Farewell 2021 from Tucson, AZ

Geez… I’ve haven’t posted since December 20. A lot to catch up on before the start of the new year (sorry, not happening today). Hmm — Sounds like there’s a New Year’s Resolution in the making… “Keep Skunky and Fester’s Blog Updated.”

Starting this morning, and working backwards, I will bring you up to speed since my last post (basically just a brief update on dates and locations). Trust me, I’ve started many blog entries each day; however, I’m easily distracted and there you have it. Fortunately, these unfinished blogs and photos memories will help me fill in details and adventures as time permits. Sadly, knowing me and my tendency to procrastinate, it may never happen. Fester teases me because I’m always saying “Starting on Monday….” While this usually refers to dieting or exercise, in my case, you can pretty much fill in the blanks with just about anything.

Friday, December 31: Happy New Year’s Eve! Having arrived last Thursday, December 23, we’re still at The RV Park at Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, Arizona. We had planned to be here by December 27th for the Tucson New Year’s Hangout event, our first Escapee’s gathering. However, we decided to arrive early so we’d have a place to call home for Christmas and an opportunity to explore Tucson (about 20 minutes away) while most folks are on holiday and downtown isn’t so busy. Based on the Escapee’s Hangout Agenda, we knew we would be busy most days once the event started, so early arrival gave us a chance to catch up on chores and do our own thing for a few days.

The fairgrounds (and Tucson) are surrounded by mountains and/or mountain ranges. Regardless of how near or far (or how large or small), these surrounding mountains create a beautiful backdrop to our daily lives, especially when it comes to sunrises and sunsets.

This morning the Escapees had planned a scenic drive up Mount Lemmon, with shopping and/or dining at the quaint little village on the way up. But, we recently learned that the event was cancelled due to rain and the chance of Icey roads because of Mt. Lemmon’s high elevation (9,000+ feet). BTW, the weather guessers are predicting 10 – 12″ of snow on Mt. Lemmon overnight. Yikes! Instead of the Mt. Lemmon trip, the group is holding an informal discussion on “Best RV Trick or Tip. This will be perfect for us newbies! It is always best to learn from others’ mistakes and/or lessons learned.

Tonight, the Escapees will gather to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a BBQ buffet, adult beverages, a DJ, karaoke and dancing. Champagne will be served at midnight as we toast in 2022. Sadly, Fester and I will probably not make it for the toast. Anyone who knows us understands that we’re the “early to bed, early to rise” kind of people. Cheers!

A quick rundown on the last 10 days or so….

Thursday, December 30: Our morning Escapee’s Event was a visit to Kartchner Caverns State Park to tour the Rotunda and Throne Caverns. I will definitely provide more details later, as this was a memorable tour. Our late afternoon/ early evening event was a Rig Tour with appetizers. It was pretty cool to see member’s homes on wheels(think Open House).

Wednesday, December 29: The Escapee’s morning event was a trip to Tombstone – OK Corral, lunch and the Queen Mine Tour in Bisbee (a quaint little town near Mexican border). Because we didn’t want to leave Sadie all day, we regrettably passed on this activity and instead enjoyed a delicious lunch at the “Legendary” El Charro Restaurant(we didn’t stay for the group on Tuesday because the wait was too long.

Tuesday, December 28: The Escapee’s morning event was the “Tucson Urban Adventure Quest” interactive team game which was a blast and gave us a chance to get to know Tucson and our team members, Connie and Marc. They are recently married (they actually got married at another Escapees event). They live in their 45-foot RV and are the 2nd RV down the row from us and we’re discovering they are a fun couple and we have a lot in common. The Escapee’s evening activity was a group game of “Guesspionage” an irreverent, interactive trivia game that is played on your smartphone. Fester and I agreed it would be a fun game to play with his brothers and their wives, and nieces and nephews the next time we’re all together… they are a pretty competitive bunch!

Monday, December 27: Today was arrival day for the Escapees RV Club. We weren’t sure we would want to get together with a group of people (30 rigs), but the Escapees are demonstrating good COVID protocols and every attendee had to present their vaccination records or negative COVID test results as you checked in. The club also provided KN94 masks for everyone and requested we where them when indoors together. That evening we met in the “Green Room” for introductions, agendas and instructions on how to play Tuesday’s Adventure Quest game.

Sunday, December 26: We explored Tucson’s downtown area as well as local neighborhoods around Tucson.

Saturday, December 25: After a yummy Christmas lunch, the three of us spent a fun day driving up Mt. Lemmon. We can see this 9,000 foot+ mountain from the fairgrounds, but it’s about an hour’s drive from Tucson. There’s a ski slope on the mountain with a cute little town with shops and restaurants. We were surprised to see some private neighborhoods on the mountain and of course we had to check them out.

Friday, December 24: We checked out the large fairgrounds and RV park, as well as the surrounding area. After shopping for groceries for our Christmas meal, we ended up taking a walk along the fairground’s fitness/exercise trail (about 1.5 miles) and botanical garden.

Thursday, December 23: Arrived at The RV Park at Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, Arizona. This will be our destination for the Escapee’s Tucson New Year’s Hangout which begins Monday, December 27 thru Sunday, January 2.

Wednesday, December 22 & Tuesday, December 21: Roper Lake State Park in Arizona – which brings us back to my last post from Monday, December 20.