2/19 - President's Day. I went to Douglas, AZ, since I had heard it was a cool place to visit. Not much going on today and the Visitor Center was closed too, so I didn't get any good insight into what to check out. Zoe and I walked around the historic district, but it wasn't all that interesting. It was only about 71, but I had to keep Miss Zoe out of the sun or she would quickly overheat.
I met a couple of German women who mentioned that they had walked across the Mexican border and I thought that was a great idea. I waffled back and forth and almost just bailed, but then found a spot to park at the Walmart (they have shelters for your vehicles!) very close to the border, so Zoe and I walked over. They did not look at my passport or Zoe's info going into Mexico, so it was a good thing I thought to bring them with me. I had figured that if I needed anything else I'd learn about it before going into Mexico. Nope! I'd hate to think what would have happened if I didn't have the proper documents for getting back into the US. Basically, we just walked around for a bit and I found a park with a bunch of food trucks. I picked one and had a great lunch of three different kinds of tacos and an orange Fanta without corn syrup! It was so cheap! 120 pecos, which is about $7. I gave them $10. While I was eating, a young man asked me for a dollar to get something to eat, so I gave him a dollar. As I was leaving, he was sitting at one of the tables eating and he thanked me again. I was happy to see him using the money as he had indicated. I'm glad I could help him.
So, Zoe has now been to Mexico! The border agent didn't ask about Zoe at all, but asked me many questions about why I was there, what I was doing, did I cross the border often? As I was heading back over, I was thinking, what if I need something else? What if they won't let me or Zoe back in? Thankfully it was all fine!
I had heard that I could get a shower for $1 or $2 at the Aquatic center in Douglas, so I decided to check it out. Yep $1! The water was quite cool, but did get a bit warmer at the end. It's always nice to get clean! I had considered staying in Douglas at the visitor center (right next to the police station), but decided that wasn't very nice - too much pavement. So I decided to head to Bisbee to Vista Park where I had seen was OK to park. I'm so glad I did. It's a really nice area to walk Zoe, quiet, and a gentleman saw me get out of the van and chatted me up and said it's totally fine to park here and safe too. It is so nice to feel confident that where I'm parking is kosher.
2/20 - Tombstone, AZ - I decided we should go to Tombstone today as I wanted to do a tour in Bisbee where I would have to leave Zoe in the van and it is supposed to be cooler tomorrow. Tombstone is a touristy old western mining town that looks old, with the dirt road and buildings on either side. There were lots of offerings to see shoot outs. Some were supposed to be comical and some more "real". I chose not to try to do that due to the gun shots and Zoe. We walked around town and listened to some history in the Bird Cage, though we did not do the self guided tour. Walking around we came across Kayla and Jay, who we had met near Carlsbad Caverns. I imagine we will cross paths other times as well. It is funny how people travel on similar paths. Of course, I'll be hanging out in Tucson and then Phoenix for a bit so I might not catch up with them again.
Zoe and I ended up doing a mine tour in Tombstone. One day she goes to another country and the next she's 100 feet underground in a mine. It was a silver mine and pretty cool. Of course, I don't remember many details of what the guide told us 😒, but it was fun anyway and Zoe did great.
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| The Bird Cage |
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| That aqua color is silver or copper ore |
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| Graveyard where it seems that most people were murdered... |
Warren (part of Bisbee)
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| That hill is the waste from the mines |
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| Such beautiful murals |
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| They did a nice job of making Warren beautiful when much of the area was quite a mess. |
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| Very cool bench in Vista Park in Warren |
2/21 - Bisbee - cute artist town that used to be a mining town. Super hilly! I really liked the vibe here. I actually left our parking spot before 9 AM. I think that's a record for me. I wanted to get out there early while it was cool since it's so hilly, and to be able to do the mine tour at a reasonable hour. I was staying at a winery (HH) that night and they close by 5, so I wanted to aim to get there by 4 at the latest. I really dislike having a schedule!!! I really want to just do what I want when I want, but unfortunately there are limitations to this. Even when I'm staying at BLM land or a free spot, I like to arrive before dark to be able to get the lay of the land and not to have to park in the dark, so there is usually some timeline I need to attend to. Anyway, Zoe and I walked around Bisbee. We mostly walked the steep roads and only did a couple of the steep and long staircases. Even in the cool of the morning, Zoe was struggling a bit with stairs and even the hills. I think we've had time to acclimate, but the elevation is about 1 mile above sea level here so maybe that makes it harder for her? Anyway, it's a cute town and after Zoe had had enough, we drove to Lowell (part of Bisbee), where the old cars are still parked on the old streets, and I had breakfast at the Bisbee Breakfast Club that was recommended. It was very busy, but I managed to get a spot at the counter after a short wait and then walked around and took some photos. I think it's so cool!
