From Van Horn, TX, we made our way toward Phoenix. Of course, we assumed that there would be many places to camp near Tucson, AZ on a Wednesday in February. But, we kind of forgot that winter is the big camping season in the southwest. So, we finally managed to find a campground just east of Tucson with an opening. It was called Molino Basin, and it was described online as a beautiful area at the foot of the Santa Catalina Mountains in the Coronado National Forest. That was quite true.
What it didn’t really make clear was that we had to drive up over part of the mountain range to get down into the basin. While we loved the saguaro cacti and beautiful views, Dave and I are both pretty big chickens when it comes to driving on curvy, steep mountain roads without railings–especially when the oncoming cars are speeding toward us with carefree abandon! But, a few gray hairs later, we made it over the mountain into the basin. And, it was well worth it.
It was a beautiful campground, surrounded by mountains, with nicely arranged campsites with just the right amount of privacy. We had lovely little scrub oak trees and two concrete picnic tables at our site. There were also flush bathrooms a short walk up the road.
It’s amazing how campers are eager to meet you and have a chat. We had a nice conversation with a camper at the next site. He camps fulltime–now with his new puppy, who he found lost and hungry at another campground. Lucky puppy…lucky camper!
Another camper we ran into told us that he had talked his family into letting him travel and camp alone for a week. And that was three weeks ago! He was hoping to talk them into yet another couple of weeks, since he was pretty sure they would never let him out of their sight again!
There were beautiful hiking trails. Unfortunately, we arrived pretty late and left pretty early. It is always a bummer to arrive at a great spot–and then have to pack up and leave the next morning. But, we know we’ll come back again someday when we can stay longer and really explore the trails.
