by Cathy Burford, HER Certified – Yours From The Road
Five years ago Cathy Droz & I joined Sisters On The Fly, the amazing group of women who love vintage trailers, fly fishing, and most of all having fun! We bought a 1968 Little Dipper travel trailer from a family that had owned it for all of its 44 years, and began making the inside “girly” while working around the original components. The outside was another matter, but the hubs offered to make that cute as well, and with the help of his friend Bob they transformed our little gem into the adorable girl she is now! Themes are a really big deal to the sisters of SOTF, so Cathy Droz came up with the name and logo, combining 2 1960’s fly fishing flight attendants and a Grumman Goose airplane, and voilà “Arizona Flygirls” was born!
We signed up for a trip to Patagonia in southern Arizona with some of our sisters and caravanned down with our group of 5 trailers to Patagonia Lake State Park. The ride down in our Jeep Cherokee, armed with our walkie talkies was a breeze, and because we were travelling with a group of ladies we made stops at San Xavier del Bac and Tubac, AZ on the way. Lunch, shopping, mission tour, street vendors and meeting up with other sisters is a fantastic way to cruise from point A to Point B. We arrived at Patagonia Lake to join 35 other camping sisters, each with their own version of the ideal vintage trailer. We are far from the first travelers to visit this area, in 1539 Fray Marcos de Niza stopped by, and in 1690 Padre Eusebio Kino established a church near Sonoita Creek. Today the lake campground offers opportunities for kayaking, fishing, hiking, and most importantly birding. The area is known world-wide for its over 300 species of birds, drawing visitors from Canada and Europe. Every morning a beautiful symphony of birdsong greets us! The night sky defies description, as we are so far removed from big city lights that the Milky Way is displayed in all of its splendor. It is best viewed at 4am while making a run to the campground bathroom (which is absolutely spotless) because ours is an authentic trailer-no bathroom!
There was plenty of sisterly camaraderie, way too much food, coffee bars, sore cheeks from laughing, smartphone photo classes, trailer tours, interesting signature cocktails, and a trip to the town of Patagonia for eating and shopping! We were careful to follow the SOTF rules: no men, no kids, no pets, be nice. For more information: www.sistersonthefly.com
Yours From the Road,
Cathy & Cathy
About Yours From The Road
Yours From The Road documents the 110,000 mile motor home journey of staff writer Cathy Burford and her husband Bill. Come along as their motor home, affectionately referred to as the “Queen Mary,” casts off her lines and pushes away from the dock to explore the embarrassing wealth of natural beauty, amazing regional cuisine, and rich history of the land we all call home.