Lots of cool art around town!
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| Very steep grade. User assumes all risk. It was VERY tight and steep like many of the roads in Bisbee. I definitely wouldn't be able to navigate these roads in Big Bertha! |
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| This is a school that is being refurbished. I am surprised they needed such a big school |
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| There is a race in Bisbee once a year and the route is about 4.6 mile loop that includes 1000 steps. We wandered around town, but Zoe was already getting tired, so we did more hills and less steps. I would have liked to do the route - it would definitely be a workout! |
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| She thinks she'd like to go up there... |
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| Sign reads: "The Bisbee District has the best year round climate on earth." I suppose that would be subjective, no? It does seem quite ideal to me. |
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| Due to all the flies back in the early 1900s they created a Fly swatting contest to reduce the number of flies. I don't think it made a notable difference, but they had a good sense of humor! |
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| 🤣🤣 |
Photos of Lowell. I love the old cars and pumps and such! Walking down this street, I felt like I stepped back in time.
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| Old city of Lowell - what's left of it |
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| This is a view of the mine that used to be the town of Lowell. I guess the ore was more valuable than the town! No more mining underground - everything is open pit now with tons of hills of excess material. |
I did a tour of another mine in Bisbee. This one Zoe couldn't go on as we had to straddle the seat on the train. It would definitely not work with dogs! One of th emost interesting things the guide mentioned was that they used mules to pull the ore cars at one point over the years of operation. The mules were very expensive compared to horses, but mules are more intelligent (or so they believed). Sadly, the mules would not get to leave the mines for the 5-7 years that they worked, but they were well taken care of.
https://www.bisbeeminingandminerals.com/mules
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| Some of the early drills used to drill the holes for dynamite. Previously this was all done by hand! |
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| Sanitation car... So nice that two could go at once. 😂 |
After the tour in Bisbee, I headed north for Elgin, AZ for a Harvest Host. It was fun visiting with other van folks who were also staying. The wine was OK, but Kati, the host, was super knowledgeable and kind. After my tasting, she even gave me an extra pour when I commented that I'd love a glass, but at $19 each, I just couldn't. $19 for a glass of wine???? Anyway, it was a good stay with a level spot and mountain views. It was just a stopover on my way to Tucson to catch up with Jennifer and Marius.
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| Heading to Harvest Host winery in Elgin, AZ. Apparently, I cannot get enough of these mountains. |
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| dirty nosed pup. It is impossible to keep anything clean out here! |
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| Twisted Union Wine Company |
2/22 - After leaving Elgin, I headed for Saguaro National Park East to meet up with Jennifer, Marius, and Irene (a Lithuanian friend of theirs from Cleveland who lives in Tucson in the winters now). As I was close, there was a fire truck that I pulled over to let pass. Well, come to find out, it was heading where I was heading. Jennifer and co had arrived just prior to the emergency vehicles and I was stuck waiting. I managed to park and we visited until everything was cleared out. Not sure what happened, but maybe a bicycle accident with a car? I really don't know.
After waiting for the emergency to clear everyone decided it was lunchtime, so we headed to Saguaro Corners restaurant. Zoe was really well behaved here - way better than usual. I had a yummy Saguaro burger to keep on the theme.
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| Zoe getting comfortable with Jennifer |
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| Is it saying FU??? |
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| Marius looking short |
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| Zoe has not figured out cacti and the barrel cactus is one of the worst |
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| teddy bear cholla (pronounced Choya) - very cuddly don't ya think??? |
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| Saguaro ribs - pretty cool |
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| resting in the shade |
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| Little Anthony's diner - my harvest host for the night |
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| Sunset from Irene's |
I am so grateful that there was no conversation about me staying at Irene's as BB would have had some difficulty navigating the area. The road was tight and steep with low trees. Irene is staying in a lovely and small (I love small!) casita.
