Page 2 of Kathy Watson Travel Blog Posts


North America » United States » Arizona » Willcox March 23rd 2020

blog 03-23-20 Patagonia to Willcox I was packed up and ready to leave by 9:30 which is remarkable for me. The road was a 2 lane 55 mph country road winding through pastures and scrubs. There were small Mesquite trees along the way and lots of cactus. I took a picture of bear grass with last years blossom stem and a century plant with it's old stem to compare the size of the 2. Then the terrain opened up and the speed limit was 65 or whatever you wanted to do with the mountain in the distance. I chose another smaller road vs the interstate to get into Benson where I picked up some supplies and headed east on interstate 10. Before long I was in Wilcox and found my campground Ft Wilcox Campground. I will ... read more
3 white winged doves hanging out in the century plant
mesquite trees
going into a valley with a river

North America » United States » Arizona » Patagonia March 22nd 2020

blog 03-22-20 Last Full Day Watson and I took the trail to the upper part of the park to see where it lead us. Past the lake overlook, down the many steps, through the gate then along the lake shore. Again there was the humming of bees but no obvious swarm so we proceeded between the cattails and the woods. Picture There were some wet marshy areas but mostly dry and lots of birds singing everywhere. It was cooler here then up top and just a few kids with their parents. The smells were a combination of earthy and sweet from the willow blossoms. Oh, the willow blossoms were attracting the bees! Sure enough, on closer examination, there were thousands of bees all over the willow bushes, that is where the humming was coming from. The ... read more
grackle
the overlook
trail along the lake

North America » United States » Arizona » Patagonia March 21st 2020

blog 03-21-20 Opposite Side of the Park For this mornings walk we went south to further explore that part of the park. Past the Lakeside Market, the entrance to the marina then to the Visitor's Center which is closed til April 8th. The volunteers all went home early and there is not enough staff to man it, too bad for me, no new movie tonight. The first mountain picture you'll see has a building on top that I just had to find out what it was. It's an observatory that has tours certain days of the week but of course, it's closed now. Another trip. There is a high pedestrian bridge I had to work up courage to cross so it was now or never. Watson did the low crawl as did I, and we stopped ... read more
a map of the lake
the scary bridge
the marina

North America » United States » Arizona » Patagonia March 20th 2020

blog 03-20-20 Birds and Patagonia We delayed our start to the day til the sun had time to warm it up out there. There was a new adventure in store, I even brought my walking stick. We headed to the end of the campground and down the paved path to the observation area for bird watching. We sat and observed for a short time then we went further down the path where it turned to sand and then steps, lots of them. Near the bottom there was a gate to keep the cows out of the park. The neighbor's cows use this area adjacent to the creek as their pasture. There is an area with Mesquite trees and green plants growing beneath giving the woods a "dark, scary" appearance. Picture. To the left is the creek ... read more
the observatory is clearer in this picture
an immature broad billed
bird viewing area upper lake

North America » United States » Arizona » Patagonia March 19th 2020

blog 03-19-20 Tumacacori National Historical Park Our first outing today was a little later than normal because it was so cold this morning. It was below 40 last night in the driving rain and we hunkered down in our little house and were toasty warm. I took the car to the visitor's center to return a movie and get another one for tonight and got way-layed with all the bird activity. There were 2 very knowledgeable bird watching so I found out a lot about the local birds. There was an eastern cardinal pair in a bush and everybody was all excited to see them. They were extremely colorful but surely not new to me. There was a black-chinned hummer feeding on the flowers that was new to everyone so all the cameras were pointed in ... read more
female Pyrrhuloxia
male broad billed hummingbird
this shows the shape of his feathers and how they can be "flashed" .

North America » United States » Arizona » Patagonia March 18th 2020

blog 03-18-20 Rain day Very soon I am going to hang out my shingle, "Rain Maker". Yes, it has been beautiful for the past 3 days I can't complain, but this IS the desert, it's not supposed to rain much. Oh well, everything is different, including our lives, It's just the way of things. I rearranged and straightened the cabinets and took inventory to see what I needed and was I supplied sufficiently for a long isolation. All is well except for toilet paper, I'm down to 2 rolls, so I'll keep an eye out for that, no panic yet. Staying in the camper all day with no cell service and no tv was not an option so Watson and I took a ride around the park to the marina and up a big hill to ... read more
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there is a baby nursing, too small to see well

North America » United States » Arizona » Patagonia March 17th 2020

blog 03-17-20 St Patrick's Day There was an appointment on the books for this morning for between 8 am and noon so I had to get up and going just in case they showed up at the first hour. As time dragged on I decided to sweep out the camper. Well one thing let to another and before long I was washing the cabinets and scrubbing the floor. The repair man didn't show up until 11:45. It was Safelite coming to repair the chip in my windshield in the car. The fellow was very pleasant and had the repair done in under 1/2 an hour and was off to his next job. They need to hire a helicopter for him,his territory is so big. Watson and I headed out for his walk and my exploring of ... read more
female house finch
vermilion fly catcher
campsite view

North America » United States » Arizona » Patagonia March 16th 2020

blog 03-16-20 Benson to Patagonia Lake I got up early and organized because the repair man was coming to fix my propane furnace. I have no electric here so it has been 45 inside the camper in the morning so getting the heater fixed was necessary. They arrived early and about 1 hr later declared my heater repaired. I had to leave the park by 11 am and I sure was ready to go. A quick stop at the grocery store and we were off, south on 82 then southeast on another small road. It only took about 1 1/2 hrs so before long we were settled and off exploring our new home for a week. I really like this campsite. It's level and is surrounded by trees and overlooks the lake, what more can you ... read more
the road to the hills
love those windmills
cut in the rocks

North America » United States » Arizona » Benson March 15th 2020

03-15-20 Tombstone again It was a little cloudy this morning so it didn't get as cold last night but I was prepared. We did our morning routine quickly because I wanted to get back to Tombstone in the morning before it got too hot for Watson in the camper, he was staying home! I left about 9:30 and was the first person in line for a stage coach ticket. I wanted to hear all about the town while it passed by. We had a real cute driver and after a few lame jokes we headed out down the street in a cloud of dust. It seems the town burned down twice but only the second floors. The base was made of adobe and that didn't burn. Lots of pictures, they will tell the story. I got ... read more
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Tombstone doctor's house

North America » United States » Arizona » Benson March 14th 2020

blog 03-14-20 Pat's Birthday! I woke up positively freezing. It was 48 inside the camper and 41 outside, a real frosty morning. The joys of not having electric for the small heater and the propane heater on the blink. The sky however was clear and that bright AZ sun had it almost toasty inside before too long. After coffee and a brief walk for Watson a member of the welcoming committee came by to welcome me to the park and tell me what was going on for the weekend. There was a scavenger hunt using the golf carts, and a pool tournament and a cook-out in the afternoon followed by a cowboy shoot-out courtesy of the actors from Tombstone. All for $5.00, how could I pass that up. I packed up Watson and we headed for ... read more
the stage
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lots of charactors




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