I Saw the Easter Bunny!

I've had a request for the recipe for Linda's Taco soup so instead I'll give you the link to Linda's recipes. For those of you that don't know rv-dreams.com, this site is a wealth of information. It has a forum and also a chat room.

Here's the link for recipes: http://www.rv-dreams.com/recipes.html .
The recipe for Taco Soup is under Main Dish Recipes.

Here's the link for rv-dreams website: http://www.rv-dreams.typepad.com/

The link to the forum: http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=91511&p=1

And the link to the chatroom: http://www.rv-dreams.com/chatroom.html

For the chatroom just wait until the Java box shows a box to enter your name or any name and press Connect and you're in!




On to today - I had a great walk this morning and finally saw a roadrunner (photo on right) in the wild. I was so excited!









Walking up on the ridge in Tucson Mountain Park.


More wildflowers






I continued on into Tucson Mountain Park, came around a corner in the trail and there was the Easter bunny and his associate (photo below on left) just sitting there on the path. They let me get one photo before hopping away. Don't they look like the chocolate bunnies that you see in the stores?

On my way back I also saw a little cottontail but he didn't stick around long.





After breakfast, I asked Gordon if he was up to go to the Tohono O'Odham Swapmeet and he thought he was so away we went. The people were much more interesting than the swapmeet itself but we walked around it all. There wasn't much of interest to us though.


From there we drove into Tucson Mountain Park and walked a bit on the Brown Mountain Trail but only where it connects with Cougar Trail. By that time it was 80F (27C) and I didn't have much water with me so we came back to the truck after finding out that Cougar Trail isn't that far.

Brown Mountain with lots of wildflowers among the saguaros.


Not much was accomplished this afternoon however. I did start looking at the map again to see what direction we might take to head home. The consensus is to stay south as long as possible at this point.

Happy Easter Weekend Everyone!

We were supposed to be packing up to leave Tucson today instead I found myself out wandering the desert trails at 7:30 this morning. On my way back Doug and JoAnn were just leaving to go over to La Mesa to help Ellie and Jim move into their new digs - a brand new Phaeton motorhome so I stopped to chat with them and let them know I'd be over to help as soon as the office opened so I could pay for another week.

I went over to the office and Doc was there so we got our weekly rent paid then I was off to La Mesa. By the time I got there they had the Bounder mostly cleaned out and were about to have lunch which JoAnn had so kindly provided. She had made Linda Payne's Taco Soup which was delicious, there was fresh fruit and her chocolate pie for desert. I'm never one to turn down chocolate pie! JoAnn is a wonderful cook. I sure wish I enjoyed it as much as she does!

After lunch I started to clean out the refrigerator and freezer in the Bounder with Ellie's help as that was the last thing to do. When the food had been transferred, I got their bed cleaned off and stuff put into the cupboards. Good luck finding stuff guys! When I left they were waiting for someone to come and fix something on one of the outside compartments and then they were ready to return to Justin's Diamond J.

I didn't take any photos of the new Phaeton as I thought Ellie should be the one to post the first photos of their new home. I actually took very few photos today so this will be a posting with no photos - a rarity lately.

I stopped on my way home to pick up some eggs and a couple of other things and they actually beat me back. The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to solve this month's Where Are You contest. Even though they tell you its in Shanghai, I still haven't been able to come up with the answer. My sister called today wondering if I had been able to solve it. NO!!

After that, a nap was in order. Another day in the life of a fulltime rver!

Desert Museum, Doctor and A Change of Plans AGAIN!

Today I got up early as we had planned to go to the Desert Museum on our last day here in Tucson. I did a short walk in the desert then came back to have breakfast and get ready to head out. We got there before they opened and spent a couple of hours there. I finally got to see a roadrunner! I've seen them before but from a distance. We did see some at Big Bend NP in Texas three years ago but none really close up since then. Since this was spring break we wanted to get there early and I'm glad we did. There were lots of people coming in as we were leaving!

The Roadrunner


Flowers and Cactus
More pretty wildflowers


A California Ground Squirrel (we think)

A couple of flowering cactus

As I've mentioned before, Gordon hasn't been feeling well for about a week. He's been kind of feverish and coughing a lot. Today he was feeling worse after we got back from the Desert Museum so we decided he should go to the doctor. I knew there was an Urgent Care Clinic on Ajo Way not too far into Tucson so we went there. We didn't wait all that long and the doctor gave a diagnosis of bronchitis. She asked if he wanted an antibiotic shot so we decided that would be a good idea and might clear it up faster. She also gave him a prescription for cough medicine and an antibiotic. We got that filled at the Walmart Neighborhood Store on the way back to the RV.

So we've decided to stay probably another week and forego our trip to Louisiana. We want to be sure the antibiotics work and he doesn't really feel like driving this rig the way he's feeling right now. Doesn't bother me to stay another week! We'll get to see Jim & Ellie's new Phaeton and meet Ellie's sister!

We Took a Hike (or Two)

Gordon still wasn't feeling the best today so we didn't do much. He rested most of the day.

I went for my long walk this morning over into Tucson Mountain Park and took a trail to the west that I hadn't taken yet.

Hmmmm....which way do I go? (I went left.)

