A Kiss for luck and We're on our Way!

Our mechanic came through for us and had us on the road by 11am.  The trip down to Kartchner Caverns was uneventful and boring…and we were ok with that! The campground was nice with large spaces and a lot of room between the sites.  Bill’s brother, John, and our sister-in-law, Lora, had arrived just a few minutes ahead of us. Bill’s son, Garrett and his fiancée Carrie and Carrie’s mother Ginny showed up just a few minutes behind us.  All present and accounted for we proceeded to pop open the beer and exchange stories of our trips down.  Dinner was “on us” that evening and we were all finished and in bed by 9pm.  Real party animals! We didn’t tell them what was in the chili that Bill made for dinner for fear they wouldn’t eat it. Everyone raved about it and there wasn’t a smidge left.  What was in it, you ask?  Bison and soy protein.  Low fat and yummy. That’s how we do it. Our friends Rick and Colleen came down from Benson (the following day) where they are staying since they are “motor-homeless” right now.

The rest of our time here was spent enjoying each other’s company, taking day trips and touring the caverns.  The caverns were amazing, Bisbee was “cute” but not really a place Bill and I wanted to spend our time.  We did take a tour of a copper mine  called the Queen Mine while we were there which was something different and made for a few good photo ops but, again, not really all that exciting.  We “peeled away” from the others who stayed and enjoyed themselves in Bisbee and headed to Tombstone.  Tombstone had a fabulous museum and we spent a lot of time learning all about the history, the gunfights, the hangings and the brothels.  A Sarsaparilla at Big Nosed Kate’s Saloon, seeing some of the old playbills at the Bird Cage Theater and a visit to Boot hill were the highlights in this extremely “touristy” town.  It was fun and I have a zillion photos to prove it!

The weather has been warm but windy. Too windy.  We are at 4600 feet and the temperature has averaged about 75 degrees. We have to hunt down Rufus’s outdoor water dish every morning even when we fill it with rocks. Were we a bit smarter we would probably just bring it inside.  But it is kind of like hunting for Easter eggs and gives us something to laugh about every morning.  So far we are 3 for 3 and have located it every day!

So, in summation, Kartchner Caverns is beautiful and I am so glad we came here.  We were lucky enough to see both of the caverns.  The Big Room closes on April 16^th each year so that the migratory bats can use it as a nursery.  How they know the date is beyond me but on April 16^th at 5:30am the bats could be seen coming into the campground. I saw them. The Throne Room was very different.  If you can only see one of the caverns I would recommend the Throne Room. When we actually got to the room and they turned on the lights it brought tears to my eyes.  Awesome just isn’t an awesome enough word. The time with Garrett and getting to know Carrie a bit better was worth the drive in itself. We can’t wait to see them again in about a week up at their home in Fountain Hills.  I wish the wind would go blow somewhere else. But not in Tucson as that is where we are headed tomorrow.  John, Lora, Rick and Colleen will be migrating to Tucson with us for a few days.  Then they will peel off to their respective homes.