Our last week in Tucson was filled with packing, good byes
and some fun. Just a few days after my hike down into the Grand Canyon the Voyager
hiking club was back on the trail and we did an 8-mile hike on Tuesday, March
27, into the Chirachua Mountains.
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| Chirachua Mountain man |
The past two years this hike had to be cancelled due once to
weather and the other time due to road construction in the park. So it had been
a full three years since I had been on these beautiful trails and it was well
worth the effort as it always is.
With our time winding down Joan has to do some serious meal
planning so that we arrive on getaway day with little or no food left in the
refrigerator. That is a challenge because there are always friends who want to
go out for a final dinner during the final week, but Joan did a great job and
we had very little food to off load to friends and neighbors on Thursday.
The last concert of the season was Wednesday, March 28, and
it was Jovert, a steel drum band from a local high school who we saw a couple
years ago at the Voyager. The kids are talented, enthusiastic and the show was
a big hit.
On Thursday night we invited our friend Walt to dinner at
the Voyager Grill and we were joined by our friends Charlotte and Roger who
have become great friends over the past few years. Parting is such sweet
sorrow, but we always look forward to the times we will be together again.
There is also a pull towards home and we also look forward
to our lives and friends back in Michigan so while leaving is hard, it also
holds the promise of a summer with friends and family.
So while Joan did laundry on Thursday I began the process of
packing away our table and chairs we use outside, taking up the mat on our site
and getting the hardware together for hooking up the trailer on Friday.
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| Parked in Flagstaff |
We attended Maundy Thursday services in the ballroom and
then began packing suitcases Thursday night.
Friday morning came and it was time to finish the sheets and
towel laundry so that we will have all clean linens and towels when we arrive
next winter.
I pulled up the trailer stabilizers, emptied the grey (dishwater)
and black (you can guess what tank that is) tanks, took up the sewer line from
the trailer to the park and disconnected the water to the trailer. After
disconnecting the cable TV line I added the hitch to the Tahoe and began the
process of hooking up the trailer.
The post box key was returned to the Voyager post office as
well as our gate card that lets us in the park after hours through the gate.
With all those chores done it was time to leave our happy place
and start the long drive home to Michigan via Northern California.
First stop was the local Camping World where I had the
trailer winterized so the pipes won’t freeze in Flagstaff this spring and next
fall and getting the trailer wheel bearings greased and repacked. While that
work was being done Joan and I used some free movie passes we had to go see the
movie “I Can Hardly Imagine.” It was a
wonderful movie and very appropriate for Good Friday.
After the movie we headed back to Camping World and picked
up the trailer and headed north to Casa Grande for dinner and to let the heat
of the day pass for the long trip up the mountain with the trailer to
Flagstaff. Temperatures were in the high 80s which makes me nervous pulling the heavy trailer. That is why we take our time and drive at night to let the air cool a little.
After dinner at Mimi’s the trip up the mountain began and ended
about 10:20 p.m. in the rest stop near McGuireville. We parked between two semi
trucks and trailers. The noise from the running diesels lulled me to sleep and
we slept until sunrise about 6:30 a.m.
We finished the hour or so left to Flagstaff and
successfully stored the trailer in its usual spot in the storage lot.
The drive to Bakersfield was uneventful exception for the fields of California poppies in bloom in all the beauty they have to offer.
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| Joan enjoying the Bakersfield sign |
Everything went well this year (we had all the appropriate locks
we needed) and we were on the road to Bakersfield.
I should mention that Saturday was Joan’s birthday and the
good sport she is she didn’t complain about spending her birthday night in a
truck rest stop without heat or amenities. I owe her a nice dinner.
So when we arrived in Bakersfield I took her for a steak
dinner at Logan’s Roadhouse, where the staff serenaded her with a little sweet
treat for her birthday.
California has these weird gasoline nozzles that make it
impossible to gas and wash your windows at the same time. Unless you are
securely holding the gas nozzle it will keep shutting off. Just one more reason
I no longer live in the Golden State.
On Easter we will head north and arrive at my cousin’s house
in the afternoon and I will bring you up to date on how that goes later.
Mileage out at Tucson: 100547
Time out at Voyager: 11:40 a.m.
Mileage in at Flagstaff: 100827
Time in at Flagstaff (with trailer) 7:38 a.m.
Time out of Flagstaff (without trailer) 8:23 a.m.
Mileage in to Bakersfield 101301
Time in at Bakersfield 3:40 p.m.
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