Starting the trek east and meeting up with new friends

We had a wonderful time at Chris and Kendra's wedding and so happy for the tow of them. A very nice addition to the family. It was nice to spend some extra time in AZ before making our way east for our granddaughters high school graduation. But it was time to move on.

Glenda had a hand in some planning and thought we should start out at Patagonia Lake SP near the small town of Patagonia, Rio Rico and Sonoita. The road to the park is very hilly, narrow and winding but we made it safely and found our site. We took Site #1 which turned out to be very nice with no one on the awning side and tucked back away from the road.

It was getting pretty warm in that part of the desert but the lake was a welcome sight. We took many walks around the park and along the lake and rented a kayak one day to get some different exercise and a different view of the area. We even found a geocache on an island at one end of the lake as we paddled around. The area is open range so we saw some cattle near the water just chilling out.

We have a joke about Glenda seeing some white buoys in the distance as we hiked with our friends Faye and Dave one time. She thought they were birds in the water until we got a closer look. So when ever we see buoys in the water we call them buoy birds. Well Glenda finally got to touch one.

Shameless Selfie

We called this Gorilla Rock

While at Patagonia Lake we made contact with some friends we've known from our IL days. Verma and her husband Kent live in nearby Green Valley in the winter as snow birds. They came to our park and checked out the motorhome and then we took a drive to Tubac for some lunch. Tubac has a long history in the SW from Spanish expansion into Mexico to abandonment due to the California Gold Rush and Apache raids to being included in the Gadsen Purchase of 1853. The population grew until 1860 and was the largest town in AZ. It was abandoned again due to the Civil War then reestablished again until the train route was directed through Tombstone instead of Tubac. Archeologists portions of the Presidio in 1974. A park, Visitor Center and exhibits were established and AZ made it into a State Historical Park.

Tubac has a small section in town where a few cafes, shops and businesses draw tourists from around the country.

We had a nice visit and Glenda and I went back the next day to check out the shops and have some lunch at a place they recommended. IT nice to have the flexibility to make these kind of events happen.

Before we left Patagonia Lake we noticed quite a few small vintage looking trailers coming into the park. Glenda took a walk and found out that they were part of the Sisters on the Fly organization. This was a small rally of area members.  The have a website at THIS LINK and they're mission statement reads like this.

As a group of women, we challenge ourselves in all that we set our minds to.
We do not discriminate on the basis of
race, religion, nationality, color, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or age (>21).
All women who want to share in the adventures of our sisterhood are welcome.
“WE HAVE MORE FUN THAN ANYONE” is our credo as we socialize, mobilize and recreate together.

We encourage you to join Sisters on the fly on our activities & adventures and expand your horizons.
Learn to fish, ride a horse, kayak, camp under the stars, travel to various destinations near and far.
The best part of Sisters on the Fly is simply meeting new sisters, like minded and kindred spirits.
Network through our organization and find your very own Sisters!

Sisters on the fly rules are simple to follow-
“No men, no kids, be nice & have fun.”

If you would like to know more click on the link above

Here are  few photos of the trailers we saw. 

After our stay we moved on to New Mexico with a stay at City of Rocks SP. We've stayed there before with Steve and Debbie from Down the Road. We were trying our hand at boondocking with our 5th wheel at the time. We had no generator and no solar and a weak 12v battery. The battery didn't last one night so Steve had to get his generator out to charge our battery back up so we could get the jacks up and slides in to travel. Well this time, even though we have a generator, solar and better batteries with the motorhome we got an electric/water site. We were going to be there 4 nights so we still had to do some conserving of the tanks.

One really cool thing about our stop at City of Rocks was to meet up with friends we made at the RV Dreams Boondocking Rally a few weeks prior. We got to know Carl and his wife Pam and found out they would be at City of Rocks when we would be there. What a great surprise. Carl and I both are into craft beers and we hit if off at the rally by sharing different beers with each other. Can you say beer snobs.....Just kidding or maybe not. HaHa.

We got checked in and set up and let them know we had arrived. It was late afternoon nd they had some plans that day so we set up a meet up the next day.

We invited them to our site for dinner and hanging out. It just so happened the park was having a star night presentation with some astronomers giving a presentation on the different constellations and where to find them in the sky. We all learned a lot. A great start to our stay.

Carl, Pam, Glenda and me

Carl and I talked about hiking up Table Rock Mountain next to the park so I walked up the road from our site to theirs and we started out. The wives went on a walk around the park on a trail while we did our hike. We followed the trail and switch backs to the top where I introduced Carl to geocaching. It just so happened there is a cache at the top of the mountain and we were only about 40 feet from it. It took us about 5 minutes to locate it but we were successful. I signed the log for us both and replaced it. We sat on a bench at the end of the trail as we took in the views of the park below. Then I felt what I thought was a pinch on my shoulder. I looked down and it was a bee. The next thing we know we sere swarmed by the bees. Carl got stung on the cheek and I got another one on my ear lobe. We did our best to shoo them away but they were persistent so we RAN back toward the trail and started quickly down. Finally we were able to escape.

City of Rocks below in the distance

Smiling before the bees came

The funny thing was, we had seen the hive in a tree near the bench we sere on but they hadn't been aggressive at first. Wow what excitement that was. We made it safely down the trail and back to Carl and Pam's site. Carl offered me some liquid pain killer and it really helped. Beer that is.

We went our separate ways for the afternoon. But Carl and Pam wanted to return the invitation so we had dinner at their site that evening. They had a boondocking site at the end of the park and a nice rock formation where their picnic table was located. They had some cool LED lights set up on the perimeter of the area in the rocks and as the sun set and darkness set in the LED's really made for a great mood. Carl grilled some park tenderloins wrapped in bacon. Who doesn't like bacon and Pam fixed some veggies and had some cheese, nuts and crackers as appetizers. The dinner was fantastic and the setting was perfect. It was a wonderful evening. Of course no photos because we had so much fun.

