Like a dry martini . . .

Like a dry martini, a dry wash can sneak up on you.

Though we made it out of Iowa and set up shop in Arizona it did not mean that we had escaped weather problems.

As a good location for us to visit daughters and friends, Catalina State Park, a few miles north of Tucson, works well. It has a new RV campground (50amp and water plus 2 dump stations) that is as good as any we have ever visited, and the park itself is wonderful. It is tucked up against the Catalina foothills and is mainly a hiking park, with mountain, birding, and nature walks. See Barbara emulating a Saguaro cactus?

The park is accessible only through a single road, that crosses several dry washes. When we checked in, we were aware that these can be closed off if there is a big rain (unusual in Winter; more commonly in the summer.) After a few days, I returned to CR to work, and flew back on a Sunday. When we drove into the park it was raining lightly and the wash was wet, but no flowing water. That night there was 8+ inches of rain up in the Catalina mountains, and by the time we got up the next morning the “dry” wash was a fast flowing river more than 50 yards wide. It took two days for the water to go down, and it left about 4’ of silt across the wash. By 9:30 the 3^rd day, they were able to bring in a large earth mover to clear the road for the expected mass exodus (which there was).

The delay for us was only 24 hrs, but we were separated from family, friends, stores, and, OH NO!, the internet. It was actually a good exercise in separation from the usual trappings of modern society; no cars trips, no shopping, no internet (but of course, the cell phone still worked). We walked the nature trail, we read (books plus I still had the Wall Street Journal delivered daily to my Kindle). We also had drinks and meals with newly-made friends Jim and Cathie Del Carlo who, like us, were also trapped in the park. Pip of course had a great time exploring new territory and chasing (but thankfully not catching) a skunk.

Will post this when I get an internet connection!