Officially, The Longest….Part II

We stayed near home after our long trip to Anthem on Wednesday, doing some errands including buying a new printer for the computer system and having lunch at Tony's New York Deli. Yum for the subs……

However, not having learned from our last day trip, we embarked on another one today, Friday. On one of our previous trips to the Tucson area, we visited the copper mining community of Bisbee, AZ.  Established in the late 1880's as a gold, silver and mineral mining town, it boasted 20,000 residents in the 1920's and was the largest city between St Louis and San Francisco. In 1917, Phelps Dodge introduced open pit mining, which extended the life of the mines and the city until the 1970's when the mine was closed as unprofitable. A number of shaft mines still exist in the area, but the large open pit mine is the chief example of the mining industry in town.

But, before that…..

This morning, we dropped Sasha off at Central Pet for a day of play and socialization.

The facility is large, segregated by size, and constantly monitored. When we picked her up after some nine hours of play, she was very happy to see us! We were given a newcomer gift that included treats, a paw print, and a picture of Sasha and friends.

After going through the same routine as we used to do when we left the kids with a babysitter, we managed to take off on an adult day trip!

We drove east on I10 to Benson, then turned south. Through St David and Tombstone, we landed in Bisbee 96 miles later. Our last visit to Bisbee resulted in several copper art pieces that we can no longer keep in the motorhome, and our objective this time was to find some small pieces to hang on a wall somewhere. No luck. The gallery we remembered was not to be found, so we walked around town for awhile.

Along the highway leading into town, we noticed a mineshaft with the letters "Copper Prince" on the front. Even though it was sealed to prevent entry, we managed to get a photo of the shaft and the interesting sign.

Many of the original building and mine equipment still dot the hillsides.

Today, Bisbee is a quaint artsy/craftsy town with memories tucked into every corner.

A growling stomach resulted in a stop at the Copper Queen Cafe for lunch. The Copper Queen Hotel was opened in 1902 with seventy-three rooms. Eventually, every third room was converted into a bathroom, leaving the hotel with the forty-eight rooms it has today.

A warm day with very little breeze got us out onto the patio!

On our way south toward Douglas, AZ, we stopped for another peek at the huge open pit copper mine. All of the equipment is still onsite, but stout chain link fences surround the property.

Twenty five or so miles south of Bisbee, along the Mexican border, lies the small town of Douglas, AZ

We were told to visit the Gadsden Hotel in Douglas, but a singularly unimpressive exterior caused us to drive right on by. This has turned out to be a bad move, since the 160 room hotel, originally opened in 1907 has a massive lobby that contains an original Tiffany & Co mural that spans 42 feet across one wall of the mezzanine. Stained glass skylights run the full length of the lobby. Room 333 is said to be haunted, and has been featured on several "ghost" tv shows. Notably, Thornton Wilder and Eleanor Roosevelt have been guests.

Back to Bisbee to catch the road to Sierra Vista got us to Huachaca City, Whetstone, and Sonoita.

Our next stop was in Patagonia (love the clothes), Arizona.

Patagonia's claim to fame is its history as a supply point for area farmers and ranchers. Now, a population of 913 include retirees and artists supporting a tourist destination. Known for its Nature Conservancy areas, Patagonia is home to an effort to save seeds of local plants.

From Patagonia we headed southwest to Nogales, then north to Tumacacori, Tubac, and back to Tucson. A total of 10 hours away from "the kid", 16 towns, and 343 miles later qualify todays trip as the new, official, longest day trip we can remember!

We picked up Sasha at 6:30 pm, and she has been asleep in her bed or on the floor ever since! She had a busy day! We hope to get her back to doggie daycare again, if only for the socialization aspect. She enjoys her buddies!

Officially, the Longest…..

After a couple of hour trip to Saguaro National Park West (which is even more densely populated with Saguaro cactus than the eastern section), we embarked on a day trip to Anthem, AZ on Wednesday. Now you gotta understand that Anthem is about 34 miles north of Phoeniz, and 149 miles north of us here in Tucson. Throw in a few miles driving around Anthem and you have the Official Longest Daytrip in recent memory. Three hundred and twelve miles and ten hours later, we were home.

