For the last three days or so, we've been in the Tucson Walmart parking lot...
Even though our eventual destination was Quartzsite, we kept finding reasons to stay in Tucson--like a brand new (to us) chain of thrift stores--Twice as Nice (I'll let Leah tell you about that), as well as minor motorhome fixes, new restaurants, etc. Oh, and I should mention Gene Kelley, the mobile RV repair guy, whom I called to fix a propane leak. I chose him after reading several favorable reviews on the internet. We'd agreed to meet at the motorhome at a specified time, and when I drove up (Leah was at Twice as Nice), he had already checked for a leak. He was a big, slow-moving guy, about my age, I judged, and as we chatted, and it came out that I had taught English, he said, "Uh oh, I only speak Texan, and that not very well," in that slow Texas drawl. When I asked to interview him on video, he said, "No, no. I'm as ugly as a mud wall in the rain!" We hit it off quite well, and we must have talked for longer than he worked, but he only charged me for the site visit, not his additional hourly rate, which is the custom. He gave me all sorts of useful tips for the motorhome, as well as for restaurants and local attractions. He'd come to diagnose a propane leak, and had found none at first, but, since I swore I'd smelled propane, he checked more carefully and discovered "the tiniest propane leak he'd ever seen." He also let me in on a secret that he had observed over his 25 years as a mobile RV technician: "Do you have a wife?" I allowed that I did. "Women can smell propane much better than men, "he confided, implying that, in the future, I might use my wife as a leak detector. That means Leah must be defective, or not a real wife, because she couldn't smell it at all!
As he was about to leave, I asked him how to attach an electrical device I had purchased but not installed. He told me it was the wrong one, but that he had 3 or 4 of the right ones "layin' around the house", and that I should just drop by and he'd give me one. These things are not cheap at about $50, so I was quite impressed. Later, I did drop by his house, though he was not there. So he left the part on his BBQ just inside the fence, and, just so no one would call the police on me, he included a signed letter indicating that the part was mine. So if you find yourself in need of an mobile RV repair person in Tucson, call Gene Kelley 520-906-9676. I highly recommend him. He is skillful, friendly, honest, and fair. What more could you ask?
Another reason we stuck around Tucson was that I remembered having visited the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, a large outdoor desert educations center about 20 miles outside Tucson, on the other side of a low mountain range. I recalled that even 25 years ago, it was well done and worth an extended visit. And of course, now we have time for an extended visit. So, after breakfast off we went in the van, over the mountain range and into... The desert. Oh my goodness! What we missed staying the Walmart!
Here, on this side of the range, we were IN the desert and mountains, not just looking at them from a busy parking lot. Continuing on our way, we passed a turnoff for Gilbert Ray campground, and thought we'd take a look. Well, one loop around the campground convinced us to immediately pay for 3 days, go back to the motorhome, hook up the van and drive back to Gilbert Ray. Here's our (electric) site :
The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is just a couple of miles down the road, so we'll probably head over there tomorrow. Right now, it's sunset:
Hope you're all well and enjoying life,
Richard
Leah's Take:
So as you know from Richard's posting, we are in Tucson and have been for a few days. Well not actually in Tuscon now, but only about15 minutes out of town. This, for me, is a perfect situation, but more about here later. The time we spent in Tucson was so much fun!!! We had no real agenda, (except hitting one thrift store each day....I don't think that that is too excessive) and just enjoyed trucking around the city.
Lots of things to note:
Firstly, the weather! It is sunny, warm and beautiful here every day. We don't even need sweaters during the day...just in the evening when it is cooler. It really feels like summer; so much so that I was surprised when we drove by a school and there were kids there.
Secondly, the landscape - when I thought about Arizona in the past, I remembered manicured cacti gardens, and yes, these do exist in some of the suburbs, but for the most part, it is very wild - even on main streets. There are also many, many different kinds of cacti and they are beautiful, but also in varying stages of decay. This whole area is very dry, which also surprised me as it is winter, so I expected a bit of green. The only green that we've seen is on golf courses and even there it is intermittent. The architecture is also so very interesting. We've driven through a variety of neighbourhoods just to see the houses and landscaping....lots of pink stone, stucco, archways, beautiful tile and wooden beams. I would love to see the insides of some of these houses.
