Our stay in Sourhern Arizona reminds me of the first half marathon that I ran. As my sister and I approached the last mile every person we passed exclaimed, “you are almost there!” After hearing that 50 times with no finish line in sight, it became obvious that NO we are not ALMOST there! What everyone here says instead is “I don’t understand why it is freezing, (raining, snowing, gusting 50 mph – you choose), it’s always 70 degrees and sunny here this time of year.”
I do not believe them. If it was 70, I would not be shivering uncontrollably. I think they lure folks here with the promise of pleasant weather knowing that once here and faced with a cold reality, people will be afraid to move elsewhere for fear of encountering much worse. We had to dig out of 2 inches of snow this morning in Southern Arizona. I admit that the bright sun here is an extremely efficient snow removal device, but it is still cold!!
Thank goodness the people are warm-hearted in this area and we have made some lovely new friends. Sadly, we don’t get to see as much of them as we would like since everyone including us huddles in their RVs trying to keep warm. If only I could get them all in a group hug around me. I could sure use some shared body heat about now!
A New, More Accomodating Ride
While the cold weather has been a deterrent to our sight seeing activities in this area, it is not the only distraction. Since last Thanksgiving we have been looking for a newer Jeep. As much as we liked our 2-door Rubicon, we realized within a few days of our purchase that we had made a serious error in selecting this model. Unlike most other RVers towing Jeeps we had failed to insure that our Jeep properly matched our motorhome’s color scheme. For two years we have sailed across America with mis-matched vehicles to our eternal shame.
At last, we are successful in our search. In Tuscon, we procure a newer Rubicon that very closely matches our motorhome in color. This purchase comes with several bonuses. For instance, in addition to LED headlights, oversize tires and an Alpine sound system, the new Jeep has four doors! I know those 2 additional doors are good news to those of you who have either performed contortionist acts or been unfortunate witnesses to the tests of my flexibility during attempts to fold into the rear seat of our old Jeep.
Our new(er) Rubicon also has a big honking hitch on the front with a 48″ recovery jack! We leave here to join Jim Brown for some boondocking and trail riding in a week or so. We hope to use these tools to encourage Jim to perform exciting stunts with his Jeep safe in the knowledge that we are standing close by to drag him out no matter how many pieces we have to individually recover!
A Shakedown and a Shootout
We don’t try to test all the features on the Jeep on its first road trip. Instead a simple day trip to Tombstone allows us to familiarize ourselves with the few changes from the older model. I am sure that you remember Tombstone as the home of the shootout at the OK Corral. This western town has been pretty much restored to its wild west glory. Lots of things to see, but all come with a price tag. We decide to splurge on the shootout re-enactment. At $10 each and lasting about 25 minutes, the friendly actors encourage audience participation to re-enact the shooting in an engaging and entertaining way.
Scenes from Tombstone
WOW Snow in Arizona who would have thunk it. :>) Hope you took the time and went through the AF Bone Yard while in Tuscon, always wanted to go there but thought I would go nuts seeing them bust up perfectly good airplanes. Nice set of wheels too. Keep em coming, and have a great time. GOD BLESS
JD
Jim
We hope to get to the AF Museum this week. I am afraid we missed our chance to do the boneyard although we have seen it from the highway. I tried to make reservations last week for the boneyard tour but all the slots were already gone for February. I will count that as a lesson learned. Maybe we will get back this way next year and can try again then. You would love the RV park we are in now. Lots of musicians and jam sessions. They don’t care how rusty we are. Too cold to do anything else so we’ve dragged out the guitar and banjo and tried to remember how to play music 🙂
Oh my! See you’re at SPRC and we’re not there! We choose to be in Mexico in February. We were scheduled to return today but seeing the forecast for more 20 degree mornings, we’ve extended til Sunday. We prefer walking Joy in 40ish weather on a sunny beach.
Love your new Jeep and wish you were here!
We are here! Lots of folks miss you, but they say they really, really miss Joy 🙂
I don’t blame you for staying in a warmer place. Maybe we will get to see you for a day or two before we leave. Enjoy the beach – wish we were there too!
A hidden benefit of the new 4 door Jeep is the reduced Chiropractor bills in your future ;). I know you’ll enjoy the extra storage room in your new ride as well. Say hello to Jim for us.
So true! I bet Terrie begged you to bring her out here so Charlie can take her for a ride in this new Jeep 🙂 Lots of room in the back seat for her to do her photo thing!