The Very Next Day

Yesterday’s blog may have left readers with the impression that we have taken on a lot of work that will restrict our travel opportunities. Readers with that impression are right.

Friday we did plan an “us” day, to begin after Suzy went to a meeting of the Rules Committee. First, however, there was a quick stop at the local bank with two other Chapter officers to get checking account signature cards updated. That stop took about 45 minutes, as the lady who did that function introduced herself and then promptly announced she was going to lunch! Finally another person took pity on the trio and came over to help, but began by filling out the wrong form, then doing an interrogation of Suzy (because we don’t have a personal account at that bank).

While that was going on, I sat in the car and waited – I hadn’t even brought a book along! While I waited, one of our park neighbors came along and stopped to tell me his wife would probably be calling me soon to do some photography work for her! I’m not sure what it’s about, but I hope that she won’t call me, or if she does, I’ll do my best to weasel out if it some way

Finally, the trip! Suzy had read about an arts fair in Tubac, AZ, maybe 80 miles from home, that would have lots of booths, vendors, fun things to do, so that’s where we headed. Along the way we would pass the park where the SKP Chapter 21 Spring Rally will be held in April. We wanted to locate the park and check it out, so pulled off of I-19 at exit 48, and saw this view of  the Santa Rita Mountain Range. We had been watching these mountains for some time as we drove, but this was the first opportunity we had to get pictures. There are three peaks in this group over 8400 feet in elevation. Note to Al – you aren’t the only guy that can photograph snowy peaks in Arizona!

Then on to the RV Park which is actually the old Greyhound Racing Park that closed years ago. They have a beautiful facility with indoor saltwater pool, spa, shuffleboard and pickleball, plus their own restaurant – all under one roof. We’re going to enjoy this rally!

We moved further south to Tubac, located the arts fair and took 30 seconds to nix that idea. It was immense, spread over what appeared to be several acres, and some of the parking lots already had “Lot Full” signs on them. While we had brought Big Red, Suzy’s mobility scooter, with us, we didn’t see how we could enjoy the day. I have a knee in need of replacement surgery, and I tend to hobble if I walk for a long period. We’d have had to search for what we were looking for. food vendor booths where we could get a walking lunch. Besides, parking was too expensive just to have to fight the lines and crowds in order to get lunch.

Plan B called for a trip further south to the border town of Nogales, AZ (just across the line from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico), where we hoped to find a nice Mexican restaurant. Knowing nothing about the town, we followed the main drag until we came to the Cabana Mexican Restaurant. Their decor was nice, the prices reasonable, and the food satisfactory. We even accompanied the meal with a bottle of Corona! Suzy was impressed with the design of the furniture. (That particular folding table isn’t one that impressed her! The others had interesting wooden bases.)

By the time we finished lunch it was well after 3:00, and the road home stretched another 85 miles, carrying us along a very scenic highway and past a State Park we wanted to visit. We departed Nogales with full tummies and headed northeast on AZ 82 toward Patagonia Lake State Park. We were hoping to get some idea of their RV parking, and maybe a picture or two to show you.The park appeared quite nice but we, being cheapskates, chose not to pay the $8 daily use fee. The ranger at the gate said we could drive in and look around for free, “but don’t stop the car.” Nice park. All the hookup sites were full, and there were lots of RVs in the dry camping area.

Highway 82 is an Arizona Scenic Highway, and we did find some scenery..   We stopped at the town of Sonoita for a gas infusion. At that point, Highway 82 went from rock and cactus scenic to rolling prairie grazing country, and carried us over toward Tombstone and AZ 80, where a Border Patrol checkpoint slowed us up only slightly, and thence home for a supper of Lemon Rosemary Chicken.

The chicken recipe came from Motty and Patti Chen. You may remember Motty is Israeli-born, and Patti has developed her cooking from Motty’s Mediterranean background. The recipe includes honey, which is strange to our experience with chicken. We enjoyed the dinner, but we will slightly reduce the amount of honey in future uses.

And so ended a modified “us” day in … Our Life on Wheels.

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