We still got to do some boondocking as the RV park on Davis Monthan AFB was full and we were in the overflow lot awaiting a full hook-up space for about 3 days. Now we've moved into a spot with hookups and are sitting pretty. The weather is gorgeous, high 70's to low 80's in the afternoon and high 40's at night, lots of sunshine, and not much wind. This base RV park was voted Best Military Camp for the past 4 years and we can see why. The camp hosts meet and greet you with a full packet of information about the base, Tucson, and the surrounding area. The camp hosts movie nights, bbq's, and golf tournaments monthly, along with other entertainment. Great place!
We took the first few days here to relax, do a little maintenance on the truck and trailer and visit with relatives and friends. We went to visit a cousin of mine and spent a couple of hours on family chat and talk of the Tucson area. We hooked up again on Sunday with her and some of her kids and grandkids for a tasty breakfast at a long time Tucson restaurant called the Blue Willow. We also met up with an old friend of Teresa's that lives here and got the list of reasons we should settle down in Tucson. We do have to admit, this town could make the short list of retirement destinations.
After chilling out for several days, we got busy seeing the sights. We spent a day wandering around Tucson walking the Presidio Trail. The trail is officially a 2.5 mile route around downtown and the surrounding area and has stops along the way at various historic districts and sites. With all the wandering into the adjoining streets, not sure just how many miles we did do. We loved the area and the colors of the buildings and homes. There is a lot of public art in town and almost all of the bridges and overpasses are decorated in some manner or other. Check out the pictures of the Rattlesnake Bridge on this hyperlink as my camera just isn't able to do it justice. This is just an overpass of I-10 over a surface street and is fairly typical of the bridges in town.
Roof of Courthouse
Wall art on side of store
Lawyer's office
In the afternoon we drove out to the edge of town and visited the Ted DeGrazia Studio and home. His style of art has never been my favorite and Heinz had never heard of him, but we both thought the studio was pretty cool.
Crucifix by DeGrazia
Entrance to Gallery and Studio
Chapel built by DeGrazia on the grounds
Painting inside chapel
Painting inside chapel
Sabino Canyon Trail was recommended by relatives, friend, and strangers in local shops and restaurants not to mention all the literature around. The Civilian Conservation Corps built bridges and cut hiking trails throughout Sabino Canyon and neighboring Bear Canyon back in the '30's (sound familiar Daddy?) There's a motorized tram that we took up to the top, then hiked back down.
Sabino Canyon: Ocotillo, Prickly Pear and Saguaro Cactus
Sabino Canyon and creek
Saguaro Cactus don't get branches until they are at least 50 years old and live to up to 200 years!
On the way back down the trail we ran across some volunteer rangers panning for garnets. Heinz gave it a try and managed to come out with a couple of "nice sized ones for around here".
Panning for garnets
Alright! Let's go get this nugget set in a necklace!
The views around here are breathtaking when you're up in the hills surrounding Tucson.
After all that hiking in Sabino Canyon we drove up Mt. Lemmon (8000 feet elevation). This is quite a place and is located in the Coronado National Forest. (By the way, thanks so much to Liz and crew for giving us the Annual Parks Pass. It is really paying it's way!) We were already amazed at all of the bicyclists we saw all over Tucson. There are people on bikes everywhere, biking to work, school, and just to have fun and there are bike trails all over town. However, we felt like utter wimps when we were running into people on bikes at 7000 feet and above! We asked one woman how long it took her and she said that it would take her about 4-5 hours to make it to the top, the ride down was worth it.
6500 feet and still climbing!
As I mentioned earlier, we stopped at 7000 ft and hiked down to Rose Canyon Lake. The lake is small and tucked in a stand of ponderosa pines on the slopes of Mt. Lemmon. The lake is open year-round for fishing, but the road down to it is closed from October through April, hence the hiking in. It was pretty amazing, the temperature down in the valley in Tucson was a high of 80 and we found snow still under the trees by the lake.
Snow at 7000 feet
Rose Canyon Lake
We hung around the lake for a bit while Heinz studied the layout and decided to come back for a try at the fishing. Following that he treated me to a gourmet picnic meal...my first MRE!
Tuna casserole and Chocolate Nut Cake
Not too bad with extra salt and the Tabasco Sauce...
We went back to the lake yesterday to give Heinz a chance to fish for the first time. He's been picking up fly fishing gear from Kansas City to Tucson. In addition he had a grand time at breakfast with the family when he found out that my cousin's son is a fly fisherman and they spent the meal talking fishing and fishing spots in Arizona and New Mexico. (Of course, I had my own grand time as Micheal's wife is a professional photographer and Ruth quilts a little, so I got to talk photography and needlework.)
Heinz fished for a few hours while I wandered around with the camera for a bit and then settled down with a good book. This hobby of his could work out well for me. He got a few nibbles and claims to have had at least two on the hook, but gave them too much slack and they got away.
Today we spent the morning hanging around the trailer doing laundry and straightening up. Now it's afternoon and Heinz has headed back up to the lake to try his luck again while I begged off to nurse the dregs of a cold and be lazy. He promises to bring me dinner of some sort...fish hopefully, if not, take-out.
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