HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! A few days late!

Desert east of Kartchner State Park

Century Plant

Silhouette

Sky over Kartchner State Park

Evening falls

"Red sky at night....."

Goodnight Kartchner

                                            
We have covered a bit of southwest ground since last I wrote.  If you have read Richard's blog you will be a bit more caught up on our travels.  We did have a nice Christmas in Rodeo, New Mexico at one of my favorite RV Parks. A woman named Rusty runs it along with her husband.  Rusty's "Daddy" helps to run the show too....complete with cowboy boots, a six gun on his hip and a long white ponytail!  Bob, Rusty's dad and her mom June help take care of the place but I get the idea that they have more fun doing what they do and do not consider it work. This year they put on a delicious Prime Rib Dinner on Christmas for their guests.  It was cozy and simple as there were only about 21 people.  It was a potluck and as luck would have it no duplicates were on the table.   We were able to get two good bike rides in before we pulled up stakes and headed on. We moved on from New Mexico into Arizona to Bisbee and now just south of Benson, AZ where the Kartchner Caverns are.  These caverns were discovered back in the 70's by a couple of University of AZ students who were out spelunking and found a sink hole.  Over the next several years they continued their explorations in secret to try and protect the caverns from the usual human spoiling of all things natural.  They knew that so many live, living caverns throughout the country had been destroyed by  people who would throw waste into the sites; spray graffiti onto the walls, etc.  It took 14 years but they were able to explore and get the owners of the land to sell to the state of AZ to establish a State Park to protect this natural, living treasure.  For fascinating information on this State Park please go to http://azstateparks.com/Parks/KACA/index.html  I had never been through a cavern before and it was so amazing.  That places like this exist, created solely by nature over thousands if not millions of years is such a precious resource.  This park also has several moderate to difficult hiking trails that wind all through the hills and washes of the Whetstone Mountains.

We are headed out of this park in the AM and will wander our way to Tucson to stay as far south in the warm area for as long as possible.  The sunshine and warmth this last week or so has been a boon to these  bones.