More Casa Grande Adventures

 

Sabino Canyon in Tucson is very beautiful and hard to imagine it is just out of Tucson.  We took a tram ride into the canyon.  During the trip we saw a red cardinal on a branch on a tree.  There were signs posting of possible mountain lions.  These were posted for the public for awareness and to be careful in one chose to hike out in the desert.  The park is part of the National Forest.  There are plenty of places to hike.  We did not realize what a treasure we would find, so we did not allow for time to explore the area with a hike.  We found out that we were not that far from Mt. Lemmon, a ski area above Tucson.  We decided to continue our road trip to Mt. Lemmon.  It had amazing views of Tucson and the surrounding area.  We drove to approximately 8000 feet elevation.

Pictures taken around the Sabino Canyon Area

 

 

Mt. Lemmon ski area

 These are pictures taken during our drive up to Mt. Lemmon.  The top left is looking towards the San Pedro River.  A sign said on a clear day one can see New Mexico.  The bottom picture has the city of Tucson in the background.  It was interesting to see how the scenery and the flora changed as we progressed up the mountain.

 

Another day we went with Steve’s mother to Picacho Peak State Park to watch a Civil War reenactment. They reenacted some of the battles that occurred in the Arizona area during the Civil War.  We saw a fashion show of clothes wore by the people during the Civil War time.  It was interesting to see the different types of clothes worn by all ages.

 

 

After Casa Grande we left for a week at Lake Havasu.  We met Gary M and Linda again and camped next to them.  Gary F. and Jill joined us at the R.V. park the day after we arrived. We golfed a few times on the island, explored some of the desert with our vehicles, and went on a jet boat trip on Lake Havasu.  Gary and Linda took us out to see a signature designed Arnold Palmer golf course.  It is called The Refuge.  The course is surrounded with colorful flowers.  It has beautiful fairways and greens.

The weather at Lake Havasu was hotter than our last time in the city.  Spring break was beginning to show influence in the city.

This is the jet boat we took on Lake Havasu.  It was a two hour trip.  It was well worth the price and time.

 

 

 

These were wild burros that were seen on a hillside.  This picture reflects massive rocks that were seen as we went down the river.  Lake Havasu is actually the Colorado River.

 

We saw mountain goats climbing the rocks. 

 

 

The massive rocks were many different colors.

A look at Lake Havasu City from the water

During our time at Lake Havasu, we took time as a group and went to explore a ghost town named Swansea with our vehicles.  This town used to be a copper mining town.  The trip had very nice scenery as we got farther into the desert.  It was about 30 miles from Parker, Arizona. We started the trip at Bouse, Arizona. We found out as we progressed into our trip that it is important to take more than one vehicle. It is also important to have a source of food supply and a GPS/mapping system.  We had all of the above, but found the desert to be a wide open space with many trails.  One of the vehicles experienced a flat tire.  It was a fun and interesting experience.

 

 

 

 

Pictures taken during our Swansea Ghost Town Trip

 

Gary F. and Jill left us after a few days for a different campground on the Colorado River.  We took a drive to see their campground.  It was near Parker, Arizona.  We drove across the Parker Dam to see their campground.

We drove across the Parker Dam to see Gary F. and Jill’s campground.  One side of the river is the state of Arizona and the other side is the state of California.

 

We are now home.  Boots enjoyed the motorhome trip and the pictures below show evidence of a cat that is in heaven.  Although he did not wish the leave the motorhome, the warmth of his bed and the fake fire by the dining area provided the comforts of home.  He did have a habit of waking us up around 6 in the morning so he could be fed and then a little later he would meow again so he could have a turn in our bed.  He does make a good alarm clock when we want it, but sometimes we would have preferred to sleep a little longer.

 

 

These are names of some of the places we found that were good places to eat:

 

Black Bear Diner ( We found these in Oregon, California, and Lake Havasu)

In and Out Burger ( We found these in Lake Havasu and California.  )

Tortilla Flats ( going around Apache Trail)

Rawhide City  (by Chandler)

The Mining Camp (by Apache Junction)

The Rocking R Ranch (located in Mesa)

 

Here is a sampling of the beautiful sunsets that we saw in Arizona.

 

Pictures taken at our Casa Casino Campground

Sunset at Old Tucson

Picture taken from Lake Havasu

 

After a week at Lake Havasu we decided to head for home.  Our Arizona trip was filled with adventure, great friends and family, beautiful scenery, and sunsets!

Picture was taken as we were traveling in the motorhome.  We were leaving the Mohave Desert.  Notice the windmills on top of the hill.  They were making power as it was a windy day.

 

Our last stop was at the campground we stayed at in Yreka, California.  This time there was no snow on the ground in the campground!

 

This is a picture taken from campground looking towards hills that had snow in January.

 

 

This is a picture of a sunset at Yreka, California.  Although there is no snow on the ground, it is still up on the hills.