And We’re Rollin’

Headed out this morning for our next location at White Tank Regional Park near Surprise AZ. We stayed here earlier in our trip and really liked it. Getting here was a little stressful though. Traffic through Phoenix was awful and with the trailer even worse, but JP pulled it off and we settled in at our camp sight around 3:00. The view from Lucky’s back window is awesome. Desert by day and city lights by night. Looking forward to spending some more time with our friends here in Surprise again and hoping for lots of nice weather!

Tiny Note: Before we left Tucson we visited a little pie shop called “Back Dough” which is pretty cute. The window reads “It’s the YEAST we can do.”  How creative and funny is that?

52 Days!

We have been on the road for 52 days – which seems crazy! It doesn’t feel like that long. We have a routine for getting settled in and packing up to move and have found that a week at a RV spot suits us just fine. We are mixing up the types of places we stay to keep things interesting. We fit pretty well in our 21 feet but then again we aren’t in Lucky most of the day.  I was a little worried I would get bored since I can be a little hyper – but it’s been just the opposite. Most everyday is full and the ones that aren’t end up being  a welcome rest. 

I would vote for disposable clothes because neither of us love the laundromat no matter how nice it might be. JP and I have teamed up well and really are having an adventure. I miss my friends back home but I’m looking forward to being back in Oregon in May. Otherwise life is good!

We head out tomorrow for White Tank Mountain where we stayed earlier in our trip. We’re looking forward to hanging out with our friends in Surprise and enjoying the view from our perch in the desert. And away we go again . . .

Bisbee

We decided to do the tourist thing today and headed first to Bisbee which is about 8 miles from the border. The town was established in 1877 and the “Queen of the Copper Mining Camps.” Downtown has a peculiar appearance because the buildings are so tall and the streets so narrow. It has a great museum with 3 stories of items donated by the families who lived (and still live) in Bisbee. The town is mostly antique stores, galleries and quirky shops.

Little note: On the way out of town we saw a Ringtail (the Arizona State Mammal) crossing the road. They are supposed to be nocturnal so we aren’t sure why he was up or where he was going but we were happy to add him to our wildlife list.

And then there was Tombstone . . .

Tombstone was totally a tourist stop. There were lots of people and lots of ways to spend your money paying to see what Tombstone has to offer. It’s somewhere we know though because we’ve seen the movies  and heard the stories. It’s familiar in an odd way. The top picture is the courthouse. The late 1800’s hearse was built for $8000.00 and if built today would cost about ten times that. We didn’t ride the stagecoach or the trolley around town or stay for the gunfight reenactment, but we did pay to enter the Bird Cage and it was totally worth it.

I was so intrigued by the Bird Cage. Not because it was the “Wildest, Wickedest Night Spot, Between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast” but because it opened in 1881 and was open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year until it closed in 1889. It sat until 1934 when the new owners opened it to find that nothing had been disturbed in all that time. That may or may not be true, but what remains appears to be authentic even with the tourist touches. 26 men were killed there, there are bullet holes are in the ceiling. The Little Egypt poster has a knife hole and bullet holes in it and hangs in its original spot at the front door. The balcony rooms have their original curtains and the poker table and chairs remain from the longest running poker game ever, running 24 hours a day for over 8 years. There is too much to tell and you can always look it up online but a picture is worth a thousand words.

And We Shopped and Shopped and Shopped

Today was day one of a 3 day semi-annual festival on 4th St in Tucson.  Amazing photography and unique art. We had a great time browsing but buying wasn’t on the agenda. Its a little too tight in lucky to add cargo. It was fun and the weather was still clear and sunny so a perfect day to roam.

In the evening we headed to a huge swap meet. It was a bit different than any we had been to before. It was a night time event and had kiddie rides and booths from  a blanket on the ground to what looked like little stores. There was everything you could imagine. New and used and tons of people having a warm Friday night out.

What A Day!

Today JP wanted to visit the Pima Air and Space Museum. I had no idea how huge it was! We were there the better part of the day. It was actually pretty overwhelming. I thought it was interesting that the volunteer tour guide was actually a WWII pilot and besides knowing about the planes he shared his part in history.

At the very end of our tour we came to the “Boneyard Project Return Trip.” Artists use the planes as canvas and its pretty cool! These were my favorites for sure. I would love to see the entire collection. Artists from all over the world participated.

