Dear Maia, Isaac and Virtual Wanderers, Dang, time flies when you are touring Arizona. We are officially headed home now. However, we still have another day in the Sonoran desert. Then three more days on the Plateau.

Today brought hot hiking. It wasn’t that hot, but it feels warmer when you are in the desert sun – real feel mid 90s. I almost wish we would have hiked last night but rest has a place, too. And, Koko doesn’t understand hiking yet. Like, it’s only been 10 days since her first real leash walk. She stresses sometimes. I know when she refuses treats that she is a little freaked out.

We started at Catalina State Park. This is a place Maizzy and me hiked our first trip down here. I found it on a web search of state parks in the Sonoran desert. Today, we only hiked 1.5 miles. I thought about adding the stroller friendly hike where I’ve pushed Maizzy and Sazi up to see lots of saguaro cactus but it was just too hot after our lunch picnic.

We drove on and stopped at Boyce Arboretum. It’s another Sonoran favorite that Maizzy and I found serendipitously. In the early days, I only booked motels a couple days ahead. A couple times, we couldn’t find dog friendly hotels on route, so now I book ahead. Anyway, the Arboretum is gorgeous even though still pretty hot for the girls. We may go back tomorrow.

We are staying in this funky motel in one of the mining towns. We stayed here two years ago. Somehow, today brought Sazi to mind a lot. I remember trying to smuggle her in because they only allow 2 dogs. She never liked going low profile. And, the hotel is funky enough to stand out in my memory.

I treated myself to a nice dinner. I may live to regret that because my stomach has been off for a month. Viruses just stir things up for several weeks now. From that standpoint, I hate getting older. A goofy stomach doesn’t help anxiety and visa versa. Today was better as far as being in the moment. Gorgeous desert drive.

Tomorrow, we have several stops planned, including buying a few new desert plants. We will be climbing out of the Sonoran by tomorrow evening. Savor the heat before returning to Springtime in the Rockies.