
We were sad to see them leave. If I hadn't already paid I would have left too.
Bill and Laurie Bassett, from home, came for an afternoon visit and the next day we all went to the trailhead outside of Superior to send Dick on his way for the next leg of his hike.
Dick is enjoying this hike. Sometimes during the day he'll call me when he's hiding under something to get out of the heat. A couple times I've offered to pick him up but he says, "No Way". Here are his last two Blog entries if you're interested in his hike. (Margie - you may not want to read these because there are lots of snake pictures.)
PART II - http://
PART III - http://
Amazing all the different cactus blooms! No wonder it's called the "Painted desert".
Hi Gaila and Dick
ReplyDeleteWe came through Pine on our way back to Tucson and home on Tuesday, April 08. Stopped in the Pine Trailhead and thought about where you might be. A;sp [assed by Catalina State Park same day.....Tucson has too many people! Nice to be back in the Ponderrosas and some shade.....but surely are lots of hills in AZ! Had time in Madera Canyon starting March 25, then Oak Creek Canyon. When we went up to Flagstaff to Walnut Canyon NM where I worked many years ago, we saw where the AZ Trail went through near there, also.