Tucson

While Bob played disc golf I visited the DeGrazia Museum in the sun. This man worked in a variety of mediums - clay, paint, mosaic and he designed his own house. The house was lovely; very organic and made out of adobe with wonderful floors and stone benches. The exterior had a wonderful collection of cacti and some interesting scuptures. The art generally left me cold. He was very successful painting numerous Indian images with faces that reminded me of those cheap pictures that were popular about a decade ago with very large eyes. His abstract work was considerably more interesting. He also built the above Sanctuary to the Virgin of Guadelupe and, like many such churches, it instantly attracts people who place pictures and other momentos around her image. I also spent time in the museum on the campus of the University of Arizona which was devoted to explaining the differences between the 11 different tribes that inhabit Arizona by examination of their baskets, weaving, jewelry, etc.

One day we went hiking in Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains. Only about 15 miles from Green Valley, the environment is very different. There are trees and water. We decided to hike up to a mine which was described as a short, but strenuous hike. They weren't kidding. The trail went straight up the mountain with no switchbacks and after struggling along for a while with no indication we were going to get to a view point and worried about my ability to get down, we turned around. The first photo is of the flat desert outside Madera Canyon towards Green Valley; the second is of the mountain range.

We had been hearing a clicking, whining sound in the Volvo and took it in to be checked. It turns out that our angle gear, which distributes power from the transmission to the all wheel drive, was grinding itself up. In the process the dealer also discovered that the radiator had a leak and the exhaust manifold gasket was leaking. Sigh..... The stress of pulling Snoopy for 20,000 miles up and down the mountains had taken its toll. We spent a whole day in the Volvo dealer in Tucson getting it fixed. The good news was the dealer had a very nice waiting area with snacks, drinks and free wi-fi and we could bring Darwin in with us. We spent the time reading, blogging, embroidering, etc. This little surprise cost us almost $4,000 and delayed us for a day. We had moved Snoopy to an RV park in Tucson on Monday night and spent 2 days there.

The next day we headed off towards LA. On the way we stopped at Pictograph National Monument. After driving through about 15 miles of agribusiness (huge cotton fields and dairy farms in the desert, all irrigated), we got to this pile of rocks about 300' in diameter, covered in pictographs. Apparently this was a sacred place and Indians for years had stopped and left their mark. Various settlers also carved their names in the rocks.

We continued on towards the Salton Sea with a stop in Dateland, AZ for the best date milkshakes. I've never had one before, but they are absolutely yummy. The Salton Sea is dropping due to over irrigation, causing fish kills. We stayed in our second over-55 RV park where the guard at the gate came from Salem, OR. This park, almost 900 spaces, was called the Fountain of Youth because of the natural hot springs found when the railroad was being built. It had the most amazing variety of activities. We soaked in the pool and hot tubs and Bob played water volleyball. The view over the Salton Sea and the mountains behind it, the sunset and the clear sky were wonderful. I can't ever picture myself spending six months in one of these Snowbird parks, but they are certainly nice for a few nights.