Making the most of our Extended Stay

It's been a week since our abrupt arrival in the Tucson area. While waiting on a replacement freshwater storage tank for our RV we're making lemonade out of lemons. On Monday, January 23 we went on a scavenger hunt in Old Tucson with a good friend, Mary Johnson who drove up from Rio Rico, AZ for the adventure. It was a fun way to see some of the sights downtown and learn a little Tucson history.

Tuesday, January 24 we joined Odie Hudalla and John Ontiveros for lunch at the Heritage Highlands at Dove Mountain in Oro Valley. Odie has known me since I was 10 and was a co-worker of my mother and close personal friend of both my parents for over 50 years. They are still both sharp and active. John (88) and Odie (94) live in their home that is part of an active adult community with a golf course, tennis courts, swimming pool and many more activities. It was good to catch up and reminisce.

Wednesday, January 25 we had to move our rig from the Valley of the Sun RV Resort to the Pima County Fairgrounds. Karen stayed with the rig after we moved to get set up and I took our truck to the RAM dealership in Tucson to begin the process of replacing a leaky rear timing gear gasket under warranty. From the dealer, I walked and took the local transit bus to Davis Monthan (DM) Air Force Base for my VA credential clearance to get on base, then took another bus to the Enterprise Car Rental office to rent a vehicle while the truck was in the shop and returned back to the fairgrounds to pick up Karen for our dinner date with Thom and Peggy Rooney.

Thursday, January 26 we both returned to DM to get Karen's pass for the base. We drove to the on-base family RV Camp to check it out. Guess what? No RV sites available with full hook-ups and there was a waiting list. God had our backs in providing us the only full hook-up site left in the Pima County Fairgrounds! Out of 400 sites!! While on the base we stopped at the Exchange to do some shopping and get lunch. During our errands Jesse, the RAM dealer service advisor, called to tell us the repairs were finished. We shot back over to pick up the truck, no charge with the under warranty work, returned the rental truck and paid $47 for only one day. We killed the rest of the afternoon with a visit to the nearby Saguaro National Park. Fascinating place to see and visit.

We ended the week with a bang! Oh boy, on Friday January 27 we took a road trip to Tombstone , AZ. We parked the truck and began to explore the town's three blocks of history. What did we do, you may ask? Paid $20 to see the re-enactment of the "Gun fight at the OK Corral", got a photo with Wyatt, Virgil, Morgan Earp and Doc Holiday, "I'll be your Huckleberry" on the dry, dusty street of Tombstone, and did an ole time photo in appropriate attire with Karen. What a blast! On the drive back to the RV we even stopped and tried some Arizona wine.

Whew, what a week!