We decided after a short break that we would take Desert Diamond Casino up on their offer to chip in for our dinner and headed out for the evening. JP was a good sport and drove us up the road another 20 miles to take a look at another casino – the Casino Del Sol. Pretty impressive! A casino resort that has all the bells and whistles just like the big time. We made a night of it and did something we haven’t done in ages  . . . hit the hay at about 3 AM. What a day!

Oh Yeah – My kind of place!

We’ve decided the pool is where we will start and end our days here (so nice,  it opens at 8 and closes at 10). We now have access to lovely showers too – much easier than the tiny tub shower in Lucky.

I don’t think I can spend enough time in the Historic District of Tuscon. It’s lined with tiny bars, cafes,and all kinds of unique and unusual stores and shops. There seems to be happy hour at just about any hour. I love the names of some of the places, like the Hippy Gypsy and Bison Witches (eatery) and The Flycatcher Bar (see mouth mural). It feels allot like the 60’s in Berkley  (minus the tattoos and pastel haircolor).  Oh but how I love the murals!

We ventured a little further east to investigate the Desert Diamond Casino because we knew there was free play waiting for us if we signed up for a players card. Yes, indeed and we each got a $10.00 dining certificate which means we will have to return at a later date.  I’m good with that!

Ah to the Southwest of Arizona!

It was a bit of a drive but we headed to Tucson to stay at the opposite of the dry camping we were doing at Lake Roosevelt. We have full hook-ups in a neighborhood of park model homes. I’m not hating the pool, hot tub, laundry room, tiny lending library or DVD rental and yes we have WIFI! We can’t stream but we do have internet which is great!

We got settled in and today and relaxed from the drive. Tomorrow we are out and about. Looks like sunny weather (80-90) but I can take it!

Dry Camping, Sunshine and Starry Nights

Our stay here has been hot weather, lots of sunscreen, and clear blue skies! We’ve been rowing our pontoons all around the edges of  Lake Roosevelt in the shallows and weedbeds in search of bass but I only caught one (and released it).  JP had one on and we saw some jumping and rolling (teasing us)! This isn’t the kind of bass fishing we’ve done in the past so it’s a whole new learning curve. While fishing  JP saw a havalina come to the water’s edge for a drink and later we saw an owl – so we can add these to our wildlife list.

These past days have been quiet and easy. We mostly fish and scout the area and then grab our lawn chairs and head to the shore to brave the mosquitoes for some night fishing. We caught a couple of catfish and that was fun (though I think they are evil fish). The bats were really annoying ! They flew toward our light (where all the bugs gather) and they were constantly hitting our fishing line in doing so. Yep! One more addition to our wildlife list.

We did take a scenic drive around the Roosevelt Rim. So much open space! We stopped at a little store and saw some REAL cowboys. They were evidently taking a break but they were dressed like working cowboys and weren’t young ‘uns. We headed through Young and back to camp through Payson.

Tonight JP managed to avoid a hitting a pair of deer that ran right in front of us. One was bumped but the truck unharmed. Nice save on JP’s part!

All nights here end at the campfire under oh so many stars!

*Tiny note: JP did rescue a little yellow duckie from the lake. He is now “Cupcake” our Lucky Duck

Today was a settle in and scout day. Its a pretty big campground and fairly full. We drove around our side of the lake to look for places to night fish and good launch sites for the pontoons.

Later we walked down to the lake shore and did some night fishing. No bites but a beautiful night on the water. We finished the day with a campfire and scorpion hunt on the trail around our campground. JP found 2 with the black light flashlight. Though they glow a bright fluorescent green – it was hard to capture with my phone.

Its been 80 ish in the daytime (a little warm without air conditioning) but theres a light breeze and its balmy in the AM and evening. Cools down right at campfire o,clock!

On the Move

We headed to Cholla Campground on Lake Roosevelt today. It will be a change from the casino style RV parking we did this past week. Cholla is a dry campground so we will have to take our own water and use a generator for power. The weather looks like it will be warmer. Hopefully we will get some time on the water with our pontoons boats and get some fishing in.

Its lovely here, though the fact that JP is out scouting with a black light flashlight for scorpions (they glow florescent green with a black light) could be worrisome. He has been a sport through hours of antique stores, historical sights and ruins this past week so I am totally on-board with the new location. Its beautiful and quiet, we have a campfire and there are lots of stars. Not a thing to complain about! The photo is of the view from the back window of Lucky.