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!

Apache Junction, Arizona

We managed to get out of Wickiup without much trouble, and ended up the day a hundred and seventy-seven odd miles southeast in Apache Junction, AZ. We found a site in a KOA, which is one of about three dozen rv parks in the area! It’s a hot spot for snowbirds! As usual in a KOA, the sites and roads are narrow for a big rig, but the utilities were perfect, and the neighbors not too annoying!

One of the reasons that we stopped here was that out Michigan friends Dave and Toni are staying here, and we hadn’t  seen them since last year. They are old hands in this area and took us to several hotspots, the first of which is the local Fry’s market where we had lunch at the beer and wine bar in the center of the store!

A short drive east out of town presented an unusual view of the Superstition Mountains, which was kinda pretty!

We developed plans for the next evening, but took a nice drive to Saguaro Lake. What an unexpected and beautiful place!

Later that evening, we went to Barleen’s for a nice dinner and an evening of 60’s and 70’s rock and roll! A whole lotta shakin’ going on! The band and singers are all part of the Barleen family, and the dinner theater was established by their father Lloyd years ago. He passed away from complications of Alzheimers disease and a portion of each nights receipts are sent to the local alzheimers and dementia programs.

Barleens is also famous for serving chocolate cake as soon as guests arrive! Life is short....gotta eat dessert first!

After a good nights sleep, we headed out of town toward Canyon Lake in Tonto National Forest. The drive through the mountains was awesome.

Quiet pools provide a place of reflection...

The highway ends at Tortilla Flat, a cool restaurant and tourist trap!

We needed lunch, and the place is famous for it’s Chili, so....Had to have some! Donna ordered Devils Chili over Cornbread, which was an interesting combination of sweet cornbread and spicy chili. I fell for the Chili Dog, and after sharing, we allowed as how they were both very, very good! And required a trip to the facilities!

Later that evening we had dinner at a local pizza joint known as The Organ Stop. A strange name at first, until the doors open...

In a building specifically designed to accommodate a 1927 Wurlitzer organ built for a Denver theater, organist Lew Williams entertained us with selections from the days before talking movies to the theme from Star Wars. Over 6,000 pipes, along with cymbal, drums, and whistles provide an unlimited combination of organ notes. Mr. Williams has been playing the organ for 41 years, using his Masters degree in music (and a great deal of manual dexterity). The organ is the largest Wurlitzer organ ever built! And, hey, the pizza wasn’t half bad! I’m hoping that the video below uploads correctly. Enjoy!

After a whirlwind of activity in Apache Junction, we left this last Saturday, the first of February, for Tucson, AZ, where we settled into space 420 at Mission View RV in South Tucson.

Our niece, Cara, and her husband Bruce, are involved in a business conference in Phoenix, so we drove the 115 miles back north to see them on Sunday. What a joy! The weather was perfect and the conversation outstanding!

 We are grateful to them for sharing their limited time with us! They treated us to a wonderful dinner in the Compass restaurant in the tower at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Phoenix, where the once-per-hour revolution allowed us a great view of the city at sunset and a glimpse of the Chase Tower, the tallest building in Arizona.

We thoroughly enjoyed our short time with Bruce and Cara, and will surely miss them.

Ok, so now we can relax.....