2018-5 Tucson Arizona, Fort Huachuca and Garden Canyon

2018-5

A favorite shot from our day trip
to Fort Huachuca

Tucson AZ

Campground: 2761 West Ajo hwy, Tucson AZ 85746. Allen Anderson compound. 520-975-5433. $500 month rate includes full hookups, electric included. Well maintained private property with a few Rv sites, one MH and the owners House.

my campsite views for the next month or two

the owners motor-home is to the right and his house

my patio view

Campground: Casino Del Sol. Free parking lot camping

Casino Del Sol

getting ready to pull out, I was able to use the
large parking lot to adjust my Trailer breaks as well

Distance traveled: 6 miles

I enjoyed my stay over at the casino, for free and even won $50 in free play and came out with $28 cash in hand. After my 4 day stay, I was able to move to the private gated compound over on Ajo Highway.

The next day I drove over to Desert Trails campground and started the weekly “Travel Club”. We had a great group of folks and filled the main activity building to capacity. I enjoy sharing my Rv tips and discussing all the great places to explore and visit in each state. We spent the whole afternoon on the state of Arizona and barely had time to finish.

The afternoon concluded with a happy hour over at Ruth-Ann’s place and we ended up having a large crowd for an impromptu get-together.

a spontaneous happy hour at Ruth-Ann's

Fort Huachuca

base housing, Fort Huachuca (Army)

At the end of the week Tom and Christine took me over to Fort Huachuca for a day trip to see the forts museum and hike up Garden Canyon to the Pictographs along the canyon walls. Purely by accident we took a more scenic route through Sierra Vista and past the Empire Ranch, a place I plan on camping at this coming spring. Speaking of spring, it is currently in the 79-80 degree range all this week, hardly feeling like the winter months at all.

a large semi-truck went off the road
and through a guard rail

front end messed up

love love love these views

ahhhh, what views to come

nice having Tom drive so I can take pictures along the way

too awesome

it's like the grasses have captured sunlight and
reflecting it back

we are close to the Mexican border, check points on all the roads

thanks Tom and Christine for stopping
so I can take pictures along the way

Getting back to the drive over to Fort Huachuca, along hwy 82 and 83, through Sonyta, we picked up elevation, bordering some great mountain vistas, cattle ranches and vineyards. The scenery is simply awesome, the dried yellow prairie grasses against the darker mountain ranges. The two lane roads following the natural contours of the land.

Once at Fort Huachuca we were able to learn about this once western outpost which guarded the territory from Apache Indians and incursions from across the Mexican border. Along with learning about it’s “Buffalo Soldiers” the Black American Army soldiers who were deployed out here. As well as learning about it’s newest mission as a training ground for Unmanned drones (planes).

a couple of the very first Unmanned Drones

Buffalo Soldiers

The highlight though would be driving up into Garden Canyon, that is after we finally found the right road leading into the canyon. Had a nice picnic before exploring the canyon. It wasn’t so much of a hike as it was a drive in Tom’s new Ram Truck, then touring the cliff overhangs that contained the Pictographs on both sides of the canyon. They are protected by a chain link fence, even though they are on military grounds. Thankfully little damage has been done and the colors of some of the pictographs are still quite vivid.

Garden Canyon

we'll find that canyon, it's that way

road leading to Garden Canyon

a water falls for
LaVon 

Garden Canyon

Garden Canyon

now here's a canyon wall

pictographs in reds, blues and black and white

I’ll be in the Tucson area for the next couple of months and will post another update if I come across anything interesting to report on. Until then, I hope you're journey is filled with new discoveries around every corner.

can you see why I enjoy traveling out west????

This journey, to be continued.....

more photos:

Fort Huachuca and Garden Canyon

a shot of downtown Tucson