We are in Benson at an Escape park, which, by the way, is a beautiful park.  Internet is at the club house but it does have cable and the views are beautiful.   We were in and around Patagonia.  We wanted to attend SWAN (Support Women Artist Now) fair.  It was a lot of fun looking at the artwork and walking around town.

We will be heading to Tucson tomorrow and the park we will be staying will not have internet or TV.   I have been in a “slump” because of an impending doctor’s appointment and my insurance.  They have made it damn near impossible to purchase insurance.  If you have high cholesterol and osteoporosis you are not eligible.  I purchased my insurance before that but that doesn’t stop them from making me a nervous wreck.  They tried to cancel me and thankfully we have it resolved, right before my April 1st appointment. 

I am currently reading “Off To The Side” by Jim Harrison. Who is just an awesome author.   He wrote the following:

I have clocked seven depressions in my life that might qualify as “clinical” beginning at the age of fourteen.  There is the obvious conclusion that in each case I was behaving in a way I shouldn’t preceding the depression. Living an outward life my inward being couldn’t accept, reaching a level of raw perception that my current life couldn’t accommodate.

All I can say is how true, how true.  

I will blog when I can!

Feeling a little blue today.....  Mom and I are settled in until Sunday and then we will be slowly heading back to Tucson.  I have an appointment with the Cancer Center and when that is through we will be heading east.  I will be doing a little hiking and will be posting pictures later.

On The Way To Arivaca

WHOOPS - Between laundry and fixing dinner (corn beef, fruit, cheese and crackers) last night I was trying to upload pictures on a bad internet connection.  To make a long boring story short I misspelled the name of a town I was in - it was Tumacacori, Arizona.  :-)  We are back on the road today.


First we went to the spice store located in Tumacacori, Arizona.

My bread and my hot dogs will taste a little bit yummier.  

We had  to have lunch at the Wisdom Cafe.  It was highly recommended.  The food was good.

Then it was time to head to Arivaca.

The road to Arivaca was curvy and rolling but it was a beautiful drive.  Along the side of the road was bright yellow flowers that I am assuming are Mexican Poppies.  It was just beautiful.  Arizona's landscape changes from one moment to the next and that is why I love it here.  We stopped at the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge for a  little hiking.  It was the riparian right before you go into town.  We didn't get to see all that we wanted to see and plan to return.  

I have posted the rest of the pictures here.

Walmart Parking Lot

I had to drive back to Tucson to take care of some business.  I took these pictures while parked in a Walmart parking lot.

Moving on tomorrow will post when I have internet.....

Just Drive Hwy 286

Grandkids

A

James and Anna

Anna with Jaeda and Hayden.

Hayden

Isabel

Jaeda

Sisters

4th Street Fair

Instead of a hike, Scott and I headed to the 4th Street fair. Lots of arts and crafts, beer, food, and one lady holding a sign that stated "Free Hugs." She was a tall nice looking blond and all the men were lining up. This is my day in pictures.

Being the perfect doggie grandma I picked up two steer pizzle sticks..... aka steer penis for the pups.  Of course Louie wanted them both and being the alpha dog she almost had both of them.

The Fair.  The Crowds.   You can see the lady holding the "free hugs" sign.

Fun things to see.

This was my favorite vendor....

Of course Scott would not allow me to buy one for Bernie and Louie....  They would probably eat them.  It was a fun day.  We are moving on tomorrow and not sure of our location.

We are now in a park that has showers and internet!

Today we went to Trader Joes, WalMart, and Barnes and Noble.  We spend the same amount of money at a regular grocery store so Trader Joes is really not that expensive.  Besides it is the only place I can find good goat cheese, lemon curd, and burritos.  Hannah, next door is Choice Greens and I thought of you with every bite. 

I did a lot of hiking this week and took some pictures……  Tomorrow, knock on wood, we will meet up with Scott and do a little hiking at Catalina State Park.   Click Here For Hiking Pictures

Life is still good for the folks in the little house on wheels.

We are in Tucson.  I had to go back and see my doctor.  I have an appointment for my "second opinion" set for April 1st.  Like I have said before Tucson gets a hold of you and won't turn loose.  We are leaving Saturday for southern Arizona and will just wander around until the 1st.  I won't say where because I am not going to jinx it.  The internet is very poor and I probably won't be online for a few days.  We are alive and well.

Tubac Arizona

Tubac is a glorified tourist trap and “artist colony.”  That is what I enjoyed the most is browsing through all of the artwork.   Mom and I spent a lot of our time in the sculpture garden and it was fantastic!  We also made it to Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, which will be closing at the end of the month.    It was a fun day.

We are going to spend another night here and move on Saturday.   Where we are going there will be no TV or internet.  I don’t know about the phone yet.   Tuesday, mom has an appointment in Tucson.   I am still waiting to hear from my doctor on when my appointment will be.  So I don’t know when we will be leaving the Tucson area.  We will roam around here until then.  I am not going to make plans until I am crossing the border.  

Enjoy the pictures!!!!  The link will take you to my Facebook page.

