Tucson 2022

2/21/ to 3/7

I spent three weeks and one day in Tucson and must say I really like Tucson (from the word Tuk-Son)! It may (probably) be my favorite city I have visited so far for the following reasons: Weather#1 (I am in search of blue skies and SUN). Like I said, sunny and even for winter, relatively mild. It's a college town and it's youthful vibrancy can be felt. Clean, laid back, and boondockers most welcome. Just my perception, but it seemed awful safe. AND it has nice parks. I spent most of my final 14 days hanging out at Gene C. Reid Park. Clean bathrooms, lots of activities in the many softball/kickball fields, pick-nick tables and all the family like. Huge walking loop, 4 miles, which I did almost every day. I didn't make it into downtown to dine and drink but was told over and over that it's happening. Parking a big old RV downtown discouraged me from checking things out, but I just did not feel the need to do any of that. I don't even do any of that back home!

Another big plus was the University of Arizona baseball games located right in the park. I saw a total of three games. U of A won the first two, but lost the last game I attended to Texas State (yay!) Yeah, I know I should "root root root for the home team!" (and I did twice) but I just had to pull for the Texas team. They won 7-2! I love baseball. I had a terrific time attending. AND, anyone over 55 gained entry for only seven bucks!

I bought a bike rack off Craigslist which made a big difference :) Opened up my cargo rack. Lots of ideas to maximize all my RV spaces, all of which I'll attend to when I get back to Austin.

I spent every single evening in the same Tucson Walmart parking lot, always close enough to surf the net. Did all my shopping there. When I arrived in Tucson, before the dreadful Russian invasion of Ukraine, the gas prices were closer to 3 dollars a gallon. When I filled up to head to Yuma today a gallon was a penny from $4. Halfway to Yuma I gassed up at Pilot's. One gallon was $4.40!

I really liked Tucson. I could live there.

I SPENT ONE DAY in Yuma Az for one hot minute and skedaddled back to Austin. Yuma had always been on my travel itinerary because it is considered one of the sunniest places in the world.

El Sol +Me = Happy Me. I need blue skies and sunlight, plain and simple. And for sure, Yuma was sunny, just like Tucson. I liked Yuma!

A Yuma Walmart greeter name Rich described it as a small Tucson which sounded good. However, a convergence of things prompted my hasty, spontaneous departure after only 24 hours. . I got a text late in the day from one of my tenants back home about a possible appliance issue. The price of gasoline was going up up up with reports of 6-7 dollars a gallon in LA, my next destination. My California friend who I always stay with (in Fallbrook) had moved. Driving to LA to visit Hannah is always a nervy experience in a car, never mind a slow moving, old RV with no rear view window.And a feeling that I had gone far enough and been away long enough. I was pushing 9 months on the road. Austin was calling. So around 3:30 pm I headed back to Tucson. I got there well after dark and headed straight to my Walmart go-to parking lot. I spent the night in my usual spot and headed back to Texas well before daybreak. I was tanked up on coffee and looking forward to going home.