Every year we try to find at least one new campsite. This year we spent some time driving to new locations but were quite disappointed in most them There is a long-term drought here and it shows in the local fauna. Many areas are pretty desolate and the growth has gone into hibernation.
Fortunately, some of our camping friends who we meet regularly gave us some tips. From Safford BlackHills Rock hounding area we heard that there was a nice campground across the valley up Stockton Pass. So we ventured up to a pass at 5600 ft and were delighted to find not only one but several beautiful campsites with TREES. What a treat! Oak and really big Alligator Junipers is plentiful. The camp is managed by the Coronado Forest Service and it has both structured sites and dispersed camping. Because of our size, we stayed in the later. The camping is free. But because they supply garbage and pit toilets they are proposing a fee in the future. But more important is the beautiful scenery all around us.
The second day we were here we met two fellows camped overnight just down the road. They had a number of big white sacks in the back of their truck and on a pull trailer. We went to visit to find out that they had a company that harvests seeds from certain wild plants and sells them to an organization who want to regrow pubic land that has been disturbed when building power lines etc. They were harvesting a small bush around our campsite, They were interesting to talk to and knew the area and gave us some tips.
The following day we heard that we might expect some showers. Usually, that is wishful thinking by the natives but his time it was under exaggerated. Last evening it started to rain as we drove back to the campsite and proceeded to pour all night long. We woke up to a couple of small streams running aside and under our trailer. It continued to rain on and off all day so we got in the truck and decided to do someone wine tasting. As inconvenient as the rain is to us, I share the local’s call to celebrate and might say it is even more beautiful here after a rain.
There is supposed to be a bunch of people coming to the group campsite today. I wonder if the rain will keep them away?
Next Day:
It’s a day later and we coped with the rain yesterday by going into Willcox and visited wineries. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wine here. All in all, we had a nice day in the rain. And it is still raining …
The crew we expected are all camped a ways away from us and it looks like they might be a Medieval Club. I guess they will be jousting in the rain.
Next Day:
We went down to check out the group and they are an international group that dresses medieval and has games and tests but they all use foam bats. They play a kind of soccer with foam that is a riot. Fortunately, it cleared up and the sun was shining.
More to come….
