2013-1 Wintering in Tucson Arizona

2013-1

A New Year for Travels.

Desert Trails Rv Park

Campground:  Desert Trails RV Park, Tucson AZ.  $485 monthly Elect included.

I thought I should start the new year with a basic rap up of the life of a full time Rv-er.  Of course like so many full timers, I spend the winter months, hopefully, in a warmer climate.  The settling in for a few months provides a number of benefits to the full-timer.  It’s time to get back together with friends and it’s time to get all those doctors appointments out of the way.  For me that’s dermatology, eye exams and a yearly check up to get my prescriptions renewed.  I had skin cancer again, this time on my forehead.  The Dr. removed a large circle of cancer leaving me with a rather gulf ball size hole on top. Over the following weeks it has healed up rather nicely (stitches were not used) and during that time I have been going through a regiment of face peals.  Where I have to put on a lotion that attacks any pre-cancer cells.  It’s done a great job and I’ve completed the two sets of treatments. Of course at a cost of $750 per small container of cream, it should work well. Oh and my face has all new skin where the treatments were accomplished.  I haven’t gotten all the Dr.s bill back regarding the surgery and follow-ups yet but my insurance will cover most of that as well.

 Of course my truck must have overheard part of this conversation because one day it’s engine light came on requiring my taking it in for maintenance.  The nice part is that when I’m settled in for a few months, there’s plenty of time to get all those appointments taken care of so that I’ll be ready to start the new year with everything in tip top shape.  EGR problems and finally a warped air filter caused all the problems.  That cost another $750.  After three trips to the dealers repair facility, it’s now working fine.

Photo Club, Martha giving instructions

The fun part is getting together with friends for happy hour, dinners and outings to the flea market, movies or maybe Rv window shopping.  I’ve once again joined a few clubs here at Desert trails and have started one myself.  It’s the RV Travel Club where we discuss two states each week.  Sharing places to visit, campgrounds to stay at and sometimes roads to avoid.  I’m also active in the photography club and writers club.

The Writers Club, so many interesting stories

I’m trying to work out my itinerary for the coming year as well and hoping the RV Travel Club will give me some clues.  I’ve traveled a good portion of the country in my 8 years on the road, and yes I’m starting my 9th year.  So this year I’ve got it in my mind to try and stay in an area for a month at a time before moving on down the road.  A few places I’m thinking about are, Cody WY, Santa Fe NM, Visits with my sisters in Lower and Upper Michigan, Ashville NC and Pigeon Forge TN.

Tucson is in a valley surrounded by bare mountains on most sides.  Desert Trails RV Park is on the west side of town about 12 miles out in the desert.  For the first timer there are lots of places to tour and visit.  Aviation Museums, Old Tucson Movie Studios, The Triton Missile site, Copper mines and lots of small towns with Mexican and wild west flavors.  Tucson itself is a large sprawled out city with a University right in the center of town.

Usually the winters are mild, but this winter, we’re experiencing a weeks worth of hard freezes down to the 28 degree level.  That’s when we Rv-ers disconnect our water hoses after filling our holding tanks with fresh water.  This helps avoid frozen water lines since our RV basements and holding tanks are heated.  Today, after a hard overnight freeze, the sun is out and feels pretty good, though still chilly.

And even though I had my flu shot, I still got it.  Maybe not as severe as if I didn’t have the flu shot, but still 10 days of aches and pains and congestion.

Now it’s back to work getting ready for another Travel Club meeting. That involves some of the following chores:

Reviewing my own Blog for each state to be discussed.  I put the name of the state in the upper left     hand corner search box in my Blog and it gives me all the Blogs I’ve written on that State.

Next, I list a couple of Web sites that I think the group will find helpful.

Then I set up a couple of routes using Microsoft Street and Trips.  This way the group can see
Where we are on the map when discussing each state.

If time permits, I have a few Picasa photo albums ready for display on the video projector and I’m                  ready for this weeks RV travel Club.

I’ve got a little over a month and a half to go (March 15) before I once again head on out for the summer.  With a little planning and dreaming, the next adventure will begin before you know it.

Tucson Botanical Gardens