2023 Southwest US tour Archives - Page 2 of 3

Day 26: Picacho Peak State Park

By tony.barb.fisher April 2, 20232023 Southwest US tour

What a night! I still struggle with the complete silence that envelopes you here at night. I suffer from tinnitus and as such when it’s as quiet as it is in the desert, the only sound I hear is literally in my head. As for darkness, well. As you can…

Day 25: Ancient places

By tony.barb.fisher April 1, 20232023 Southwest US tour

It’s time to leave Tuscon and continue our journey. The days are definitely getting warmer here yet the nights are still chilly. I awakened this morning wishing I had my extra blanket last night. So, up again at 6:00 and out for my walk. Nobody else seems to be awake…

Day 24: Moving day

By tony.barb.fisher March 31, 20232023 Southwest US tour

As we extended our stay at this park by one day we have to move sites to accommodate other reservations. Not a problem as we have plans to go ‘off-site’ today. Another beautiful morning, another walk about the park. It seems a little emptier as I walk about, a few…

Day 23: When life gives you lemons… or Seville oranges

By tony.barb.fisher March 30, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Good day. So another restful night here in Tuscon, AZ. The morning sun rises early into the clear blue sky, yet it is cool at only 2C. I repeated yesterdays walk and then headed to the shower. The shower gets an 8/10 but there are signs that indicate the parks…

Day 22: annnnd relax

By tony.barb.fisher March 29, 20232023 Southwest US tour

First full day parked in Tuscon. I should have slept in but nooo, I had to be up at 6:00am for no known reason. Ok, time for a walk then. The park is large enough that I walked along every roadway and it totaled a 5km walk. Nice. Breakfast included…

Day 21: The town that will not die

By tony.barb.fisher March 28, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Three weeks into this trip and today will be the hottest yet with a forecast high of 28C. Ahh. 😎 To follow on from yesterdays theme of ‘Stranger things’, we awoke this morning to the notification that we had crossed into a new time-zone. Hey! Wait a minute, AZ is…

Day 20: Stranger Things

By tony.barb.fisher March 27, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Today is planned to be a day of travel as we head into Southern Arizona. Up by 6:30am and out for my walk through a new housing development near the KOA. Total distance of 4.3km with a 79m elevation gain, phew. Nice homes being built here in the southwestern adobe…

Day 19: Sand or Snow?

By tony.barb.fisher March 26, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Sleep in the overflow camping area was easy. Peaceful. We were awake early and enjoyed muffins and coffee to start the day. I walked about the campground again and marveled at how rugged the landscape is and the type of person it would have taken to settle on it over…

Day 18: To the clouds

By tony.barb.fisher March 25, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Good news, we awoke in the same place we parked last evening. The winds dropped fairly quickly last night and it was peaceful on the range. We departed before 10:00am and headed towards Carlsbad, NM. First a quick stop in Whites City to take a couple of pictures. Whites City,…

Day 17: Carlsbad caverns, Whites City, NM

By tony.barb.fisher March 24, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Good morning. We woke at 8:00am to the wind still blowing and a forecast of very strong winds this afternoon. The night was quiet (putting aside the aforementioned wind). No coyotes or other critters about. Today we are visiting the Carlsbad Caverns, a well known large cave system in the…

Day 16: from wineries to refineries

By tony.barb.fisher March 23, 20232023 Southwest US tour

The wind let up around midnight and the cool air arrived bringing with it a heavy morning dew and fog down in the valley. We slept in. We ate a simple breakfast. We organized the van for a day of travel. We vacated the overlook parking area at 10:00am. Good…

Day 15: Head West they said

By tony.barb.fisher March 22, 20232023 Southwest US tour

A bit of tidying up and a quick breakfast and we were ready for the road. Oh wait, the water tank needs filling and the other tanks need emptying. Ok, so 10:00am and we’re driving off of our site to the dump station, no waiting, we’re #1. No no issues,…

Day 14: McKinney Falls State Park 2

By tony.barb.fisher March 21, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Yep, we’re still here. The weather though… ugh. Awoke to light rain that was not forecast. Result: the walk was wet today. Because of the lack of rain in the forecast we decided to leave our chairs and outdoor rug outside overnight. They are wet and full of sow bugs…

Day 13: McKinney Falls State Park

By tony.barb.fisher March 20, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Another chilly start to the day with the temperature being only 6C outside the inside of the van was only 11C. So, turned on the heater before getting up for the day. After a cup of coffee it was time for my morning walk which took me 4.5km around the…

Day 12: …there doesn’t seem to be anyone around

By tony.barb.fisher March 19, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Another chilly and windy morning awaited us today. Overcast conditions persisted; however, we were heading inland today, away from the coast so maybe it will warm up and be a little nicer. Goose Island State Park, Day 2 The morning walk was shorter than usual, but as I met and…

Day11: It’s a step to the right

By tony.barb.fisher March 18, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Another chilly (not chilli) morning. A coffee and a muffin to start the day and then off for a walk about the park. It was cold and drizzly so I opted for sweatpants, sweatshirt, rain jacket, hat & light gloves. It really is that cold (or so I thought). The…

Day 10: After the rain we found the sun

By tony.barb.fisher March 17, 20232023 Southwest US tour

We were awakened at about 4:00am by the rain and wind. The van was being buffeted about and the rain was intense. This kept going for the next 3 hours as we lightly drifted in and out of sleep. At 7:30 I ventured outside during a quieter period of rain…

Day 09: The pool is not heated

By tony.barb.fisher March 16, 20232023 Southwest US tour

A sunny but windy start to our relaxing day on Galveston Island, TX. I decide to walk about the RV park and walk on every road and trail within the park. 6.8km - not bad. Barb goes to the beach and is almost blown back to the park by the…

Day 08: Houston, we have a problem

By tony.barb.fisher March 15, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Early rise (6:30am), cool temperature (6C), the shower will likely take a while to warm up….. Do I have to get up? We’re off again today, further Westward. We had to make a small repair to the bike cover last evening as one of the cords that keep the cover…

Day 07: Ah… the sound of silence

By tony.barb.fisher March 14, 20232023 Southwest US tour

A cool morning awaited us, it was almost 8:00am and neither of us really wanted to get up because it was just 14C in the van. First up would power on the ceramic heater but the floor would be cold, as would the toilet. Oh well, let’s get at it.…