Nov 28 - Dec. 1, 2018 Picacho Peak State Park

Nov 28
It's travel day again today but again it's not a far drive to Picacho State Park from here. We did a leisurely pack up and headed over to the dump station with Steve and their rig right behind us. We moved out of the way by the park gate and waited for them to handle that task.

A nice pullout right at the park gate.

Dianne messaged us that Steve had noticed a problem with their suspension while at the dump station. It was extremely good that he noticed because the drivers side rear spring was broken and one of the leafs of the spring had moved to the side and would have cut the tire sidewall if they had kept going. Good eye Steve!
We moved further up the road so Steve could take the pullout where we were. We waited until they had confirmed that a mobile repair rig was coming to fix the spring in about an hour. They said for Leslie and I to go ahead and they would arrive when they could. The drive was only about an hour and we arrived at Picacho State Park not far from Casa Grande, Az.

Picacho Peak 

The entrance to the State Park.

When we were checking in, the lady from the park informed us they had fresh water trouble and the water has high nitrates?? Okay that doesn't sound like a killer. We can still shower and do dishes but really not supposed to cook or drink with it. No worries we can go get good water in Eloy about 12km/ 8 mi away. 
We pulled up to the fresh water fill station and I looked out the drivers window to find a huge swarm of bees at the fresh water tap! There were hundreds of them! I called the gate and a young fella assured me that they are harmless. I was obviously skeptical because he asked if I wanted him to come check it out. Well, actually yes, I would like that lol. Of course I didn't want to seem like a wimp and Leslie wasn't getting out so I opened the truck door and got out. I'm wearing jean shorts and runners and ready to bolt if needed. He was right, the bees didn't care what I was doing at all. By the time the park fella got there I was just starting to turn on the water to the tank. He was really good about it and we chatted for a bit before he took off back to the gate. After that bit of fun, Leslie helped me back into our site and we got set up. We grabbed the water jugs and headed off to Eloy for some fresh water. When we got on I10 we got a message from Dianne that they were fixed up and on the way. Awesome! We got back just before they pulled in so we walked up to let them know about the water and the bees. The fella at the gate didn't even tell them about the water situation? Thanks a lot pal.

A nice pic of their rig with Picacho Peak in the back.

They got backed into the site beside us and started their setup.

Nice sites here. 50 amp power with a fire ring and covered table.

Dianne had hamburgers for all of us that she wanted to make for tonight. Leslie suggested we grab the hamburgers and cook at our house because we are already set up. Yep, good plan Les. We grabbed all the stuff from Dianne and left them to get ready. Pretty soon we were having a well deserved cold beverage and shortly after that a nice burger and salad supper. Teamwork! 

Nov 29

We are booked here for 7 days so everyone can relax a little. Steve and Dianne had enough fun yesterday and they want a "down" day to work on blog posts and whatever else they want to do. They are in contact with their son Chris and his wife Angela because they are having their first baby very soon. Very exciting! Steve and Dianne are flying home for Christmas so they get to meet their new grandson and enjoy some time with their other grandkids and families too. 

Leslie and I wanted to get out for a walk to check out our loops and the general layout here. Margaret wanted to sleep which was odd but we left her in the rig and did about 3 km's around the area. This park has the cleanest showers and bathrooms we have ever seen! Most State Parks we have visited are well maintained but the staff here really shine, literally. No problem conserving water in the rig because we can shower here for sure. We did a few chores of our own when we got back and had a good lunch. We are checking out the Calloway Trail to the overlook this afternoon. The trail turned out to be just enough of a challenge especially for Margaret. There were some big steps and the path was narrow but it turned out to be great.

Hike through the wash at the start.

Several sets of steps to maneuver through.

They were big steps for a small dog lol.

The view! I10 in the back and another RV Park by the highway.

Of course the selfie!

We got back down from the overlook and still had some energy left so I suggested we try just a little bit of Hunter Trail that leads up to the Peak. "Just the easy part Leslie." This trail is rated "difficult" and it actually is pretty crazy. More on that later.

The warning at the trailhead.

We hiked up a little way and Leslie was getting close enough to her steep trail limit so she stopped. I kept going just a little further until I reached the first set of cables to help as a handrail as you go up. Steve and I are going to tackle this trail later this week. It's going to be a challenge I think ;)

We went over to Steve & Dianne's place for happy hour and to find out how their day went. No grand baby yet but next week things get going for sure. We had the most amazing sunset that night. Both Leslie and Steve were snapping pics like crazy. 

