03-05 through 03-09 2025 Visiting Friends in Tucson Arizona

Joanne and Mo saying goodbye as we get ready to travel again

We traveled easily from our boondock site at Ogilby Road, leaving Phil and Joanne with hugs and promises of meeting up again somewhere along the way as we return to Oregon.  Mo and I traveled south to I-8, turning west toward Yuma, appreciating every mile of smooth pavement on that highway. 

George Yates at Blogger  Fest 2016

As we traveled, we chatted about old friends and old memories that we made over the years.  Ten years ago Mo and I visited with many popular bloggers of that time at a celebration called “bloggerfest’, hosted by a well-known and well-loved blogger named George.  Like many others of that time, George taught  me so much and it was great to meet him in person.  Also, like many others who were so well known during the great hey-dey of RV blogging, George has passed and his memory lives on in uncounted ways. 

As we passed several huge RV parks in Winterhaven along the interstate west of Yuma, we recalled some of George’s stories of staying in those parks in the winter. George and Suzie Yates were from Ontario, and spent winters boondocking on Ogilby Road and staying in the big parks with swimming pools and lots of friends to share happy hours and trips to Algadones nearby for various medical treatments. 

Kelly (Gail) and Al Bossence at Bloggerfest 2016.  RIP sweet Kelly

Not only has the RVing world of full-timers completely changed, but how people communicate on the road has shifted immeasurably.  In those days we were all struggling with internet connectivity, and now many are working on the road with Star-Link.  Many back then were older retired people with huge 40-foot motorhomes or fifth-wheels, and these days the roads are filled with a younger generation of van lifers working from the road, home-schooling their kids, and traveling in much smaller rigs as a general rule.

The trip to Tucson was uneventful and we kept in touch with Phil and Joanne, checking in with them as we turned from I-8 toward I-10 and Tucson, passing Picacho Peak State Park along the way where they would be camping for several days.  After being on the road together since mid-February, I found I was missing their company.  We each had people to visit from opposite ends of Arizona.  They would continue north toward Camp Verde and Mo and I continued south and east toward our favorite spot to camp in Tucson, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

The Boneyard Vista Family Camp at DM AFB is a perfect home base for spending time in Tucson.  Mo and I did stay at Catalina State Park one year, north of the city, but the reservation window for that park is tight and popular, and getting a site is nearly impossible.

This year at the Air Force base campground we had the choice of several full hook-up sites but chose instead to park out in what is called the “overflow” area, without hookups.  It is an easy place to dry camp, with spacious sites, plenty of open areas for dog-walking and all the amenities we could possibly need to dry-camp comfortably.  

Best free dump site we know of

The morning after we arrived, we pulled in the slide and drove around the corner to the perfectly angled RV dump, filled up our water tanks, dumped our garbage, and drove back around the block to settle in once again to our site.

The laundry room is roomy and the price now is 2 bucks a load instead of buck a load.

I then walked a few hundred feet to the biggest, cleanest, nicest bathrooms we have experienced on the road for a long very hot shower.  We decided that the laundry could wait another day and left the base at 12 to be at Wes and Gayle’s home in Sahuarita by 1PM.   

Gayle often has some sort of activity planned for our visit and this time she had tickets for a musical show at a local venue in nearby Green Valley at the Community Performing Arts Center.  As always when we visit, before the show we were treated to an afternoon of what I call “Gayle cocktails”, with sugared rims, fancy glasses, and interesting ingredients.

Their home is so inviting, and the art is much like visiting a lovely southwestern museum, with a few pieces that defy categorization.  Every time I am here, I wander around asking Gayle again where she got a particular piece, and she is very knowledgeable about various southwestern artists.

Before happy hour we walked the desert gardens of their home that Wes tends so lovingly.  Wes is meticulous about his gardens, and we are always reminded of the beautiful patterns he raked in the gravel in the forested property where they lived next door to us in Rocky Point in the snowy part of Oregon not far from Crater Lake.

As always, after happy hour cocktails and “snacks”, as Gayle calls them, we were treated to another one of Gayle’s wonderful dinners in their lovely dining room.  Gayle has a tree in that room that always reflects the season and this time the tree was trimmed in honor of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day.  

The table setting was all in greens and golds and browns to fit perfectly with our supper of an old-fashioned layered dish with stuffing, chicken, and sauce served with a side dish of some sort of amazing potatoes, and asparagus drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It was all so comforting and so yummy. Wes made a chocolate éclair dessert cake that was decadent and wonderfully creamy.