Anthem is a Del Webb community, and as such is an upscale, active area of some 30,000 residents. The median age is 35, so it's not just gray-hairs living here. It's close enough to Phoenix to commute, but far enough away to avoid the unpleasant aspects of a metropolitan city (crime, traffic, etc). Anthem also lays claim to an unusual Veterans Memorial.

We were first told about this memorial by BFF's and just had to see it for ourselves! The precisely placed holes in the granite slabs allow the light of the sun to exactly light up the Great Seal of the United States on November 11 at exactly 11 minutes after 11. Each stone slab is dedicated to a branch of the Armed Services: Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. It is indeed a work of art and a fitting tribute to our Armed Forces, past and present.

Our excuse for traveling to Anthem also included meeting more BFF's for lunch and shopping. Ed and Rosemary live just a few miles from our home base in NorCal, and are vacationing in Sedona, so we decided to meet.

Hard to see, but that's E and R in the photo.

Incredibly, Anthem is also home to a Premium Outlet Mall, so after lunch we just "had" to check it out. Several hours and a few dollars later, we said our goodbyes and headed for home. That put us into downtown Phoenix/Chandler at exactly 5:00 pm. Not good. The morning trip to Anthem required about 2 1/2 hours. The return trip required 3 1/2. Oh boy. Sasha went with us on the long day trip, and did very well with a few walks along the way, but she would really rather have been somewhere else!

Tentatively, Good News

The weekend was spent fussing and fuming about the motorhome hot water system. My previous post detailed the issue, and the situation did not improve over the weekend, so, after a quick call to tech support at the system manufacturer, it was off to Freedom RV to come to a resolution. I spent much of the weekend running scenarios through my mind in anticipation of this mornings discussion. Unfortunately, as soon as I explained the symptoms, Brad, the service manager, immediately made arrangements for a service tech to come to the park and completely change the fluid again. This took most of the wind out of my "angry" sails, and resolved the issue completely. I think. A few days of use will soon tell us if we are 100%. Kudos to Freedom RV in Tucson for immediately stepping up and fixing the problem. it's just unfortunate that we had to do without hot water for a couple of days.

After lunch Donna and I visited Saguaro National Park. Pronounced Sah-Wah-row hereabouts, the park is divided into two separate areas. The eastern section, called Rincon Mountain, is where we went today, driving a paved 8 mile loop road through magnificent Saguaro cactus scattered about like sentinels.

Saguaros are very slow growing, requiring about 75 years to reach 16 feet in height. At about that height the cactus begins to grow "arms". The following cactus is estimated to be about 150 years old.

An abundance of smaller cactus cover the ground around the Saguaros. This colorful specimen is hiding near the main road.

Hopefully we've completed our "chores" and can enjoy our last few days in Arizona. The weather has been wonderful, if a bit breezy, and short pants are the order of the day. We're looking forward to a bit of fun!

Tucson Trials Continue

So it continues.

After taking Nessie to Freedom RV in Tucson for service on Thursday, the 11th of February, we decided to take a day for fun. Friday we went with Ted and Phyllis to a BBQ lunch at a local RV dealer. The purpose, of course, was to get us to look at new rv's, but we just enjoyed the lunch and called it a day. The lunch was also a BBQ cook off, so we had the chance to sample a dozen or so different approaches to BBQ. Some did chicken, some beef, and of course, the sausage and pork were excellent as well.

Saturday we went to the Festival de Tubac. Tubac is a small artist's village some 20 odd miles south of Tucson, and they host an annual festival showcasing the work of artists from around the world. Paintings, metal work, wood carvings and floral handiwork were on display.

We found several things that intrigued us, but the prices were a bit high, so we decided to wait until our "ship comes in". Tubac is an old Spanish settlement, and has maintained a close connection to the past. It's a wonderful place to wander and shop.

