2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 133

Day 133, Saturday, February 28, 2026 - Roper Lake State Park, Stafford, AZ - 137.5 Miles, 4,443.9 Miles for the Trip.

56°F overnight, 62°F for my morning walk, 82°F at noon on the road, and the high for the day was 87°F.

I took my time getting out of the park since I only had 130 miles to Roper Lake. Most of the drive was on I 10 with the last 30 miles on US 191. I arrived at Roper Lake around 1:15, checked in and headed to site 22. I'm in a water & electric back in site on asphalt for 2nights with a shaded picnic table and a combined fire pit/grill. $51.80 per night including a $3.60 reservation fee. 1/2" off side to side & I dropped the tongue 3". After hooking up the utilities i fired up the AC. 80°F in the trailer.

Site 22

The view outside my front window (if I had one) includes the first snow covered mountains I've seen in awhile. I checked AT&T's internet speed - 32.67Mbps down and 1.32Mbps up. 

A Bit of Snow

I put out the hummingbird feeder, but so far, no takers. I sat outside and read until dinner.

Dinner was a Saffron Road Chicken Tikka Masala Bowl.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 132

Day 132, Friday, February 27, 2026 - Gilbert Ray Campground, Tucson, AZ, Day 4 - 0 Miles, 4,306.4 Miles for the Trip.

54°F overnight, 60°F for my morning walk, 76°F at noon, and the high for the day was 90°F.

After my morning walk I turned on the AC since the trailer hit 79°F and sat outside in the shade reading. I finished The Final Twist by Jeffery Deaver, one of his Shaw series which have not been one of my favorites of his books, then started C. J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station (The Company Wars #1). 

While sitting outside I was able to catch a couple of hummingbirds fighting (at least I assume they were fighting). Also had a visit by a Gila Woodpecker sitting on a cactus. It likes to wake me up in the morning tapping on the cover of the campground electrical box outside my window. Very loud! You have to look closely at the hummingbird fight - they blend in well with the background. A couple more photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

The Winner!

After that it was back to reading, chasing the shade around the trailer. 

Dinner was Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 131

Day 131, Thursday, February 26, 2026 - Gilbert Ray Campground, Tucson, AZ, Day 3 - 0 Miles, 4,306.4 Miles for the Trip.

57°F overnight, 63°F for my morning walk, 80°F at noon, and the high for the day was 86°F.

I shut of the AC, opened some windows and turned on the MAXX fan just after dinner when it got down to 75°F outside & inside the trailer. While the Houghton is much quieter than my old Domestic AC, it is nice to have the quiet of the MAXX fan.

I spent the morning sitting outside reading. I finished Dana Stabenow's A Taint In The Blood, so I'm back on the Kindle, reading The Final Twist by Jeffery Deaver. 

After lunch I headed to the post office to mail a birthday card. The closest post office was in an Ace Hardware store, one of the largest I've seen, and only 4.5 miles from the campground. 

After I got back to the trailer I sat outside in the shade and read. 

Around 3:00 I headed into the trailer for a shower. It is only fair to rate it - at best, a C-. No shelf or drying room (unless you consider the rest of the trailer as the drying area), and a very small shower room with a toilet in the middle. Plenty of hot water but you do need to wipe down the entire thing after showering. As I said, a C- at best.

Back outside in the shade.

Dinner was a Healthy Choice Chicken Lo Mein Bowl.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 130

Day 130, Wednesday, February 25, 2026 - Gilbert Ray Campground, Tucson, AZ, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 4,306.4 Miles for the Trip.

55°F overnight, 59°F for my morning walk, 79°F at noon, and the high for the day was 84°F.

A warm night, although it did get cool enough for the furnace to come on for one run around 6:00AM. 

My big project for the day was to head to an Allstate office to get a proof of insurance card for the next 6 months for the truck. For some strange reason, the price was the same as for the last 6 months, although back in September they raised it $200.00.

That was about it for the day. I did take a couple of photos of a Costa hummingbird:

Costa Hummingbird

The rest of the day was spent sitting outside in the shade of the trailer reading on my too small iPhone. I did finish listening to The President is Missing by Bill Clinton & James Patterson, and attempted to download When No one is Watching by Alyssa Cole.

Dinner was a Chef Ramsay's Chicken Marsala Pasta bowl, one of my favorites that I managed to find at the last Walmart.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 129

Day 129, Tuesday, February 24, 2026 - Gilbert Ray Campground, Tucson, AZ - 130 Miles, 4,306.4 Miles for the Trip.

53°F overnight, 65°F for my morning walk, 75°F at noon while on the road, and the high for the day was 85°F.

Lots of 2 lane roads as well as 30 miles on I 10. I arrived at Gilbert Ray around 2:00 after making a stop at a Walmart in Coolidge for gas ($2.99) and a few supplies. I better eat a lot out of the freezer; it is full. 

No one at the entrance station, so I drove to the water & dump area to take on water (the sites are all electric only) then headed to my site. I've stayed in this site before as well as a couple of others. I should have taken one of the ones below the first cross road of the "H" shaped A section of the campground since it saves driving the entire loop, but I grabbed the wrong one. 

I'm in site 56, an Electric only site on desert sand not too far from the bathrooms. No showers & $35.12 per night for 4 nights. It needed 1 1/2" side to side & 1/2" rise on the tongue to level. As soon as I finished leveling the trailer I fired up the AC for the first time in a long while. 85°F outside & 80°F in the trailer. I put out the hummingbird feeder on a branch that someone left wedged in some rocks. After leveling I put down one of my plastic mats to try to keep the sand out of the trailer.

Site 56

After setting up I sat outside in the shade. It took about 15 minutes for a Verdin to find the hummingbird feeder, and another 30 for the first hummingbird. I'm reading Dana Stabenow's A Taint In The Blood. A bit of a pain because it isn't available as a Kindle book so I have to read it on my phone or the iPad, one too small and the other too big. 

AT&T is showing 71.56Mbps down & 36.65Mbps up so I didn't bother to check either Verizon or Starlink.

Dinner was a chicken burger & a salad.

Until Next Time -