I stole this photo from the All American Girls website.  A bit fuzzy but you get the idea

The show we were to see was called “All American Girls: Celebration of Women in Country”.  Gayle didn’t have a lot of confidence in how good the show would be, especially since she isn’t particularly a fan of country music.  We were all surprised at the great show, with the three girls singing some awesome country music in three-part harmony.  However, the two women who stole the show and had me clapping so hard I bruised my hands were Heather Stricker on the electric fiddle and Mitzi Cowell on the electric guitar.  Wow, just wow.  As is always the case, we were told that absolutely no photos were allowed during the concert. 

Tucson native musician Mitzi Cowell's music is a gumbo of desert swamp funk and unique songwriting in a base of blues and old-school R&B. Mitzi is an Arizona Blues Hall of Famer, as well as the winner of the 2012 Tucson Folk Festival Songwriting Competition. 

The show was great fun and we had a really good time listening to musicians and vocalists that rivaled the best.

By the time the show was over and we traveled back north to the base it was dark.  The area around Tucson is darker than most thanks to some of the dark-sky laws in place throughout the area.  I like those rules except when we are trying to navigate an area that isn’t familiar to us.  We chose to return to the base via the I-19 freeway between downtown Tucson and the Mexican border, a mistake we didn’t make again.

I called Gayle when we arrived back at the rig to ask if we could have an early dinner the next day so that we could be sure to leave their place no later than 6PM.  Wes just laughed at me, since he is used to navigating Tucson roads and Tucson drivers.  Don’t ask my opinion of the majority of drivers in and around Tucson.  We dealt with what were most certainly drunk drivers, aggressive drivers and a couple of young men who walked right out in front  us nearly colliding with our car.  I was a wreck when we got home and I wasn’t even driving.

The next day, we did laundry and some shopping at the commissary before traveling once again to Wes and Gayle’s home for another entertaining afternoon of cocktails, “snacks” and conversation.  Someone decided a game would be fun and Mo taught our friends to play the domino game we like best, “Racehorse”. 

We had great fun while Gayle played the game, jumping up and down and making several Asian dishes that she had fully prepped before we arrived.  Dinner was amazing as always and I have no idea how she managed to get it together while playing dominoes. 

Again, the table was perfectly coordinated with the meal with a beautiful setting that included chopsticks on holders from Thailand and a lovely, enameled wine holder from their recent trip to Viet Nam and Cambodia.  During supper we enjoyed more great conversations about their trip and their plans for travel in the coming months.  It was a wonderful visit with our friends, especially treasured because they won’t be traveling to Oregon in the coming year, and we decided that we will probably skip traveling all the way to Tucson when we go south next winter.

Our trip home that evening was much simpler and more relaxing after we discovered a back road south that avoided the freeway completely. All those funny little loops as we get closer to the base reflect the fact that the only gate open after 6 p is the main north gate.  I realize that anyone who isn't retired military cannot camp at these family camps, but I do like to share how nice they are and what a remarkable benefit for retired military personnel as Mo is.

Arizona is well known for its amazing sunsets and our last night at Davis-Monthan didn't disappoint.

Katie met us for breakfast in Tucson

The next morning, before packing up to continue eastward in Arizona, we met with an old friend at a local breakfast spot.  Katie was a young soil scientist when I met her when we both worked in the Klamath Falls soil survey. We kept in touch and I knew she was working in Tucson, and called to see if she wanted to meet.  The breakfast place, Joe’s Pancake House, was a popular spot and we were lucky to get a table after just a short wait.

Some of my favorite photos of Katie include her dog Bud and her kitty Flower (now passed).  Bud and Flower were Katie's constant companions as she hiked and explored all over the wild parts of the west.  They both hiked with her off-leash and kept her company on many a road trip.

Catching up in person with Katie was delightful, even though some of her news was a bit sad.  She is now the watershed manager and soil scientist for a large National Forest in Wyoming and will shortly return there for field season.  Sadly, her three tech assistants were fired in the recent firing of probationary or part-time employees working for the US Forest Service and other agencies that are under the umbrella of the Department of Agriculture.  Katie was trying to imagine how she would manage all the field work alone in addition to running the program and handling all the soil science work as well.  It sounded daunting. 

Mo and Mattie resting before we continue our travels 

Our time in Tucson was more about visiting with friends this year rather than seeing the sights.  The next few days of our travels would be just for the two of us visiting a place I have wanted to see for years.  In the past, we have been thwarted by snow but this year the snow prediction was to end the day we planned to arrive.

Coming up:  We visit Chiricahua National Monument and the Fort Bowie National Historic Site