Sunday morning in Nogales, AZ

March 4-5 Catalina State Park Left LDSP and made a stop at Gold Canyon to see if we could find Bob & Karen Martin and we did! Had a visit and then continued on to Catalina State Park. It's on the outskirts of Tucson, about 14 miles away; in a area called Oro Valley. We are parked in the overflow area and it's pretty nice. First night we were here there were only a few other campers but it has filled up. Met Serge from St. Eustache, Que and he came and joined us for dinner. He brought a delicious salad of mangoes, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, oil, salt/pepper. He usually adds fresh basil, but didn't have any so we substituted cilantro. It got quite cold last night, in fact our coldest night since leaving Vancouver; down to 2C. But by 9:30 it was 18C and now at 4:30 it's about 25C. The sun has a lot of intensity and it feels hotter than that.

The next morning we drove to Saguaro National Park and drove the 8 mile scenic loop, stopping often for photos.

Had no idea that the saguaro lives to be 200 years old and doesn't even get "arms" till age 75. This is part of the Sonoran Desert and it has 2 wet seasons, winter and summer. It usually snows at least once in the winter. Found another Trader Joe's which has become my favourite place to grocery/alcohol shop. Lots of different foods, organic and specialty items at great prices. In Phoenix I bought a N.Z. Sauvigon Blanc for $3.99 that was about as good as I've tasted, so was happy to find the same wine at the Tucson Trader's Joe's. I bought 6 bottles of wine, a French Brie, a mango, a jug of organic lemonade, mini heirloom tomatoes, persian cucumbers, a bag of lens, Italian Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato pasta and a bag of lemons for $50. March 6-7-8 Patagonia Lake State Park We left Catalina State Park and drove south to the Pima Air and Space Museum and spent about 5 hours there. It's the largest private museum in the US with 300 planes. Bob Andrews -- thought you would love this place!

The Smithsonian is the largest with over 400. They also have a "boneyard" and Daryl went on a tour while I stayed with the dogs. Then we drove to within about 18 miles of the US/Mexico border to the State Park. Passed through a Border Patrol check on the way although they were checking northbound vehicles only. Next day had a lazy day, going for a walk and reading in the sun and watched a beautiful sunset.

This area is important for bird migration and birders in the campground have spotted 74 different birds in the last 2 weeks.; Elegant Trogan, Northern Cardinals, various finches, flickers and more. We've seen lots of hummingbirds around. Today we're going to Sonoita and Elgin and touring wineries.