Silly Random Pictures of Tubac

Tubac Presidio State Historic Park

Karin Newby Sculpture Garden

Dirt Roads (a rant)

I think it was Jeff Foxworthy that said “you know you are a red neck if directions to your house include: "turn off the paved road."  I have always lived off of a dirt or gravel road.  Some of my children’s fondest memories are of dirt roads and long walks.   So it wasn’t so strange that mom and I found a house off of a dirt road in the middle of Oro Valley.  The directions to our little adobe home is “turn off the paved road.”  We had to spread gravel on our little road because when it rains it turns to mud.   It makes sense or it does to us.

My son and a friend are doing some spring cleaning at the house.  Besides clearing the dead stuff, chopping down dead trees, they are shoveling gravel in the back of a pickup truck and putting it on the road.  The rains have washed some of the gravel away leaving some bare spots.  It is hard work, a lot of shoveling and raking but he has done it before.  Our neighbor decided it was time to let my son know that she doesn’t appreciate our gravel road.  She came out of her house, which is off a paved road, and asked him to stop putting gravel on his road.  It seems that every time Scott drives on it, it wakes up her family.  Even though he drives very slowly (her words not his) it is still very loud and she wants all of the gravel removed from our road. 

WTH?

Like I said I have lived off of a gravel road and now that we are traveling and living at RV parks we are still living off of a gravel road.  I have had RV neighbors that lived in the city all of their lives and it has never been the road that has kept them up at night.  It is always the dogs, the trains, or the interstate noises but it has never been the gravel on the road.  Just read the reviews on RV Park Reviews.

I told my son to keep on putting the gravel on the road.  I am sure they will not drive their little blue Jag on a muddy road and neither will my son drive his 5 year old Matrix on one either.  The neighbor took my number from Scott and is going to call me.  It will be a big mistake on her part if she does because I am going to recommend a specialist for hypersensitivity to sound. 

I told someone that we are like the Beverly Hillbillies only we ain’t rich just lucky.  These folks know we are not “one of them.”  We don’t try to mix and mingle we just try to be good neighbors.  I am not going to have the gravel removed from the road.  I am not going to change how I take care of my property to suit my neighbors.  They can have their pools, gardeners, and HOAs.    It doesn’t matter to me, as long as they stay on their side of the fence. 

It just goes to show it takes all kinds to make this world go round.

I'll take the dirt road, it's all I know

I've been a'walking it for years

It's gone where I need to go

It ain't easy, it ain't supposed to be

So I'll take my time

And life won't pass me by

'Cause it's right there to find, on the dirt road

The Best Oops

Mom and I finally left Tucson yesterday afternoon.   We goofed around for awhile; okay we went to the casino but only for the buffet.  It was getting late when we finished uhhh lunch and I told mom to find the number for the RV Park where I wanted to stay.   She gave me the wrong number.  It was another park and I was so flustered I went ahead and told the lady we were going to stay for a couple of nights.  This is a park that I heard people say was bad.  Drive on by bad.  I guess I should have called back and cancelled but I didn’t. 

This park is not the ritz.  It is a rough around the edges; I think it is an old KOA.     Lots of older rigs and believe it or not there two other Roadtreks parked here.    There are also more dogs that I have ever seen at a park living here.  The ones at the end of the park are more territorial but they are fenced.  The rest are friendly.  Being dog lovers this does not bother us.  We can get our dog fix here.  The people I have met have been friendly.   We even have a picnic table.  Needless to say we like it here.  I can sit and look out and see the mountains.  At night I can see stars.  I am content. 

There is a sign in the laundry room that states, emphatically, there will be no cursing.  If you are caught cursing you will be evicted from the park.  I stood inside the laundry room listening to a group of men, deep in conversation, and every other word was a profanity.   The only time I was offended was when one of them decided to do a little singing.  He couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.  I like it here.  We will definitely be back.  For those that like the all the trimmings and trappings and hullabaloo of a fancier park, move on down the road.

Tomorrow Tubac!  Life is good.

Not What I Am Used To

I have said earlier that Tucson gets a hold of you and never let’s go. Once again we are on hold.

My appointment for two tests was for 3:00 and it took two hours. I had to have new pictures taken just at different angles from the set I had taken at 3:00. I thought for a second I was going to have to stand on my head. It was horribly embarrassing. It is strange to be in an office filled with women and they knew that something was found. It was softness, a rub on the back, someone saying “are you okay?” It was something I am not used to… this gentleness. Their concern was genuine. When I did leave the office and sat down, the tears came. It wasn’t because of what was found because that was found two years ago. The tears were for the kindness shown in an office filled with women. They will call and let me know if I am to come back in a week.

Mom’s test would have gone well if there was parking. All the parking places at the hospital were for those who had permits. The parking for visitors and patients had a 7 foot clearance. We had to reschedule her tests at a place that could accommodate our van. The clinic we will be going to for her has lots of parking for all size vehicles.

We are going to continue with our plans to explore a part of Southern Arizona and come back to Tucson for the appointments. We will not stay in Tucson. This city has to turn loose of us eventually.

As usual all is well in the little house on wheels.

