We made it from San Antonio to Benson AZ in 1.5 days an it feels good to be almost home!  We have had sunshine and no rain for about a week.   Strange,  after having so much weather for the past 6 months.  Everyday I wake up and can’t believe that the sun is still out!  Yippee!

I don’t care how hot it is! Im wearing my boots!

Tiny towns, mines and the wildwest is what it is all about in Southeastern Arizona.  Bisbee, the county seat for Cochise County, AZ  was a copper mining town in the 1800’s becoming the county seat in 1929, moving from Tombstone AZ which is mainly a tourist town now complete with gun fights, stagecoaches and saloons!

Bisbee is right on the Copper Queen mine which you can take a tour of now as they are no longer mining due to the expense of mining.  The towns population now is mostly for tourism, full of tiny shops full of local artwork, a coffee shop an a few B&B’s.

Main Street, Bisbee, AZ

Local artwork

If you look in the lower left of this photo you see a smalll shelf.  It looked like a sale table or trade.  It was full of wierd miscellanous stuff – didn’t look like art to me!

The town is full of tiny homes built on the hills, one on top of the other.  Very quaint but I am sure originally they were so close as to be walking distance to the mine and supplies.

Tombstone is much smaller and is famously known for the gunfight at the O.K.Corral.  They say the fight was a block away but I figure somehow the cowbows spent alot of time in the O.K.Corral.  This tiny town had several saloons in it’s day and today there are still a few.

Saloon, where guns are O.K.

Ready to fight!

The street is closed to cars as they still have a gun fight or two!

Need a ride? or want to rob the stagecoach?

Right next to Bisbee, actually closer to the mine is the town of Lowell which today looks very deserted except it had the most interesting mix of memorbilia.

Gas station

Main street, Lowell, AZ

Lowell didn’t really seem inhabited although there was one saloon that was open but facades of buildings and the number of very old automobiles along the street made it very fun to drive along.

Roadside attractions

Often when driving in the desert you might see something like this.  This is a small temple of sorts, complete with several statues inside and places to place and light a candle for a blessing.  The post outside had a slot in it and a note that you could make a donation!  There was nothing for miles around but there were lots of lite candles inside.  Hmm.

7:30 am we are awakened by a really loud noise followed by an air horn right outside our window!  The good news is it was not our rig that was being tortured, the bad news is a brand new huge 5th wheel and a new owner Motorhome are both going to be spending more time at La Mesa RV for some body work!  The 5th wheel was being newly delivered to the dealership and the driver backed right up into the front of the Motorhome waiting in line to enter service at 8:00 am.  The motorhome was pretty new also.  Both Paul and I had a sick feeling after looking at the damage and thinking how awful it would be to wreck our new home!  I guess that is what the insurance is for.  I hope we don’t need it for a very long time!

We are almost completely moved into the new RV, now I just need to be able to find things.  It looks like everything fit ok, but we don’t have all the extra space we thought we might with a rig that is 5 feet longer!  It is time to purge again.  The Dealer has been great and it looks like all the fixes will be complete today and we can be on our way tomorrow.

Driving this Yacht is going to be pretty scary so we will be sticking with the interstate until we both feel comfortable.  Next stop is Selma, NC!

The resort lifestyle definitely suits Paul and I pretty well.  We have been here about a week and haven’t even touched the surface of the things we enjoy doing here in the desert.  So far I have read 1/2 a book,  walked several miles, rode my bike,  visited many friends, had dinner with others,   checked in at the sewing center, relaxed by the pool,  enjoyed the spa, watched the stars at night and washed the car!  Paul plays pickleball every morning and then heads off to visit another dealer.

The things we still wish we had time to do is I would like try are  hiking, stained glass and tennis  some golf and a baseball game or two- maybe next year.  We will be leaving the resort tomorrow as we relocate in yet another area of Phoenix/Mesa.  Stay tuned…..

We have been wondering about Southern California and parts of Arizona since we left Campbell in December and now we have landed in Mesa for awhile.  We came back to Val Vista Village today and it feels very comfortable.  We have been here the past four winters and really like the resort lifestyle plus Mesa is a big city with all the city stuff.

We have been hanging out in the desert sand near the town of Quartzsite.  We have been here many times and every time I ask myself WHY?  There is lots of dirt, retired people, dirt, sunshine, dirt, junk to look at, dirt, RV stuff to buy and dirt!  Quartzsite, Arizona,where you can spend days just looking at the stuff others have brought to sell here.  It is a garage sale on steroids which is not my favorite thing to do, besides I live in a space that does not allow a lot of extra things.  We come here to catch up with people we have met along the way because Quartzsite in January is where lots of RV clubs and groups converge.

We spent our first week here at a Rally, that is what they call these get togethers in the desert where we found several couples that we have met in our travels.  It was very nice, good music and food for 2 days.  We also went to Blythe, California for the Blythe Bluegrass Festival.  It was a beautiful day and one that was good for catching a little Vitamin D while listening to groups playing their music.

fiddle,banjo, base fiddle, acoustic guitar and mandolin

We listened to about 5 bands while enjoying to fresh air and a bit of people watching! This festival was definitely a relaxed day!

Multi-tasking!

We moved in the desert to a different section of dirt, this one we pay $40 for 2 weeks for the priviledge of having somewhere to dump our trash and get fresh water if you are willing to wait in line.   Here we have 4 rigs of friends from San Jose and we hang out, read books, play cards, watch a little TV, walk, and sometimes we go into town and check out some of the junk! I even took some time and built a puzzle.

1000 pieces, actually 998! I lost two pieces from moving it about in the RV!

Thrifty ice cream is the treat of Quartzsite.  There are several spots to get a scoop and it is so good.  I am not a big fan of the desert but I always look for the bright spot and this 2 weeks in the desert and seeing friends, making new connections and that scoop of ice cream is it for me!