Ghost Camping at the Triangle T

A bird chirping outside my window greeted me upon wakening this morning. I slept with all of the windows open to enjoy the cooling desert breezes overnight. Had a cup of tea then took Cali for a stroll among the cactus. Sat on the porch eating a leisurely breakfast then broke out my therabands and ankle weights and went through my hip rehab routines. Not many other campers to speculate as to what I was up to. The only ones nearby are the couple from Colorado in the big class A that are held up from leaving as they wait for a tire guy to come and either repair or replace a leaking tire.

Hip rehab at the Oasis

I got things pretty well packed up then sat out on the patio for a ten minute meditation. About seven minutes into it a friendly gentleman from Pennsylvania passed by and started up a long and enjoyable morning conversation. He and his wife come down every year and pass the winter in the warm desert environs. They drove down the Lexington I noticed over along the back boundary of the park. It is a lot like our old Lexi only it has the Ford drivetrain rather than the Chevy. They use it to drive down but have a permanent larger trailer on site. He took off to do some errands then Cali and I took a final walk to toss the trash and check out all of the beautiful flowering Palo Verde trees.

There we are in the distance

We pulled out at about eleven and backtracked to the date farm and put some overpriced gas in the RV. Well, overpriced for AZ, it was still almost a dollar a gallon less than I paid in California the day before. Long easy drive on a straight two lane highway. We pulled off into the brush a few times to walk the dog and make a pbj. Turned south onto interstate 10 towards Tucson at Casa Grande. Hit some traffic and unpleasant drivers going through Tucson but we were soon out the other side and closing in our destination for the night. I stopped at the Love’s gas station in Benson and filled the tank then drove the last few miles to the Triangle T guest ranch out in the boulders of southern AZ.

I had discovered the place while foraging around on the Internet yesterday and it looked a bit different than the average camping experience so I figured to give it a shot. I pulled in and it is a total ghost camp. There was a nice lady in the office who signed me in then sent me over to site #8 in the lee side of a giant boulder to help break the wind. I am the only one here. They have a dozen or so casitas that are their main bread and butter, but I didn’t detect signs of life in any of them either. There appears to be a few staff around but otherwise it’s a little spooky. This place was the spot that Cochise used to pass the winters back in the day. It was also the set for some old cowboy movies and in its glory days it hosted actors such as John Wayne, Glen Ford and Roy Rogers.

It’s definitely a bit past it’s prime and not quite what it looks like in the online brochures. The saloon only opens on weekends, so the steak dinner is out. They are known for horse riding but I don’t think my orthopedist would recommend galloping down the trails. But me, I’m camping so it’s all good. I got things set up then had a long face time with PJ and walked her around the camp showing her the layout. Then I hiked around the grounds having a look at things. I visited the labyrinth and walked around the maze looking to get a recharge from the spiritual vortex, but not sure if it really took hold.

From there, I checked out the swimming pool then hiked out behind the saloon to the remnants of what was once the set for the original Glen Ford version of 3:10 to Yuma. An old rustic building, some aging saddles and other wooden structures. A really beautiful backdrop of large boulder formations and slightly lusher desert with some trees and thicker undergrowth than I have been seeing. You can see why this is such a popular place to roam on horseback.

My little outing was a good workout for the hip and I returned to the RV and sat outside eating a salad then playing guitar as loud as you please to the open empty desert. Talked to PJ some more then balanced the books and filed the receipts. Did a little writing and organizing photos. It is seriously dark out here with no artificial lighting. Nice for sleeping.