It takes us days to get everything loaded into the RV for a trip. When we get home, it takes about an hour to get everything we need back out of the rig and into the house. It’ll take a little longer than that to get everything put away in the right place, but here we are, safe at home for a 21-day sabbatical from our summer trips. 2018 Arizona Trip Map In three weeks we leave for Oklahoma City and beyond…
There is just something about trains
Train This was on my quiet walk along the Salado Creek Greenway in San Antonio. Now we’re at Choke Canyon State Park. 2018 Arizona Trip Map We got our favorite spot. 
It has a very nice yard. 
It has a very nice yard. Time zones
Because Arizona is goofy with its time, we crossed two time zones in two days on the trip home. Actually, it’s because Arizona is *not* goofy like everyone else is, and eschews daylight savings time. Crossing time zones though has great impact on what time dawn arrives. From one side of any time zone to the other, sunrise and sunset times vary by about an hour. In Phoenix, the sun rose an hour before we got up each morning. This morning in Fort Stockton, close to the western edge of Central Time, it was still way dark when we got up at exactly the same time! We’re glad to be back in Texas. We’re deep in the heart now; almost home. 2018 Arizona Trip Map
Ducati
We saw this motorcycle go by us on the street. We got to catch up with him at the next stoplight to confirm what I thought I saw when he went by. I looked it up on the web. 
This motorcycle has no swing arm on the rear wheel. It’s not attached to the frame! Not on this side, anyway. That’s really odd. Really cool, but really odd too. Continuing our journey, we’re back in Texas; Fort Stockton for the night. 2018 Arizona Trip Map
This motorcycle has no swing arm on the rear wheel. It’s not attached to the frame! Not on this side, anyway. That’s really odd. Really cool, but really odd too. Continuing our journey, we’re back in Texas; Fort Stockton for the night. 2018 Arizona Trip Map The mysteries of birding
Sometimes we hear sounds we can’t identify; like this one. An accelerating series of chips. I can just barely hear it with my limited high-pitch hearing. https://youtu.be/2k3fktsSdTE We settled on black-chinned sparrow. And then there is this rising and falling sound: https://youtu.be/nFXRRoXtOuM I can’t hear it at all without the digital assistance of my birding ears that cut high frequencies in half, so I can hear them. Maybe someone with good (younger) hearing can listen and tell me what this is. We don’t know what to make of it. Meanwhile, we’re on the road again. We’re in Deming, NM, making good time back toward Texas. 2018 Arizona Trip Map Saw a couple raptors this afternoon. Harris’s Hawk. 
Swainson’s Hawk. 
Swainson’s Hawk.