Looking east with our rig and Picacho Peak in the shot. I like this one!

A few minutes later looking west! Boom !!

We went back to relax in our rig afterwards. About 8:30 at night I get a text from Derek Carter that the high level alarm went off on the septic tank at our house in Bonnyville. Rats!! He's working dayshift so he tried some troubleshooting in the dark with me on the phone but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Good thing the fellas are watching our house while we're gone. I had actually thought about replacing that pump before we left but figured it had another season in it.... wrong!

Nov 30

I didn't sleep real well that night so when Derek texted at 5am I was already awake and able to answer. He's working today and can make calls but can't really see what's wrong. The other young fella Devan will be there today so that will help. I hate to do it but Kent & Rachelle have watched our house before and they live real close. I'll try texting Kenter to see if he can help a little later. Man I will owe him for this one !!

To make a long story short, I texted Kent and it happened to be his day off and he's done hunting for the season already. Perfect. I found a replacement pump at Trademark Plumbing and Kent & Devan did all the work to get it pumping again. I can't thank them enough for doing that for us. Yes, it's a shitty job but they got it done! Thanks Kent for stepping up and taking care of that nasty job on your day off. Now you know what to do at your house in a year or two.

While Leslie & I were calling and texting Bonnyville, Steve & Dianne had their own problem that they were dealing with. Their fridge quit working last night and things are thawing out. They have a tech coming to fix that this morning. They are also in touch with their son about the baby, busy morning all over. Steve got the fridge to reset the high limit switch but the tech was already coming so he checked some stuff and that problem is done.

Leslie had realized yesterday that she needed to renew her professional X-Ray status with the governing bodies in Canada by Dec 1, tomorrow!! She was also doing calls and emails to renew her status and we need a printer. Dianne has one but it was weak on ink when they tried it. Road trip! We stopped in Eloy at the library and Leslie got the hard copy she needed to sign and send back to her professional association. It has been a trying morning for everyone already.... we need a nice lunch and a beer. Off to Casa Grande to see the Thirsty Donkey. Dianne and Steve have been there before but we haven't and we want to see it. They have 47 different beers on tap and if you want you can get an arm band and sample beers by the ounce. The band monitors how much you take and charges you by what you sample. They have 5 ounce and 12 ounce glasses.

In Casa Grande, a nice place for food too.

Just one of the 3 walls with taps, very cool.

We didn't get the arm bands on this trip but we will return some other time to try it. We enjoyed a nice lunch and then drove over to another very large RV park here in Casa Grande called Palm Creek Golf & RV. It is massive. I think 3000 sites and every amenity that you can imagine. They have the largest pickleball courts in the south with 16 courts all under lights and very well maintained. It is beautiful and not cheap but has a definite wow factor. As we were doing a driving tour we drove right up to a motorhome that Steve & Dianne recognized as their friends Dave & Dianne. Yeah it's a lot of Dave,Steve and Dianne's. Just keep saying one of those names and someone will respond lol. We stopped for a quick visit unannounced so Les & I could meet them. After visiting in their beautiful rig (which they just sold) for a little bit we returned home to Picacho Peak. Supper is at our house tonight and we are having Leslie's awesome pasta sauce on either spaghetti squash or gluten free pasta. I had both :)  Leslie makes great pasta sauce with tons of veggies and this time it has ground turkey but she does variations with Italian sausage or beef or chicken. Great dinner and the end of our busy day.

A long busy day and nice dinner with our friends. All good now.

Dec 1 

Today is the day! Steve and I are going to hike up the Hunter Trail to Picacho Peak. This is the "difficult" rated trail here at the park. You can type it into Youtube and find many videos of the climb. It is definitely "difficult." We arranged with Leslie and Dianne that we would go up the shorter but more difficult Hunter Trail and they would take the much longer but less steep Sunset Vista Trail around the back (south side) of the mountain. 

Map shows the 2 trails we will be using.

The start of our adventure !

I had an idea of the first section of the trail but beyond that is all new to both of us. Today is Saturday so the trail is busier than during the week but it's not too crazy. A large group of boy scouts running parts of it. Ahh young legs! We had to stop after a short distance to take off our sweatshirts. It didn't take long to get warm. We moved at a pace that was good for us and we passed a large group that was taking the ranger guided tour. There are a couple of cable assisted climbs early on but they are not that bad. The trail is plenty steep and after a while we got to the base of the rock face that you see from the road.

