Time to Harvest Host! Part 2

Did you read Part 1 of our Southern AZ Wine Country Harvest Host adventure?  You should probably do that, if you haven't already.  

One of the socially distanced seating options

at Birds & Barrels' tasting room.

Decent view, that.

In the last blog, we'd packed up Arlene and the rest of the rig and pulled out of our home for Friday night, Sonoita Vineyards in Sonoita, Arizona.  Although we didn't yet need to empty our waste tanks, we wanted to put a bit more water in our fresh tank (we think we didn't fill it up completely at our stop the day before); because this is Arizona, we passed several RV parks and whatnot on the smaller, local roads between Sonoita and Willcox, and we stopped at Quail Ridge in Huachuca City.  Since we weren't residents of the park, we paid a small fee to top off our tank (the office was closed due to COVID, so I heaved some cash into their mail drop slot and figured that would even out any karmic imbalances), and we were back on the road before too long.  We drove through Tombstone on our way from the 80 to Gleeson Road (the back way to Willcox), and as we waved at the OK Corral, we also enjoyed some lunch in the truck (wraps made up of our leftover charcuterie from the night before, chips, cookies, and apples).

Picture from the internets

We pulled into the parking lot at Birds & Barrels just after 1pm, and Chad, one of the founders of the winery (who also lives on site), met us outside; he let us know to park anywhere on the 10 acres of land "between the vines and the tiny house" and head back to the barn when we were ready for a tasting.  Chris drove around a bit, ensuring Arlene was pointed in the best direction possible (front-row view of a vineyard, anyone?) while I gave him important notes via walkie talkie including, "OMG!  They have turkeys here!  Listen!" (cue turkeys, gobbling frantically).  We settled the rig, changed out of our sweaters and into short-sleeved shirts (it made it up into the low 70s this day), and moseyed to the barn for some wine.

When we visited Willcox for our 2019 anniversary trip, Birds & Barrels was one of our favorite spots, and this time, there was no change.  They have this wonderful barn (formerly owned by someone who had equestrian-focused dreams) where they run tastings, and Chad and Monica live upstairs; they also have a very, very friendly barn cat, as you can see below:

Indeed!
I know I am prone to grabbing whatever feline

is around, and plonking him/her onto my lap,

but I assure you that this one hopped up all on his own.

Like in Sonoita, everyone was being very good to socially distance; several seating areas were set up far away from one another, and masks were being worn when folks weren't actively drinking wine.  After finishing our tasting at B&B, we tasted at nearby Zarpara Winery, and the setup was very much the same - outside only tastings, groups separated by a generous distance, masks and sanitizer everywhere.  Zarpara, B&B, and several other wineries are located on what's known as the Willcox Bench (near the playa), and while we visited the tasting rooms in downtown Willcox when we were here last, we passed on those options this time; most of those tasting rooms didn't have exterior seating options, and sitting inside with a bunch of folks imbibing didn't seem like the best bet right now.

The wine press at B&B

After finishing up at Zarpara, we wanted to visit one more spot, and thanks to Google Maps, we saw that a newer option, Barrelhead Farms, wasn't far away.  We headed over and parked, a bit confused when all of the signage we saw read "Kief-Joshua" instead; as it turns out, winemaker Kief Manning still owns the property in Willcox, but renamed this tasting room after selling off the K-J acreage in Sonoita in 2019 (remember the Twisted Union tasting room we hit up in Part 1, which I mentioned visiting in Sonoita several years ago, under the name of another winery?  Yeah, that was his).  We picked up a few interesting options and closed out our tastings for the day, ready to head back to Arlene and sit around for the rest of the evening.  

Yes, technically, this is a bottle from Sonoita Vineyards,

but it was already open, so we drank it here instead.

Like the night before, we watched the sun set and enjoyed the peace and quiet (relative, what with the turkeys and tractors and whatnot) until the cold and wind drove us back inside the camper.

We actually had some neighbors this night - 

they were nice and quiet,

and I appreciate how their given mode of transport

matched the tones of the sunset.

As always, selfie skills are on fleek

That's the tasting barn with Chad and Monica's house on top

Once we headed inside, we played a few games of Uno and Rummikub, and then made dinner; for this meal, we had salad and ravioli with pesto sauce.  Since we normally grill outside the rig, this was actually our first time cooking using the inside setup, which is just a two-burner stove.  We didn't catch anything on fire, so I consider it a roaring success!

After dinner, we popped outside into the cold one last time for the evening, just to see how the stars were looking:

Our friendly vineyard cat came back to visit us;

I tried to bring him inside for the night,

but someone lame said no.

Stars above the camper door - 

I see Orion!

We'd grown tired of playing card games, so we attempted to see if our cell phone signal would allow us to stream some television on the laptop, and it worked pretty well!  After three episodes of Schitt'$ Creek, it was time to hit the hay.

After a moderately restful night (thanks, stupid CO alarm), we woke up around 7ish and started our normal "coffee and chai" routine.  We made another round of yogurt parfaits for breakfast, cleaned things up, and waved goodbye to B&B around 9am.  

Sunday morning in the vineyards

"Hi, neighbors!"

With our waste tanks now getting close to full, it was time to stop and empty them, which we did at the TA Travel Center in Willcox, right off the 10.  Like our experience at the Pilot station a few days prior, the process was quick and easy, and the folks there were helpful and efficient.  We stopped one more time on the way home, in Picacho, for a bathroom/eat lunch in the truck break:

Arlene with Picacho Peak

Noms, leftover pasta salad!

It was an easy drive the rest of the way home, and we made it back around 2pm.  Per our norm, we emptied the camper out and started on the massive loads of laundry even a short trip seems to create.  The next morning, since we both had Monday off (MLK, Jr. Day), we ate a leisurely breakfast, finished cleaning out Arlene and setting her up for storage, and then on the way home from east Mesa, we picked up these maniacs.  We were all happy to have the pack back together!

They party hard at doggie daycare.

Later!

Amy