Thirdly, the second hand stores - there are a million of them. Now at this point, I would like to give credit to Richard and his numerous technological devices; they have really come in handy locating and navigating to the thrift stores. Not only can we find these with ease, there are customer reviews available to us on his phone. What a world!!! I started at a Goodwill and it was just o.k. The fatter one gets, the slimmer the pickings. Boo hoo. Savers (Value Village) was good and conveniently located by the Costco, which Richard needed to go to anyway. I also went to a large store called Speedway Thrift. It was well reviewed and cheap, but had no change room. The most awesome store is called Twice as Nice, which I found by chance. It is very well organized which means less time spent looking, has beautiful things (a special section for linen) and although slightly more expensive than Goodwill, much more fun. It also gives you a $2 coupon for your next visit and offers $5 off when you spend $30 and $10 off when you spend $50. Their jewellery counter was very well stocked.
Speaking of jewellery, #4 is the Tucson Mineral and Gem Show. It was unbelievable. Vendors attend from all over the world and everything is so beautiful. I saw a piece of petrified wood, which had been carved into a ball, felt like glass and shone in the sunlight. It cost $9,000 dollars. There were tables and tables heaped with beads of every colour. And of course, the jewelry...tons of beautiful stones cut and mounted in silver and gold settings. I couldn't resist the turquoise and picked up a few small pieces. I spent 2 half days at a variety of venues....there are about 50 markets throughout the city. Many hotels are hosting the show and vendors rent rooms and turn them into stores complete with glass showcases and display tables. The lobbies, convention rooms, yards, parking lots .....everywhere is filled with tents and people selling their magnificient stuff. I think that one could spend a week here and not see all that the Gem and Mineral Show has to offer.
Well I've saved the best for the last....the restaurants!!!! Throughout the entire trip, Richard and I have been treating ourselves to great food. Lots of Cracker Barrel as we motored across country. We also love Pei Wei Chinese. Richard gets the Hunan chicken with brown rice and I get either orange peel chicken or shrimp. We've had huevos rancheros in numerous places as we've traveled west.... at a side of the freeway truck stop overlooking a small pond in Arkansas; in Van Horne, Texas, at a place frequented by John Madden and dubbed John Madden's Haul of Fame; at little place beside a trailer neighbourhood in Tucson where you'd swear that you were in Mexico; and in fancier chain restaurants. Love those huevos rancheros!
I think that our favourite Mexican food was at a chain called On the Border in Weatherford, Texas, when we were stopped for 3 days because of ice on the highway. Their enchiladas and grilled vegetables are really, really good. Two days ago, we drove by an On the Border in downtown Tucson. Today is Valentine's Day and perhaps we will go there to celebrate. There is also a Twice as Nice down the road. (At this point, I know that most of you are feeling sorry for Richard because of all the thrift stores....especially Gavin, who had to endure this when he was travelling with us.)
This campground (Gilbert Ray) is totally awesome!! We will probably stay here for the full week allotment. The pictures do not do it justice. You have the view where you can see other motorhomes, but in three directions, there are no other people. We have a site which is beside a dried up riverbed, and this morning I put my anti-gravity chair (Richard calls this my queen chair) into the riverbed and read for about an hour. I did this because even at 9 o'clock the sun is very strong and the riverbed is shaded. The coyote incident of a few days ago and the threat of rattlesnakes make me slightly anxious about being alone in there (no quick getaway is possible) but not enough to not do it. Last night I watched the sunset from the comfort of our couch...windows open of course. I did this because of the higher vantage point the moho affords. I had my earphones in and was listening to Nick Drake, Iron and Wine (thank you Kim Shepherd) and Nickelback...perfect accompaniment to the light show. Tonight I might watch from the roof.
We now have clean running water so life is easier. We also have an electric site, so after the sun goes down, I have been watching Breaking Bad, which takes place in New Mexico in similar terrain. What a terrific show! Looking forward to the release of season 3.
That's all for now....If there was too much detail about boring stuff, I apologize. L
P.S. Hope to post some cactus pics soon.
Sounds like you guys are having a blast! I like the Richard/Leah's take format you have going. Keep it up!
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