Pack Rats??

 So, how many people really know what a pack rat is? I always thought it was a term to describe someone who collects lots of “stuff”. Well boy was I wrong. We pulled into Karchner Caverns State Park late one afternoon and as we were trying to negotiate where and how to set up our camper on a very in- level site, we were visited by the camp host. He started with, “Hi folks. Have you ever camped her before?” “No,” we replied. Then he proceeded to tell us about the pack rats in the area asking us if we had lights for under the truck and camper. We didn’t. He said for 2 nights we might be okay. They come out at night and get into the engine compartment chewing the wires and make big nests. They can ruin your truck in no time. And with that he bid us a goodnight. For the next couple of hours we struggled to level our camper ultimately breaking the jack. Rick and I tried to fix it but darkness set in and we decided to leave and book a hotel for the night and getting a new jack in the morning. Guess what we dreamt of that night?! Pack Rats. 

The next day we did get a new jack and parts to fix the old one for a spare and we got lights for under the truck and camper since apparently Arizona is pack rat country! 

Making our way to Organ Pipe National Monument we stopped at a Harvest Host in Sonoita AZ for the night. 


Found out it actually gets very cold in the dessert at night. High of 28 degrees meant Hailey got to sleep in the big bed! The added warmth outweighed the decrease in space!


On to Organ Pipe…

What a beautiful park! The campground is spotless and the sites are spaced out beautifully so that you really don’t notice your fellow campers. We met someone from Lyndonville VT and someone from Franconia NH. The woman from NH, Sandy, has been traveling for several years. She came over and sat awhile sharing her traveling adventures from completing the entire AT end to end in six months, to traveling to the annual nomad gathering in Quartzsite, AZ which she plans to attend again next week. 
Later this evening we watched an amazing sunset and took a bazillion pictures. 




Hailey got a nice little walk as well and decided it might be fun to kiss a cactus! Ouch!



We ended the night stargazing and attending the ranger talk at the outdoor amphitheater. 

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