Catalina Mountain Moods….And We Meet The Good Luck Ducks!! Tucson, AZ
This week may possibly be the most lazy week that we’ve had since we started RVing. We have done none…and I mean absolutely nada of the many wonderful sightseeing trips there are around Tucson. Instead we have rested our padded behinds on our camping chairs enjoying unobstructed views of the lovely Catalina Mountains, sipping on selected fortified drinks and occasionally going for hikes and bikes. I can only blame our lovely camping spot….or perhaps the cats (I mean they’re always an easy out). Between the 2 days of snow and all the varied hiking/biking in the area we haven’t felt any need to get out.
Well, except for one time…
There is really only one thing that could get us out of hibernation and into civilized company, and that is the GoodLuckDucks. I’ve been following these ladies ever since I discovered their blog on boondocking in Florida last year (and, like you, my first question was “WHO the {{quack}} boondocks in Florida???!!!”). Well these young ladies did…and have….and continue to do so. In fact they’ve boondocked their way through most of the US!
I started following them initially out of morbid curiousity which was rapidly followed by fascination and then finally got dragged into full-blown blog addiction thanks to their always unusual and quirky humour. Somehow I always end up happy when I read the Ducks….although I don’t always understand why 🙂
So we were followers and finally stalked them down like blood-hounds on a duck trail here in Tucson where we convinced them to meet us for lunch. They recommended Blue Willow restaurant and we all joined in a few days ago for a lovely afternoon of socialization and chatting.
The Ducks won me over not only with charm but because they’ve recently adopted a stray doggie (collective “ahhh, how cute” sigh please). Having volunteered in dog rescue as a trainer for many years, and being a TOTAL sap for this kind of thing, I immediately offered up a few training tips as well as a follow-up on-site training session (I mean after all, this is WAY more fun than sightseeing). So not only have I now met the Ducks, I’ve met their clan of kitties and their lovely new doggie Franklin. He’s a soft and adorable personality, obviously with some abuse history, but with such a superb soul and finally in the place he was meant to be. The cats accept him, he accepts the cats, Roxanne & Annie love him…and he’s gorgeous. Talk about a dog finding the right owners, I tell you!
So maybe I’ll just go ahead and blame the dog now…but it was TOTALLY worth it!
We roll out of here tomorrow AM where we will finally (possibly) do some sightseeing before we head further south. In the meantime I leave you with moods and shots of the lovely Catalina Range, all taken on-site during our lazy and wonderfully relaxing stay here.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Catalina State Park and the pics speaks for itself. Beautiful. That park rocks! Did you know that Biosphere 2 was just 20 miles up north ? or maybe it was not your kind of place to see.
I’d heard about that, and in fact it was one of the many sights we had planned to see here in Tucson…of which we’ve done none! Oh well…gives us a reason to come back, right?
Nina
If you are heading south, Chiricahua Mountains is worth a trip.
Well Nina you have done it AGAIN! Your writings are spot on as usual it keeps me captivated all the way to the end. Since I/we retired in 2008 we have wanted to travel but something always gets in the way and I suspect it always will, so I vicariously through your writings. THANKS SO MUCH.
We will travel some and hope to meet up with you and Paul one day out there in the great Magnificent Land Oz . (See you have brought my vocabulary up to a stand even I didn’t know I had) Thank You Spell Check… Ha ha ha..
Anyway have you ever visited Big Bend National Park? We had a HUGE U.S. tour all planed a couple years ago and it was one of the places on the list. But something came up and it never happened. :-(……
Keep up the writings and thanks………. Lee and Shelia…..
So happy you are enjoying the blog and thanks for following along on our journey! As for Big Bend it was actually on our plans in 2011 when we travelled through Texas, but Polly got sick (side-tracked us for 2 weeks) and then wildfires went crazy (we actually got evacuated from one park by fire!) so sadly we had to rush north to NM and we never made it down there. It’s still on “the list” and hope to see it one day.
