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Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: Catalina State Park, Round 1

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I visit an extraordinary state park for the first time and sleep through much of my stay.

I was scheduled to spend the first full week of February in Tucson, AZ where I was taking five jewelry making classes. The first one was scheduled for Monday, February 3, at 9 AM sharp. Although I’d booked a campground in Tucson starting on Monday, I had no accommodations lined up for Sunday night and did not relish the thought of driving in rush hour traffic from Phoenix to Tucson first thing Monday morning. So I drove to Tucson and worked on getting a place to stay once I was there. I figured that in a worst case scenario, I could camp out at a Walmart or casino parking lot.

Saguaro Cactus
How’s this for an iconic image of the Sonoran desert and Arizona in general?

I wasn’t feeling well that day. I’m not sure what was going on, but I had a low-grade headache and felt very tired. So after making a number of stops at dog shelters — long story there — I was very glad that a call to Catalina State Park that Sunday evening assured me that there was space for me in overflow parking.

I had never been to Catalina, but a friend of mine who had a girlfriend in the Tucson area had suggested it as a place to camp during my trip to Tucson. Three months in advance, I’d tried to reserve a site but it was already fully booked. Snowbirds, of course. People kinda sorta like me. So I’d found an RV park in the city that was affordable and closer to where my training was being held. Trouble was, the office was closed on Sundays so check in wasn’t allowed. (Am I the only one who thinks that’s weird?)

Sunday afternoon saw me driving up to the Catalina State Park gate/ranger station, getting out of my truck, and getting assigned a space in one of the overflow campgrounds. I’d left my cargo trailer behind in the Phoenix area, so parking was not a big deal. I drove through some gorgeous Sonoran desert scenery, found the campground, found spot #13, and backed in. Then I locked up the truck, climbed into my camper, and basically passed out on my bed for a 2-hour nap.

I felt a lot better when I woke up. It was late afternoon and the light was just getting good. It was too late for a hike, but not too late for a quick walk in the desert behind my campsite. I took the photos you see here — magnificent saguaro cacti and rugged desert peaks. I regretted that I’d have to leave by 8 AM to get to my class.

At Catalina State Park
This was also shot within sight of my campsite. It was absolutely gorgeous there.

Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: At Catalina State Park

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A gorgeous park for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.

Saguaro Cacti
What a magnificent specimen of saguaro cactus. It had to be at least 30 feet tall.

I arrived in Tucson the afternoon before I had a 9 AM jewelry-making class scheduled. The campground I’d booked for the week couldn’t let me in a day early because (if you can believe this) the manager had Sundays off. So I had to find somewhere else to camp. I wound up at one of the overflow campgrounds in Catalina State Park.

I should mention here that I arrived feeling awful. I’d had a headache all day and felt exhausted. (In hindsight, I think it may have been because I’d skipped my blood pressure meds two days in a row.) When they said they had room for me and put me in Site #13 in the Ringtail campground for just $20, I was thrilled. I drove in, backed into my site, climbed into bed, and passed out for three hours.

So it was about an hour before sunset that I actually got a chance to walk around and see the place. I was immediately struck by the lush (in desert terms) saguaro forest filled with huge cacti. I followed a trail from my campsite into the desert and managed to snap a few photos in the warm late afternoon light. I like these best.

Desert Scene
The Catalina Mountains are beautiful and rugged.

Snowbirding 2020 Postcards: Arizona Airplane Flight

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I get to ride in the back seat of a small plane behind two generations of pilots.

I spent the last day in January at Falcon Field airport in Mesa, AZ, hanging around with some friends who own a flight school. A highlight of the day was a trip up to Payson, AZ in a Cessna 182 for lunch with my friend Woody and his newly minted private pilot daughter Lindsay.

I’m not a big fan of small airplanes, partly because you can feel turbulence so much more in a plane than a helicopter and partly because I’d spent more time than I wanted to as a passenger in my wasband’s Grumman Tiger with him at the controls. He was a nervous pilot who constantly chased the RPM with the throttle in flight and didn’t let me talk if the air wasn’t perfectly calm. I often got the impression that he was overwhelmed with the task and, because of that, I was never really confident of his skills. Since I don’t fly airplanes, takeoffs (with a stall horn blaring) and landings (which were seldom on the runway centerline) terrified me. I may have screamed once on a particularly bad landing in Wickenburg.

Painted Tower
Back at Falcon Field, I managed to get a halfway decent shot of the artwork painted on the Falcon Field tower, which is visible from the runway.

Fortunately, I have a lot of pilot friends with a lot more experience and, therefore, skills and confidence. Woody is one of these friends. A retired airline pilot who loves to fly, Woody has flown a wide range of aircraft, from tiny Pipers and Cessnas to Boeing and Airbus airliners to Robinson and Schweizer helicopters. If you follow my FlyingMAir channel on YouTube, you may have seen him showing off the King Air he flew up to Washington with his dog and another pilot to spend a week with me. In the past 8 years or so, I’ve flown with plenty of experienced airplane pilots like Woody and I find it an enjoyable, worry-free experience — as long as the turbulence isn’t too bad.

So when Woody invited me to join him and his daughter for a flight up to Payson for lunch, I was all in. They were flying our friend Jan’s Cessna 182, which was a complex airplane. Lindsay had just gotten her private pilot certificate and was on a training path to become an airline pilot. She needed to build experience and get endorsements for a variety of airplane types and the complex Cessna was the first challenge. She sat on the left (the pilot seat in most planes) and Woody sat on the right. I sat in back, which was surprisingly roomy.

Jan's Cessna 182
Jan’s Cessna 182.

The flight was uneventful, although there was just enough turbulence to remind me that I was in a small plane. Woody let Lindsay do all the flying, providing firm instruction when needed but never touching the controls. Lindsay was focused and trying hard to do everything perfectly, but she had the air of someone who was knowledgeable and confident. Our landing in Payson was a bit bumpy, but she greased it back in Mesa. I didn’t hear a stall horn once. Along the way, I was reminded about how poor the visibility is our the front of an airplane with that big fat engine and propeller blocking the view.

Lindsay Takes Off
Lindsay and Woody, side by side on takeoff at Falcon Field. I think Woody was really proud of her — and he should be!

Bartlett Lake
I took pictures and shot video all the way up to Payson and back. I’m not sure, but I think this might be Bartlett Lake along the Verde River.

We parked and got out at Payson, which, because of its higher elevation, was a lot cooler than the Phoenix area. We went into the nearly deserted airport restaurant and had lunch. My patty melt was delicious and huge; I took half in a to-go box. We wanted to buy t-shirts, but they only had size Small left.

Payson Airport Restaurant
The restaurant at the airport was nearly empty when we arrived.

We headed back to Mesa right after lunch — there wasn’t anything else to do at the airport. I got a chance to admire Lindsay’s radio skills. I was a little envious. She was so young, with her whole life ahead of her and a dad to help guide her into an interesting and rewarding career. I complemented her on her flying skills and wished her the best of luck with her training and future.