A New Base Camp...and How We Spent Our Summer!

View from our patio.

We moved our party in May to our new place in Arizona. Now that we've spent almost all summer here, we're not quite sure what the big deal about the HEAT 😈 is! Sure it's gotten pretty toasty here a few times, but when it's really hot it's also really dry. The only time it feels a bit uncomfortable is when you're out in the direct sun. Tucson is also not usually as warm as a hundred miles up the road in Phoenix. It's on average five or ten degrees different. In fact, as I'm writing this the monsoon has kicked in again, and it's raining and 88 degrees. Well, anyway, now we're looking forward to the fall this year and the mild, resorty winter weather that this place is famous for. We've spent the better part of the past three months reestablishing ourselves with new doctors, hair cutters ( M A is very happy since she found a great solon for herself right out of the box!), trying new eating places (this town is a hidden gem for foodies!), and just getting more familiar with the surroundings. The coach is stored almost right across the street from our new apartment so I have been enjoying having a great spot to keep it maintained. Speaking of it, we have had some time to get more familiar with certain areas of this beautiful state that we knew little or nothing of before. In July, we headed north from here, through the amazing Salt River Canyon. Imagine driving a 38 foot RV down one side and up the other (almost) of The Grand Canyon! It was quite an experience.

The Salt River Canyon

We headed up to Show Low, a summer and winter getaway for those who know and want a change of weather in both seasons. It's much higher elevation so much cooler in summer and good sking in winter.

The original Fort Apache, near Show Low

We took the coach from there further up to I 40 and back over to Flagstaff for a quick drive by, then back down I 17 through Phoenix and back to Tucson. In the beginning of August we headed a different direction to Southeast Arizona and the Sierra Vista area. This includes some pretty well known places like Tombstone and the quaint little mountain mining town, Bisbee. We've been to those locales on previous trips, so this time we headed to the pretty Three Canyons area near Sierra Vista for a little cool and shady hiking. Ramsey Canyon gave us just what we were seeking, a long winding hike along a hard running stream.

Ramsey Canyon waterfall

We both almost thought we'd gotten lost and ended up somewhere in North Carolina, near The Blue Ridge Parkway! Now that we're back home until our next big trip in the fall, we'll have to settle for hiking on our bike/walking trail right behind our place or at The Catalina State Park, right across the street. Food! I could write volumes already about the food scene here (and I probably will), but so far, a few places in a couple of catagories are really high on the list. The first has got to be my new number ONE burger...anywhere! Truland (and it's fast casual sibling, Graze). These guys know burgers. From the bun to the grass fed (or slightly less expensive, basic organic) beef, to the whole perfect salty, cheesy, and organic condiment topped conglomeration, this is my new burger to hold to all burger standards! Even their fries and sweet potato tots are amazing. A photo just wouldn't do it justice.

Truland in Oro Valley

Two other faves are Prep and Pastry and Welcome Diner, another way better than average local kitchen. We'll be updating lots more Tucson eating places here as time goes on, but since we do like to cook and eat in, it may take a while longer because there is...Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Natural Grocers, and Frys (Kroger), all within about five or six minutes from our door! The next update will most likely be the fall roll out from here...West!

A Quick Catch Up for April, 2017

For those who follow us around, I have to go back to my comment from last year and say, "We've been so busy living the vagabond life, we don't have time to write about it!"
A lot of followers request that we at least catch them up on our travels and lifestyle, so here goes...Our last post is from Albuquerque last fall. From there, we started out east towards Central Florida for a visit with brother Ed and sister in law Pat. But that trip was ill fated. As we were heading on Interstate 40 and crossing in to Arkansas, Mary Ann, thankfully a very experienced motor coach driver, noticed debris flying behind our coach and announced she was quickly pulling off to the shoulder. We both jumped out and couldn't believe what we saw next. The front passenger side of our Smart Car had blown off from a tire blow out! Within less than an hour, and an emergency call to Mercedes Benz roadside assistance, the car was loaded onto a flat bed tow truck for a trip backwards to Oklahoma City, the nearest Mercedes Smart Car Dealer. We followed it back in the coach and ended up making lemonade out of lemons and spent about three weeks there, getting reacquainted with what is a very interesting, growing mid sized city. Of course we got around all over town, and we hit on a couple of memorable eating places. One that sticks in the mind is Waffle Champion.

We visited this place repeatedly! Fresh waffles, made to order, are the headliner here, and are they fun!! OKC is burger central too. Oklahoma City differentiates itself from the rest, claiming that Onion Burgers were invented there (a practical result of The Great Depression, when onions were used as filler for more expensive beef ). Tuckers has been around since then and claims to be one of the originals. You have to try one. They are tasty!

We also made several trips there during our unplanned stay in town. When the little car had been repaired we changed course and headed back to our apartment base camp (New Braunfels, Tx) to get some medical and dental attention (and finally a decent haircut for me!). Hair cuts for me and Mary Ann (especially M A!!) could be the subject of an entire blog someday. So after spending a month or two in base camp, we headed for Palm Springs to catch up with our planned schedule. We stopped in Tucson for a week or so and continued west for the rest of winter. The Palms Springs International Film Festival in January has been a tradition for us since first discovering it's diverse programming in 2004. Most of the films are foreign (yes....subtitles! for those of you who cringe at the thought!). We spend most of our indoor entertainment time watching those movies! It's a passion. Watching stories from other cultures is more interesting to us than most of the current fare coming from our own domestic film makers (although sometimes there is an exception). This year's festival did disappoint us though, and we think the Europeans, in particular, may be running out of steam too. The unusually windy, rainy, and cool weather was a factor for us leaving the area early this year and beginning our trek back east, towards Texas, where the weather all winter had actually been much nicer. So by the end of January we crossed back into Arizona to spend a little time in Quartzite, the winter gathering spot for thousands of RV'ers who want to immerse themselves in everything RV! From there we homed back in to Tucson, where we had a revelation. We asked ourselves if it was time to move our base camp there from New Braunfels. After all, we seemed to keep being drawn there for all the outdoor activities and the way better than average food scene. We still love New Braunfels, it's small town charm and location between Austin and San Antonio, but we've been here and done this, and it's just time to move on to somewhere new. So in May we're relocating base camp to Encantada at Steam Pump, a beautiful new place in Oro Valley, a suburb of Tucson. I guess we'll report back in once we've gotten settled there and head out for summer Out West somwhere...