Gloria, Doug, Gerry and I took a 200 mile roundtrip to Bisbee, AZ and had a great time. We picked them up at the Pima County Fairground campground and took the back roads to Bisbee. We took the long way there in order to see the countryside and the towns of Sierra Vista, Ft Huachucha, and Naco. Naco is right on the border with Mexico and has seen better days.
Bisbee is a great place to visit. It used to be a copper mining town and when the mines closed down the town fell on hard times. It has become a haven for artists and the town has been restored to former glory with the exception that the homes are now purple, green, red and other bright colors.
The downtown area is reivitalized and most shops are open for business. There are the usual tourist shops plus other interesting places, including many restaurants, brew pubs and hotels.
Doug was raised in Miami, AZ and said Bisbee reminded him of his home town, except their mine was larger. If so, then it must have been a very big mine since the one in the center of Bisbee is huge. The truck paths down to the bottom have eroded and it isn't possible to drive to the bottom anymore.
Gloria and Doug checked out the pit from the overlook. They don't have anything like this back in the midwest where Gloria is from. All the mines back there are deep shafts and have closed down over the years. Gloria is from the same county in Illinois as Gerry and I.
We stopped for dinner at Santiago's Restaurant and had a great Mexican meal and cold beer. They weren't at all busy and the waiter said it was a very slow period for them. Bisbee is about 15 degrees colder than the Tucson area and I think that accounts for their slow season. They did have the Christmas lights up in the downtown area and we enjoyed seeing them on the way out.
On our way back we drove through Benson and ran across this neat Christmas ornament out side a car dealership. It really stood out nicely. The display was about 15 ft high to give you an idea of it's size. Well done.
The weather in Tucson has been lousy the past week or so. It has been running about 10 degrees below normal. The weather started off nice but lately a cold front has moved in and the night time temperatures have been cold for this area. Tonight it is supposed to go down to around 24 in Tucson and a little warmer here in Vail. I guess I will have to disconnect the hose this evening to keep it from freezing tonight.
We find it humorous to watch the TV news stations out here and see how much they pay attention to the weather. They aren't used to cold weather like this and you would think a blizzard was imminent. They were showing people how to wrap their outside faucets with heat tape, let the water run, putting down de icer on the bridges ( even though it is dry ) and other precautions. After spending the first 18 years of my life in Illinois and going through sub zero weather quite frequently, ice storms, heavy snows and other lousy weather, it is hard to relate to this little cold snap.
We had a lazy day around here today and just took it easy. Al came by for a short visit this afternoon and was going to refill his propane tank and get some food shopping done. It was nice to see him and chat for a while. Now we have to get Sharon out of the 5th wheel and go sightseeing in the area.
They came and hooked up the 5th wheel unit across from us today. The couple who have been here in the past didn't make it this year due to health problems. At first we thought they would be late, but it looks like they won't make it at all. We didn't know them very well, but it is always sad to see someone give up things they love.
Other than the above, not much has been going on around here. There are days like this when full timing, just like around a house.
Now to stay warm this evening.
Gerry and I like to shop but avoid Black Friday bargains. There are too many people out there and they all seem to be in a hurry. Some people here in Tucson were camped out at Best Buy since Wednesday in order to be among the first ones in the store. While it isn't that cold out here, it did get down into the high 20s during the night. I would imagine the sidewalk really cools off at that temperature.
We did get out today and do some shopping, but didn't find any real bargains left out there. The traffic was really terrible in the shopping centers and I almost saw a young woman get run over. She ran right out in front of a car and only the fact that the driver of the car was alert prevented a bad accident. It really amazes me what people will do for a bargain.
We heard from our friends Gloria & Doug that they headed south today from Albuquerque and the bitter cold up there. They plan on arriving here sometime Sunday afternoon and will be staying in a park near us for a while. I think they miss their Florida campsite and the great weather they have been having there. Today I did see that a cold front moved into Florida so it isn't so nice there.
The Univ of Maryland beat North Carolina State in football today but it was getting dicey at the end as they almost blew a 21 point lead in the 4th quarter. Never a dull moment with them. It looks like they may get a bowl bid this year at one of the lessor bowls. They have a very young team so that bodes well for next year.
Gerry and I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. We will be joining others at the Rec Center in the park for Thanksgiving dinner this year as we have done for the past 4 years with the exception of 2008 when we spent Thanksgiving with our son and his family. We wish we could be with family but that won't work if we want to be here in Tucson for the winter. Maybe next year.
We joined about 90 other campers at the Recreation Hall for dinner today. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and all the other fixings. I would have updated the blog earlier however I was too stuffed to type. It was great seeing everyone there and chatting with them.
I watched two football games today and was 1-1 for the day. New Orleans won over Dallas and Detroit lost to New England. Guess which game was the loss. I would have liked to see the Lions win finally in a Thanksgiving game but it wasn't to be.
We talked to all our children and some of the grandkids today and enjoyed chatting with them. If we can't be with them, then at least we can talk to them.
