CATALINA STATE PARK
When you last heard from us we were driving into Willcox, Arizona, where we spent one night before we moved into Catalina State Park. As we approached that park, we realized that we had completed the loop we had started last March – driving away from Tucson, over to California, through the Pacific Northwest, then across the middle of the country to a lovely winter in the Southeast, adventures up the East Coast, a beautiful trip to Maine, lots of time with family in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, back through the Midwest, a few weeks in New Mexico and then back to Arizona. What an amazing trip!
Our two week stay in Catalina State Park, which is just a few miles from our former home in Oro Valley, was definitely a homecoming. We had camped a lot in this beautiful treasure of a state park. We remembered many family gatherings and frequent day hikes. It has always been one of our favorite places to take out-of-town guests and a place to spend some mindful hiking; We especially love to recall the weekend we spent here with Doug’s parents and some of our children. We camped in our pop-up trailer and our tent with them.
When I was out of work for a few months, I came to Catalina every morning and grew to love all the trails. I never made it up to Romero Pools or Romero Canyon and the Sutherland Trail which goes all the way to California. But the other trails became familiar territory to me. My favorite is the 2.5 mile Canyon Loop. After I pant up Killer Hill, there is a long desert walk to the edge of the canyon. Walk down many, many stairs and you are on the canyon floor. Here there are beautiful views of the Catalina Mountains, a myriad of Sonoran desert flora – ocotillo, yucca, prickly pear, cholla, agave, rabbitbush, desert broom, and the enormous stately saguaro. Sometimes there is water in the Canyon del Oro Wash but always there is the fascinating story of geology and rocks to read in the landscape.
So Doug and I hiked Canyon Loop together. Doug went for an 8 mile hike to Romero Canyon and another afternoon my friend Crystal and I did the Nature Trail and the Birding Trail – enjoying the setting sun and its shadows.
Catalina State Park
Catalina State Park
We had scheduled healthcare and other appointments while we were conveniently located near Oro Valley. Our daughter Amy slept over during our weekends and our granddaughter Sarah stay over our second weekend. Our son Josh, his wife Liz and their son Sawyer came for a barbecue lunch; Doug’s former co-workers camped next to us for a few days. It was so nice to enjoy family and friends while we reveled in our return to this lovely desert.
It was great to spend a few days with Sarah, who loves our RV. One morning we took Sarah to the Ranger Gatehouse where we were able to show her a 3-d relief map of the mountains and the trail we wanted to hike. There Sarah got to see the 2 snakes that are on display. When we got to the Picnic Area, Sarah got to see lots more snakes. The Naturalists let her hold the snakes. Sarah used to hate when I held a snake, but this time she touched it – then held it – then came back and held it again and loved it. It was a pretty chill light beige gopher snake with pretty eyes. Sarah and I even let a Naturalist put a scorpion on our forearm. (He held the stinger!) Doug kept his distance from the snakes while I avoided the photos of tarantulas. Sarah talked about the snake – “Slitherin”, the whole time we hiked the Birding Trail.
Sarah and Grandma at Catalina State Park
We ran lots of errands, went to lots of appointments, and saw lots of familiar faces. Catalina State Park gave us beautiful views, nice facilities, howling coyotes, a full moon rising over Pusch Peak and hooting owls. Then it was time to move on to our next adventure.
KARTCHNER CAVERNS STATE PARK
We eagerly set up camp in the Lower Volunteer Village at Kartchner Caverns State Park. We took a few days to get settled, check out the little town of Benson, meet our fellow volunteers and rangers and then we got to work.
We have been here now for over a month and we LOVE this park. Every night we enjoy a dramatic sunset – we are surrounded by more mountains here – the Whetstones, the Huachucas, the Dragoons, the Mules, the Chiriachuas, and in the far distance – the San Jose Mountains in Mexico. The sunrises, the sunsets, and pleasant temperatures are only a part of what makes this such a great place. On our second night, our volunteer neighbors invited us to “the pink flamingo” for a get together. Tradition in this village is putting a plastic pink flamingo on a long pole near a fire pit and a ramada with picnic tables; When the flamingo flies it’s time to hang out.
Moonrise over the Dragoon Mountains
Sunset view at Kartchner Caverns State Park
We struggled to remember everyone’s names and who went with whom and who does what, but after a week or two we felt comfortable here in our new home. We are living and working among people who love to travel as much as we do, who are living a minimalist lifestyle in an RV and who treasure nature and all it has to teach us.
Doug trained to drive the tram, which takes the guests from the Discovery Center up the hill to the entrance to the caverns. We both are now trained in other positions. We staff the Gatehouse – welcoming visitors, collecting entrance fees, and giving out information on the caverns and trails in this park. We also take Portal duties. The Portal is the airlock door all our tours go through. Portal duties include opening the door for the tours, welcoming the guests to the caves, and primarily being available there for any emergency; In our very first minutes training at the Portal, a young girl came running out of the cave and vomited over the sidewalk. We quickly learned how to deal with a bio-spill. If someone has to leave the cave – we go in to get them (sometimes with a wheelchair) and help them get on the tram which takes them back down to the Discovery Center.
Our volunteer attire
Both of us have gone through Trailer Training. A Trailer is assigned to assist with tours. The Lead Guides conduct the tours and the Trailer follows at the back of the group. As Trailers we carry a fanny pack with emergency supplies and we have to know the locations of the safety equipment and wheelchairs. If someone gets sick, claustrophobic, or just freaks out, we have to get them out of the cave. If a guest touches a formation, we mark it so it can be cleaned that night. We both enjoy trailing – each guide has their own style and there is always something new to see and learn about in the cave. There are two different tours – one through the Big Room which takes about an hour and 45 minutes and the other through the Rotunda/Throne Room which is a little shorter. We love being in the caves – the formations, the dripping water, the dark expanse is just amazing. Eventually we will also learn to help at the Discovery Center’s front desk. I will be training to be a lead guide after the holidays. There is much to learn about this fascinating natural wonder and I’m looking forward to being able to share it with guests.
Right now we are only working three days a week – a full day on Sunday, and two half days on Monday and Tuesday. We hope to be picking up more hours soon. We take our work seriously but enjoy it much more than we did in other working life. We are energized by this lifestyle. For the past two years on the road, we relished sleeping in – sometimes until 9 am. Now we set the alarm for 5:30 am – and don’t mind that at all, plus there is usually a really nice sunrise to enjoy. After a day of work, we are a little tired because this is much more physical work than we were used to. But it’s FUN! And for all this fun, we are compensated with a beautiful campsite that has full hook-ups along with the incredible views.
We weren’t sure if this kind of long-term volunteering would work for us. But it does – we think our five months here will go by very quickly. For now, we want to concentrate on learning more, enjoying our family visiting us, taking time to get into Tucson, do a little sightseeing in the San Pedro Valley we are living in and celebrating the holidays with new friends, old friends and family.
If you are planning to be around the Tucson area – contact us so we can arrange some time together. We will be here until April first.