We tried to go to Mariscos Chihuahua, a favorite of Irene's, but they were closed, so we went onto Mariscos mi Mazatlan, which was amazing. We were a bit anxious when we first walked in because there was someone singing and the speakers were very loud! Irene asked to sit in back, so we had a room to ourselves. Everyone else in the place was well under 30... 🤣🤣 I truly cannot believe that I am approaching the big 60!!!
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| Nope, didn't eat here, just liked the name. |
2/23 - I had breakfast at Little Anthony's with Jennifer, Marius, Irene and a bunch of Irene's friends. After that I did laundry - thankfully I was able to do Zoe's dog bed! Ran to Trader Joe's and then stopped to take Zoe for a walk as she was very tolerant (well not really) of my errands. I killed some time by making my bed with my nice clean sheets and then we headed to Eleanor's.
It was so great to visit with Eleanor and Emma and get to know Brett. Emma is in college, but thankfully close by so she was able to spend a couple of days during my visit. I thought I'd stay in the van at night, but I ended up sleeping in the house and I have to say I enjoy the ability to spread out. I think Zoe does too. I didn't sense the pure joy that I had seen when we arrived at Charlie and Jan's in Houston, but I'm sure she enjoys it as well.
Chef Eleanor and Brett cooked up an amazing prime rib dinner. It was fun seeing them converse on the merits of each ingredient and how it paired with the others. It's so far above my cooking skills!
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| Fantastic prime rib dinner prepared by both Eleanor and Brett. 🤤 It's going to be hard to leave and have to miss out on meals like this! |
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Emma, Brett, and Eleanor
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2/25 - The next day, Eleanor, Brett and I took a trip to Mt Lemmon. The road is pretty amazing, traveling 27 or so miles from 3000 ft to 9000 ft elevation. During this drive you can see where the Saguaro's stop (around 5000 ft) and how the trees change and snow! There is a ski area at the top. Check out the From Mexico to Canada shot below. And/or check out this short clip that gives you an idea of the changes on this drive.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1283662659037637
Brett cooked some awesome Grouper and squash for dinner. It was nice and light and ever so yummy!
2/26 - Brett is heading out and flying out of Phoenix, so he and Eleanor left early afternoon for Phoenix and Zoe and I went for a walk and did some van cleaning chores.
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| The mountains! |
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| These flowers just make me happy! |
I met Rich for dinner at Pure Poke and Prep, which was super yummy! I think I could eat that every day. It has been so many years since Rich and I really talked and it was really good to see him. Tonight was so much about living full time on the road and catching up on his life since we last caught up. It is interesting how you can see someone, but not really get to visit. The last time I saw Rich was in VT when Marie was ill a few years ago and there was too much going on to be able to visit and talk. Tonight Rich talked about this being the third phase of his life and it make sense as we morph throughout our lives. I'm sure people can have more phases, but for him it was childhood, first marriage, and now 2nd marriage and beyond. For me, maybe it's 5! so far - childhood, marriage to Jeff, life with Steve, life on my own in VT, and now life on the road. I wonder how many more iterations there may be of my life.
As you know, if you've been following my blog, I am certainly having my ups and downs. I think that is a normal part of life and certainly of this style of living. Though at times I'm not all that thrilled, I do think I'll figure out many of the details along the way and I know that there is so much more to see than I'll be able to do this year. Even the places I've gone I've missed stuff, so I do foresee continuing this journey beyond June, but it is still a time for me to reevaluate.
2/27 - Today, since Zoe and I were on our own, I did some more van cleaning chores, ran some errands, and went for a walk at a park. I got my hair cut - it's at my shoulders and layered and I'm happy with it. No more ponytails, but less hair to wash and a bit more body. And then I went to Fleet Feet and got some new sneakers. Do you take forever to choose your sneakers? I try the different ones on over and over again until I finally pick a pair. My old ones are less than three months old, but the soles are worn down. Since they are so new, I probably will keep wearing them when I don't want to wear my good ones.
Tucson feels like a hard place to take Zoe for a hike because most hikes are somewhat challenging and/or far away. I would have loved to go to Sabino Canyon, but no dogs allowed there. It's close and supposed to be gorgeous. So, we just walked at a park across the street from Fleet Feet and I got to test out the new sneaks. We also stopped and watched some Pickleball play and lessons. I need to try it!
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| Shopping cart races??? |
I'm going to stay here with Eleanor until 2/29 so we get a couple of days with just us, which will be nice! Then I'll be heading in the direction of Phoenix to visit Jack and Kathy.