Looking up to our goal, Picacho Peak on the left.

Part of the trail up the front.

One of several "breathers" on the way up.

The rock face where you turn left and head up yet again.

Fairly narrow with good drops, gotta watch where you're going!

The "saddle". Now we go down and around the back, then up.

Yep it gets interesting real quick.

I was on my butt for part of this, Steve is still upright.

This was another section where it was easier to step down backwards.

They built a little bridge for this section, nice.

Almost at the top!! This had some big steps to it.

We were so excited by the time we got this far that we missed a high five and turned that into a happy handshake haha. This trail really was our Everest. We had never done a trail like this and we're super close to killin' it! Pretty darn excited I can tell you.

Two super happy guys at the Peak !!! Good work Steve!

We sat on the Peak and enjoyed some snacks and water with a few other people that made it up. We wished we had made it a little earlier because we saw from the trail where a small plane buzzed the mountain top pretty low. The pilot then looped back around and buzzed it again but this time inverted!! Would loved to have seen that from up top. With a much better handshake on top it was time to walk back down. That too will be a challenge I think.

We took our time and came down the same path until the junction for the Sunset View Trail where the girls are. We helped a young girl down part way that had been left on the trail by her teacher and her sisters! She was really scared and wanted to follow us all the way down but we told her to wait at the junction for her group. I am amazed that people would do that. Similar to all the boy scouts scattered up the trail and their troop leader huffin' and puffin' far behind all the boys. Not the way I would do it.

We had been texting with Les and Dianne and they could see us from down below as we descended back to the junction. We'll meet up pretty soon but there is a couple more cable/rock combos to get down before our paths cross.

After the junction going down Sunset Vista Trail.

Pic from Steve, thanks! Looking up where I'm looking down.

If I remember correctly there were 2 of these cable sets and then it was just the narrow trail winding down the mountain to where the girls were in a wash waiting for us. We took a break when we met up to tell them all about our adventure and get some water and snacks in. Thanks Steve for climbing up there with me. It's not a place Leslie would have gone and after my fail on Angels Landing I really wanted this one. We nailed the crap outta this bad boy!!

High five !!

Leslie's turn to tell about their hike.

   Hi! It's Leslie. So Dianne and I dropped the guys off at Hunter Trailhead and we drove down to Sunset Vista and set out on our hike.

The trail started out very rocky and quite steep and we were a bit concerned that the whole thing would be more difficult than anticipated. After about a kilometer it settled out a bit. Still a moderate hike though.

That's more like it !

Dianne was keeping her cell phone close as they are on "baby alert" As the trail got steeper it was nice to have an excuse for a few breaks anyways ;) lol

View towards the peak (east)

View to the west

The views are spectacular as we head towards steeper trails nearer to the peak. Dianne and I had some great conversations while we headed towards higher ground to keep each other motivated. Neither of us is especially fond of heights and Dianne's knees aren't great and neither is my back. We kept checking in with each other to make sure the other was good. It was very supportive and motivating and I really enjoyed our time together.

As the trail got steeper and more difficult we kept pushing each other to go just a bit farther. We both ended up being braver than we thought we were! The guys texted from the summit (see their selfie above) so we turned and took one of us with the same view in the background.

Not quite as much altitude but pretty awesome!

We continued up a number of switchbacks and managed to get a picture of who we think are the guys helping the young girl down the cables.

We think that's them in the circle

Dianne and I could see the first cables at this point so we called it! We had a small snack and some water and started our descent as we tend to go a bit slower going down than the guys do. We figured they would likely want to get home sooner rather than later and they will catch up. After about 20 minutes we could hear their voices and 10 minutes after that they caught up to us. We had some hugs and a good conversation before we started the long hike back.

Great job everyone! 

I can't thank Steve enough for doing this hike with Dave!!

Even the cacti think it's worth hugging about

The guys were definitely getting really tired and we still had another hour to go. When we got nearer to the trailhead they weren't overly happy about the last kilometer/ 3/4 mile getting difficult again but we all made it out with smiles on our faces, feeling like we all pushed ourselves hard today. It's time for a well deserved shower and a beer!! Needless to say it was a very early night.

What a great day for all of us! Dianne and Steve are keeping in close contact with their son for baby news. Very exciting as well. We have been traveling together for almost a month and the time has just flown by. Thanks for another fabulous adventure today and more to come.