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!