2016-2 Tucson Arizona, Wintering in the Desert

2016-2

Tucson Arizona

Life Off the road for a Winter Respite
or
How I spent my Winter Vacation

Desert Trails, outside of Tucson AZ

Campground:  Desert Trails.  Monthly rate:  $510 full hookups including 30 amp elect.  Exceptional number of winter clubs, hiking groups and entertainment throughout each week.

Well here I'm in year 11 of my full-timing Rv adventure.  I’m wintering in Tucson for my 6th year.  I thought I’d fill you all in with some of the activities that I’ve been able to be a part of over the winter months.  We did have a month or more of really cold weather, with many evenings down into the freezing temperatures and very little warm up during the days.  Even with those cold temperatures, I’ve been able to get out most days for my walks in the desert.  A bit more bundled up than usual, but with the sun shining, they were all refreshing walks.  With the sun shining we remained a pretty happy bunch of “snow-bird”.

saguaro cactus along hiking trails

a perimeter road, bordering the walking trails 

Tucson has a wonderful old section of town right next to all the usual skyscrapers and I’ve enjoyed a few outing down there.   One week it was to see some local artists and visit the art museum downtown, along with a stop at a local outdoor café/bar the La Cocina Cantina with live music.

Tucson Art Museum

Cowboys, comics and westerns

good friends, Kathy and Randy

Live Music

La Cocina Cantina

 Another time it was a tour of the old Barrio district with the photography group.  Our assignment was to take pictures of doors and windows of the many new and historic adobe buildings.  Another time it was a special evening out with my good friend Laurel (from Canada).  We enjoyed dinner at a local restaurant and later went to the Fox Theatre where we saw Travis Tritt in concert.  A great performance with many personal stories of his growing up and befriending the likes of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings.  Travis has a powerful voice and the Fox Theatre really showed it off well.

new homes infill land downtown

wall detail

wall detail, like a painting

doors

alley

one of our photographers, on the go

I’ve already posted two special reports on a trip to Mt Lemmon and one to Tombstone with friends, both a real treat this winter.

I’ve led a Travel Group Club twice a month which has gone fairly well.  Lots of good input from those attending.  This past week we had a small group, probably due to the fact that it’s hard to remember the dates the club meets, twice a month instead of weekly.  Smaller excursions like the one to Green Valley (it’s still in the desert and not really all that green) south of Tucson with my good neighbors Christine and Tom and our friend Ruth-Ann where our goal was to hit a few thrift shops.  The big one being the White Elephant along with a no-kill pet shelter that has a thrift store.  That’s where Tom and Chris got their new cat.

Tom, Ruth-Ann and Christine, lunch and thrift store hunting

even the cactus are all in a row

The Attic Thrift Store

The White Elephant

Occasional domino game nights are always fun, especially since I don’t get many Tv stations where my rig is currently parked.  Most of the over-the-air Tv stations are blocked by a couple of mountains sitting between the Rv park and Tucson proper.

Tucson is noted for the yearly Gem and Mineral Show which takes place throughout downtown Tucson.  Big tents are set up everywhere, including special displays in the Tucson Convention Center.  Every gem and mineral, petrified fish in stones, dinosaur bones including complete dinosaurs are on exhibit and all for sale.  That is if you have three million or more for some of the more spectacular ones.  And we get to see it all on display.  If your into making jewelry, you can find some real bargains on row after row of beads.

fossils, many over 150 million years old

Copper from my hometown area, The Copper Country U.P. Michigan

only one of the many tents throughout town

beads, beads, and more beads

great displays

whole dinosaurs 

fossilized palm fronds

a rare horse from the beginning of the evolutionary scale

other tents have more gems and minerals, but I liked exploring this one

I finally made it up to Sentinel Hill also called “A” mountain for a great view of the city and surrounding valley.  Tucson is built in an ancient volcanic caldera and is surrounded by the remaining mountains.  As I’m writing this, it’s February 12th and spring has suddenly arrived early in Tucson.  We’ve had two days of record breaking heat in the 85-87 degree range and it appears it will remain in the 80’s for the next couple of weeks as the rest of the country is enveloped in a deep freeze.

