We were in open farm range, and packed up the trailer under the watchful eye of Longhorn Cattle.
We left Rock Hound State Park and headed into Deming to pick up a few groceries, then continued west into the Sonoran Desert.
We had a short driving day as we left New Mexico and crossed the state line into Arizona. We noticed our first Saguaro Cactus (pronounced sa-wa-ro) standing tall amongst the thorn scrub.
We headed to Tucson Mountain Park and spent two nights in Gilbert Ray Campground. Luckily, we managed to find a partial shade site and set up for two nights.
It was very relaxing, sitting in the shade, listening to the abundant bird life, and watching a family of California Qual.
As the sun sank lower below the horizon, we heard a pack of coyotes coordinating their evening hunt, yapping and yodelling in close proximity to the trailer, but staying out of sight amongst the scrub.
When they came close, Chloe challenged them from the safety of the trailer with her most authoritative bark. Little did she know she would be a tasty treat in their limited desert diet. We kept a watchful eye on her whenever she needed to spend some time outside the trailer.
During our stay at Gilbert Ray Campground, we visited the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum – what a pleasant surprise.
We returned to the trailer after an amazing day learning about the abundant fauna and flora of the Sonora Desert. We sipped a tall cool cocktail as we watched the hues of sunset gradually shifting across the silhouetted horizon.
Later that night Susan researched a flight for me back to Canada. I was heading north to help my son Kelvin during his house hunt after a work transfer from Edmonton to Calgary.