Almost Done

Wow, it's been a whirlwind of activity around Benson since I last posted! No, I mean literally! The temps are on the rise, and the wind still blows from the south every afternoon, and we've found that site 250 at CTRV Resort is located in a vortex of some kind because every morning about "coffee on the patio" time, a dust devil comes through, blowing chairs and awnings into the next county. Our patio mat has been relocated several times, once with Sasha rolled up in it! She was not at all happy about that.

As with most of the rest of the world, we've been limiting contact with others this last month. We have been taking some evening walks that have resulted in some good pictures.

As time and ambition have allowed, we've taken a few day trips to visit some out of the way locations in southern Arizona. One such trip took us to Parker Lake, south of Sonoita and not too far from Patagonia. You know where that is....

The lake was small, but unexpected in the arid desert and the view along the road was interesting.

It's difficult to see, but this valley is a beehive of activity. There is a small river running through it with ranches and roads going everywhere, it seems. We stopped at this wide spot to take a picture and ended up having lunch and spending a bit of time. Sasha was much intrigued by the rustling in the bushes!

Back on Arizona Highway 82, we happened onto an unexpected point of interest:

Near the site of an 1858 ranch established by Johnny Ward, a set of stairs led to what appeared to be a hole in the mountain.

And indeed it was. Begun by the Telles family in 1941 based on a vow to God for the safety of their son in war. This has become a shrine to loved ones of all families. Not wanting to disturb the site, we only looked through the gate to see statues, pictures, and candles placed in honor of family members.

Another day trip took us to the western section of Saguaro National Park. A loop road took us through several "forests" of Saguaro Cactus.

Growing to over 40 feet tall, the Saguaro is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, Mexico, and southeastern California. The Saguaro blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona.

The cactus grows very slowly, requiring 10 years for it to reach an inch tall, but by 70 years old, a Saguaro can reach 6 and a half feet tall and will finally start to produce their first flowers. By 95, the cactus can reach a height of 16 feet and may start to produce its first arm. The oldest known Saguaro cactus was named "Old Granddaddy" and was about 300 years old when it started to die in the 1990's. It was over 40 feet tall and had 52 arms! Interestingly, the vertical pleats on the cactus allow it to expand during times of rain so as to store all available moisture.

Along the way through the park, we checked out other varieties of cactus that are either in bloom or thinking about blooming....

We've decided to hitch up our drawers and leave Arizona. Our home in California is calling to us, and having spent 3 months here, we have a terrible case of "hitch itch" and need to get moving. The worldwide pandemic has tossed everyones plans this year, and we're no exception. We have plans to swing through the western US during the summer, but will probably cancel a majority of that. So, like so many, we roll the dice and make the best of it.

Stay safe and be well, ya'll!

SIP Continues

The Benson routine hasn't changed much since I last posted. Stay home. Stay away from people. Wear masks and gloves. Watch too much tv. Eat too much. Worry about the fam. Worry about the people in New York, New Jersey, New Orleans, Detroit......I'm gonna have to quit watching the news.

On a brighter note, the wind has picked up in southeastern Arizona; it's blowing about 30 mph today with gusts to 40. The temp is in the high 70's. Maybe that will blow all those little bugs away! You know....Look on the bright side! I've been outside once today, to take the Princess on a walk. Sasha has been doing the forth and back to the dog park so often that I believe I could delete the leash and she would find her way! She does love to have her "ball time" in the morning and afternoon.

The day after tomorrow is my Mom's 100th birthday! The world health situation has put a bit of a damper on the party, but we believe we've found a way to do a family video chat. That should be fun! Mom received a congratulatory letter from the White House, so that, along with a few gifts and some family time will hopefully be ok. Mom's a trooper, so she understands the situation.

While on a walk, we saw a bloomin' cactus with a mother Morning Dove firmly sitting on her nest! She has a perfect spot, surrounded by sharp protection!

And, from our daughter in NorCal, a picture of a beautiful daffodil! Spring has sprung!

Finally, along with hundreds of thousands of our closest friends and neighbors, here we sit, feeling a little helpless as our nurses, doctors, and First Responders do battle in the hospitals. We can't forget the truck drivers, grocery store clerks, and farm workers who continue to supply our food. This is getting a little ridiculous, but for all that we think we are being disturbed, there are millions who have it worse. Be thankful and pray for them.

Hunker Down!

It's almost the end of March, and we find ourselves still in Benson, Arizona. Arizona has declared a Shelter in Place mandate, so we're making the best of a sad situation by doing just that: staying inside as much as possible. The rv park office has asked that we not enter the office and to transact any business over the phone. The onsite restaurant is only doing "to-go" meals, but will deliver upon request. That's pretty cool!

