A Major Camping Trip Coming Up

Since I retired from my full-time job seven years ago I’ve worked a couple part-time jobs here and there. Now finally, my last part-time job is winding down. I look forward to being footloose and fancy-free…and why not at the ripe old age of 71?!!? With the time I’ll have on my hands and since my wife—9-1/2 years younger— is still working full-time I’ve decided to use this opportunity to take a long camping trip to the Sonoran desert in southern Arizona.

My wife has absolutely no interest in camping, especially in a tent, nor does she have any inkling that traveling over 2,000 miles by pick-up truck only to wind up sleeping in a desert with rattlesnakes, tarantulas, cactus galore and scorpions would be a good time! So, my dear friend and four-legged buddy, Abby, and I will be making the trip by ourselves…and we can’t wait. Near the end of January, I’ll be closely monitoring the weather reports from southwest Michigan, down to Arkansas, and then westward along I-40 and the old Route 66 to Arizona. As soon as it seems we’ll have a calm enough stretch of weather for traveling, off we’ll go.

I’ve been studying the area, reading the reviews of dozens of camping spots, and watching YouTube videos to decide where we should be setting up our camps. January through March is prime time for northern U.S. and Canadian snowbirds to visit that area, so I believe we’ll be with lots of company, even when camping in Bureau of Land Management free camping areas in the desert.

I’ve been stocking up the supplies and equipment I feel we’ll need, including an 800-watt power inverter to attach to my truck battery so we can power a few lights in our tent, phone and iPad chargers, rope lights and other low-power-using gadgets to make our camps more comfortable. Yes, I have a “jump-box” to help start my truck, just in case we drain the battery too far, although I don’t see that happening. Thankfully, my coffee pot and Coleman two-burner stove are powered by propane. Also, my First Aid Kit has been beefed up with a tourniquet, quick-clot gauze, and other “serious wound” items just in case I get stupid somewhere along the way.

So hey, if you’d like to “travel along” with Abby and me, be sure to “follow” our site so you’ll receive an email notification whenever we publish a new post. The follow button is at the top of the left-side column on this page.