A Break Between Tucson Rallies

Hi, welcome back. Our last episode ended on Friday, March 1^st, when we left Tucson, Arizona after a wonderful rally, and drove 200 miles east to Deming, New Mexico and the Low-Hi RV Ranch. Saturday was a day of rest for the most part. The 10 day rally in Tucson was VERY busy and the travel yesterday was also tiring, so we were ready for a slow day. We did a few chores around the house and did go out briefly to do a Walmart run. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:30 and then dinner. Jackie made a chili relleno casserole that was very good. Peggy made some rice and we had a nice meal. After dinner the Bullock's went home and we watched some TV until bedtime.

Sunday, March 3^rd, we left the coach with the Bullock's in our car about 10:30 and headed north out of Deming towards Silver City, New Mexico, a little over 50 miles northwest. Silver City is located in a valley in the foothills of the Mogollon Mountains of Southwestern New Mexico. The city was founded in 1870 after silver was discovered in the area, although the general area had been mined for copper decades earlier by the Spanish who were the first Europeans to visit the area. The silver played out after a few decades, but the area is now again active with modern copper mines. The city has a population of about 10,000 and sits at nearly 6,000 feet in elevation. I have never been to Silver City and wanted to visit it since we were so close in Deming. I was curious about the town because back in 1970 I joined the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Phoenix. When I went to the academy later that year one of my classmates was Mike Bethea. After the academy Mike and I found ourselves on the same patrol squad in adjacent beats and became pretty good friends. Mike's wife at the time was from New Mexico and sometime around 1974 Mike resigned from MCSO and moved to Silver City. We never had any contact after that, however, we did hear that a few years later, sometime in the late 70's, he was elected Sheriff of Grant County, of which Silver City is the county seat.

When we arrived in Silver City we found a high desert mining town which was very reminiscent of areas in Arizona we are familiar with, like Cottonwood and Clarkdale, where my brother Dennis lives. We went into the old downtown area, which dates back to the turn of the century, and went to the Little Toad Creek Brewery for lunch. The place had good ratings and it turns out the food was very good. Three of us had what they called a New Mexico Reuben sandwich, which added onions and green chilies to a Reuben and the flavors were excellent. Jackie had Baja fish tacos and said they were good too. After lunch we drove around downtown and did some sightseeing in the area. The altitude was a little too much for Jackie to do much walking around. It is a very picturesque town, although being a Sunday it was pretty quiet. We found that the Elks Lodge was open, so we stopped in and had a drink and got a lodge pin for our banner. We also picked up a couple of easy geocaches in the area before heading back to Deming. After we got back to the park we stayed in the rest of the night. Peggy was not feeling well, had a bad cold, so we just stayed in and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Monday, March 4^th was another relaxation day. We got a few chores done around the coach and Jackie and I went out after lunch and got our toes clipped. I just get trimmed, Jackie went full pedi. After the pedi we went back to the coach and stayed in the rest of the day. Peggy was still not feeling well, so we had cocktails on our own and Jackie made dinner for us. We then watched TV until bedtime. Tuesday we had planned to go to Puerto Palomas, the Mexican border city about 30 miles south of Deming, however, Peggy's was still not feeling well, so we decided to put the trip off a couple days. Instead we met the Bullock's for lunch at Irma's Mexican Cafe, our all time favorite New Mexico Mexican restaurant. It is located right in the heart of downtown and we have been coming here whenever we pass through Deming for about the last six years. As always lunch was wonderful, and filling. After lunch the Bullock's went to run some errands, including a trip to the pharmacy for Peggy, and we went out to do some geocaching. We first dropped off some stuff at the local St. Vincent De Paul thrift store, then did some urban caching. We were able to get seven new finds in about 90 minutes. After caching we stopped at a local Mexican food store for some frozen chili rellenos that Peggy said she got last year and loved. We then went back to the coach for the rest of the day. We had cocktails with just the two of us, some light dinner and then watched TV for the rest of the night. As a side note, today marks the one year anniversary of when we had to put our beloved cat Smokey to sleep. RIP Smokey!