The next few days were spent shopping and continuing with maintenance on Nessie. However, Wednesday, we were fortunate to enjoy an afternoon at the Gaslight Theater in north Tucson. The production this time was "The Cisco Kid", and was a hilarious spoof of old western movies. The characters included the expected evil wealthy landowner, Rosita, the young heiress, the corrupt governor, and a variety of ne'er-do-wells loosely grouped as banditos. With a great deal of overacting ("Oh, Pancho!…….Oh, Cisco!), and a wondrous re-wording of many '60s songs ("Viva, Banditos", to the tune of Viva, Las Vegas), we had an uproariously good time.

To the right of the stage, the theater band resides, playing the appropriate songs just as in the days of the silent pictures…Great fun! The piano player, Linda Ackerman, is the theater music director, and is one of the most talented pianists and singers we've had the pleasure of seeing. Her virtuosity on the ivories is amazing!

Thursday, the 18th, we had the dubious pleasure of spending the day at the local WW Williams truck repair facility. Unusual tire wear prompted us to have the chassis air ride system checked and the front end aligned. Good people, reasonable prices, and good service, but all day in the lounge gets a bit difficult. Then Friday we had another appointment at Freedom RV to have the ordered furnace part installed. The part had been delivered several days prior, but had gotten lost in the parts department somehow, but we got on the list to have it installed asap. During that process, it was noticed that the fluid that is the heart of the hydronic heating system had become discolored due to causes unknown and needed to be flushed and the system refilled. Oh well, we didn't need that $500 anyway…..Pronounced ready to go, we drove home and crashed into bed with only a cold dinner for company. Early this morning, we got up expecting to take a hot shower and be off for the day….but no hot water. A bit of detective work established that the tech had not purged all the air from the closed loop system, and the air bubble prevented the system from working properly. After a little fiddling, the system appears to be working fine, but the fluid level is now below the minimum level, so we're off to get more fluid tomorrow, and then back to the service department on Monday to share our thoughts with the service manager. If it's not one thing, it's thirty…

Midday today we needed a break from the fussin' and went to the Tanque Verde Swap Meet. This is the areas largest flea market, and was advertised to have hundreds of vendors and many eating establishments. Not so much. It was mostly empty, but we walked for an hour or so checking out the "stuff". Only one vendor caught our eye….

We chose not to venture into the black hole of McGarys….

So we continue our Tucson saga, hoping that we can escape with our skins at the end of next week. Hopefully next week will be a "funner" week as the local news anchors are fond of saying….

Tucson, part II

Whew! we're approaching the end of our second week in Tucson, and are seeing the "relaxing" part of the stay getting closer. Of, course, I posted last time about how cold it was, and how busy we had been cleaning the motorhome. The weather has changed dramatically, but we're still at the "work" part of things.

We had started on the GPS antenna replacement job last week, and fought that for days. The antenna is on the roof, with the wire snaking across the roof through the framing and insulation, down the side of the windshield, through the firewall, back into the dash, and then to the GPS unit. We finally got it completed today! Six days, off and on, many bruised knuckles, and a whole lotta luck got it done. The other major problem had to do with the adjustment on the full wall slide. It had gone completely bonkers, with huge gaps and strange noises, so we made an appointment at the local Newmar dealer, Freedom RV for yesterday, the 10th. We jockeyed Nessie through rush hour traffic and left her for the day while we did some errands, had a nice lunch, and a late afternoon cup of coffee. She was all done when we returned, but we were informed that they ordered a part that won't be delivered until next week. Again with the rush hour next week….. At least the list of repairs is getting shorter!

While we were waiting for Nessie, we had lunch at BK Carne Asada & Hotdogs on 12th Street. Since this has been one of the stops on Food Networks' Triple D, and since Yelp gave it 4 stars, we had to try it!

We each ordered a plate of three different tacos, chicken, pork and beef. Styled in the street truck method, they were delicious!

We also ordered a Sonoran Hotdog. We didn't quite get the Sonoran angle, but it was good nevertheless, with all the fix in's, like a chicago dog with a grilled pepper on the side!

Today, later in the morning, we went to one of the 40'some venues of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Held every year, the show is going on literally all over town. The venue we chose was at the Kino Sports Complex, where spring training baseball was held a few years ago. The teams have moved closer to Phoenix, and Mexican, Cuban, and Japanese teams now practice there. The show encompassed a half dozen tents, with everything from jewelry, woven baskets, carvings and wood work, to mass produced, made in China, beads and necklaces.

