Our initial plan was to go to Tucson for a FMCA Rally, but with the Covid-19 Virus it was cancelled. We had friends (Linda & Mike) we wanted to visit so we still headed out, but with the social distancing we only could visit 6 to 10 feet apart. Our first stop was Centennial RV Park right in the heart of downtown. But we found we did not care for it at all – an asphalt parking lot surrounded with tall fences and barbed wire. No ambiance at all. We had wanted to stay at Catalina State Park but they had no openings. However once we arrived and actually spoke to the park rangers, they were able to get us in, but we had to change campsites a couple of times during the week. This was a great park that we look forward to returning to. It was away from town, surrounded by mountains, level sites with water and electric (dump station close by).
Rick & Jill had come to Tucson as part of their trip and were already staying in Catalina State Park, so we got another week with them there. Rick just retired from owning a restaurant in Colorado, and it seems when he is with family he is always the cook, so Marsha and I got some great meals while we camped together.
Tucson has an amazing bicycle trail system – over 120 miles of it, all paved and separated from the roads. We wanted to “get some exercise” but we made some stupid rookie mistakes and took off with not enough water or sun protection or our cell phones. On our way back Marsha experienced some heat exhaustion and almost passed out. But God sent some angels in the form of an ER Nurse and friends. The ER nurse helped Marsha move to lie down under a little tree for shade. She applied an ice pack to her neck and gave her water. Two women who witnessed what was going on went with Linda and Mike to get their cars. Once Marsha could navigate, she and I walked to the street and waited for Linda & Mike. But I realized they probably really didn’t know where we were, so I flagged down a girl in a pick up truck – again God’s provision. Would you stop for some guy waving you down in the middle of nowhere? We got Marsha into the truck with our bikes, and she was kind enough to drive us all the way to our campsite. Few pints of water and some cooling off, and Marsha was fine. Taught us a lesson in being prepared.
As we camped at Catalina State Park we again prayed and discussed whether we should be continuing on our journey. We certainly didn’t want to get the virus, nor unwittingly be a carrier and give it to someone. But the reality was we were isolating ourselves in our RV, kept up social distancing and wore our masks when we did go out. And our hands have never been so clean. We decided to continue on. We knew the Canadian border had been closed to all but essential traffic, so we knew our trip was going to be changing. We figured we needed to find a place to hunker down for a while so that we determine how the virus would affect our future travel plans.
We had previously stayed in the Flathead Lake area of Montana and we really liked it so we set our sights on that location. Ken enjoys researching parks and travel routes, and he was able to find a place at the Polson KOA. Only problem was they did not open up until April 15th (only open April 15 to October 15th). So we made a plan to slowly head up to Montana where we’d be close enough to the Canadian border to cross over when it opened.
Catalina State Park is a great park. They have electric and water sites, and a convenient dump station. It’s on a fairly flat valley floor surrounded by mountains with cool rock formations. We really enjoyed our time here. At this point we were debating whether we’d do this blog or not. We weren’t doing much with the isolation, and we didn’t want to add to the controversy about whether we should be on the road or not. But then realized one of the reasons for this blog is for our memories, so we decided to give it a go.
We realized we didn’t take any pictures while camping here, especially since at this point we were not doing the blog. But trust us, it’s a beautiful area.