Don’t Jinx It

They released the van to us yesterday after they replaced the ABS/Speed Sensor. This morning we decided to test drive it and ran beautifully. I am scared to say anything more because I might jinx it…

We are going to head south Wednesday with the same plans as before - Arivaca, Tubac, and Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. Afterward, we will head for New Braunfels Texas.

Sandbox

I decided it was time to stop acting like a cat turd in a sandbox.  I woke up this morning determined to feel better mentally and find something positive in my day.  I left an hour early for my doctor’s appointment and just when I merged onto I-10 all hell broke loose.  The ABS and brake light came on, my gauges all dropped and my speedometer hit 0…… then the motor started reving.  I pulled over and turned off the motor.  It took a couple of tries but I got it going and went straight to the doctor’s office.  It takes 2 months to see him.  Then I went to the Chevy dealership and dropped the van off. 

My doctor thinks the van’s problem is the motherboard.  I asked him if that was his professional opinion and he said “yes.”  Even though he told me to stop eating sweets, I have such a nice doctor who has a great sense of humor.   He also listens to me and respects my decisions.  I hate doctors that badger you into taking test that you don’t really need.  I checked out fine and I am good to go for another year.  Just can’t eat sweets……  Mom checked out fine and she is good to go for another year. 

Currently we are in a hotel driving a rental.  I didn’t have much of a choice when it came to the rental and it feels strange to be driving an itty bitty teeny weeny car.  I feel like my arse is dragging on the highway after driving the van. 

My middle child, Scott fixed steaks and veggies for our supper.  It was excellent!!!!!


All in all, it’s been a pretty good day.   Tomorrow will only be better.

Oh and I haven’t heard from my oldest.  I think he took the Delorme atlas and got lost.  Strange.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men Oft Go Awry

The plans I made today just didn't materialized.  One of the plans was to help my son do a little yard work.  Cut down some dead trees and clear some brush.  That didn't happen and truthfully I don't mind.  I don't like chain saws, they are intimidating.  They also don't make great gifts.  I received a chain saw on a stick for my birthday so I should know.

I did get the lab work done and tomorrow I will know what is lurking around in my body.  So exciting.  I can't wait for all of this to be done and over.

When mom and I park for the night I have to make sure the van is level.   If I have a space that is unlevel I use some orange blocks and drive up on that.  When I leave for the day or a few hours I just leave my orange blocks on the ground.  The other day I left for an appointment and when I came back someone picked them up and laid them on my patio.  That was so sweet.  Knock on wood, no one has stolen my cable or my hose because I leave that as well.  In the four years we have been on the road the only thing that was taken was a water regulator and my sewer hose. Not bad at all.

All in all a productive in a nonproductive way day.

Deadlines

Mom’s visit to the doctor went well.  The doctor decided to schedule both of our blood test at the same time, 10:00 Wednesday.  Why is it when someone tells you not to do something you just have to do it?  No food after 10:00 a.m.  No coffee, tea, soda….. Just drink copious amounts of water.  I am considering taking a sleeping pill at 9:30.   Just knock myself out.   I won’t be hungry; it is just the thought of being told not to eat that will drive me to a pickle.   What is worse than being told don’t eat is when I get permission to eat, then I overeat.  It is a vicious circle folks.

One thing Michael of Ajo showed me was a Delorme map of Arizona.  I found one and told my oldest son, James aka Rusty about it.  Rusty aka James has become a hiking fool; almost every weekend, Anna and James aka Rusty grabs the kids and hit the trails.  Between you and me I think he is nuts for hiking in snow but whatever trips his trigger.   This map has shown him a new world.  I received a text message from him about three hours ago and he told me he was at Barnes and Noble.  He has never been in a bookstore before so I knew he was a man on a mission.  The next text was a picture of his Delorme atlas.  So I called him.  James aka Rusty never turns down a phone call from his mama but he didn’t answer.  I tried again about 30 minutes later.  No answer and no returned call.  I have been replaced by an atlas.   This is a special atlas though and I can understand… Really.   We are going to be waiting around for some tests and I am going to put my atlas to use.  I have a little section of the world set aside for hiking and exploring.    I have my camera bag packed and I am sitting on ready and rocking on go.

We have another 3 days in Tucson and then we will be heading to Tubac.  That is if the doctor doesn’t find anything wrong with me.


Pictures of James aka Rusty and his crew on hikes.

Rusty with Isabel and Malachi.

 

Rusty

 

Rusty with Anna, Isabel and Malachi

The real reason why he took up hiking, pictures below......

  

We made it to the Chevy dealership around 8 a.m. and 6 hours later the van was given back to us. They claimed to have replaced a broken wire that was causing the brake and ABS light to come on. Again it was covered by the warranty. 6 p.m. this evening the brake and ABS light came on. I haven’t figured out plan D yet. What I am thinking about doing is to continue driving it until the light comes on and when it does we will  drive it to a Chevy dealership. It looks like our trips will be based on where a Chevy dealership is located.

Tomorrow is mom’s day at the doctors and then two days later it will be mine. We are going to make a day trip to Tubac to see the state park there before they close it. There is a Chevy dealership in Green Valley, let’s hope the light comes on.  All is well in the little house on wheels.