Tucson to Las Vegas

We received a recall on the coach (no it's not a Toyota) so we spent 2 nights last week at a Freightliner garage in Phoenix to have it taken care of as well as the first 6,000 mile servicing. We made 2 stopovers on our way to Las Vegas, in Quartzsite, Arizona and Needles, California. We were going to dry camp in Quartzsite since there are miles of BLM (Bureau of Land Managment) but were running low on water and high on our waste tanks from dry camping at the garage, so we decided to pull into a park instead. We are finding there are RV parks of all kinds. Many advertise as "resorts" but their definition of a resort and ours are worlds apart.

Here were our neighbors at the Freightliner garage:





Here's where we stayed in Quartzsite:


Pretty bad huh?



Our site in Needles was better. Each site is surrounded by 6' Oleander hedges that are in full bloom making it a very private setting. Here are views from the coach.










A beautiful sunset can make any place look better.

In Las Vegas we stayed at the Las Vegas Motorcoach Resort. This is truly a resort with 5 swimming pools, tanning pool, 5 spas, tennis courts, 9 hole lighted putting course, fitness center with spa, saunas & massage rooms, on site restaurant and 24 hour security. Many of the sites are privately owned and upgraded with patio furnishings, outdoor kitchens with dishwashers & ice makers and thatch roofed huts. Hope we don't get too spoiled here....


Our spot at the Las Vegas Motorcoach Resort...there's grass!!


A privately owned site with lots of upgrades.








We visited with "old" friends Gary & Suzanne who now live in Las Vegas. Gary and Ron attended high school together in St. Louis, then years later when Ron joined the Globe Democrat...lo and behold Gary was working there too in the advertising sales department. They both made the move to the St. Louis Post Dispatch and enjoyed nearly 20 years of working together.




We met for lunch at Raffles in the Mandelay Bay Resort to get caught up and they graciously invited us the next day to there home for brunch. They have a great house and we had a great visit.

It has been years since we visited Las Vegas and I had forgotten how exciting it is with all of the hussle and bussle. Unfortunately, we are only going to be able to stay a few days, but have already decided to come back to take advantage of some of the attractions, shows and restaurants.

Hope all is well!

Goodbye Tucson.

Our final days in Tucson Arizona comprised of a tour of Old Tucson Studios and a visit to Saguaro National Park.

Old Tucson Studios is a touristy amusement attraction with a can can musical, gun fights, card shark show, pistol & lariat shows. But the real attraction is that it is the site of the most active filming locations for Western-themed movies, TV & cable shows in the USA. The history dates back to 1939 when Columbia Pictures chose this site to build a replica of 1860’s Tucson for the movie Arizona starring William Holden and Jean Arthur. Local carpenters built the town from scratch, erecting more than 50 buildings in 40 days. Without running water, they made more than 350,000 adobe bricks from the desert dirt to create authentic structures for the film, many still standing today. Over time it was the site for The Bells of St. Mary’s, The Last Outpost, Gunfight at the OK Corral, The Lone Ranger, Cimarron, Lilies of the Field & Have Gun Will Travel to name just a few. The Gambler, Three Amigos, The Quick and the Dead were some of the films in the
1990’s and early 2000’s.



Stunt man falling from tower at a Wild West Comedy show.



Bullwhip demonstration by Pistol Packing Paula



Joan with Pistol Packing Paula...the only female pistol twirler.


Location for a film shoot


We were hoping to see the desert in bloom before we left Tucson, but our visit to the Saguaro National Park, although awesome, was still a little early. We did see some blooms along a short hike.

















Balancing rock formation.


We packed a lunch and had this little visitor serenade us!


Trail up into the mountains


Joan along the trail.



Ron along the trail.