We have friends in Tucson and at another park here in Benson that we originally planned to spend most of the month visiting, but that routine has been severely modified. We clean ourselves, our clothes, shoes, and the like and get directly into the car and drive to their rv. They are doing the same and we are limiting outside exposure at the grocery store or gas station. Every rv'er we've seen has been very careful to maintain social distancing, so we feel as secure here as possible. In fact, we've signed up to stay through April, or until some sort of abatement is seen on the COVID-19 front. The rv park will remain open, and we are pretty much in the middle of the desert, so there you go.

We partnered with our Benson friends to safari into Tucson for supplies. Several of us have the dreaded "underlying conditions", so the healthy members of the group venture into stores with community lists and grab what they can. The stock on grocery store shelves seems to be adequate, but some supplies (read toilet paper) sell out as fast as they are stocked. We got up at five one morning to get to Costco at seven and discovered a line that wouldn't even be allowed into the store until nine. We left. This is ridiculous!

While almost every "nonessential" store is closed, we still can get a haircut and a cup of coffee. The definition of "essential" seems to be somewhat loosely drawn, so we've been known to stop at a restaurant for lunch, take it out, and eat in the car while watching people carrying televisions out of Best Buy. Perhaps they are limiting access, but we didn't see it.

There are till some interesting things to see in southern Arizona. One day we drove south about 25 miles to Tombstone and visited the old courthouse. We were able to see the exhibits without a great deal of trouble because we were two of only three people in the building! Tombstone was one of the last boomtowns of the American frontier with the discovery of somewhere between 40 and 85 million dollars of silver in the mid 1880's. Best known for the Gunfight at the OK Corral, Tombstone had a bowling alley, four churches, a school, two banks, three newspapers and an ice cream parlor. There were also 110 saloons and 14 gambling halls! When silver mines penetrated the water table, expensive and specialized pumps were installed and mining continued until a fire destroyed the Grand Central pumping station in 1886, and it was unprofitable to rebuild the costly pumps. Today, tourism keeps the town and it's 1,500 residents alive. Well, maybe not now....

The courthouse was built when Tombstone became the county seat of Cochise County in 1881. After the Lucky Cuss mine hit it big, lots were laid out for a new town and sold for $5 apiece. In 1880, the original Tombstone Mine (so named because the prospector who laid claim to it was trying to keep it a secret, and told anyone who asked where he had found his silver-ore rocks, said "the only rock you'll find out here is your Tombstone"), had been sold to the Tombstone Mining and Milling Company which owned the nearby Tough Nut Mine and was working a vein of silver ore worth $22,000 a ton. Life was good, the Grand Hotel was opened with oil paintings and carpets imported from Brussels. Kelly's Wine House featured 26 varieties of wine and a beer imported from Colorado named "Coors". Cowboys and drifters were smuggling cattle, whiskey, and cigars across the mexican border, and while half the mines were rich, the other half went bust, putting a strain on the population of the city. The famous Gunfight was the result of a personal, family, and political feud between the wealthy, northern, democratic businessmen and the largely republican  Confederate sympathizers that made up the "blue collar" folks. The Earps were hired to put a stop to the lawlessness, but soon ran afoul of the McLaury and Clanton families. On October 26, 1881, a gunfight broke out on a vacant lot owned by photographer C.S. Fly, near the OK Corral, and resulted in the deaths of two McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton. After Morgan Earp was killed while playing billiards and Virgil Earp was seriously wounded, the Earp family left Tombstone, and a full-time sheriff was elected. John Slaughter served two terms until the evil rum began to take a toll and he began to associate with outlaws.

The mines around Tombstone boomed, but the most productive were south of town. The Goodenough, Toughnut, Contention, Grand Central, Lucky Cuss, Emerald and Silver Thread mines all needed water to process ore, leading to a pipeline being built from the San Pedro River nine miles away to supplied the mines. The pipeline continues to be the only source of water for the town of Tombstone. That water is used to irrigate what Guinness has named the world's larges rose bush. Planted on the corner of 4th and Toughnut in 1885, the Lady Banksia rose now coveres more than 8,000 sq ft and has a 12 foot circumference trunk!

The Tombstone Museum has many items from the towns colorful past, including this piano used to entertain the guests at the Grand Hotel.

In the backyard of the courthouse, a replica of the gallows bears testament to the swift justice that was common in the day.

The coroner's report on the death of John Heith is interesting....

We also managed a day trip to the old mining town of Bisbee, Arizona. This copper, gold, and silver mining town was established in 1880 and named for one of the financial backers of the adjacent Copper Queen Mine, Judge DeWitt Bisbee. In 1929, the county seat was moved from Tombstone to Bisbee, where it remains. Copper mining was the biggest thing in Bisbee until the '70's, when the mines became unprofitable. An influx of artists in the 1990's have led to the renovation and restoration of many old houses. Coffee shops, art studios, and live theatre productions have brought Bisbee property values to the highest in southeastern Arizona cities.

