What the heck? I thought we were in Arizona?!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this picture is the exception.  It's what you can't see that actually tells the story.  You can't see the wind that is howling at about 40 mph.  You can't see the mountains in the distance, that are there, and absolutely beautiful.  You can't see the snow, that has been falling for an hour or so now, and you can't see the temperature, which is in the low 30s and is expected to bottom out at 14°.  Welcome to Arizona.

We left El Paso Tuesday and hit the road for Benson, Arisona.  We are staying at  an Escapees RV Park here for a week.  The Escapees is an RV club that we belong to, a lot of whose members are full time Rvers, like us. My Escapees friends are the ones who usually post comments on my blog (Thank you!).  We arrived yesterday and I was so tired I actually took a nap.  We had gotten up early so we could try and get to Benson before the wind kicked up too much, and we did actually beat it.  

At happy hour, there was a Polar Bear Party at the clubhouse, serving frozen Mudslides.   While we were there we met Loralie and Lee, finally!  We've been pretty much following 2 steps behind them for the last few months, so it was great to be able to finally catch up to them for a bit!  I'm sure we'll be spending some time with them both here, and in Yuma in the coming weeks.  We were also chatting with another couple, discussing our recent adventures, and realized that they had been parked next to us while were were at Guadalupe National Park.  What a small world!  They like to hike quite a bit, so we are hoping to get together with them some day, and go for a hike.  If the snow ever stops.

Caves and Mines (El Paso, 12-23-10)



Hiking to the Aztec Caves

 



In the last couple of days Paul and I have done several hikes in Franklin Mountain State Park.  We hiked up to what's called Aztec Caves, but I don't know why they are called that.  Getting there wasn't too bad, a little steep, but once we explored the caves, Paul went around them, to go up the trail further.  I told him I might wait for him, which I did for a couple of minutes, then got bored and started to follow him.  Around the side of the cave was all rock, and really steep.  I managed to make it to the top (much to Paul's surprise- when he came back and found me there.) I thought I had gone the way he did, but it turns out the way I went was much steeper and more difficult. Oh well, no wonder why I was nervous the whole time.     

The challenge of a steep trail



Inside the tin mine



Yesterday's hike to the tin mines- supposedly the only ones in the U.S.- was much longer and more challenging. In the end, we hiked about 8 miles, and I can't wait to have my GPS so I'll know more accurately how far we hiked, and how much elevation gain we had. It was our favorite kind of hike- physically challenging without a huge possibility of getting hurt, with a destination of interest. There were several openings to the mine that we (he) could explore.   After leaving the mines, we made a big loop so that we returned on a different trail, which led us past several outcroppings of rock that contained a few fossils.   We were beat by the end of the day, but in a good way.

Today is Christmas Eve and Paul is fixing a few more things around the house before we head to the store for a few last minute items.  Its tacos and Margaritas tonight for a Christmas Eve celebration!









    





Eclipse

my best pictures of the eclipse last night.  We had to get up at 1 AM, but it was worth it.  The skies were clear and the temperatures were reasonably warm.