Slumming with the Saguaro

Since we last blogged we've spent three sunny, warm weeks in Arizona surrounded by the saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert. The tree sized cacti are quite impressive.

Hey, remember the Beverly Hillbillys and Granny's c'ment pond? Well, to quote Jethro, we dun found the land of c'ment parks! Landscaping aside, Voyager RV park offers every activity you can think of and they have a pet groomer, barbershop, health clinic, hotel, and restaurant to name a few of their on site facilities. If you're bored when you're here, there's no hope for you (LOL).

Our time in Arizona ws split between Tucson and Casa Grande. While at Tucson we took a short trip to Old Tucson Studios, the shooting site of many old western movies. Those of you who watched those westerns may recognize this mountain, as it was a backdrop in many movies.

John Wayne made several of his more famous movies on this set. If you saw the movie "McLintock", you might recall Maureen O'Hara taking a tumble from an upper balcony and falling into a hay wagon below. Well, this is the building she fell from.

Jim got right into the spirit of things and decided the life of a gunslinger might be for him

But the lifestyle was short-lived!

And I needed to make a quick getaway!

Seriously, keeping in the spirit of the old west, we took a tour of the town

After a day of sightseeing or a round of golf it was nice to sit back and relax. Needless to say, happy hour with our new friends, Janet and Steve from South Dakota (via New York) and Alice and Harry from New Brunswick was a welcome sight when we returned to the RV park. (Missing from this shot were Bill and Nancy from Scanton, Penn.)

Of course, no trip to Arizona is complete without getting in a round or two of golf. This photo was taken at the Fransisco Grande near Casa Grande. It's rumored that Willie Mays of San Fransisco Giants fame, used to get a round or two in at this facility when he was in town.

While at Desert Shadows RV Park in Casa Grande we were entertained by Johnny Bencomo, on an 18 string guitar.

We're on the road again on Tuesday as we head for Nevada and the bright lights of Las Vegas. This time we're going to stay in the small town of Pahrump, about 45 minutes northwest of Sin City. Should be fun.

Happy New Year!

Well, we've finally hit the desert! Lots of sunshine, cool night time temperatures, and of course, the mountains.

The style of RV parks has changed, fewer trees, more concrete and wide open spaces.

On Christmas Eve we went to the historic town of Old Mesilla for a carolling performance in the town square. Old Mesilla is famous for its Christmas luminaries; brown paper bags with candles inside that line all the streets and the tops of buildings in the town square

It's never fun being away from home on the holidays. But where there's a will, there's a way. We weren't the only folks in town with no family around so we all got together in the clubhouse to eat our Christmas dinners. After the meal we sat in front of the outdoor fireplace and chit chatted well into the evening.

Having visited this area when we travelled in 2008, there was not a lot of tourist attractions that we wanted to revisit. Instead we had to settle with





sampling the local vino at La Vina Winery

Squeezing in a round (or three) at the beautiful New Mexico State University Golf Course

and relaxing in the beautiful hot tub

The view of the mountains from our RV is quite spectacular and my little camera does not do it justice.

But when the wind picks up to a mere 50 mph, the RV rocks and that view is quickly obliterated!

When that happens, the only thing left to do is move the recreational activities inside and let "Fats" Mahon demonstrate his skill with the cue!











Tomorrow we're off to Tucson, AZ and a stay at Voyager RV Resort. 'Til next time