RV Life with Mama & Papa #10 Sunday, April 11, 2021

Good Morning everyone!  Thanks so much for joining me today.  It’s a beautiful day in Arizona – already 61 degrees and it’s only 4:40 AM.  Susan has been visiting from Denver for the last 5 days and what a great time we have had.  We (really mostly me) had projects to do and we got them ALL done!  Miraculous!  The first thing we did was measure Mama Bear and Papa Bear with the bike rack on the back to determine how long we are.  Turns out we are 45′ long!  I guess that is just about as long as Daisy and Otis2 were so I should be pretty good driving down the road with her.  The next thing we did was drive to Tucson towing Mama Bear and got this done:

So we weigh 10,320 pounds.  Mama Bear is 4,020 (which is her max but Susan had her “gear” in there because she was using Mama for the guest cottage) so it would be just under the 4,000 max.  There are probably some things I can “do without” and I’ll try to pare her down a little more.  I’m going to Kartchner on Wednesday and Thursday and I’m going to try it with Metaxa.  I have decided that for the long trip this summer to the UP of Michigan, I’m not going to take her.  It’s going to be about 25 or more days and I think she will be happier at home alone than traveling like we’re going to go.  There will be some “boondocking” at Loves and Walmarts etc and the driving times would keep her in the carrier too long.  Plus I’m worried about the “heat” and now access to AC.  Plus I don’t want to leave her in the rig while we go out all day site seeing.  So now I’ll get Terri to help me and visit with her along with Barb stopping in every once in a while.  So essentially, the house will be all hers while I’m gone!  Not a bad deal for her!

So to continue about my time with Susan here!  It ALMOST felt “normal” again during this Pandemic.  We are both vaccinated so we are pretty well set I believe.  We took a trip to Tucson to spend my $30 Gift Certificate at Camping World.  We actually went out to lunch in Tucson to a “Greek” Restaurant.  This was my lunch:

So I’m having trouble with pictures in this new version of WordPress!  I hate that when they update the version.  But I just found out a way to do it.  I just need to copy the url for the picture and insert that instead of the image.  Just learned something new!  See old dogs, new tricks!  Anyway, it was really a delicious salad.  It had Couscous from Israel and it was super.  The salad dressing was a homemade ranch that was really tasty.  The location of the restaurant was near the downtown campus of the University of Arizona so there were many students around.  And Tucson has a trolley system, so we watched the trolleys go by.  It was a beautiful day!  I’m beginning to like the fact that I leave close to Tucson.  Biggish city, but not TOO big.  Easy to get around and feeling of safety.  I was planning to go to COSTCO to buy glasses and realized that I wasn’t a member any longer and either was Susan, so I’ve decided to just buy another pair of clear glasses from the eye doctor here in Benson.  It’s much easier and convenient anyway.  

During our trip to get Mama weighed we decided to go to the Saguaro National Park on the EAST side of Tucson.  As it turned out, that wasn’t such a great idea.  We felt a bit snug around the roads there so didn’t get to see the whole thing, although we did get a few pictures:

Because we felt too “cramped” in there hauling Mama we did this with her:

We parked Mama & Papa outside the park on the street while we walked back in to go to the visitor’s center to check it out.

So I’m having trouble with pictures in this new version of WordPress!  I hate that when they update the version.  But I just found out a way to do it.  I just need to copy the url for the picture and insert that instead of the image.  Just learned something new!  See old dogs, new tricks!  Anyway, it was really a delicious salad.  It had Couscous from Israel and it was super.  The salad dressing was a homemade ranch that was really tasty.  The location of the restaurant was near the downtown campus of the University of Arizona so there were many students around.  And Tucson has a trolley system, so we watched the trolleys go by.  It was a beautiful day!  I’m beginning to like the fact that I leave close to Tucson.  Biggish city, but not TOO big.  Easy to get around and feeling of safety.  I was planning to go to COSTCO to buy glasses and realized that I wasn’t a member any longer and either was Susan, so I’ve decided to just buy another pair of clear glasses from the eye doctor here in Benson.  It’s much easier and convenient anyway.  

So our first day together on Wednesday after she got in from Denver, we went to Kartchner.  We got there early to see if there was a possibility of going on the tour.  So I don’t think that will happen easily.  They only take 10 people every half hour due to COVID and the tours sell out everyday.  Such a shame.  But it will give us something to do when she comes back to visit in cooler temps.  We did take a 3.5 mile hike which ended up being a bit of a disaster.  Here is a video of our “trek”.

Turns out, Susan has a heart issue where her heart beats too fast and she had a problem after this hot walk in the sun.  So she may need to have a procedure done when she gets back to Denver.  She takes medication for it, but they were not able to do the entire procedure during the first one and she was told she may need it to be done again.  So I guess that is what she will need to do when she gets back.

So yesterday, we went to the Desert Museum and I realized that we could also go to the Saguaro National Park West.  It was right down the street from the Desert Museum.  Susan was thrilled!  It was a beautiful day and we got through a lot of it, but not all.  Next time we’ll go back when it is cooler.

Photos (5)

Here are a couple of more pictures we took:

Here is Susan reading the map at the Desert Museum.  We had to walk around with our masks on which was difficult.  In the gift shop, Susan bought a cactus in a box to take home with her to remind her of the desert. 

Most of the cacti were “in bloom” so we got some really cool pictures of that.  I also took a video of a deer munching on a tree:

We didn’t get to see the Javalinas but we did see the wolf and a lizard in a tree.  The picture isn’t any good – you can’t see it, just take my word for it!

So Susan got to meet Bill and Cathy before they left for Yellowstone.  They are now in Idaho Falls picking up their “summer home” and will report for work next Wednesday.  Here they go:

Last night on Susan’s last night here, we went to a Mexican restaurant.  Again, I felt pretty normal except that there was lots of space between tables.  But that is really refreshing.  Having been in the restaurant business for so long, I can’t help but think survival isn’t going to be easy for them.  But now I can go in to this restaurant when I feel compelled to go to a restaurant in Benson by myself.  It was REALLY good and relaxing:

Susan had 3 tacos and I had Chicken Quesadillas.  They were delicious and so big, I brought half of it home to reheat as a dinner.  I actually dressed up a little bit and wore rings and earrings.  THAT hasn’t happened during COVID.  It felt pretty good.  Here is the Mexican Restaurant table arrangement:

And here is a picture of the cool Greek Restaurant we went to lunch to in Tucson:

I mean, look at all that floor space.  They could jam in so many more tables, but it is so nice not to be “on top” of one another.

Just one final picture of B & C on their way to Yellowstone – LOOK HOW HAPPY!

Miss them!  But they will be so happy in Yellowstone.  What a great couple!  So nice to see that!   Well I need to go to the store.  I’ll be back.  Might add to this, might not.  More will be revealed!