On the Road Again - Rusty’s RV Resort - Chiricahua Mountains - 1 April 2021
Bambi’s first outing in over a year. Coco’s first outing ever. What a way to begin emerging from the time of Covid-19 ... and, no, it isn’t an April Fool’s joke ... we are actually out traveling again.
We finished packing up Bambi and Fritz and left home about an hour later than we had planned (my fault ... As usual, I tried to do too much before leaving). We hit the road at 10:30 a.m.
The route is fairly straightforward ... I-10 to New Mexico Exit 5 and head south on NM-80 to Rusty’s RV Resort about 6 miles north of the town of Rodeo and about 12 miles out of the Arizona town of Portal, entry point into the eastern side of the Chiricahua National Forest.
Rusty’s RV Resort is an eclectic blend of campers seeking birds, campers seeking hikes, campers seeking dark skies. When checking in, we were asked if we were seeking birds or stars. I replied “a bit of both” ... and was asked did we bring telescopes or binoculars ... I replied “binoculars” ... she then pronounced us as “birders” (and warned us to maintain “dark skies ... no outside lights at night, keep windows covered) ...
We took Coco for a walk around the property and found a resident black swan ... two resident goats ... then to the exotic bird and animal enclosures ... several exotic birds are enclosed in sizable cages. We understand that they are rescue birds, but definitely not indigenous to the area. Several campsites have significant telescopes stationed on concrete pads awaiting the night skies.
Coco also had her first dog park experience with another puppy her age and an older dog, both small ... it had her running for safety from the more exuberant (if possible) puppy, but she did not freak out. She has some challenges with always having to be on the leash when not at the dog park ... doing her business on the leash ... and seems a bit disoriented (eating and drinking is off), but she’s finding safety in her kennel (glad that we brought it).
Our friend, Annie, and her dog, Nala, are at a cabin nearby ... we’ll try to get together tomorrow for a hike with them.
Nighttime brought on a dinner of lobster ravioli with a chopped salad ... then an incredible night show of stars layered on top of stars ... Sirius never looked so bright. It was as if the larger, more visible constellation stars and planets were the night sky foreground and millions of pinpoints of light were the background for a deeply textured night sky.
Wind has been a factor ... it was exceptionally windy leaving Tucson and the wind continued through our first day and night at Rusty’s ... it died off for a while in the evening and picked up again as the early morning was arriving.
The important thing is that we’re traveling again ... we’re all “happy campers”!
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