Empty Shelves

I was hoping that as more snowbirders returned home, the shelves at the local grocery stores would be restocked. That was not the case at Bashas' this morning...

I was able to get everything I needed, but not everything I wanted. This is the closest I have ever come to what my parent's generation experienced during WWII rationing.

Campground Closures

I have been seeing an increasing number of both private and public campground closures including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS) and National Forest Service (NFS). The best place I have found for the latest news on closures is Campendium's State by State Campground Closures & Responses to COVID-19. You will definitely want to call ahead before moving to your next site.

Pandemic Panic

The snowbirds here in the park are returning to their home states early this year due to the coronavirus. The ones that I have talked to indicated that they were concerned that more states will go on lockdown and that they might not be able to get home for the summer. Although this seems unlikely to me, all I have to do is look at what has happened across the country in just the last week and I can see their point. Here's what my row looks like today...

That RV at the end is leaving tomorrow

Update (3/21/2020): Click here to read about Canadians returning home early due to the coronavirus.

Personal Update Re: Coronavirus

I have been sitting here in the RV attempting to self-quarantine, social-distance and shelter-in-place from the coronavirus. I have even started to work-from-home (some people call it "napping"). There is enough food, water and toilet paper to last up to a month, so I will probably die of boredom before the virus gets me.

In my 73 trips around the sun, I have never experienced anything like this. Although the virus is bad, it is its effect on our economy and way of life that is truly frightening. In my opinion, the coronavirus will probably go the way of other viruses such Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), but it may take a lot longer for life to return to normal as we have known it. Only time will tell.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Sunny and I toured the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum just west of Tucson, Arizona. Taking photos here is like eating potato chips in that you cannot take just one. If you have the opportunity to visit the museum, be sure to see the Raptor Free Flight Show where they have birds of prey fly within inches of your head...

The coronavirus did not deter large crowds from attending the museum

Other interesting animals at the museum...

If you would like to see photos taken from previous visits to the museum, click here.

Klondyke Trail

Yesterday, I drove down to Benson, Arizona to visit friends in the area. Today, Sunny and I followed Lehman and Jane on the scenic Klondyke Trail...

Sunny and her highly customized, rock-crawling machine

One of many river crossings

Lunch at the end of the trail

Turkey Creek Cliff Dwelling

Another beautiful landscape