Our friends Tom & Sue finally pulled the trigger and bought a beautiful 5th wheel. They spent a couple of days at Beaudry RV resort in the space next to us. We went to the dealership to see the rig they chose and spent a day shopping. Tom & Ron hit the hardware store and where back in 1.5 hours. Sue & I hit Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Wal-mart and 5-6 hours later we were back. How do guys do that?


Not only did they have to decide on which RV to buy they had to shop for a new truck too!


Tom & Sue with their new home!

We attended the Stations of The Cross on Good Friday at Santa Cruz Catholic Church. The stations were simple crosses positioned around the outside of the church & school complex. With Father leading the group and the participants taking turns carrying a large wooden cross we walked from station to station. Interesting!


We liked our 2 month stay in Tucson. They do things different down here though. The city has very few storm drains so when it does rain the washes fill and the streets flood. Instead of spending money for a storm sewer system, they just purchased signs to place all over the city.





Their highway overpasses are very artistic. I guess this is where all of their tax dollars went.










There is one exit off of I-19 with an exit sign and ramp that leads to nowhere???? We were told the original plan was the development of a casino that never took place.









But you can't beat the sunsets!






Our next destination is Las Vegas to visit friends.

Hope all is well

Joan &
Ron

Picacho Peak State Park

Arizona has some of the most beautiful and awesome state parks. Unfortunately they do not have the funds to support them and are closing all but 9 of the 34. Picacho Peak is one scheduled to close June 3rd. How sad! We are glad we were able to visit. It is located about 30 miles northwest of Tucson - in the middle of nowhere.


Approaching Picacho Peak is the best way to view the unique shape of the 1,500 foot peak.

We ate lunch at an isolated picnic table overlooking the mountainside starting to bloom. We were hoping the desert will be in full bloom by the time we leave, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.



It has about a mile driving loop and several hiking trails. I chose the medium length trail which was just under 1 mile but pretty much up hill and moderately rugged. An hour later - I was hot, dry and my muscles were already rebelling but I got some great pictures.


Callaway Trail


Cactus with 2" thorns surrounded by beautiful flowers.



Mexican Gold Poppies.


Desert enhanced by the color of purple.


Not all Saguaro's are as shown in a picture perfect postcard.



Besides the beauty of the flora there were some unusual rock formations along the trail.






Finally made it to the top.


Another view from the top.


Picacho Peak’s most noted historic event occurred on April 15, 1862, when Confederate and Union scouting parties met in the Battle of Picacho Pass during the Civil War. This was the only Civil War clash to take place in Arizona.


Memorial to the 4 soldiers who died in this Civil War battle.



Site of the Picacho Pass battle.

Our next trip is to the Saguaro National Park in the next couple of days.

Hope all is well!

Joan & Ron

We spent last Saturday at Davis-Monthan AFB for the Arizona Days Air Show with friends Tom and Sue. We thought we would be wise and take the shuttle. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea - it was a 3 hour wait! So we drove to the base and Sue sweet-talked one of the military police to get us into handicap parking because of Ron's knees. A good thing...because even after we got on the tarmack the displays, vendors and show were spread out and required a lot of additional walking. Tom is retired from the Secret Service and had a lot of knowledge of the various aircrafts and served as our "tour guide" Featured were the A-10 "warthog" tank destroyer, 4 Patriot jets flown by the Thunderbird pilots, F-22A Raptor, B-1 Lancer Bomber, F-15 Eagle just to mention a few.


E-3 Sentry AWACS- airborne warning and control system. Premier surveillance system monitors skies around the world providing critical battlefield info to commanders on the ground.


MH - 53 Pave Low


Patriots


Parachutist


My favorite picture taken of the Thunderbirds


Another Thunderbird formation. This year marks their 57th anniversary.



One more. They were originally formed at Luke AFB here in Arizona and since moved to Nellis AFB in Las Vegas.


And what's an event without the infamous Clydesdales?


Tom, Sue, Ron and me....everyone else was smart enough to wear a hat...it was HOT!

We had a good time!

Hope all is well!

Joan & Ron