Wild Horse, Picacho, and the Desert Museum

We stopped in Phoenix at Wild Horse Pass casino for a couple of nights of free parking and Pepsi and to see our good friends Paul and Pam who live nearby. Wild Horse has become a regular stop for us. It’s an Indian casino and in this case they really do like us to stop and spend some time. There is a corner of the huge parking lot that has been somewhat taken over by RV’ers staying a few nights who the Gila River tribe hopes will drop a few bucks in the casino. We take advantage and do drop just a couple of bucks, drink some free Pepsi and relax. There is even a regular security patrol of the grounds and parking lot. How nice is that? So we had an enjoyable stay and visit with Paul and Pam and caught up on each other.

Then we almost blew our wad. Not too far from Wild Horse there is an RV dealer. We went to look and before we knew it we were really serious about buying a new RV. I mean we had dinner with the sales people and were planning on going back in the morning to close the deal. We came to our senses just in time. It was a very nice RV and all; we wouldn’t have been interested was it not. But the one we have is still pretty new and very nice and we’re not that rich anyway. All we really have is good credit. So we’re keeping this one for now and maintaining our good credit. Still it had a great galley…………..!

Next we stayed at Picacho Peak state park for a couple of nights before moving on. For all of us who didn’t know it, Picacho Peak was the site of almost the most western engagement of the Civil War. There was an even more minor skirmish of the elements of the same forces just a little further west at a stage coach relay site, which was the furthest west engagement. But it’s not a state park and is mostly forgotten. That’s the story according to the ranger who gave a little talk on the subject one night during our stay. The park has a Civil War reenactment every year which is supposed to be quite good. But that is a month or so away. Maybe another time!

In Tucson we stayed at a county park very near the ‘Desert Museum’ and Saguaro National Park. We did both. The ‘Desert Museum’ has all of the plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert on display. Display may be wrong word. More appropriately they took a section of the Sonora desert and called it a museum, wildlife included. It’s very well done and worth a stop for anyone in the area. And they have shops and restaurants too. Our kind of place! As for Saguaro National Park; it’s just a forest. But it is strange to think of and see a forest of cactus. It is for me anyway.

We didn’t spend a lot of time with Bob and Jan but they came up from Green Valley and we spent the evening catching up, and it was very nice of them to bring us our mail.