We left Quartzsite on Sunday morning and drove the short hop around Phoenix to the Western Horizon Desert Shadows RV Park in Casa Grande. Our drive was through some showery weather so the coach was pretty dirty when we arrived on Sunday afternoon. We parked at the back of the park against a cinder-block wall and away from a lot of the traffic. I was fortunate enough to be able to connect to the Wi-Fi in the park and have a great internet connection. (It’s amazing how spoiled you get with a fast connection that can be accessed any time of the day. I used it a lot during our two-day stay.

Once we settled in, I sent out some emails and made plans for the next day. One of our favorite places to eat in the whole country is the Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa. I knew that Jim & Peggy Grich and Charlie & Char Eyster were in the area. The Griches produce a web-based TV show, The American RVer, and were staying at another park in the Casa Grande area. The Eysters spend the winter in Mesa. I invited both of them to join us on Monday night for some pizza and beer. Both responded - Griches drove over to us and we drove up to Mesa. Eysters met us there. It was an absolutely pleasant evening with close friends and good food. This was the first time either of them had visited the place and I think they were both very impressed with the entertainment and the food.

On Tuesday morning, we packed the coach and started our trek south on I-10 to the Flying J for fuel and on to Huachuca City and The Caverns RV Resort. Our membership there allows us to stay up to ten weeks per year. We’ve never used all ten weeks - and it costs us nothing!! It’s a great membership that we hope to capitalize on eventually. Plus, we like the Sierra Vista area for a break from our traveling. It’s located 30 miles east of Tucson and 20 miles south. The area is in a growth boom in the Benson-Tombstone-Bisbee-Sierra Vista circle and will probably expand by at least 50,000 people in the next ten years.

Our fuel cost us $3.05/gallon and we topped off! We arrived at The Caverns about 1:30 and checked in with Melvina, the manager. She has always given me a hard time about being a retired police officer, yet always makes us feel welcome. We have gotten to know some of the more long-time residents of the park and thoroughly enjoy them.

One of our principal reasons to be here is the 16th Annual Cochise Cowboy Music & Poetry Gathering on Feb. 1, 2, & 3. We were able to drive up to Benson on Friday afternoon and visit Dave & Marie Ostrander and their daughter, Marilynn, visiting from Denver. They’re staying at the Escapee Co-op Park so we attended Happy Hour and the fish dinner. It was a treat to see Marilynn and watch her enjoy her folks in their element. The dinner was outstanding and we got a feel for the SKP Co-ops.

Saturday we went to The Gathering and spent about 4 hours listening to the performers. The Saturday venue consists of 50-minute sessions with 3-4 entertainers that perform and then move to another room. Overall, there were seven rooms and you could move between these rooms to see the different performers. Plus, the cost is free! It’s a great way to see the different styles and talent in cowboy music.

We also have the privilege of seeing two of our RVing friends, Dave & Sandy Baleria and Sharon McKay. Both of them are fellow Escapees and full-timers. Dave & Sandy keep very busy with their teaching and seminar schedule. They will be here for a week, but will be focused on updating their seminar material prior to the Gypsy Journal Rally in Casa Grande later this month. Sharon is only here for a few days as she bought a new 36’ Allegro Phaeton coach and has to get several issues addressed by La Mesa RV. It’s wonderful to see her and her new coach PLUS her traveling companion, Don. We hope to be able to get out to dinner with all of them before we have to split up again.

As a side note, I was extremely saddened to discover that two of my favorite businesses have closed their doors. The Helldorado Brewing Co. in Tombstone has gone out of business. It was one of my favorite stops in Tombstone and brewed some interesting beers. Also, Electric Dave has closed his doors and is not producing any more of his beers. Those were two very unique microbreweries that were small and enjoyable to visit. The good news is that The Stock Exchange in Bisbee is still open and serving what local beers are available. Don Leith and I passed some time last year in The Stock Exchange while the wives did some shopping in Bisbee.

We have all next week to do some chores around the coach. We are hoping for good weather, but the forecasters aren’t being very positive. Like any house, there are always things to do to keep the coach in tip-top shape. I have several small items that need to be addressed so I’ll have plenty of time to take care of those items. The possibility of showers on Sunday is being prognosticated, however that won’t affect the Super Bowl party that is planned for the Activity Center here at the park.

One of our biggest disappointments was the news that the Habitat-for-Humanity Collegiate Build in Belen, NM has been cancelled. I had re-worked our travel schedule so we could spend the two weeks in Belen to work with the college kids that were scheduled to attend. Apparently there were some problems with the HfH affiliate and they couldn’t get any kids to commit to the proposed dates. The Team Leader decided to cancel the build rather than trouble the adult participants to reschedule their travel plans for a two-week delay. That would have been a serious problem for us. As it is now, we will be able to spend more time in San Diego before leaving to head east. Our arrival date in San Diego is still the afternoon of Feb. 24th and we’ll be pulling out of San Diego the morning of March 5th.