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.....

Indescribable....

Las Vegas is truly the 24 hour city. It is happening all the time. And in a big way. It is indescribable.
Our first full day in Vegas got a late start. We had reservations for the variety show "V" at Planet Hollywood at 8:30 pm. Fortunately that gave us time to stop at Gordon Ramsay's Burger for a quick....burger. Delicious, and unusual. He seems to be able to get away with unusual combinations and make them taste exquisite. The menu offers choices that include the Farmhouse Burger with bacon and an egg, a Crispy Cherry Pepper Chicken sandwich with fried chicken skins and avocado, as well as Turducken Burger with a turkey patty, a fried chicken egg, and duck confit. Sounds awful...

Bill and Diane turned us on to this restaurant, and it's always "interesting"!

The variety show included some extraordinary strength performances, masters of illusion, and a host that described himself as a "redneck Mexican" since his mother was mexican and his father was from Georgia...it was hilarious and amazing.

Public transportation was not user friendly from the Sams Town KOA, so we elected to drive into the various venues. After leaving the show on Friday night, we checked out a bit of Las Vegas Blvd,

and then drove about a mile to the Mandalay Bay. It took 25 minutes to drive that distance. Add on trying to find the entrance to the self-park facility, and you have about an hour until we got to Ri Ra Irish Pub for a cup of Irish Coffee.

Donna was cute with whipped cream as a fashion accessory!

One of the most eye-catching features of the Vegas landscape is the High Roller. It makes a revolution every 80 minutes, allowing guests to enjoy a view and a beverage in encapsulated comfort.

Saturday afternoon found us at Harrah's at 4:00 pm for a performance of "Menopause, the Musical". While Bill and I were a bit skeptical about this, we found it hilarious. Four ladies carried the show for 90 minutes, commenting on the various things that are involved in "the Change". A broad spectrum of 60's songs with new lyrics sent our wives into hysterics! I can't begin to relate the jokes, but without a doubt the performance of these women was flawless. Good show!

Later in the evening, we rose to the 107 lounge at the top of The Strat for a view of the city from the 107th floor of the tower.

Sunday was our last day in the city, so we changed directions and visited Zak Bagan's The Haunted Museum. Purported to be the scariest place in Las Vegas, we found the the first fright was the $44 per ticket admission fee. Zak, of course, has been a television host of paranormal investigative programs for some time, and has collected many frightening objects that are claimed to possess extra powers not "normally" seen....hence "paranormal".

Bill and Diane seems perfectly ok with the skeleton seemingly growing out of Dianes head, but Donna had another reaction when that same skeleton attacked us!

A leisurely lunch downtown at a small restaurant in The Strat and a slow drive home completed our day. This morning, Monday, we prepared to leave for points in Arizona. We've decided that the KOA at Sam's Town in Las Vegas is a reasonably priced, clean, and very acceptable place to stay while in the area.

We crossed the Colorado River near Hoover Dam and while we couldn't see the dam from the highway, we did notice how low the water level is. That white band in the distance along the mountains is roughly 30 to 40 feet tall. Considering the area of Lake Mead, that's a huge amount of water!

155 miles south of Las Vegas, we find ourselves set up for the night in Wikieup, AZ. The hamlet is named for a lodge made from a wooden frame and covered with matting or brush used by American Indians in the southwestern United States. I believe that all 305 residents here are using modern versions of a wikieup...known as mobile homes...We've tucked into Dazzo's Store and RV Park, site number 1. The rest of the handful of sites are taken with long-term residents. One can only wonder what they do out here! The rent is cheap, $200 a month, so that is a big draw, along with the Chicago style hot dogs the store/restaurant is famous for.

The wind is blowing 15 to 20 mph, so we'll stay indoors this afternoon. A meal, a night's sleep, and we're off again tomorrow. New adventures!

After All This Time.....

We've been at home in NorCal since Labor Day '19, and the hitch itch has become unbearable! We celebrated the Holidays with family and friends and even threw in a couple of birthdays. This Christmas was, without a doubt, one of the best that we've enjoyed in many years! For some reason, we managed to eliminate most of the stress and simply enjoyed the company of wonderful people. What a concept!

We had to do a few repairs to the motorhome over the last month or so, but those are complete, and we set about preparing to hit the road. After so long a time, every move had to be thought through with care so that we didn't forget anything! After a couple of days, we had most of the preparations done, and left the homestead on January 16th. One of our New Year's Goals was to relax a bit while traveling and drive shorter distances, having more time to enjoy the scenery. Accordingly, we only drove 155 miles that first day, more to find our sea legs than anything else. We stopped for the night in the quaint little burg of Santa Nella, CA, best known for Anderson's Pea Soup restaurant and the dozen or so truck stops scattered between the two exits to town. Anderson's does indeed sell a lot of pea soup, so if that's your thing.....go head on...

Our second day of travel took us to Bakersfield, CA, and Orange Grove RV Park east of town. This is a great park set in an ancient orange grove (duh). Guests are encouraged to pick as many oranges as they wish, and staff even provides bags and "picking poles" to reach those oranges that are on the top of the tree.

After loading up on fresh water and getting a good nights' sleep, we again found some asphalt that needing pounding. This third days' journey took us over the Sierra Nevada mountains on Highway 58 through the town of Tehatchapi, and then out into the high desert of southeastern California. This pass is famed for the constant winds that are harnessed by hundreds of wind turbines. A bit of snow on the ground added to the interest of the Tehatchapi Valley.

Turning south on US 395 at  Kramers Corner, we bailed off into the even higher desert of San Bernardino County and Interstate 10, heading east into Palm Springs, CA, and finally the town of Indio, CA. This has become one of our frequent stops, being located at just the correct day trip mileage and the Spotlight 29 Casino welcomes us and dozens of other rv'ers to a paved, well lit, and secure parking lot. It ain't pretty, but it's a great value!

Crossing the Colorado River the next day sent us into Arizona.

Where our first stop was at Exit 5 to get fuel at greatly reduced Arizona prices. Needless to say, California fuel prices are sky high, so it's a relief to find a product at a more reasonable price. Our destination this fourth day of travel, was Quartzsite, Arizona, home of what is advertised to be the "largest rv park in the west".





And it is:

Every year, thousands of rv'ers gather in the desert for a few months of "off grid" camping. Dry camping, or "boondocking", is a way of life out here in a town that normally is home to roughly 2500 people. On a good day. Campfires are required, and this year the weather was very co-operative, so we had a fire most every night.

We stayed four nights out in the desert, enjoying sunsets and good company, and trying different views of the same cactus.

Quartzsite in January is home to "The Big Tent" rv show. Vendors come from all over the country to sell items that appeal to campers and off roaders. "Fair food" is abundant, along with dust, dirt, and thousands of people. Oh, yeah, Great Fun!

We eventually left Quartzsite for the bright lights, hot showers, and good tv reception of Las Vegas, Nevada! On US95 near Searchlight, Nevada, we happened on an interesting rock formation.

That was pretty much the only thing of interest we saw on our trip! We slid through Parker, AZ, and Needles, CA, before getting into Las Vegas about 4:00 pm. We're camped at the Sam's Town KOA next to our friends Bill and Diane.

We expect to be here a few days to see a couple of variety shows and eat some good food. It's wonderful to be back in civilization!