Leah’s Take
Unlike my patient and committed husband, I do not have the inclination or perseverance to spend hours fooling around with this weak and inconsistent internet connection. What you don’t know is that he spent 2 full afternoons trying to load his pictures, only to have them disappear after hours and hours of waiting. I mention this all by way of explaining why it is March 20th and I am going to begin by writing about events that occurred in February.
February 25th – Tubac
The morning saw us socializing at the Desert Diamond Casino with 3 ‘full timers’. As time progresses, we are meeting more and more people who live in their mohos all the time. Many of them are not retirees, but rather people who have consciously opted out of society’s constraints and view this lifestyle as superior. But there are also others, who seem to have few choices...more musings about this later, as the more full timers I meet, the more there is to think about.
Tubac was amazing. As soon as we pulled into town, I knew that I would love spending time there....and I did. The town is a collection of old and new buildings/storefronts which house restaurants, galleries and assorted cool stores. While Richard got the dog set (it was hot, too hot to leave her in the car for long), then explored Tubac Presidio (pictures/description here), I went into a store called The Creative Coyote and asked this really nice saleslady where to have lunch. The Creative Coyote had western style stuff for women. Their handmade embroidered cowboy boots were beautiful and came in really non-traditional colours. We ended up at a restaurant called The Italian Peasant, where the servings were massive and the people were so nice. I view every dining experience as a way to find out about the place and the people who live there and very few places disappoint. There are always tips about what to see, where to go, and usually something interesting about the servers. The Italian Peasant had just hosted a local opera the night before. After eating, Richard and I separated. I wandered through the town, going through stores, talking to the salespeople and admiring the wares. My favourites were the Mexican tile store, the gallery of a painter whose name escapes me, but whose work has stayed with me (magnificent SW landscapes and still lifes in almost an impressionist style but with brilliant colours), guild stores that carried everything from weaving, to jewellery, to baskets and my very fave, a woodworking store that had the most beautiful furniture and bowls that I have ever seen. Much of the furniture was made from mesquite wood and some of it had turquoise inlay. When you touched it, it felt as smooth as a marble countertop, but warmer. I have never seen anything like it. When I go into these stores, I am not shopping, but rather admiring art and talent, as one does in a gallery. I rarely have any desire to own or take things home.
When Richard and I met up, we had iced coffee at a new cafe/store where the young owner kept giving us free samples of his own special blends. I hope that his business is successful. Then we went into the old town to find the Hugh Cabot Gallery. We inherited 2 Hugh Cabot lithographs from Richard’s parents, and had spoken to Olivia, the deceased painter’s wife and gallery owner, on the phone in the winter. As we arrived, she was closing the gallery, but remained open so we could view his other work. Olivia is a real character. She is about 85, tiny, draped in turquoise, wears cowboy boots all the time, “I have a black pair, a pink pair, a red pair etc.”, is a spitfire and extremely outspoken. Before marrying Hugh, she ran 3 prestigious galleries, handled painters like Georgia O’Keefe and Frida Callo, is not reticent about speaking about them and not always positively. (“I’m 85 years old; I can say whatever I want.”) Olivia and Hugh were friends with Ansel Adams and that crew of photographers, and I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with her. However, my favourite moment was when she insulted Richard. After he had purchased some cards and declined the offer of a plastic bag, she said, “take the bag, at least you will look like you have some class.” ....A great day!
Upon arriving back at the Casino, a concert was in progress. That meant that our motor home was surrounded by cars. Usually when we park in lots, there is a lot of space between us and the shoppers, but this time as we lay in our bed, we could hear the concert goers returning to their cars discussing the concert. It was novel and strange....really the first time that I felt like we were in a parking lot.
February 26
We had heard about this incredible Mexican restaurant called Wisdom’s which was always very busy, but supposedly worth the wait. It is famous for its fruit burritos, if you can believe it. Sure enough, although it is in the middle of nowhere, it was packed. We waited, finally got seated, ate and were not that impressed. Neither of us enjoyed the food and the service was also not great. This is worth noting as the place is famous and has a strong following on the internet.
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| Tumacacori inside |
After eating we went through Tumacacori, an old mission, which has not been restored, but rather left as is.
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| Tumacacori outside |
We then drove down to Patagonia State Park campground, which we were checking as our next resting place. Patagonia, the park, is beautifully situated on a mountain lake and surrounded by exquisite countryside, but the actual camping sites were very small and too close together to appeal to us.
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| Patagonia Lake at Patagonia State Park |
We left at dusk and were treated to perhaps the most beautiful light of the whole trip. Ranges and ranges of mountains as far as the eye can see all softened so you want to drag your hand along its texture.
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| Beautiful light near Patagonia State Park |
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| More light... |
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| ...still more light |
Sprinkled amongst these mountains were numerous Spanish-style villas. Richard took video as we drove along this dirt road and will probably add it to this account when we get home and have internet that actually works. Driving back to the casino we took a quick trip through Nogales after dark. Everything was closed, so we didn’t stop.
March 27th – Academy Award Night and me without television reception.
The morning began with a hail storm and some snow - surprising as we were only about 40 miles from the Mexican border. Most of the afternoon was spent trying to get more international minutes for the phone. The whole phone thing has been very costly, frustrating and time consuming. Even when one gets to speak to a real person (and this takes forever) it has proven almost impossible to get what you want. The whole thing would make a terrific Saturday Night Live skit, but is not funny when you are in the middle of it.
