Tucson Time-Out

Arizona Blog

It has been a long winter, Deb and I are back on the road, I guess it would be appropriate to bring you up to date on our extended stay in Tucson. We arrived in early October and did not get back on the road until early March. Davis Monthan Air Force Base was our home base. The security and comforts of being on a military installation were hard to beat. It was nice to have the commissary and exchange nearby. Safe to walk the dogs, despite frequent coyote sightings.. lol.

Since we were going to be here all winter and we knew we weren’t  going to be relocating our hacienda with wheels for a while, Deb was looking for something to do to make a little extra cash. So here’s Deb to tell you about her entrepreneurial effort.

When Chuck and I arrived in Tucson at the beginning of October, I had all intentions of finding a part time job to keep me busy and make a bit of fun money for the next trip. The weeks rolled on and I could not find a job that interested me, had decent hours, or was conveniently located.  As I worked for myself for many years before Chuck retired, the thought of a “boss” did not sit well with this independent woman.

One morning over coffee it dawned on me that I could parlay my love of cameras, my strong work ethic, and our convenient location in a hotbed of retirement destinations…. Tucson! I gave Chuck my business plan via an enthusiastic morning presentation with potential return on investment numbers.  Needless to say, he could not say no! We proceeded to locate as many film cameras as we could find in the Tucson, Phoenix and Bisbee areas.  I cleaned, fixed, and tested these cameras and proceeded to list them on my Etsy store, Blue Light Treasures.  This store was an enormous success and I doubled and sometimes tripled our investment! When we return to Tucson in the fall, the store will be open again!

Thanks Deb, maybe I can convince her to chip in on future blog efforts, she does contribute significantly and has helped behind the scenes on every post we have shared.

One of the reasons we enjoy the Tucson area are the moderate winter temperatures, short sleeves during the day and the evenings were always cool enough for Happy Hour around the fire pit. According to Wikipedia, Tucson is on an alluvial plain in the Sonoran Desert, surrounded by five minor ranges of mountains: the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Tortolita Mountains to the north, the Santa Rita Mountains to the south, the Rincon Mountains to the east, and the Tucson Mountains to the west. This gave us many opportunities to go exploring with the Jeep, down canyons, gulches, dry washes, and desert roads. Throw in ironwood & mesquite trees, saguaro, cholla, ocotillo, organ pipe cacti, which provided excellent cover for coyotes, javelinas, deer, roadrunners, and even turkeys!

Our daughter Maggie came out for a visit in January. Of course, we took her to some of our favorite foodie destinations.

She was impressed with Saguaro National Park, the Sonoran Desert landscape and enjoyed a few days doing some back roading  with us in the Jeep.

Deb and took pleasure in day trips. Some daytrips were short, in town, usually involved lunch at an Asian fusion place or a taco truck. With several museums in town, we always had opportunities to connect to our “cultural side”.

Below are the highlights of our daytrips in / around the Tucson area.

Around Town

Ajo

Arivaca

Baboquivari Peak

Border-Wall

Boxwood Canyon

Coolidge Dam

Coronado-Montezuma Canyon

Ironwood Forest National Monument

Kitt Peak

Lavender Pit

Lochiel

Lowell

Mission San Xavier del Bac

Mission Tumacacori (National Historical Park)

Mt Lemmon

Organ Pipe National Park

Pima Air & Space Museum

Reddington

Saguaro E & W National Park

So, there you have it,,,, 5 months of meandering through southern Arizona and exploring the backroads of the Sonoran Desert. Deb and I plan to be back in the fall. Hope you continue to follow our travels in 2020.  Bye for now…

Chuck & Deb