Saguaro National Park

   Cactus Country RV Resort is only about ten miles from the Rincon Mountain District (east) entrance to Saguaro National Park. I asked the owner of the RV park if we could have a late checkout so that I could leave the coach there while we explored the National Park. He would have, but there was another rig scheduled to occupy our site upon our departure - so we would have to vacate. He did tell us, however, that there was a Walmart a couple miles down the road on the way into Saguaro and he was sure we could leave the coach there whilst exploring the park.
    I didn't bother hooking the car to the coach. Aaron followed us to Walmart in the car where I found a perfect spot to leave the coach for a few hours.
    The three of us and Travis piled into the car and headed for the National Park. We arrived at the visitors center, parked, went inside, bought a magnet and asked for trail recommendations. We planned to take Travis along on our hike but it turned out dogs are allowed only on paved surfaces and a single short trail. So... we took him on the short, quarter mile hike then drove to another trailhead for a 2.5 mile hike. I considered ignoring the rules and taking Travis with us but didn't want to anger the park police - so we rolled the car windows halfway down, (didn't seem like the sort of place where one has to worry about theft) left him in the car and the three of us trudged off down the trail. The temperature was in the low 50s so there was no danger of Travis overheating.
   Some photos from our hike...

 

    This was a very cool place to visit... unlike anything any of us had seen before. We learned a lot about saguaros (including how to properly pronounce saguaro). They can live 150 to 200 years. Read more about them here.
     After retrieving the coach we got back on I-10 west, our destination being Blythe, California - about a four hour drive. The coach's fuel gauge was just dipping below the 1/2 full mark so I pulled off the highway and filled up... $2.69 a gallon! A bargain!
    Just before exiting for fuel the Alan Jackson song 'When Daddy Let Me Drive' had been playing on the radio. We listen to all genres of music while traveling but have always thought of country music as sort of the 'music of the road' - Classic Rock being a close second. Anyway, after hearing that song it occurred to me that I should let Aaron drive the coach. So I did...

    He did a great job!

    We stayed at Mayflower County Park, a beautiful RV park located in Blythe, California on the Colorado River. We didn't arrive until after dark and the office was closed so there was no one to help us locate a suitable site. The sites weren't very clearly marked and campers seemed rather haphazardly parked. We unhooked the car from the coach in the parking lot and Aaron and I took a ride through the park and found a good spot in which to park the coach.
    After leveling and setting up I cooked chicken fajitas for dinner and we watched a little tv before calling it a night.
     Tomorrow we arrive at The Motorcoach Country Club where we will spend Christmas and the next week or so visiting with family in the area.
 
   Thanks for reading the blog.