Earlier in the month, after I saw The King’s Speech, I had a conversation with the park ranger at Catalina State Park about being unable to see the Academy Awards. He told me that a historic and newly restored theatre in downtown Tucson was broadcasting the show in real time. Richard told me that he would take me, stay if I wanted him to, (a true test of his love) or just pick me up afterwards. He was enduring a lot of teasing from the full timers for this. Knowing how much Richard hates this stuff, I said that he should just drop me off. Upon arriving at the theatre, imagine my surprise at seeing a red carpet and people in formal attire....no kidding: full length gowns, tuxes, an interviewer on the carpet, local celebrities, t.v. cameras and me just in from the casino parking lot in my jeans and I’m embarrassed to say how long I hadn’t had a shower or washed my hair. (Although you have water in your RV, you don’t want to use much of it when you are dry camping, because the more you use, the sooner you have to move.) Anyway, I loved the venue (the restored theatre was SW art deco and tile), it was fun watching with a live audience, and I was thrilled to actually have the opportunity to watch the show, but unfortunately the awards were SO BORING. I, similar to the rest of the audience as indicated by their applause, so miss Billy Crystal. It was, however, an evening to remember.
Feb. 28 th – March 9th
On Monday we moved from the Desert Diamond Casino outside of Tucson, to the Lone Butte Casino in Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix. Tuesday was a ‘Goodwill’ day in Phoenix, which was very frustrating and disappointing. Clara, our GPS, told us there was a Savers; we’d drive there through the city traffic and find that it had closed.... lots of variations on this theme. Tucson had been a thrift store Mecca, so I had had high hopes for Phoenix which were not realized (at that time). The only bright light during these 2 days was a fast food Mexican restaurant in Chandler which had the best huevos rancheros. We ate there twice.
On Tuesday we arrived at a boondocking campground not far from Cottonwood off of 1000 Trails Rd. Judy (from Desert Diamond parking lot) had convinced us that this was a better choice than “that dust bowl” Quartzite...our original destination from the time that we had left Barrie. This spot is the most beautiful yet. It is an open space, surrounded by mountains. In front of us is what looks to be the end of the Grand Canyon range...squared off red mountains. We have great views of the sunsets and sunrises. There is also a superb walk from the campground down through the canyon to a rushing river.
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| 1st part of a panoramic view from motorhome... |
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| ...next part |
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| next part.... |
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| ...and next part... |
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| ...and next part.. |
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| ...and next part.. |
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| and last part. |
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| Beauty in all directions. Leah had difficulty deciding at which end of the couch to drink her coffee. |
Rivers with water in them are quite rare in Arizona. We have seen lots and lots of dry washes with signs that say “do not enter when flooded”. During the next few days we explored the area, which is quite scenic but also tourist-oriented in places. We went to Jerome, a beautiful old mining town that clings to the side of a mountain. We also went over the pass from there, part way to Prescott, but came back to see the sun go down on the mountains. I spent 1 day in Cottonwood on my own going to thrifts stores, estate and garage sales. An awesome day and so rewarding! We went to Sedona and drove through Oak Creek Canyon at dusk, each evening returning to our exquisite campsite, with only a few other inhabitants. We ate in numerous restaurants, the best of which was Wildflower Bakery, a bakery that serves pastas, soups and salads and makes the most delicious chocolate scones in the world. On Tuesday we returned to Phoenix to have solar panels installed. Now we have free electricity from the sun. It even charges the batteries in moonlight--well, not much, but some.
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| Panels |
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| Monitor |
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| Charge Controller |
Wednesday I found Value Village....not to be confused with Savers, which is the American equivalent of the Canadian thrift chain Value Village. When I first saw the sign, I thought that it was a dollar store, but upon entering, I realized that it was not. This was the best thrift store yet!! It had some really funky stuff and prices were incredible. Almost everything was $2.99 or $3.99. Richard left me there to go pick up the RV, and the plan was that when I was done, I would meander through the Glendale antique district. Richard ran into lots of problems (his story, so look for it on his account) and was much delayed. I, however, had never left the store.....that’s how good it was! (I couldn’t have meandered anyway given how many bags I had.) After each thrift store spree, we store my booty under our mattress. The bed frame is now full to the breaking point and getting lumpy....It must be all that linen.
March 10
On Thursday afternoon we arrived in Prescott. While at the Tucson Gem Show, one of the vendors strongly suggested that we not leave this area without stopping in Prescott. He was right. It is a interesting combination of things: many retirees with money, which means upscale restaurants, shopping, etc. and a large tourist trade, which means beautiful galleries, jewellery stores, music, etc. We stayed at a fairly empty forest service campground (no water, no power) which did not feel like Arizona, but more like Colorado: lots of amazing rock formations, tall pines, chirping birds, numerous trail heads and much colder temperatures than most of the other places. The irony was that after installing solar, the only available sites in this campground were shaded.
A short digression – As I write this, I am perched in the passenger seat of the RV, back at the 1000 Trails boondocking site. Upon our return we found it much more crowded, but we still managed to find a location with a magnificent view. Yesterday evening two smaller motorhomes pulled into a vacant space not far from us. This morning, while walking the dog, Richard met these people. They are 2 single women (about 65), each travelling in their own vehicles, one pulling a car. Inside one of the motorhomes, the disabled sister of one of these women sits. As I write, the other two women are unloading her electric wheelchair from the hydraulic lift. Bear in mind that this location has no power, no water, and only dirt roads. .... I see these women as a true testament to the human spirit.
We are about to go for a long scenic drive on unpaved mountain roads... more later.
