After visiting Petrified Forest National Park, Tom and I headed toward Saguaro National Park. Having spent most of the day exploring Petrified Forest, we were unsure how far we’d get before having to stop for the night. Our goal was to get past the sub-freezing temperatures so we could finally fill our fresh water tank. We turned off Interstate 40, taking Arizona Highway 77 south across the White Mountains through the appropriately named town of Snowflake.
Petrified Forest to Globe
This part of Arizona was new to both of us and we were pleasantly surprised at how green and mountainous it is. I took a few pictures but they don’t do justice to the beautiful drive as we crossed the Mogollon Rim. We might have thought we were in Colorado… maybe that’s because this part of Arizona is at the edge of the Colorado Plateau which stretches across parts of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. As we drove down from the Plateau, the views quickly changed to the canyon and desert landscapes more commonly associated with Arizona.
It was well after dark when we pulled into a small RV Park in Globe, Arizona. We beat the snow storm, filled up our fresh water and were ready for a good night’s sleep!
The next morning we were in no hurry to leave because as the sun rose, the snow fell. Snow was not in the forecast but it was coming down hard! Fortunately, the temperature didn’t fall below freezing over night. And, now that we had water to wash dishes, we indulged in a gourmet breakfast. By the time we finished breakfast, and before I could get a picture, the clouds and snow magically disappeared.
Now, in daylight, we could actually see our RV park. The new Gila County RV Park is located on Arizona Highway 60 just below a small mountain with a big Globe city “G”. The RV park has a small area to walk dogs and nice shower facilities.
Globe to Catalina
Filled with fresh water and breakfast, we were back on the road and looking forward to warmer weather. Aly could finally hang her head out the window!
Pinetrees from the previous leg of our trip were replaced with an occasional cactus as we continued south on 77 from Globe. The views were significantly different but equally beautiful… especially with the bright blue sky!
Next on our agenda was Saguaro National Park, located near Tucson. But, since we got such a late start out of Globe, we decided to wait until the next day to visit the park. As we approached Tucson, we started looking for a place to stay for the night. Now that we had our own water, we didn’t need an RV Park. All we needed was a safe parking lot... like an Elks Lodge.
The best part about the Catalina Mountain Elks Lodge wasn’t its beautiful view of the Santa Catalina mountains or the dirt parking lot which has no RV hookups but plenty of room. It was the people!
We met someone working outside when we first pulled up. He welcomed us to park for the night and pointed out the best location. We set up our camper and ate a quick meal before going into the lodge for a drink. By the time we got inside, rumor had spread that they had visitors from Colorado camping for the night. We were easy to identify because the members in this small rural lodge all know each other. We had so much fun watching their interactions with each other, hearing their stories and sharing ours. We were even tempted to return the next night for live music and dancing,.. but we had other places to go and people to see.
We’ll definitely stop in again next time we pass through!
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