We have been settling in here and will stay for the next 5 months. Lots of shopping and reacquainting ourselves with the area. Not much has changed during our 6 months away for the summer. Just a lazy, sleepy little town.
The RV park is about 1/2 full and a few people come in each day. They expect more around Dec 1 and then Jan 1, 2011. At that time the park should be full or close to it. We have our old spot on the end of the line and don't have any neighbors behind us or across from us. It will be interesting to see if they rent these spaces and who the new people are.
My cousin Sharon and her husband Al arrived on Sunday and will stay at the Pima County RV Park for the next 4 months. They also have an end unit with a nice view of the mountains to the south and west of them. We invited them to join us for Thanksgiving dinner at our park, but Al is holding out. Hint hint. *** Update - Al didn't take the hint! ***
Our luck with the weather has continued. Each place we have stopped for a couple nights on the way out here the weather turned colder. Same thing here. I hope they have a late Indian Summer here in December. Cold is relative though, we were in short sleeve shirts today while out shopping and it is around 69 degrees with very little wind.
We finally made it to Tucson from our cabin in Pennsylvania after driving 3100 miles, 43 days on the road and 14 states, plus one wedding. The rv park isn't anywhere near full and I wonder if it will fill up this winter.
We had planned on arriving on Sunday, however the weather forecast was calling for winds in the +30 mph range which isn't much fun to drive in so we left Las Cruces just before noon and made the easy 255 mile drive.
The weather forecast for this afternoon didn't look too good so we were up early this morning and cleared out of Van Horn in a hurry. Not panic, but a hurry for us. We had an easy 165 mile drive to Las Cruces and arrived in time for lunch.
In a conversation with the owner of Siesta RV Park he stated the economy around here was bad and getting worse. We have heard the same comments at the different places where we have stopped for the night. It is time for the powers to be to devote some time to the economy and the working man, rather than the money people. They have great internet service here and I hope to take advantage of that to upload some pictures to my online files.
I am experimenting with the collage creation program in Picasa and have the following pictures of our trip. If it turns out ok, I will create some more in the future.
We got a late start today since we had some business to attend to first. Once we got that cleared up we hit the road for Van Horn, TX. The drive was 360 miles today and it was one of the windiest days we've had in a long time. There were gusts up to 40mph and coming out of the southwest made it a killer on the gas mileage. I am almost afraid to see how much it cost us in fuel and haven't filled up the MH yet.
We made it to a KOA in Van Horn after dark and got here in time to hookup and then walk to their Kafe and have dinner. It is a nice touch for the campground to have a cafe on the grounds and Gerry appreciated not having to cook dinner.
We have heard about Fredericksburg, TX in the Hill Country for a long time and decided to see what was there. It is a very interesting town with tons of things to do in the area. This weekend they had an Antique Fair, Big Band festival, WWII reenactment at the Nimitiz Museum and various other activities. Since it is in Gillespie County and I am from Gillespie, IL I found it very interesting.
The town square had a number of statues, columns and buildings from days gone by. The photo to the right is called a Christmas Pyramid and is very interesting. It reminded me of a time travel machine. Not sure if I would use it for that purpose.
The building below is called Vereins Kirche and the original version was used not only as a church, but also as a fort, a storehouse and a community meeting hall.
A maypole or Maibaum is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer. In some cases the maypole is a permanent feature that is only utilised during the festival, although in other cases it is erected specifically for the purpose before being taken down again. This one was being used in a geo cache but it was a puzzle and we didn't have time to decode it.
We had a late lunch there on Saturday and an early dinner there today. Lunch was so so and the dinner at the Fredericksburg Brewery which is a German brew pub was great. The pub brews were very tasty and we each enjoyed our beers.
We came across this very interesting work of art along Rt 16 on the way from Kerrville to Fredericksburg. As luck would have it there was a geo cache nearby. The art was made out of scrap metal from automobiles and was very well done. It is dedicated to the members of the Lehmann family who were Tivy graduates.
We drove a little longer than usual today and put 415 miles on the MH and our bodies. There isn't much to see or do east of San Antonio and we decided to push on through there to Kerrville, TX. We pulled into the Guadalupe River Resort this evening around 8pm and setup in a pull thru site.
We may stay here until Monday and rest up and get caught up on a few things around the MH. It looks like an interesting town and maybe we can drive over to Fredericksburg, TX and see what is there.
It wasn't much fun driving through Houston and San Antonio in one day due to all the traffic in those cities. We hit San Antonio around the afternoon rush hour and it was a zoo. Patience isn't in the drivers vocabulary around there. I-10 twists and turns through the city and you have to be alert to lane changes and such.
We had an easy 210 mile drive from Fontainebleau SP to Sam Houston Jones SP in Lake Charles, LA. We stayed here many years ago and remembered the park fondly. I think we must have had the 30ft Flair MH then since the roads in the campground are narrow, tree lined and people parking in the roads make it difficult to navigate safely. We did find our campsite and pulled in and setup the MH.
