I think the lowest price for gas going back home to Portal was around $1.48 a gallon at a Love's just outside of Tucson. These low gas prices really help with the budget, but are also an indirect indicator of my IRA tanking. Oh well, towing Discovery does suck up a lot of gas... I prefer to go to the larger gas stations like Loves, Pilot and Flying J's as they have larger stalls to accommodate RVs. There was one time when I was coming out of Yellowstone that, in using a "regular size" gas station, I cut too close to the gas pumps and scraped the trailer against a concrete post that protects the pumps for when -- you cut too close to the gas pumps. I cried over that one for a long time, but luckily there were just scrapes and no major damage. So I prefer the larger travel centers. When you're traveling east on Interstate 10, the closest gas station to Portal is the Chevron in San Simon, 25 miles north on the mostly-dirt Foothills Road, or about 40 miles on a paved route that goes into New Mexico, then comes back into Arizona. As I headed to Faranuf, my main worries were if I'd have any trouble making the turn off the road into my driveway, and getting to the house without having mesquite branches scrape along the sides of Discovery; it's known as "pin striping". Thankfully, with glances in my rear-view mirrors and careful maneuvering, I was able to park the trailer alongside the house with very little trouble. Home again! It took me most of the rest of the day to unpack and transfer things from Discovery to Faranuf; I'd been carrying many of the items with me on my travels for nearly 3 years. I checked to see if there was any action in the back yard --- and there was zero action, which wasn't surprising as I let the water features go dry and the bird feeders go empty during the nearly 2 months that I was gone. So after I brought most of my stuff in, I refilled everything, knowing that they'd remember me -- eventually. It was blissful to be sleeping on my memory foam mattress once again, but I also woke up at 2am once again too, after getting solid sacktime while in Discovery. I may have to go back to sleeping in the trailer once again...
The next day, the clouds were still around for the sunrise --
And the view from the back yard was as spectacular as I remembered it --
I did more packing, attended at meeting of Friends of Cave Creek Canyon where I bugged-out early as I was still zonked from driving over 700 miles from Overton -- and got my first visitors to Faranuf in the late afternoon --
It was a Mule deer family of a buck, doe, and 2 older fawns. I'd always thought the deer I saw on my property were Coues (pronounced "Cows", not "Coos", per an expert here), but Faranuf is on the dividing line between Mule Deer habitat (the valley) and Coues (the mountains). The main difference between the two is the tail; Coues are white-tailed deer with their tails raised when alerting others of danger. And Mule deer have larger, mule-like ears, which is where they got their name. But even with those differences, I still have a hard time telling them apart.
I'll be getting a canopy -- eventually -- to protect Discovery from the intense Arizona sun. I put on tire covers so there is less chance of drying out and developing cracks. And I was worried about mice getting into her by gnawing away at the bottom, but it's all plastic underneath, so there's less of a chance of that happening. Though it's still February, snakes may take advantage of the shade under the trailer so I'll have to watch for that. Here "she" is at the north side of Faranuf; the RV canopy will be here. That's my well house on the left --
The birds are starting to come back. So far they're mostly Black-throated and Chipping Sparrows, but I did see a Verdin in one of the bushes, which was the first time I'd seen one here (but they are "residents" in the desert shrubbery). The deer have returned to the back yard, but where before they'd mainly used the water feature, they're now chowing down on the bird seed. I even saw one standing on its hind legs, smelling the seed on a high tray; I'm glad she didn't knock it over. And I added another 4-legged critter to my backyard visitor list --
I've had Gray Fox, Mule and Coues deer, a striped skunk (there are 4 species of skunk here) and now a coyote. He had a torn right ear, but besides that looked pretty sleek and healthy. And appreciative of the water. And more birds are coming in, including some, like the Verdin, that I rarely see here. I've only seen a Loggerhead Shrike once in my back yard, so was thrilled when one dropped on by --
) 
A Say's Phoebe is an official Faranuf Resident. He goes from front to back and does the most amazing aerial acrobatics, picking bugs out of the air. I think I mentioned in a previous post about building a Say's nest box, but my friend Helen gave me a hollow gourd that had been used as a nest previously, so I drilled a hole in it and screwed it to a post on my front porch --
I was concerned about the proximity of the front door to the gourd, but Helen said Says' get habituated to people, and there should be no problem with nesting. And I can use the blinds near the front door as, well, blinds to see any action. You can see the front porch in this photo of Faranuf --
So I'm safely ensconced back at Faranuf -- and it feels good. So I'll close this post with a view of Cave Creek, from the bridge on Portal Road just east of Portal's bustling "town center" --
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