great views from Sentinel Peak 

gnarly cactus 

Tucson

the long tent is where I went to the see some of the Gem and Mineral show

the Big A

foothills to Sentinel Peak

I’ve even seen spring wild flowers blooming in the desert already, almost a month early for that to happen.


more photos on my PICASA photos

2016-1 1st Report of the New Year... A day Trip

every day trip includes a meal

2016-1

A Roving Report
Starting off the New Year right.

day trip from Tucson to Tombstone AZ

Welcome back for another year of traveling with me along the highways and by-ways of this large country.  This report starts on New Years Eve day, getting a head start on 2016.  My good friends Kathy and Randy have there grandson, Lane, in town for a few days and I was invited on one of their day trips touring Lane around parts of Arizona.

The day started out early for me, as I needed to run into town and go to one of those Urgent Care Clinics for some medication to take care of a infected eye, all red and hurting like all heck.  Thank goodness for good health coverage.  I was back at Desert Trails with minutes to spare before we were to head on our on your day trip.

Tombstone Arizona

Lane, Randy and the Sheriff

We piled into Randy’s newest truck, it’s a beauty, and headed down to Tombstone.  Yes the real Tombstone where Morgan and Wyatt Earp had their shootouts and gunfights. Along with Doc Holiday and the gang.... But before we got there, we stopped by the Holy Trinity Monastery south of Benson.  A small chapel sits on the property along with a gift shop, pecan farm, ponds and a small lake.  Kathy had to ask about the numerous ponds we had seen in the area.  Come to find out the area was once a river.  After the river dried up, the settlers in the area discovered if they just dug a hole in the ground, it would fill up with water via artesian wells.  Quite a surprise in what is considered desert country.

Driving south we finally arrive at Tombstone.  It’s pretty much a tourist trap built around the original town labeled, “the town to tough to die”.  There are a few worthwhile as well as hokey “museums” for touring.  Each requiring a few dollars entry fee.  Including the original location of the OK Corral.  Even the daily shoot out performances now charge to see the action.  Barkers, that’s a person who hollers out the coming attractions, stand at each street corner in their western or mining outfits enticing the tourist to come see a great show.  And numerous stage coach rides are available for a ride around Tombstone, providing a nice way to learn about this historic western town.  

the courthouse, now a St Museum

great way to have a tour and learn about Tombstone

Our group concentrated on shopping for the perfect cowboy hat, boots, buckles and belts and lunch at one of the busy restaurants in town.  One of the numerous shops in town sold everything for the perfect mustache. That's it.  Nothing else. Really!  From hand made fake mustaches, mainly for the kids, to the custom waxes to keep that perfect stash looking good.  How on earth can one make a living selling cheap fake mustaches and accessories?

One of the 'characters" in Tombstone

ready for a shoot out

shopping anyone?

western ware in each shop

lots of "museum" tours

After a good lunch and much walking around town, we headed out on our circle tour back to Tucson. But before getting back we had to stop at one more place that Kathy and Randy knew about.  Heading west on hwy 82 we went through the tiny town of Sonoita with a quick stop for a coffee pick-me-up.  I had a caramel latté.  And then it was onto hwy 83 heading north and the Empire Ranch.  It’s a part of the much larger Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (LCNCA) which is maintained by the Bureau of Land Management, BLM.  It’s being restored back to the natural grass lands that once covered the entire area.

the main ranch house, expanded over many years

The Empire Ranch is a working ranch though the main buildings are no longer occupied and are open to the public for self tours and learning about the history of the ranch.  I was particularly interested in the free dry camping area as I am planning on making it my first stop on my spring/summer adventures in 2016.

once covered in canvas to keep the sod from falling down.
Lane and Kathy looking up....

What a great day trip, exploring parts of the old west, wild gun fights and history, learning about the changing landscape and efforts to restore parts of it when possible. Now that’s how I was able to start off the New Year just right.  Thanks Kathy and Randy for  a great day of exploring and discovery.

scenery out the window of the truck on our return trip

more photos on PICASA