Monday, April 28 brought us to Tucson AZ where we set up at the Voyager RV Park. The park was beautiful, with a view of the mountains and nice size campsites. This was one of the smaller "snowbird" parks in Arizona with great amenities and an onsite bar and grill. We didn't use many of the amenities during our short stay since we were more focused on the area around Tucson but it was nice to see they were available.
Upon first pulling in we noticed that the motorhome right across from us looked familiar - coincidentally, it had been next to us at our stop in Las Cruces as well. While we hadn't met there (we were all tucked inside during the gale force windstorm) we quickly became acquainted with Andy and Judy, who were on a six-month road trip from Florida heading for Alaska. Way to traverse the whole country! We spent some time together over the next couple of days and quickly became new friends.
Biosphere 2:
On Tuesday morning we headed out to Biosphere 2. Biosphere 2 is a sort of giant greenhouse that started as a privately funded experiment in sustainable living back in the early 90s. A group of 8 scientists went inside and lived there for 2 years with no physical contact with anyone on the outside. While their goal of being fully self-sustained fell short much was learned from the project. Biosphere 2 changed hands a few times over the next 20 years and in 2011 it was gifted to the University of Arizona, who currently owns it. We did a tour of the entire facility that took us through all the different sections over the next couple of hours - very interesting.
Saguaro National Park:
Wednesday morning we headed up to the Saguaro National Park where we decided to ride the 10 mile bike trail through the park. We've done lots of bike rides that were much longer than that so we thought it would be a great little ride on a nice day. Well, let me tell you...this particular ride will henceforth be known as the Bataan Bike Hike of Death because it just about killed us. First the good - and there was a lot of good: Traveling through the park was like being in a different world.
So many different kinds of cactus.
As for the whole bike hike of death part - the ride started out deceptively easy, as it gradually descends ...you don't really notice you're going downhill. "Gee, piece of cake!" we thought. But then the road started to head back uphill...and uphill...followed by a sharp descent where you kind of careen wildly downhill...followed by even more uphill. With all the curves, you couldn't really take advantage of the downhill momentum to gain the next uphill so each time it was starting from scratch. We may have - just may have - walked the bikes up a few hills. Repeat this about a billion times. Bill was having trouble with his gears because of the quick shifts between flying down and having to change over to uphill mode again and his chain kept coming off. It was the longest 10 miles in the history of bike rides and just when we were wondering if someone would someday stumble across our bleached bones next to a couple of abandoned bikes...we finally saw the flag in the distance that marked the visitor center and the end of the loop. Hurray! But it really was a great experience and we both agreed that we would do it again. Just not right away!
We went home to recover and have some lunch and then we decided to power wash the moho. Remember, we had been through killer windstorms and it was pretty much covered in a thick layer of dust. Plus the bug guts on the windshield were beyond cleaning off with a squeegee. The roof obviously has to be washed before the sides so as per our procedure, I got up on the roof and Bill passed the power washer, brush and bucket of soapy water up to me. Yes, there is a reason why I'm the one who gets on the roof - which one of us do you think is less clumsy and therefore less apt to fall off the roof and become a paraplegic? Ok, question answered.
However, the normally simple task turned into a major cluster. We had one malfunction after another during the whole first hour of the operation. First the hose kept coming off one end of the power washer, then the sprayer fell off, then the start button wouldn't work. I passed the gear back down and each time we thought we had it working he would pass it back up to me and then when something went wrong I would pass it back down to him for repairs. It got frustrating enough that there may have been some cussing... Finally things settled down and I was able to use it, although the sprayer wouldn't fit quite right and I was completely soaked by the leak. But it was warm so I could deal with that. I started to work on the roof, while Bill supervised from his lawn chair.
See that smile on my face? The only reason it's there instead of a one-finger salute is because...well, my kids might read this. And you know...but the roof finally got done. And yes, the supervisor got up and did his share as part of the ground crew.
Once the moho was all shiny and pretty again, we called it a day. We walked over to the patio bar for dinner that night since we thought we had earned a no-cook night. After dinner, Andy and Judy came by and we all sat outside and chatted into the evening. We would be heading out in the morning.
Mesa AZ:
We had a leisurely start hitting the road on Thursday morning since we were only going about 120 miles along I-10 from Tucson to Mesa. One thing to note is the beautiful artwork on all the overpasses throughout Tucson. I wish I could have gotten some pictures but interstate speeds aren't conducive to taking pictures so the following are some images I found on the internet:
Mesa:
We arrived in Mesa and pulled into Tower Point RV Park.The park has all the great amenities of the typical Phoenix/Mesa area snowbird parks but we didn't care for the fact that it was mostly park models. We were wedged into a spot with park models on both sides, in front and behind us. Backing into this tight spot brought on another adventure - without going into too much detail, let's just say that there was a large cactus plant just off to the side of our site which is no longer there. Giving backup directions into a tight spot is clearly NOT one of my talents. RIP to that cactus...good thing cactus is not in short supply around there. On the plus side, no sooner were we set up that a knock on our door brought neighbors from behind us with a welcome gift of fresh tomatoes from their garden. How nice was that? I told the lady that I love homegrown tomatoes beyond all else, which is true. And they were yummy!
Since part of our mission was to scout out a place for next winter, we visited a few other parks and we found one that we liked just a few miles to the east at Valle Del Oro RV Resort. They have a lot of park models there as well, but we did find a nice open section for RVs so we made a tentative reservation for next winter. And the amenities at the park are fantastic. Two pools and hot tub with tiki bar and restaurant, and every imaginable activity provided for in beautiful surroundings. The recreational facilities are what you would expect to find in a luxury hotel - all top shelf, and at a considerably lower price than what we found in Florida this past year. So it looks like we may be back in Mesa come January.
Friday we met up with old friends John and Jean, who are from Chicago but have lived in Gold Canyon for the past few years. They came by to pick us up and we went to Garcia's Mexican Restaurant where we had a great dinner.
And a little silliness afterwards:
We had lots of laughs and such a good time.
After dinner we headed out to Goldfield Ghost Town.
I love to walk around places like this and wonder about all the stories this old town could tell.
Hmmm...maybe a post-retirement career?
There was great live music at the little cowboy bar.
And of course that beautiful sunset on Superstition Mountain:
On Monday, we had another day planned with John and Jean. They were awesome city-host/tour guides. We started by driving up to Tortilla Flats, another little town that time kind of forgot. The drive up the mountain was almost my favorite part of the day.
The little town did not disappoint either.
We had a great lunch at the only bar/restaurant in town, then headed for Old Scottsdale where we hit a few more establishments of local fare for drinks.
It had been lovely to spend time with old friends, and after dinner we said fond goodbyes. We look forward to our next visit to Mesa as a place where we have good friends.
Frosty Update:
Ok, nobody get too excited but...it looks like there is a little spark of life left in Frosty the Snowball Bush:
You have to look very closely...but see that tiny little shoot of green? Well, I guess time will tell.
Tomorrow we head north and into Utah.
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