It is an interesting park and set in a swampy area. We wanted to stay a couple days but they didn't have a site available for us after tonight. I guess we will head for San Antonio, TX and see what is there.
Our son Larry Jr. has a blog and writes for an online newspaper in Charlotte, NC. If you are interested in seeing his site it can be found here: Pondering Dad
Today was the day to explore Mandeville and we drove all over town checking it out. The town is much larger than we imagined and is a very busy place. Lots of traffic since it is close to the Causeway leading to New Orleans. The traffic count on the Causeway is around 43,000 vehicles a day and costs $3.00 for a round trip.
We found a very nice Chinese restaurant called Trey Yuen and stopped by for lunch. The food was great and service very good also. They have the grounds landscaped very nicely with a waterfall, ponds full of Carp and beautiful bushes and bamboo. We were looking for a cache and found a great place to relax.
Later on about sunset we wanted to see if the sunset here was as pretty as Arizona or Key West. Close, but no cigar. It was nice to see the sunset over the Causeway as it reminded us of sunset at Bahia Honda State Park in the Keys. Same old gold ball slipping over the horizon at a rapid pace. We had drinks and finished off a very nice day at the Barley Oak bar. Great location.
It was time to leave Gulf Shores today and wouldn't you know it, the day was warm and beautiful. We had an easy 190 mile trip to Mandeville, LA and are now in Fontainebleau State Park for the next three nights.
Fontainebleau SP is on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and occupies 2,800 acres of woodland and shoreline. It was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina and over 80,000 trees were torn down and it actually picked up their in ground swimming pool and ripped it out and destroyed it. Whew! Glad we weren't here at that time. They closed the park down for 9 months before they were able to reopen it.
We did stop at a Mississippi rest stop and picked up two geocaches. There were three there but one wasn't listed on on geocaching.com. Unusual. We want to find a cache in every state or at least as many as we can. The count of caches is 667 and 19 states. Only 31 to go and LA should be added on Tuesday.
The expected wind gusts of 40mph + did not materialize today much to our delight. They were calling for 20-25 mph winds and that did not happen either. The rains left us and we had clear day with temps in the mid 60's. Beautiful.
We drove all over the campground and checked out the numerous areas where the campsites are. It is very confusing at times since they don't label them as A, B, C or whatever, but across the road from such and such. The pull through campsites are parallel to the road and I don't think are that desirable for long term use. Great for overnight if you don't want to unhook the toad, but other than that there isn't any privacy.
They have a beautiful swimming pool with a separate area for the kids to walk in an area with fountains springing up all around you. In the same area they have tennis courts, nature center, rec hall, campstore & laundry. It just opened Labor Day weekend after being destroyed by hurricane Ivan in 2004. It is a great facility and will be appreciated by campers for a long time. That is, assuming another hurricane doesn't destroy it.
See url below for more information regarding the hurricane and damage in the area.
Gulf Shores hurricane Ivan damage
They have cabins for rent in another part of the park along with a golf course. On the beach they have parking areas, a pavilion, and a large fishing pier. Needless to say, it is a great park and campground.
It rained most of the night and at times very hard. It seemed like the rain came through in bands interspersed with clear skies. The wind wasn't too bad so we were able to sleep fairly well.
We headed out in the rain today to look over the area and spent most of the time in the rain. We managed to find two new caches in between the rain and added Alabama to our list of states where we have found caches. The first one was an Earthcache where you find a sign outlining natural features in the area with some facts. There usually are 3-4 questions you have to answer and then email them to the owner of the cache to receive credit for the find.
We drove up to Florida on the Gulf coast and were amazed to see the large number of 10-25 story condos along the Gulf. It is hard to imagine them being able to fill all those rooms but during the March-October time frame it is very busy down here. We did run across the FloraBama restaurant on the border and took the following picture. What a ramshackle looking place but I hear it is very popular.
Flora Bama Link
We heard that the sister of Jimmy Buffett owned a restaurant called Lulu's here in Gulf Shores so we decided to have dinner there this evening. It is a very large open air place on a canal with live entertainment. They say she serves 3,000 people a day and there is a 3 hour wait during busy times for dinner. We walked right in and sat down this evening and had a very nice meal. They have huge tables and chairs where you sit up very high and you can watch the boats going by during your meal.
Today was another easy 215 mile drive to Gulf Shores, AL where we will be staying for a week at Gulf State Park. It appears to be quite a campground with free wifi, full hookups on a lake and large sites. Quite a contrast from other state parks where they only provide electric and water hookups for the same price as here. Maybe the other states should come down here and see how it is done.
We went to DeSoto's seafood house for dinner and enjoyed our meals quite a lot. It's great getting fresh seafood and at reasonable prices.
They are calling for thunderstorms on Tuesday and Wednesday in the afternoon so we will have to get an early start to look the place over. They have 22 miles of bike trails and we plan on investigating some of them. Maybe all if the weather holds out.