Wednesday, March 6^th, Peggy was still not feeling well, so after lunch Jackie and I went out to do a little geocaching. We were able to get three new finds in less than an hour and then we were pretty much out of caches in the area. There is apparently not a big caching community here. We did have a lot more caches on the list I printed out the day we got here, but two days later the owner archived all his caches, which were the majority of geocaches in Deming. Although most owners will not go out and pick up the containers when they archive a cache, it does no good to go find it because the website will not let you log an archived cache. After our caching we did a Walmart run, then returned to the RV park. We did have cocktails with the Bullock's, outside for the first time in a while since the weather was mild and for the first time since we have been here the wind was not blowing 30 mph. After cocktails we went back to our coach, fixed dinner and then watched TV until it was time to go to bed.

Thursday, March 7^th, our last full day in Deming. Peggy still didn't feel like going out, so about 10:00 Jackie and I left and drove south 39 miles to the border town of Columbus, New Mexico. We parked in the visitor's parking at the border station and walked across the border into Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua, Mexico. We have been here once before, probably six or seven years ago. The U.S. Customs and Immigration border station here is brand new, and in fact it appears they are just finishing up the landscaping and some road work around it. This new crossing is huge, multiple lanes for traffic, a huge secondary search area, several large buildings. Given the number of people we saw walking around town after we crossed over, I am not sure why they wanted such a big facility. It is not even the commercial vehicle port, that is down the road a ways. When we crossed into Mexico there was a big, new building there too that you had to pass through to get into town. Palomas is basically one long street, maybe a mile, with some short cross streets. Only two tourist type shops, the Pink Store and a market. Everything else appeared to be geared mostly towards the locals. There were a couple of eye doctors and dentists, but a tiny fraction of what they have in Algodones. Based on what we saw there were probably fewer than a hundred tourists in town while we were there. There were no street vendors, or outside shops like in Algodones. Frankly, I suspect this will be the last time we visit because there just isn't that much there. It's only real claim to fame is that it is the town where General Pershing crossed when he invaded Mexico chasing Pancho Villa back at the turn of the century.

We walked a couple blocks on the street and then went into the Pink Store, which has an acre of kitschy Mexican crap and a nice restaurant. They do give you a free drink while you shop. After a half hour of looking around the store we had lunch, which was excellent. After lunch we picked up a wheel of white Mexican cheese, which we were told was made by members of a Mennonite colony that lives nearby, on the Mexican side. We also stopped at a pharmacy so Jackie could get a couple little things. We then walked back to the American side. Unlike Algodones, there were only two people in line ahead of us and we walked right in, checked in and walked out. The biggest drawback is that the customs facility is so big it's a quarter mile walk from the Mexican side of the fence to the building where the inspectors are, and then another quarter mile out of the facility. After we got back to the car we drove back to the RV park and stayed in for the rest of the day. Just as we were leaving Mexico a big windstorm, which was also very cold, started blowing and we listened to 40 mph wind blowing the rest of the afternoon and evening. By bedtime it had calmed down, but they were predicting tomorrow to be more of the same. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, March 8^th, we were up early, packed up the coach and were on the road by 8:00 a.m., heading west to Wilcox, Arizona, about 140 miles. We left early because the weather forecast was for high winds again starting in the early afternoon and we did not want to be on the road in the kind of winds we had yesterday afternoon. We made Wilcox and the Grande Vista RV park, just before 11:00 and got parked and set up. We had occasional light winds and some gusts on the trip, but, just as was forecast, by 1:00 the winds were howling again, 40 mph steady with higher gusts. Our getting up and out early was a good idea. Since the weather was bad and we were tired anyway, we spent the rest of the day in. We had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon and then Jackie made some Chinese chicken casserole for dinner. After dinner the Bullock's left and we watched TV until bedtime.

This is our first time staying in Wilcox. We had stayed several times over the years in the next town West, Benson, but not here. Wilcox is town of about 3,500, founded in 1880 as a stop on the new Southern Pacific railroad line. Then, as now, it was mainly a ranching community and exists to support local ranches as well as the occasional tourist. The town is best known as the birthplace of 50's cowboy singer and actor Rex Allen. One of the main streets is named after him and there are several museums in town dedicated to his life, as well as a large stature in the old downtown area. We are going to be here for three nights, so we have a couple of days to explore. The weather is supposed to be better for the next few days.

