A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER, AND OUR PLANS

After five years of travel, we have learned to pay attention to the weather... well, we actually learned that lesson after our first tornado warning. More accurately, I should say that we now not only pay attention to the weather, but modify our plans from time to time based on the forecast.

We had planned to move this morning from Bisbee to Rosanna's, but the forecast has a storm moving into Cochise County on Sunday, bringing high winds today and tomorrow, along with blowing dust, leading up to a chance of snowflakes on Sunday night/Monday morning! We decided to stay put here until the weather calms (Tuesday) figuring we would rather be on gravel than dirt in a dust or rain storm.

THIS is the weather we have been experiencing the past several days!

Yesterday, we took a hike in Ramsey Canyon with Sydney and Frank. Frank works with volunteer Elderhostel groups in Ramsey Canyon from time to time, and suggested we head over to check out the new trails. He lead us on a beautiful canyon hike along the stream, full of water. I took many photos, not one of which captured anything close to approximating the beauty of our hike.

On the way home, we stopped at Casa de San Pedro, a gorgeous B & B along the San Pedro River. We met the owner and wandered the grounds. Fabulous pool!

Today we shifted gears and began planning our springtime travels. Our next time commitment is June 7th, when we plan to be in the Black Hills of South Dakota, hiking to the fingertips of the Crazy Horse monument on the 23rd annual Crazy Horse Volksmarch. Between now and then, we plan to spend three weeks in Texas, a week or so in Little Rock, Arkansas, a week in Memphis, and a couple weeks around Denver, Colorado. We had travel and campground books, maps and files spread everywhere today as we studied the possibilities.

We are frequently asked how fuel prices have affected our travels. So far, we haven't altered plans based on fuel prices but, today, the high cost of diesel fuel did help us to finalize a decision.

We had considered visiting Big Bend National Park when we head east, but hadn't made a firm plan as the temperatures will likely be outside our comfort zone by the time we would arrive. But beyond that, Big Bend isn't "on the way" to anywhere we plan to visit, so it is easy to calculate the specific cost of the trip: right around $140. If the wildflowers were abloom and the high temperatures were in the low 70's, $140 would not deter us from visiting for a week or so... but since we were not strongly committed to visiting, the high cost of fuel made the decision easy. Feels like the start of a trend!