Southeastern & Central Arizona

Last I left you, we were settling in for nearly a week at my favorite RV Park so far, Rusty’s RV Ranch in Rodeo, NM. Each RV site was spacious and had 360 views of the Peloncillo and Chiricahua Mountain Ranges. Each day we had a beautiful sunset followed by a night sky full of stars.

Nestled in the Chiricahua Mountains that we hiked previously, lies a section of the Coronado National Forest. Normally their campgrounds would be bustling with people, but they are currently closed so we had the hiking trails all to ourselves.

Begrudgingly, we left the peace and quiet in Rodeo, NM to forge onward to Tucson, AZ.

Sean’s aunt Lara somewhat recently retired in Tucson, AZ. And we could immediately see why as we drove through the winding streets, towards the Catalina Mountains, to their home.

We kept a safe distance from eachother but had a few beers outside and enjoyed the views while the dogs explored their beautiful backyard. We went on a walk around their neighborhood and admired the myriad species of cacti.

We were especially impressed by the giant saguaro (sa-WAH-ro) cacti that masquerade as trees throughout the city of Tucson.

The next day Sean, the dogs, and I visited Saguaro National Park East. The park is split into two sides, east and west. I’m told the views on either side are equally spectacular, but we chose the east side since it was closest to us. (If you’re ever there during a less contagious era, the museum on the west side is supposed to be great.)

We entered the park and started driving along the 8-mile, one-way loop around the park. Several trails jut off of the main loop. We chose to pull over and hike the only dog-friendly Desert Ecology Trail a few times (it’s only 0.3mi). Then we continued on our drive, pulling off at various scenic overlooks.

It’s nearly impossible to make out from photos, but the park is littered with millions of saguaro cacti as far as the eye can see.

We hadn’t quite seen all the cacti Arizona had to offer, so we journeyed out to the desert for our first boondocking experience!

Boondocking is where you set up the RV without any connections (electric, water, sewer) and run off only your own battery and tanks. Boondocking is usually free(!), which appeals greatly to my frugal side. We picked a nice spot on some BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land, and sat outside to enjoy another sunset, one of our new favorite hobbies.

The following day, we drove to the nearby Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Here we ventured down the dog-friendly Palo Verde Trail. The park is named for the organ pipe cacti. Can you see why it’s named that?

Finally, we moved to another quiet, isolated boondocking site in the Sonoran Desert.

While we haven’t been able to do lots of the big things on my ‘wish list’, we’ve still found many picturesque destinations away from people. We will continue keeping to our little home on wheels, avoiding crowds, and imagining ourselves at the breweries around these awesome cities. We’ll definitely have to return to a few of these places someday.

Our next stop is Coconino National Forest near Sedona, AZ where we will be looking for a place to stay put a little bit longer. Stay tuned.