Change of Venue

After leaving Picacho Peak State Park, I stopped in Tucson long enough to use the wifi and check weather reports. It really didn't look good anywhere. It seems that those winds that blew in from California and wreaked havoc in many places also changed weather patterns. There has been a cold spell in southern Arizona the past few days. I checked weather in southern New Mexico and it didn't look much better.

So, I headed toward a place where I've stayed several times. In hindsight it probably wasn't the best of decisions. But it is what it is.

On Saturday, December 3rd, I arrived at Kartchner Cavern State Park (south of Benson, about 10 miles from I-10) and decided to spend the weekend, knowing that the temperatures were going to be cool. At the time I just didn't realize how cold it was going to get! For the next three days the daytime temperature did not get much above 40 degrees and during the night it dropped into the mid 20s.

Actually, I was quite comfortable as long as I stayed in the van! Since being on the road for so long, I've learned a few things – like how to run a heavy-duty extension cord through the window so that no outside air enters... It's quite cozy in the van with a little heater on. So in spite of the cold weather I enjoyed my stay here. It's a great little park. I didn't take advantage of the nice trails but did take several short walks daily to help keep the blood circulating ;-)

This was the view from my campsite at about 8:15 on Monday morning when the temperature was about 28 degrees! I thought that the clouds might be clearing, but Mother Nature had other ideas.

Less than 15 minutes later the dark clouds rolled in. We even had snow flurries for a short time Monday afternoon.

Tuesday, December 6th - - I've left Kartchner Cavern State Park and am making my way further east. I'll be taking my time, and a meandering route, through New Mexico and Texas to northeast Louisiana to spend the Christmas and New Years Holidays with my friends (who are also distant Joslin cousins). It will be nice to spend the Holidays in the company of family and friends.

Below is the temperature map for the time this post was actually written... looks rather chilly everywhere in the U.S. except the southern-coastal areas!! Yuck.

One advantage of staying in one place for a few days is that I was able to get some genealogy posts written and scheduled. So for the next few days that is what you will see here at kinexxions...