This little purple flower is so cute. It's a tiny tall flower. I thought it was a larkspur but I think Ellie was right and it's a lupin.

Other than that I read my book. It was a beautiful day to sit outside but this morning our neighbors were cooking bacon outside and it just made me hungry!

This afternoon Ellie, Jim, Gordon and I went for a hike on the trails in Pima and Tucson Mountain Park. Gordon had rallied a bit from how he felt this morning. Here's proof that we actually did go on a hike!


Pretty purple flowers

We saw this pyrrhuloxia on our desert hike.


Ellie & Jim pick up their new Phaeton motorhome tomorrow. The new unit has a kingsize bed. Their present motorhome has a queen size bed. Consequently we have become the proud owners of their 650 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. Thanks guys!

Shopping and Looking

Gordon kept his appointment with the chiropractor this morning. The chiropractor checked him over and said he didn't need manipulation today and that it would probably just make him sore so since he was pain free and could breathe it was best to leave well enough alone. How many chiropractors would do that?

While he was gone I went on my desert walk. There's not much time left for trail walking here in the desert! After breakfast I went to Walmart to pick up some things for our eastward trek. I was home shortly after lunch so we decided to go out and do something.

We wound up going to check out GPS models as I had seen one at Walmart, the Nuvi 200 and we wanted to look at some others. Most of the Garmin models don't have maps for Canada uploaded so we looked at a Tomtom but he decided we didn't know enough about them and we should come home and do some research before purchasing one. While we were out we stopped and had lunner (lunch and dinner) at Taco Bell. Gordon had had a Taco Bell craving for weeks but we're too far out of the city just to run in and get Taco Bell.

We saw this rather explicit T-shirt in downtown Tucson.

Pretty palm trees in the city, I love palm trees!


The mountain rises behind the mall

Pretty orange bushes at Taco Bell



We went into Tucson and came back via Gates Pass Road which takes you through the Tucson Mountains and Tucson Mountain Park. It's a very pretty drive but the road is narrow especially with cyclists taking up part of the lane. It's also twisty and goes through the mountain so for about a mile or so it's a bit nerve wracking. Sure glad I'm not driving. It wouldn't be bad in a car but in a one ton truck I find it unnerving.

Yellow wildflowers on the mountain side.


The road through Tucson Mountain Park as seen from the top of Gates Pass Road. It looks like a river winding its way through but it's the road!


When we got back I dropped over to see one of the ladies (Joy) that I met at the potluck on Sunday night. She has a new Alfa Gold fifth wheel with the front nose that pops up and has a window under it so I got to see what it looks like from the inside. It's great as you get to have views from the front and the back. She also gave me a couple of books. She's an avid reader as well.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I don't claim any Irish heritage but my brother-in-law, Garth does. I didn't even wear green today except, of course, for my baseball hat. I look more like Hallowe'en today than St. Patrick's Day as I'm wearing black and orange!

It was cloudy when I woke up this morning but it was 40F (4C). I felt a few drops of rain here and there on my walk. I did go through Pima County Park this morning and onto the North Trail in Tucson Mountain Park. I took the first trail to the west which is the same one Ellie and I took to find the first geocache and walked a ways on that. I lost track of time again as I so often do when out on the trails.

We had both cloud and sun today with a few sprinkles every now and then and our high was only about 52F (11C).

This afternoon it was time to do laundry again. Seems like I just did it but it was nearly two weeks ago! I chatted a bit with the owner's wife, Christine while I was at the laundry room. She's such a nice person. She's always trying to give me food!

The photo (above right) is one I took of Golden Gate Mountain this afternoon.

I took this photo this morning of a group of

This ocotillo looks like it recently 'bit the dust'.

Ellie dropped over briefly when I got back. Other than that it's been a quiet day!

The Campground Potluck

Today was a pretty low key day for the first part of it anyway. I woke up to sunshine but the skies in the north were pretty dark. I cut my walk short as it looked like rain. When I arrived back at the RV the sun was gone but it wasn't raining yet so I did a run/walk around the loop.

This morning's dark sky


It sprinkled a bit here and there and rained now and then with sun at times so we had a mixed bag of weather. It wasn't too warm but that had been forecast so we just put up with it for a couple of days till we get our nice warm, sunny weather back.

The rest of this morning I spent reading. After lunch I started preparing my Baked Spaghetti to take to the potluck. Then got the dishes done and had a nice hot shower. In between times I spent doing jigsaw puzzles on jigzone.com and reading. Just as we got to the campground rec hall, Gordon decided he shouldn't be going as he wasn't feeling well and as we're scheduled to leave on Friday he doesn't want to get sick so he elected to stay home.

We had a pretty good turnout for the potluck. I didn't count the people but I figure about 30 or so. Lots of good food and the people really seemed to have a good time as well.

Our table at the potluck


Doc entertained a few of us with some details of his Africa Safari Trip which he's putting together for February 2009. He is taking about 30 people to Kenya and Tanzania on a safari. If we only had the $4000 per person, I'd love to go!

Campground owners, Doc and Christine Justin



I brought Gordon some of my Baked Spaghetti after we finished eating and then went back to help clean up. It was an enjoyable evening!