Benson AZ - 2019

Well we made it to the SKP Saguaro CO-OP Campground in Benson AZ.  We have reservations to stay here from 1 Nov 2019 to 30 Apr 2020.  That's right, 6 months in one location.  You must be thinking that we are done traveling, and your are right...NOT.  We are just trying to save some money and this downtime will help to get repairs and maintenance done that is hard to do while traveling all the time.  The spot we have has a shed on it.  After we stayed here for a while, we decided to make this our "home base".   We plan on changing our 6 month lease to a yearly lease and then move our stuff from storage down here.  That will happen sometime in the spring.  But for now, It's time to explore this area of the country.

First stop, Fort Bowie National Historic Site by Willcox AZ .  This hike wasn't very long, I think something like 1 or 2 miles to the fort.  When we arrived, I was surprised there was a visitor center there.  Can you imagine walking there everyday just to get to work?  hum-mm.  Anyway the fort was mostly just ruins and this is the second location of the fort with the original being just west on top of a mound and much smaller.  On our hike we did see a creature that in my opinion it was part squirrel, raccoon and porcupine all in one.  They call him a "Coati".  He was hiding behind a tree, but I was able to get a picture of his face for you.  Anyway, here are the pictures we took of this hike.

We also visited the Queen Mine Tour in Bisbee AZ.   Interesting mine and town alike. We first hit the Mining and historical Museum.   They had some good info on mining.  I guess they would have to, or change there name to something like "Some museum stuff for you to see".   We then drove around a little waiting for our time to hit the mine (we made reservations at lunch for the tour).  I guess after the mine started to shutdown, and the miners moved on, hippies moved in and took over the town.  Anyway, for the mine tour, you donned a hard hat and hopped on a little mine train and down into the mine you go.  They had some nice displays of what it was like and how they mined it.  Well worth the tour if you're in the area.  And if you are, eat at Santiago's.  Great food.  Here are the pictures of that. 
At one of the rallies, we order a part from RV AIRFLOW that would redirect the airflow from the AC unit directly to the ducting through the roof to improve air flow.  Well we received it while here in Benson and I also installed it.  Not too hard of an install, except I broke one of the bolts that hold the AC in place.  I guess I will have to get that replaced some time, but I think it is safe with 3 bolts.  We also had a leak in the roof at the sky light.  Between rain storms, I went on the roof, found the issue and corrected it before the next storm.  All good now.
Around the beginning of December, Terry took a short flight to Panama to visit with her friend.  Here is Terry to tell you about her trip.
Well, there was nothing short about the flight I took to Panama.  From Tucson to Denver (yup, your heard that right), then on to Panama City and my final stop in David, Panama.  Total time from airport to airport was almost fourteen hours.  Boy I'm exhausted!  My friend Brenda was there to meet me at the airport.  Definitely a sight for sore eyes.  It's been over a year since I have seen her.  Now we get to hang out for two whole weeks.

Our first adventure was to the Lucero Golf & Country Club that was located on top of a mountain.  On our way, there was a lighthouse on the side of the road.  What is so funny about that, we were land locked and no where near the ocean.  Silly place to put a lighthouse if you ask me.  The country club had some beautiful gardens that we were able to walk around and had some great views of the valley below.  Here are the pictures for that.

1000 yr old tree

Blood Tree

For our next adventure we decided to take a guided tour.  Brenda has been in Panama for six years but never really did any of the touristy things here.  We decided on a easy hike through the jungle that took us out to a 1000 year old tree and back.  I was a little worried when we started out as we saw the driver poring oil into the vehicle.  I was hoping that we wouldn't have to walk back.  This was mostly uneventful.  We came across an area that a tree had fallen across the path and the guide had to cut a new path through the jungle around the tree.  The guide pointed out to us the blood trees.  If you cut them they look like they are bleeding.  That was unique.  We also saw a dung beetle and a howling monkey that looked like a black dot in a tree far away (I didn't have Steve's Camera).  After our hike we stopped for some liquid refreshments and an appetizer to hold us over until we got back to her house for lunch.  I guess that was more eventful than I thought.  Here are the pictures for that.

Our next adventure took us to Raquel's Ark in Vulcan, Panama which is an animal sanctuary.  Here we were able to hold a sloth and have some monkeys crawl all over us.  That had to be the coolest thing I have ever done!  She also had a few other animals there that she was taking care of including a coati and a leopard.  Later in the week we took another guided tour out to the hot springs as Brenda wasn't sure where they were located.  That was quite a hike out to there.  Here are the pictures from that and the animal sanctuary. 

The rest of the time there we just hung out and did some cooking.  Made some home made ice cream numerous times and a pie.  We also saw a real cool moon rising from her back yard.  I really enjoyed my time here with Brenda.  Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. The two weeks have flown by and now I'm heading back to the airport for the grueling flight back to Tucson.  This time I had window seats all the way and I was able to get some pictures of Panama City and all the boats waiting to enter the Panama Canal.  Here are the pictures from that.

Well, I'm glad she had fun, leaving me here with all the broken food.  I can fix a lot of things, but broken food isn't one of them.  Anyway, the rest of the year was quiet except for the trip we did to Albuquerque to visit with my brother, sister and nephew.  Oh, we drove and didn't take the RV for this trip.  We did stop by the Very Large Array in NM.  They like listening in on conversations...of aliens!  Anyway, there is 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration and can be expanded to 22 miles.  It was kinda cool, but you're not getting a phone call while there.  All signals are blocked.  Anyway, here are the pictures we took there...OK, some of the pictures.  I think I deleted the ones off of Terry's camera by accident. 
Year 2019 has come to an end.  I wonder what 2020 will hold?