AN EASY DRIVE, BUT LOTS OF ELBOW GREASE

Today's drive was easy, from Catalina State Park north of Tucson to Gila Bend, Arizona - maybe 125 miles, with most of it on interstates.

It RAINED last night in Tucson, completely unexpectedly (at least, it wasn't forecast on weather.com). Odel had smelled rain - he took up the "grass" and stashed our chairs away last night, while they were dry.

We got up early - well, for us these days - so we could do our walking at Catalina before we left; walking in Gila Bend is pretty dismal. The morning was still overcast, and the mountains looked dramatic with clouds snagged on the high peaks.

Before we left our site, I vacuumed Scoopy thoroughly, my usual routine (so the slides don't grind dirt and grit into the carpet when then come in). Next, we filled all our tires to their perfect pressures so we could be sure the new Pressure Pro system worked as it should (it did). We stopped at the dump station to offload several hundred pounds of black and gray water, then left the park at noon.

Sunshine, puffy white clouds, and bright yellow roadside flowers marked the drive. We put on our Spanish CD's and went over some of the old lessons ("We want to buy a cold beer." "Where is your husband?" "We like to eat and drink.") and the drive slipped by quickly.

We got to Holt's Shell RV Park at 2:15 pm and slid into a site directly across from the laundry room. By 2:45 pm, we had three large loads of laundry going.

By 4:15 pm, the laundry was washed, dried and stashed away; the rugs were washed; the sinks and shower were scrubbed; the dusting was done; the tile floor was washed; the windshield was clean; the oak table had been oiled and dusted; and all the countertops were sprayed and wiped with lavender-scented spray cleaner. The sheets on the bed were freshly laundered, as were the towels.

Two hours, start to finish - one of the many benefits of living in an RV!

Even in an RV park of only 24 sites, we knew another couple parked here, George and Judy of the Roving Rods (to which we also belong). They are heading east, we are heading west. Parked between us, we met another Roving Rods couple, Gary and Judy. Roving Rods is a fishing club... funny that we would all meet in here in dry, dry Gila Bend.