TUCSON SUNDAY

Yes, here it is - the unavoidable Arizona sunset shot. Sorry, I can't help it!

Arizona has spectacular sunsets and this particular spot, west of Tucson, has the distant mountains and the saguaro cactus that make them even more eyecatching. I have lost count of the sunset photos I have taken during our various stays. This was yet another, snapped as we was walking home last night after a hike in the desert.

We've settled into our park in Tucson for the next couple of weeks. We've stayed here frequently enough that we know how to get around Tucson fairly well, but I realized recently that we don't know where anything is! That's not quite true... we know where to find a couple of grocery stores, and I have the three Trader Joe's marked on the map, along with the two Costco's.

But say I want to visit a bookstore, or we want to go out for a good meal... or need to pick up some birthday cards, or drop by a Target. No "local knowledge". I'm gonna start working on that, beginning by paying attention and making notes as we drive around town, so I can annotate our map more completely.

In my newly "attentive" mode yesterday, I couldn't resist taking a photo of this sign, attached to a pole in the divider island on one of Tucson't main streets. We've seen a lot of odd things, but this was a first - a "client" advertising for a lawyer?

Because I was paying attention, I also managed to spot "Chopped", a restaurant that had been recommended to us by our friends Stan and Lee. Chopped serves salads, sandwiches and soup... but their speciality is "Design Your Own Salad". Pick up an order form and a pencil when you walk through the door, marking check boxes on the order form to choose lettuce, up to 5 "choppings" (additions to your salad), a protein (if you want one), and your dressing. Turn in your order form (or order from the menu), pay, take your table number and have a seat at a table.

The "kitchen" is right out front where you can see everything being made, and our soups and sandwiches were delivered to the table in a couple of minutes. Everything we ordered - Roasted Corn Chowder and a Turkey Club Sandwich for Odel; Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup and a "Gobbler" Panini for me - was delicious. Both locations of "Chopped" go on the map!

Have you noticed the pre-cooked but non-refrigerated grains at Trader Joes? I've been very curious about 'em, since we have more cupboard space than refrigerator space.

I bought two packages to try when we were boondocking recently (where water for cooking and dishwashing is at a premium): Multigrain Pilaf and plain brown rice. I haven't tried the rice yet (I usually use Trader Joe's frozen, precooked brown rice if I need brown rice in a hurry), but I liked the pilaf. It is a little more juicy than I had expected, and rather spicy... in the "savory" sense, not the "hot and spicy" sense. We had it with salmon and thought it was a good and unusual accompaniment - worth buying again.

BACK IN THE SONORAN DESERT

Yesterday was a short drive, from Gila Bend to the west side of Tucson. Just a few miles east of Gila Bend, we ran into a scary sight: two helicopters and five or six ambulances blocking the westbound lanes of I-8, attending to victims of an accident.

Traffic on the east side of the accident was backed up for several miles, completely stopped. Drivers and passengers were standing outside their vehicles peering west, or talking in small groups. There were many motorhomes and trailers in the mix, and big semi's. I'm sure those with CB radios were spreading the news that they wouldn't be moving anytime soon. Be careful out there!

As soon as we settled into our new site, we took off out into the desert for a short walk. This side of Tucson has two public parks, Saguaro National Park, and Tucson Mountain Park (which I think is owned by the city).

We have stayed frequently at Desert Trails RV Park, where a network of trails lead from the RV park to join with the trails in Tucson Mountain Park. We stay at Desert Trails because we LOVE walking through the flora of the Sonoran desert here, and we know the trail network by heart.

Desert Trails has a limited number of sites that are suitable for us and a reservation is absolutely required this time of year. During the past couple of years, we have watched the development of a new RV park, right next door, with interest. At times it looked abandoned, but this year Doc Justin's Diamond J RV Park is open.

Completely undiscovered by the Tucson snowbirds, they have plenty of space and no reservation required - our prefered method of travel. Here's Scoopy in site 65, where we will be for the next week, and likely beyond. We are facing east-ish, towards the mountains and the rising sun.

Yesterday the temperature hit the lower 70's! Last night, we slept with our bedroom windows open! No wind! Wow, is this nice, especially listening to the reports of the rain, wind, and snow pounding the west coast.

As I was walking around taking the picture of Scoopy this morning, I came across this little surprise next to a tree at our site - violets in the desert! I don't know who painted this and left it here, but I was delighted. I examined it closely and put it back with a big smile; I hope whoever left it was able to imagine how much pleasure it would bring.

We had another nice surprise here: we met JoAnn and Doug (and their poodle Fillmore), who are staying in this RV park for a month. Remember my post of a few days ago describing my non-compliant attitude towards being "tagged"? JoAnn and Doug were the taggers, and turned out to be friendly, interesting people who didn't seem to hold my recalcitrance against me. JoAnn and I are planning a BookCrossing outing one day... I'm looking forward to getting to know them while we are here.

WHAT I LEARN FROM BOONDOCKING

Here is a shot of Boomerville that I took yesterday when four of us went off on a geocaching adventure - which was cut short when I dropped the GPS off a cliff! Once again, Odel was the hero, climbing down a rockfall to retrieve it for me. After bouncing off the sharp Arizona desert rocks about a dozen times, the GPS still worked!

That was enough adventure for our little posse, so we returned to camp without a successful find... but no injuries, so we just called it a WIN.

Last night we went out for a special celebration dinner: Jan and Barry Kessler's 11th anniversary. We returned to Julieanna's Cafe, where we helped them celebrate last year, too.

Here is our happy group, left to right: Barry, Jan, Pam, Steve and Odel (and my plate). I had saved up my "shower allotment" of water so that I could take a (short) hot shower before dinner. Oh, it felt so good to be clean.

And that brings me to what I learn from boondocking: how much I love the luxury of LOTS of HOT, soapy running water! We only have a 10 gallon hot water heater - large by RV standards, but tiny compared to a typical household - so we never have unlimited hot water... but a boondocking shower involves using a minimal amount to get wet, turning off the water to soap up, then using another teeny amount to rinse. It takes a lot of willpower for me to turn it off and hop out!

When we left Yuma, we drove a couple of hours east, to Gila Bend, AZ, where we checked into a full hookup RV park. We fell on Scoopy like cockroachs on a crumb - Odel swarmed the outside with a soapy brush while I vacuumed, dusted, scrubbed and polished every inch of the dusty inside. As I write this (clean, after a long, hot shower), we have the TV on, the TV satellite dish on, several lights on, the hot water heater and refrigerator running on the electricity the RV park has so thoughtfully provided... this is luxury living.

And that is one of the reasons I like boondocking: it reminds me of what the luxuries are - unlimited water and power! Long, hot showers! Clean counters, sinks, floors! Washing clothes in the machine!

Boondocking gives us a lot of freedom, and it is always fun to see our Boomer friends at the annual New Year's gathering... and then fun to take that first, long, hot shower in the newly cleaned rig. Now Odel is talking to the TV (watching the Orange Bowl), and I am off to make a cup of tea (heating my water in the electric pot!) and do some reading. Tomorrow we're moving on to Tucson.