Trip to Bisbee

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.

Cold Cold

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.

Black Friday + 1

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.

Happy Thanksgiving

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. 

CCRV, Tucson, AZ

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.