Adventures in “Faith”
3/20/23. We arrived in Tuscon yesterday mid am. So sad to leave the donkeys. We miss them already! We hiked Saguaro NP yesterday with all the amazing varieties of cactus and wildflowers are all blooming. Such a beautiful area. We stayed at Little Anthonys diner and had pizza for dinner. Two other camper and parked with us. Grateful for a shower at Planet Fitness after taking care of donkeys! (We are still winterized as heading back to MI when still possible to freeze).
Dinner in 15min. Cooked in my rice cooker. Rice on bottom with some butter and salmon in steamer above rice with a Cajun rub on it and cauliflower. Yummy!
3/18/23 well today was another awesome day! Woke up at 6:00, had coffee and then went to greet the donkeys who were waiting by Trish and John’s house to be fed. We helped round all 30 of them up and get them I their pens so they could be fed. You can’t feed them outside pens as they will fight each other for food. Once inside we feed them hay and other special foods specific to each one. Then other volunteers showed up and we all helped brush them, scoop up poop, clean their eye buggars etc. then Trish gave a tour at 10:30 so we tagged along. John went to pick up a few of the donkeys that were participating in a pack burrow race (runners running with the donkeys). If you are ever near the Tuscon area, this is a must see spot. Grateful to have met people like Trish and John who have dedicated the past 30 years to giving a fantastic home to abused donkeys!
3/16/23. We were all set to go hiking at White Sands National Monument after our carbo loaded salad last night! Survived a wind and rain storm at the Trinity Turtle Healing Labryinth park. Got to White Sands at 8 am and did all the nature paths and the spectacular 5 mile Akali Flats loop hike. Seriously there is no place like this in Earth and a must see. I need to take grandkids there maybe next year. Went to visitor center on the way out and read the history and watched a short film that explains how the White Sands formed. Very interesting. Staying at Tularosa Vin yards tonight. Bought a bottle of wine and met some fellow campers from Florida. We are taking a short side trip to the town of Ruidosa now (recommended by a local). Grateful for finding our way out of the White sand dunes. Some of the trail markers were blown down and had a little scare.
Yesterday we drove to Lincoln National Forest and hiked in the forest, then went to explore the town of Cloudcroft. Elevation was 9,800 feet so a bit hard to breathe at times. Stopped to listen to music while I did some wine tasting. Met a nice couple with the cutest dog and child. Dog gave us kisses and we gave their daughter some Spriggles books. Stopped at ranger station and learned we could do dispersed camping anywhere in Lincoln National forest land (1.1 million acres) for free. So we found a nice place to park for the night. Made salmon for dinner. I was awake all night worried that a bear could smell the salmon in our camper so every noise I thought bear! Jeff slept through my trauma. Lol. The next morning we went to the local bakery where they said had the best cinnamon rolls. Oh my goodness they were delicious! Check out the size! Grateful for finding a safe and secluded place to park for free and not encountering a bear on the trail. Grateful for bull dog kisses too. Lol.
3/19/23. So hard to say goodbye to the donkeys and Tish, John, (owners) and Stephanie and Greg from Alabama. A bit of sadness to leave this am. On our way to hike Saguaro NP near Tucson and staying at Little Anthony’s diner tonight. I will edit with pictures later. Bye for now!
I don’t remember his/her name. They are so full of love!
3/17/23. Oh my goodness what a day! Started the day leaving the vineyards and driving to LasCruces to go to Planet Fitness on our way to the donkey rescue. We stopped and Jimmy John’s for lunch and made our way to Bendon AZ. WE stopped at a WIC program to drop off books and then made our way to Forever Home Donkey Rescue and sanctuary. They are on 30 acres surrounded by mountains and very remote. The owners John and Tish are amazing and 83 years young! They started out with 1 donkey and then because they love animals and saw there were donkeys abused and in need they slowly began acquiring more donkeys to rehabilitate. They are up to 30 donkeys! They supported this all on their own for 25 years and then a volunteer named Suzanne came to help and fell in love with donkeys and helped them turn this into a 501c3 non profit so now they get help with donations. It costs about $75k a year to care for these animals. The donkeys are amazing. So docile and friendly. They just want love, stratches, food and water! Lots of pictures attached and more to come tomorrow. Love this place! Grateful for people like Tish and John for helping to make animals lives better and filled with love!
