Leaving Cedar

So we have been on the road for a week and are finally staying in a campsite for more than one night. We had planned to stay a couple of nights in Hot Springs National Park, but the government shutdown changed that. The Buckstaff bath was open, though, as it is run by a private company. I was so happy to get my annual mineral bath spa treatment! However, the museum that Denny likes to peruse while I am in there was closed. I sure hope the shutdown ends before we get to some planned national park stays in California!
From then onward, every night when we watched the news, there was a cold front on its way. So in the morning we would pack up and head further south. We are now a little south of Tucson and...a cold front moved in overnight! We're still going to go hiking today and spend the next 5 days enjoying this beautiful area. We probably won't have as much company hiking since the high temperature will only be 56, but as hardy-ish northern Michiganders we will be fine, especially since it's also going to be sunny!
Our new motor home is working out great! We love the extra living space and the king bed! Still trying to get the cupboards arranged, though. It's a work in progress.
We have the cat (Kismet) with us again. I know, we thought she was going to die on our trip last year. She has been very ill a couple of times but continues to do well in spite of her kidney disease. She's taken to traveling again and after the first two nights (when she meowed all night) has adjusted well.  She complains when I put on her harness but doesn't seem to mind going outdoors except when it's windy.

We stayed at Monahans Sandhills State Park in west Texas; I guess it's their version of sand dunes. Nice but much smaller. When we got to the top of a dune, I kept expecting to see water, but no matter how high we climbed or how far we walked, all we saw was more sand!

Meanwhile, on the home front, Rochelle is dealing with having a new furnace put in, some sort of water pipe leakage making the drive an ice rink and sub-freezing temperatures. I wish we were there to help!