Nina
HI!!! HI!!! It has been so fun spending time with you!!! <—that was Franklin, but we agree.
Currently, Franklin is in a funk because Annie replaced his collar and added a tag. He asked for some time alone, so we're honoring his wishes. Good to know about the stress responses you mentioned – did everyone but us know them?
Actually not too many folks know about the stress responses. I only really learned about them when I took my dog training license…and even then they can take time to spot.
You gals are doing great with Franklin…you’re naturals!
Nina
How fun to have meet those wandering ducks. I’ve been out of the blog loop for a while now and didn’t even know they’d adopted a dog. Very cool. How much further south can you get before leaving the country?
Not too much further. We’re heading down Benson -> Tombstone -> Bisbee way…and that will be as far south as we can get.
Nina
HI Nina, Been following your blog for a few years now and just love it. Our crew (me, wife, and 2 dogs) have used your campground reviews a few times and they’ve directed us to a few places that we might have otherwise missed. Thanks. Now I want to tax your memory. We’re thinking of stopping at McPhee Recreation in SW Colorado. You were in site 10E in Pinon. The recreation.gov site is a bit confusing — the overview says 30amp but if you open up the site to get the details it says 20amp. We can go either 50 or 30amps but have no converters for 20amps. Your writeup says you had 30amp and I tend to believe your write-up over recreation.gov. Any recollections of the amps being 20. Thanks. FYI- We are Arizona residents and Catalina SP is one of our favorite parks in the state. Karcher SP south of you is real nice also, but sites are a little closer. Was wondering if you plan to head that way next.
I just happen to remember this one because I had the same question myself! We had 30 amps at that site in McPhee. The website that says 20 amps is wrong. I informed the recreation.gov folks too, but looks like they never corrected the error. It’s a really nice site too. Lovely “sitting area”.
And we do plan to head south from here. Will be seeing some friends in Benson and then probably go Tombstone/Bisbee way. Not sure if we’ll be staying in parks or boondocking at this point. We’ll see.
Nina
Glad to see when some of my favorite bloggers get together…. Wish I was there too!! What a great spot and view!
It was a happy meeting of minds…and even better because everyone automatically posed for pictures. One of the bonuses of bloggers meeting -> they all naturally pose for pics hehe
Nina
For the life of me I don’t understand how people can mistreat their pets. I wish Franklin a very loving and happy life. Sounds like he found the right home.
I so totally agree. I’ll never understand it. Franklin is one very lucky doggie. He’s a perfect fit in every way and very much loved. I see a happy future for him.
Nina
Loved your post! We can’t wait to get back to west again. Looks so beautiful.
Arizona is just lovely this time of year. Love winter in the SW!
Nina
Some beautiful pics there, even if you didn’t venture too far. How great to meet up with the Ducks. Would love to have a close encounter with them someday. Franklin is a real cutie. Safe travels you two. 🙂
Polly looks so happy playing in that creek. That’s the kind of thing Rusty liked to do. First he would lie down and soak real good! So glad you go to meet the Ducks and Franklin. Such a great story there.
Polly really does love the water, although it took quite a while for her when she was younger. Initially she was terrified of the stuff (she was a very skittish puppy). With time and patience she came to love it. I still remember her very first swim at Cathedral Rock in Sedona. We were proud parents that day!
Nina
Well I’m late to the party here but it is not for lack of trying. Sketchy internet here on a barrier island has made it impossible for me to load your blog for whatever reason and I was anxious to see your meet up with the Ducks. Hope to have such luck myself sometime in this life if I ever get to the desert or they ever come back east. Great pictures of them and of the lucky duck Franklin.
Love your campsite views and the sound of your days there. Nada sightseeing sound pretty good the way you describe it.
Barrier Island sounds so romantic though! Gotta get over to your blog and read more. Glad you made it on the internet.
Nina
great post…will have to check out the blue willow….c u soon
Yup, see ya on Thursday! Looking forward to it.
Nina