During our month in Yuma, we settled into a nice comfortable routine. Leaving there February 1st  we moved to Tucson, a city we are familiar with, but to an RV park we hadn’t yet seen. Rincon Country West is a mega, 55+ park, with 1100 lots and lots of activities and entertainment. Most people here come from cold northern states and return seasonally year after year.

We love this sign posted around our new park – Only You Can Prevent Speed Bumps!

We have spent the last ten days trying out and settling on what park activities are going to be part of our new routines. Mine will include aerobics, line dancing and the Apple/Mac class.  Randy’s routine will include biking, pickle ball and golf. Elko has his same routine of eating, sleeping and walking no matter where we are – some places just have more interesting places to walk.

One day we went for a walk in a desert mountain park . Elko likes those days best!

We will certainly continue our routine of exploring.  There is so much to do in the Tucson area that we will not get it all in – even in a month. So, here is a sampling of what we’ve done so far:

Randy ate Sonoran Hotdogs, a regional culinary wonder. Think hot dog wrapped in bacon with beans and jalapeño sauce…It didn’t sound good to me so I had tacos.

We went to the Arizona Historical Society Museum which highlighted the three cultures that combined to make Tucson unique. These include the original peoples, the Tohono O’ogham,  formerly called the Papago.   The Mexicans/Spaniards came to the area in the 1700’s. Finally, Europeans/Anglos began arriving in 1854 when the lands that eventually became Arizona and New Mexico joined the United States by means of the Gadsden Purchase.

A few displays at the museum really caught our attention.

First was a 1923 Studebaker “Big Six” Touring Car.  Costing $1575, this model car was used by sheriffs in 12 of 14 Arizona counties.   When Studebaker became aware of their cars’  law enforcement use on Arizona’s rough roads, the company used that information in their advertising.   In 1925 they introduced a six cylinder vehicle with a lighter chassis  – the “Sheriff’s Special.”

Another exhibit highlighted Geronimo, an Apache who wreaked havoc in the southwest. His people were the last American Indians to live as a free people. Geronimo surrendered for the final time in 1886.  In 1905, at Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation, Geronimo marched at the front of Roosevelt’s Inaugural parade. Roosevelt said Geronimo was the “greatest, single-handed murderer in American History and I want to give the people a good show.” Yet, when Geronimo pleaded to be allowed to return to native lands to die, Roosevelt denied the request.

A third exhibit of interest focused on Congressional Medals of Honor,  how they are awarded and Arizonans who have earned them.   Although I forgot to document who was awarded the older medal, the second Congressional Medal of Honor shown was awarded to Marine Corps Major Jay R. Vargas for heroism and sacrifice in Vietnam.

We also went to a completely different type of museum, The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum – which is really more of a desert zoo.

We saw snakes and tarantulas.

A coyote and sleeping javalinas.

We saw toads and so many desert animals – all the while hearing the unique “song” of the cactus wren.  It was once described to us as the cranking sound an old engine made   – you know it when you hear it!

One of our favorite exhibits was an aviary for hummingbirds.

The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is a “must do”  when visiting Tucson.  Another “must do,”if you are here at the right time, is the Rock and Mineral show. There are currently dozens of venues around the city.  We chose a venue that was close by which was a combination of wholesale and retail sellers and a bead and jewelry market.  It was an interesting afternoon but we live on wheels so we don’t need rocks to carry around!

We will continue to explore around Tucson – exploring will always be part of our routine!