There weren't a lot of people on the streets of Bisbee, and the shops were all shuttered.

But the town is protected by night time spirits!

On our return to Benson, we caught a great late afternoon shot of the Dragoon Mountains!

So here we sit, broken-hearted.....

But we have friends and resources here, and the wifi network is pretty good! Unfortunately, the wind blows all the time (today it is gusting to 35!), but we'll manage, and thank our lucky stars that we're here! So many others are not so lucky.

Say a prayer for our Doctors, Nurses, and First-Responders, OK?

Standin' on the Corner in....Benson, Arizona

Benson is a small town in Cochise County, Arizona, with a population of about 5200 hardy souls. During the great pioneering migration west, it was the site of the San Pedro station of the Butterfield Overland Mail and a wagon depot. The Southern Emigrant Trail passed through this area, so it was a natural choice for the San Pedro River crossing of the Southern Pacific Railroad. This led to commercial traffic between the mines of Fairbank, Tombstone, and Contention City. Voila...a town named after Judge William Benson, a friend of Charles Crocker, the president of the railroad.

As it is only forty-five miles southeast of Tucson, the city of Benson has not grown much over the years, but has maintained stable largely due to the large influx of snowbirds in the winter. A small selection of restaurants, one good grocery store, and a small Walmart pretty much take care of the attractions. Just outside of town, the 40,000 acre Jay Six cattle ranch has been operating for a hundred years. The Kennedy brothers Joe and Jack were went to work on the ranch in 1936 so that Jack could recover from a recent illness in the dry desert heat. It is reported that they were "worked very hard".

We're staying at CTRV Resort just west of Benson. This very nice park was known as Cochise Terrace RV for many years, but has recently begun to sell rv sites and has changed the name to reflect incorporation protocols. It's a nice park, and our site is number 250.

This picture was taken the day after our arrival, when the sky was clear, the temperature warm and the wind blowing about 30 miles per hour! Wind is a constant here, and the downside to this park is it's location on a hill, so wind is very much park of life here! One major upside here is the availability of high-speed internet. For about $25 a month, it's a real bargain since the free wifi and cell reception is marginal at best.

In the week we've been in Benson, the weather has been the most common subject of conversation. It has been windy and cold. It has been windy and hot. Today it is windy and raining. Some of our anticipated day trips to Tombstone, Bisbee, and Douglas have been put on hold because of the weather, but we continue to enjoy the beautiful mountains of Southern Arizona.

As I write this on Sunday, the 8th, we are expecting about 3/4" of rain. It's pretty well socked in by a storm coming off the Gulf of California. But, GOOD NEWS!....No wind! There's hope for some good weather!

Tucson Two Step

Since our last post, we've spent most of our time eating...or so it seems! What with lunches at the Silver Saddle Steakhouse with Ted and Phyllis, or at the Yard House with Bill and Diane, or El Charro for mexican food with Dave and Sue, or....well, you get the idea.

A variety of weather conditions has prompted us to call the most well regarded rv mobile technician in Tucson, who goes only by "Cameron". Anyone who has been in the southern Arizona rv scene knows Cameron and his wife Rachael. They work together, with Cameron regaling the customer with stories and ..... opinions.... while Rachael does the work! Well it works for them....for some 19 years, anyway. We had developed some water leaks in the roof near an air conditioning unit, so Cameron and Rachael came to the site to reseal the roof and check the mounting of the ac unit. They are reasonable, do good work, and are on time....what more could you want?

Last Saturday evening, we were fortunate to attend a performance at the Gaslight Theater. The melodrama was titled "Showdown in Tucson", and was, as we have found out in the past, a hilarious spoof of old-time westerns! Beginning in 1977, the Gaslight has produced hundreds of performances, along with one-off musical performances by national and local musicians. Generally, the Sons of the Pioneers perform for a day or two each season, reprising the Roy Rogers and Tom Mix era of western music. Can you say "Tumblin' Tumbleweed"?

The performance was sold out, as usual, and a good time was had by all. It's not a dinner theater, but drinks and snacks are available. Try it if you're ever in Tucson! Best $26 show in town!

Many of the performers have been with the Gaslight for years, some going back to the second production in 1978! The heart and soul of the show, however, is Linda Ackermann, the music director and lead pianist. She is a native Tucsonian and has been with the Gaslight since 1996. With a Masters degree in music from the University of Arizona, she combines duties at the Gaslight with Unity of Tucson, a church in Catalina Foothills, and can this woman play the piano! She knows exactly how to coax drama, humor, and pure silliness from her rinky dink piano! And then, during intermission, she plays several tunes and sings Cielito Lindo. A transition into one of the fastest played tunes we've ever heard left us amazed!

She is supported by her son Adam on drums and Derek Norman on bass. What a great crew!

