3/31 The Best Laid Plans ....

Just a little rambling, so if you read my posts to get info on campgrounds, you can skip this one. 

I decided to share that this has been a very disappointing winter.  First, you need to know that I plan my travels at least six months in advance, plotting out routes and making campground reservations in advance.  I do that for a lot of reasons, partly because I am a planner at heart and feel uncomfortable not knowing where I am going and that I will have a pleasant and safe place to stay along the way.  

I also do a lot of research about where I am heading.  After a lot of years traveling, there are some places I really enjoy going to over and over again.  Examples are Valley of Fire and Willow Beach Marina near Las Vegas and Zion National Park in Utah. I have a lot of familiar places I like to go back to, and there are always some new places I have been wanting to see, so I take all of that into consideration when planning my travels.

And of course, I like to bounce around so that I can visit my sons and their families (including grandkids) at least once or twice each year.  And I have mostly been alternating winters between Florida and the Desert Southwest.  I love the views and scenery in the West, but I also like the animals, birds, and oceans in Florida.  

So, this past winter was California and the Desert Southwest.  I drove west during the summer, and because it was too hot in California, I spent September and October in Oregon and Washington, mostly following the coast.  Weather there was perfect with mostly sunny and pleasant days.  In November, when it starts to get rainy in the Northwest, I headed east of the Sierras to my favorite places in Las Vegas and then on to Death Valley and back to California to spend the December holidays with my son and his family. 

EXCEPT, California threw a big wrench into my plans by raining non-stop for weeks and months!  Actually, I would have done better to head back to Washington state!  After some major vehicle repairs, I decided that Arizona was likely to be dryer, so I followed my original plan and headed there. 

Unfortunately, Arizona ended up being a lot colder and even rainier than past years, so I not only stayed damp, but found it was a bit too chilly outside to go for long walks in the desert.  I had to run my two little electric heaters and my rear furnace almost non-stop to stay warm. In fact, in February in Usery Mountain near Mesa, AZ, the normally hard desert sand was actually spongy from all the rain--very strange.  And the cold meant the cactus were not blooming as I had expected.  

And it even snowed in Catalina SP near Tucson!

 

Normally, you would expect temperatures in Phoenix and Tucson in February would be in the upper 60s and lower 70s, with only occasional rain.  

Anyway, I drove on to New Mexico.  A problem with New Mexico is that it is higher in elevation than most places in Arizona, so you have to stay relatively south until the northern parts warm up. I had some nice days at Rockhound and Oliver Lee State Parks, but when I headed north to a campground I had been to before near Santa Fe, I got into a horrible wind storm and found snow on the ground.  I knew Santa Fe was at about 6,000' in elevation, but it had been relatively pleasant in the past.  Not only did my slide toppers almost tear in my drive across the barren desert, when I got to the campground, temps were below freezing, and have stayed there almost every night since.

Normally, in a campground, people put out chairs and grills around their sites, as well as eat out and socialize.  Not the past week or so here!!  There was one day where people came out briefly, but mostly everyone has made day trips or stayed inside all day.  I have been working on some small projects and spent one day doing a bunch of laundry nearby.  I have made two trips to Santa Fe--one to run errands and do some shopping, and the other to visit museum hill.  I picked my days out for the weather as much as anything else. 

The last two days, we have had strong wind warnings, which means I could not really drive out.  BUT, tomorrow is supposed to be fairly decent and there is not supposed to be strong winds, so I am headed to the historical part of the city to walk around.  I will wear long pants and a couple of layers of sweatshirts.

Wish me luck!  Good news is that I did see a mountain blue bird this afternoon.  He perched on my hood and looked at me.  Very pretty.  And I am headed to Zion next week, where I hope it is a bit warmer and sunnier.