Rike's Pages

We have been here at Hood Park for a month now. The weather has improved, but we do have rainy days - to keep the grass green... When we came, the trees were bare; now the leaves are out, almost from one day to the next. We've settled into the 5-days-on-5-days-off routine, though it still takes me at least 2 days to "recover" from five early-morning get-ups! I'm no Spring Chick any more!

Carl's 75th birthday was on April 26th. We went out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Ahtanum (just west of Yakima), the "Ranch House". Besides regular good food (Carl's choice: Prime Rib), they feature a Chicken Gizzard Plate (ah,yes, I know) which is my favorite. Also for his birthday, Carl bought me a new Camera. Now I'm trying to take pictures of any of the red squirrels that we have quite a few families of here at the park. There are several pairs of Canada geese that just had chicks, and the cherry and dogwood trees in the park and surrounding area make for good photo ops. Check out my "Hood Park" album, and come back occasionally since I will be adding photos to it throughout the Summer.

Well, here we are, in Eastern Washington, and it is cold and rainy... I had applied for a Campground Attendant job at one of the Corps of Engineers Parks here at Tri-Cities and was picked for Hood Park. There were 5 days of Classes at the end of March to learn the computer reservation system and park rules and regulations, and the Parks opened on April 1st. We traveled straight from Ajo to Walla Walla (where the classes were held) and we were extremely lucky with the weather during the trip: Sunny days and cold nights, no snow or rain.

The work schedule is  5 days on, 5 days off,  and I have to spend several hours at the Gate Booth during the day after opening the gate at 6:00 am! We are not very busy as of yet, but the first 5 days were exhausting, since I'm not used to getting up this early! We worked here ten years ago for two seasons, so, on our days off we explored the old "hunting grounds" and did a lot of reminiscing. We will be here for six months and I'm looking forward to the busier time of the year. The Snake is a beautiful river and we enjoy watching the tugs and barges.

We had so much fun in Why that we stayed a second week. Joe and Cleo and Joe's brother Dick and his wife Coletta arrived in time to join us on several wild outings, "wild" referring to pretty tough 4-wheel drive roads. We had heard about Marble Mountain where you can find volcanic geodes. The road was pretty bad, but it was worth it. One evening we had the opportunity to drive to the top of Childs Mountain (not bad road) where we enjoyed a 360 degree view of the world and a beautiful sunset. Another day took us to Charlie Bell Pass, the only legal (dirt) road through Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge. Of course we visited Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and at Ajo we took a peek into the now closed copper mine pit. The weather could not have been any better and we were sorry when the time came to leave...

So, before the month is over, I want to touch on the highlights of our SE Arizona vacation. After a month at Double Adobe Ranch in McNeal, we are now at Hickiwan Trails RV Park in Why, AZ. There is a definite increase in temperature - at McNeal it was in the upper 60's and lower 70's, here we are close to the 90's. We are planning to stay a week and then move to Gila Bend to get our yearly supply of shrimp.

The month at Double Adobe Ranch went by in a flash. During the first week we went to observe the Sandhill Cranes a couple of times, explored Gleeson (an old mining ghost town), took a ride to the Slaughter Ranch Heritage Site and drove some back roads into the mountains. And of course we had to pay a visit to the Bakery Haus in Elfrida - not for the first or the last time! During the second week we did a walk across the border from Douglas to Agua Prieta, did more bird watching, drove through Rucker and Leslie Canyon and investigated the new fence between Mexico and the US from Coronado National Monument to Nogales. At Rucker Canyon we saw some deer and two Javelinas, but they were too fast for me to get a picture. Darn! During the third week we had snow overnight on Tuesday, but it was gone before noon. We checked on the Cranes and the Bakery. Last week we drove to Parker Canyon Lake and did the Geronimo Trail into New Mexico.

We had a great time and are ready for some more adventures here in Why. Make sure you check out the photos!

Well, we were home just about one month when Carl broke his upper dentures, so we had to resort to Plan 2. (Plan 1 had been to spend Winter in Meadview). We decided to go all out: go back to Yuma, get the teeth fixed and then continue on to Bisbee/Douglas. When we were here last, we found a great RV Park, Double Adobe Ranch, which is located less than 10 miles from our favorite Sandhill Crane wintering spot. We spent 10 days in Yuma, this time at Ogilby Road, and after 4 "sittings" with the dentist, Carl is all fixed up! On the way to Double Adobe we spent one night at Picacho Peak State Park and now we are here, all set up for a month. We had rain coming down and some drizzle yesterday while setting up, but today was a beautiful day, sunny with some puffy clouds and temps in the lower 70s. Perfect. We made a short visit to Whitewater Draw, but will go back during the week since there were too many people there today. The Cranes were already there, back from their foraging excursions, and I'm looking forward to spend some days out there watching them. I'm sure I will have loads of pictures. So much for today.