On Sunday we went to Freedom RV here in Tucson for the 19th annual BBQ cookout. Along with looking at some very nice rvs, we had an absolutely wonderful, free, TriTip lunch! Good stuff, and we found our next motorhome....to be delivered in 2045....

For some strange reason, we got a hankering for a Sonoran Dog this morning, and set out to find one. For those of you who don't know, a Sonoran Dog is a hot dog, sometimes wrapped in bacon, sometimes with a bacon wrapped grilled chili pepper on the side, smothered in beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and drizzled with mayo. The bun is special, being a very sweet bun that contrasts well with the dog condiments. Listen to me talking about a hot dog.....yeah...."overtones of chocolate, leaving a hint of fruit on the palate....". Well, it was a great dog, except....

The Sonoran Dog is a Tucson trademark, but do you think we could find one today? Nope. Twenty five miles north to a closed food truck, then ten miles east to a street cart that was closed. Then fifteen miles south to a restaurant at a nonexistent highway intersection, then north again to...finally...
El Sinaloense Hog Dog Cart.

The atmosphere of the "restaurant" wasn't anything to write home about, but the young man cooking on the gas grill was very friendly!

Actually, as you can see, Donna tried everything she could think of to get him to smile...but he wouldn't turn around!

In any case, the dogs were great, and we had to indulge in a couple apiece!

Feel free to rotate your computer....since I didn't do the edit like I should have.

We're in Tucson for another week (yes, with three lunch dates already on the calendar), then we'll leave on Sunday for Benson, AZ, a little farther south and a little smaller town.

We'll be back!

Tucson, Arizona, February 2020

We've been at Mission View RV Park just a bit south of Tucson for two weeks.  While most of our time has been spent taking life easy, we have also been doing a lot of the thing that RV'ers so best: eating good food with good friends! Their are no end of good restaurants in Tucson, in fact, it's known as the city with 100 miles of Mexican restaurants. We've been to El Charro, Little Mexico, and  The Yard House, which is a combo Mexican and American restaurant. Good stuff all around! And we still have two weeks to go...

The weather has been crummy the last few weeks, with the high temp for a few days in the low 40's and the nighttime low in the low 20's. Wow! This is Arizona? During those cold days, we stayed close to home and did some of those chores we've postponing....a thorough cleaning and some minor repairs. The weather is beginning to warm this second week of the month, so we have hopes to get out and enjoy this area.

One of the first excursions we made was south to the little town of Tubac. This is an artsy, fartsy little burg that hosts the Tubac Art Festival every year in February.

Every year for three days, thousands of visitors arrive in Tubac, which usually has a population of a few hundred!

Right off the bat, we spotted some interesting yard art. I see a project in the future...

We've visited the Tubac Festival for several years, but have not noticed some of the art that is placed around the town. Maybe these are new....

We came away from Tubac with only one souvenir!

And a great Arizona picture!

After a week with Minnesota friends Dave and Sue, Michigan friends Bill and Diane, and Tucson friends Ted and Phyllis, we drove to Oro Valley for an annual charity car show at the Oro Valley Marketplace. It was a perfect way to raise money as far as this old gearhead is concerned!

When we arrived, we knew it was going to be fun!

This five seven was the first car we encountered. It is not only a number match restore, it has the most awesome paint job I've ever seen! The owner told us that 27 coats of lacquer paint with hand sanding in between each coat were applied. He wouldn't tell us how much that cost!

An early '60's Corvette with a poster of the original invoice gave us a bit of perspective! Check out the prices! And the whole car sold for less than $6000!

Big engines were the thing today, along with an unusual emblem.

Throw in a genuine Shelby Cobra and a motorcycle, and you have a great sight!

I'm particularly fond of the famous triple Chevys and a clean five six demanded a photo.

1940 Fords were well represented, and we drooled over several, including this one that has an unusual (at least to me) side window treatment: a vent window and a power window without a frame between!

Right next door, another '40 vied for attention:

Along with the five window Chevy pickups and the fully electric drive side by sides (yeah, that's right), we found more '40s....

This pickup was immaculately prepared! From the paint to the engine, it was pristine! And yes, another '40 Ford...

We tried to get away from the Fords by concentrating on this 1968 Pontiac GTO with 463,800 miles on the odometer!

And a couple of genuine California HiBoys!

A 1933 Ford 5 Window Coupe was one of the more unusual exhibits. The suicide doors are cool!

However, we soon found a "real" 1940 Ford pickup! Right off the Iowa farm, dents and all!

As we headed toward the exit, we found ourselves gazing with fond memories at a nice, clean 1955 Chevy Bel Air with a personalized engine!

The last exhibit was this awesome car. Can you believe the detail?

The wood strips in the bed are highly polished and lacquered and imported from Brazil. What a truck!

Ok....I know you want one more Chevy picture....

Under the hood of a '57 Chevy Bel Air:

Enough with the show cars, already! I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!