Several of the tents displayed gems and gemstones in either raw of polished form from all over the world. Many fossils, crystals, and geodes were being sold by the kg.

In another tent, a craftsman was displaying a number of lamps made from natural materials. Using manzanita, redwood, and juniper, along with either paper, copper, or cowhide shades, he has made some beautiful pieces.

A late lunch was next on the "menu", so we stopped at one of the many Mariscos Chihuahua locations and enjoyed seafood in the mexican style. Donna ordered bacon wrapped shrimp.

And I was fortunate to enjoy several fish filets marinated in Chipotle sauce and sautéed with onions and vegetables. I complete forgot to take a picture, because I was so hungry!

Tomorrow we hope to attend a BBQ Cookoff at one of the local RV dealers. Some neighbors have told us about it and promised to provide details in the morning. The way Nessie is acting, we just may come home with a new rig! Not!

Tucson, 2016, Week One

Betcha' thought we got lost, huh?

Sunday evening, January 31st, we hunkered down in Quartzsite with 40-50 mph wind gusts and rain. We brought in the slides on the motorhome to minimize our exposure and settled in to watch the lightning show, complete with thunder! Sasha wasn't too keen on going outside, but she managed a quick trip just before bed. While she was nosing around, I checked the creeks on two sides of us. Oh, Boy! Wrong thing to do! We were surrounded by fast moving water just about to break over the banks of the creeks! Needless to say, sleep was a precious commodity that night!

Next morning, Sasha and I went out to explore, hoping that we could still depart the premises later that morning. Lo, and behold, the creeks were dry and the ground looked as if it hadn't rained in years! That's the desert for you.

Some 260 odds miles southeast of Quartzsite lies Tucson.  We pulled in about 5 pm, set up, and collapsed. Tuesday morning dawned bright and clear with high temps in the low 50's. We immediately set about doing a complete top to bottom cleaning of the motorhome, getting ready for this years trip. Both Tuesday and Wednesday we stayed "home" and worked. Along with cleaning, there were several repairs to be made to Nessie, and we started on those. One of the most time consuming items was threading the cable for a new GPS antenna through the roof framing, down the side of the windshield, and into the dash. That job has been going on steadily for two days, and we're still not finished. Donna has cleaned and polished every bit of the interior of this rig, and will soon finish up with a good floor scrubbing, while I wash the outside. Nice!

On Friday last, we met our friends Ted and Phyllis, who winter in Tucson each year. We last saw them in the fall of '15 as we passed through, but it's good to have a bit of time to see them again. We had lunch at the Union Public House, with fish and chips being the favorite order. Yum! In the afternoon we took the long way home, passing through Tucson Mountain Park, which is just a few miles west of Tucson.

In the distance, the city is just visible through the haze.

On Saturday, Ted and Phyllis took us on a tour of the San Xavier Mission. Founded in the 1700's it is still in use today. Notice the unfinished right tower. It was, for some reason, never completed, and has been left in its original state through several renovations.

The interior is very ornate, and even though renovated, remains exactly as it was constructed 250 years or so ago. It's amazing to think that indigenous peoples along with visiting priests could fabricate such a beautiful building out of very little in the way of local materials.

We left the mission with Ted and Phyllis happy that we had an opportunity to visit.

Our last stop of the day was at Mama Louisa's Italian Restaurant! Can't go very long without eating! Great spaghetti with meatballs, and the baked Ziti was delicious!

Sunday was spent working on the GPS antenna again, as was the entire day today, Monday. I think we're making progress, though, and should wrap it up tomorrow. Sunday evening was spent with Rich and Gladys, our neighbors from Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks. Nice people, and again with the eating…..

Wednesday we're scheduled to take Nessie into the local Newmar dealer for some adjustments that are totally beyond my abilities, so by next weekend we should be able to finally enjoy our stay in Tucson!

Hope so!

Stay with us, we'll be back in a few days….