Glenda and I had stayed at Pancho Villa SP in Columbus, NM about 2 miles from the border town of Puerto Palomas in Mexico. We met Steve and Debbie there our first year out as full time RV'ers. We had made a visit to the border town with just our birth certificates and ID at that time. We now have passports so Glenda and I wanted to go back to see what the State Park was like now and go into Puerto Palomas to a restaurant/shop in town. We talked to Carl and Pam and they were up for the adventure.

The restaurant is called The Pink Store and is very popular with tourists in that area of  New Mexico area.

We loaded into the car and drove the 60 miles from the park to the border. We parked in a lot next to the border and walked across. Wow what a difference from the last time we crossed. They now have a building on the Mexico side that we have to now go through to get into the country. Not much of an ordeal...they basically wave you through. But we noticed that Mexican residents go though some checking before coming back into their country.

We walked across and down the street to the Pink Store. That too has changed a lot. They've gone through a total renovation and upgrade of the interior. We had the Mariachi Band come by and play a couple songs for us as we enjoyed our dinner.

New walls and structures at the border

Mariachi Band acting up for the photo

Then Glenda found the same pharmacy that she was able to purchase some neck cream when we were here before. She bought enough for quite a while. They have ingredient levels that you don't find in the US. She got some for Debbie too and sent it to her. I believe Pam may have gotten some too.

It was a full day and Glenda and I were leaving the next day. When we got back to the park we said our good byes and exchanged information so we could continue our contact. Looking forward to meeting up again in the future. Carl and Pam were staying a couple more days and then moving to Silver City for the next month to attend a festival and continue their exploration of the New Mexico area.

The next day we moved on into Texas for a couple of one night stops. The first was an RV park in Van Horn, TX and the second was a find by Glenda at Monahan's Sandhills SP near Odessa, TX.

Next post will be a catch up post on Monahan's Sandhills SP and moving toward Austin, TX to meet up with friends we knew from IL.

A preview photo of Monahan's Sandhills SP. 

Is this really Texas? 

Thanks for following along

Chris and Kendra get married.....Welcome to the family

Well wedding day has arrived, April 19, 2019 for Chris and Kendra. Our grandson, Aiden, was the ring bearer for the wedding so our daughter, Heather, Paul and Aiden flew in from the Chicago area for the wedding. Our son in law, Paul, had several hotel points that he knew wasn't going to be able to use so he booked us a room at the same hotel they were staying at for the wedding. This made it much more convenient access to the wedding venue since the hotel was only about 2 miles away. 

Aiden has been taking swim lessons and the hotel had a pool so we spent much of the day prior to the wedding enjoying some pool time in the sun. It was great spending time with family. Of course I have no photos since I was in the pool having fun. 

The wedding was at 5 pm so we started getting that afternoon and headed to the venue. Chris and Kendra booked wedding reservations at Ocotillo Golf Club in Chandler, AZ. The golf club has a separate garden area for the wedding and a well appointed club house for the reception. It just happened to be the hottest day of the year in AZ so far this year. Temps approached 100 degrees however by the time the wedding took place there was some shade from trees around the garden area. 

The photographer started taking photos of Kendra and her bridesmaids prior to the wedding. 

Then it was time for everyone to take their seats. We got to sit right up front which provided me with some nice photos. Here's a series of photos as the wedding to place. 

Enlarge the photos for best viewing

Chris and Kendra's friend Jared officiated

The groom and groomsmen

The bridesmaids

Aiden looks so handsome

Kendra and her father walking down the aisle

Vows exchanged

Rings exchanged

The kiss

And it's official....Mr. And Mrs. Lowry

Aiden has had a big day

Glenda and Chris

Heather, Paul and Aiden with the newlyweds

The newlyweds enter the reception

First dance

Father and daughter dance

Mother and son dance

After dinner the dancing started. First the newlyweds then father and daughter then mother and son. 

Then my phone died.....yes I didn't have my phone fully charged. I did get the most important shots though. The rest of the evening was dancing, drinking and fantastic fun and celebration. We couldn't be more happy to welcome Kendra into our family. From the very first date to the wedding we knew Chris had found his match. Very happy to have another daughter in the family. 

The next day we had breakfast at the hotel then we took a drive to the RV Resort to show Heather, Paul and Aiden where we stay each winter for the last 5 years. Aiden liked the cactus in the park. 

We walked around the park and showed them our site, the park models and Casitas in the park. We walked around by the pools and the club house. I think they were impressed with our winter home. 

The new took them to The Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert. They have some trails around 7 different ponds and it's right off the canal multi use path. We walked over to a neighborhood where a gentleman runs an animal rescue for donkeys, potbelly pigs,goats, a tortoise and a couple bulls. He puts out food pellets that you can feed to the animals. They love the attention and the food. Aiden was a little leery of feeding the animals but enjoyed watching them. 

It was pretty hot so we headed back to our cars and drove to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Rancho De Tia Rosa just down the road from the Preserve. The food is always good and the service is great too.  Paul and Heather were going to change hotels to be closer to the airport. They had a very early flight back home on Sunday. 

We had to say our goodbyes after lunch and then it was over. The wedding was done, we got to spend time with family and now it was time to prepare to make our slow roll to Georgia. We wish our daughter, Sommer and Todd and the other grandkids could have been there but we will be seeing them soon in Georgia. Sommer's daughter, Brooklyne lives with her Dad in Georgia so we're excited to share this event in her life with her. 

Our next stop is Patagonia State Park. Time to see some new scenery.