Saturday, March 9^th, we left the coach with the Bullock's about 11:30 and went to a nearby cafe, the Hitching Post Cafe, for lunch/breakfast. Peggy and I had lunch, Vernon and Jackie had breakfast. After breakfast Jackie was not feeling well, so we dropped her off at the coach to rest while Peggy and Vernon and I drove to the Chiricahua National Monument about 35 miles southeast of Wilcox in the Chiricahua Mountains. The monument is a little over 12,000 acres in the Chiricahua Mountains, including most of the range's Bonita Canyon. Although the limestone formations in the park are very beautiful, the monument also includes a lot of history. This part of the Chiricahua Mountains was where the Chiricahua Apache Indians used as a stronghold in their fight against the white settlers and U.S. Army from the middle to the late 1800's. These were the tribes led by Cochise and then later Geronimo. These Apache tribes were some of the last native Americans to finally make peace with the U.S. government. We spent some time at the visitor's center and then drove around the monument sight-seeing. After our visit we drove back to Wilcox and I spent the rest of the day helping Jackie, who was having a really bad spell of stomach problems.

Sunday, March 10^th, Jackie was still feeling bad, I woke up with a renewed cough and fever, and Peggy was still sick. Vernon is the only one holding out to feeling half decent. I did go out and make a run to the grocery store to pick up some stuff, mostly medical supplies. We spent the rest of the day in the coach just trying to not be too miserable. Monday was another travel day. I was feeling just a little bit better, although I woke up with my own stomach issues. Fortunately, I already had the Pepto Bismol that I got Jackie yesterday. Today we are continuing west, going 90 miles to South Tucson. I had been worried about the weather as the forecast was for rain today, but the skies were partly cloudy and it was only a little windy, so an easy trip. We arrived at the Mission View RV resort about noon and got parked next to Peggy and Vernon. After we got set up we just relaxed for the rest of the day, still trying to get better. We did get together for a little while at 5:00 for our first cocktails together in a few days. After that we went back into the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, March 12^th, we woke up to the predicted rain with expectations that it would be raining on and off all day. After lunch we went out to do some shopping, hitting Walmart first and then Costco. At both stops we had to walk through rain to get to the stores. After shopping we went home and put everything away. We had cocktails with the Bullock's at 5:30 then Peggy served up some clam chowder she had made. The chowder was very good. After dinner we went home and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Neither of us is feeling well yet, I hope these colds or whatever it is will relent soon. Wednesday, my son Roy Jr's birthday! It was also laundry day for us. We went out after lunch to a laundromat and got all our clothes and bedding washed and dried. On the way home we stopped at Fry's for some items that went on sale today, particularly stuff for St. Patrick's Day, which is this coming Sunday. We picked up everything we needed for corned beef and cabbage. After we got home we put everything away and then later had cocktails at the Bullock's. Peggy cooked again today, making meat loaf and roasted potatoes and carrots. It was a great meal. After dinner we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday, March 14^th, still a sick day for me, although Jackie seemed to be a bit better. We left the RV park about 10:30 and drove to a cafe called JerryBob's. We ate here a couple years ago and enjoyed it, so we went back. We met Peggy and Vernon there and had a nice breakfast/lunch. After lunch we took a drive to Sam's Club. I needed to return something, and the only store in Tucson, up on the north side, was closer from here than it would be from the fairgrounds. After Sam's Club we drove back to the campground and relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails with the Bullock's, but no formal dinner. We watched TV until it was bedtime.

Friday, March 15^th, another travel day. We were only going about 27 miles east, back to the Pima County Fairgrounds that we left a week ago. This time we are going for the Escapee's RV Club annual Escapade, a very large RV rally, similar to the big FMCA Conventions that we go to. We didn't even hook up the car since we had to unhook before we parked anyway. We left Mission View about 9:30 and by 11:00 we were in the fairgrounds and parked. We did the basic set up, mostly inside because the wind was blowing about 40 mph outside. I was still feeling poorly, so after we got set up we just stayed in and rested. We didn't even do cocktails or dinner. Just watched some TV and went to bed.

It has been a couple weeks since we published and our arrival here at another big, week long rally, marks a good place to close out this chapter and get it online. Until next time remember to just be yourself because everyone else is taken. See ya soon.

Off to Tucson for a Great Rally

Hello there, welcome back to the story. Our last chapter concluded on Tuesday, February 19^th, at the end of our last full day in Yuma, Arizona. Wednesday morning was a travel day. We are heading from Yuma, Arizona to Tucson, Arizona for a rally with one of our FMCA Chapters, the Overland Trailblazers. Today we are driving 175 miles to Arizona City, a small community just south of Casa Grande, Arizona. We were on the road about 10:30 and arrived at the High Chaparral RV Park about 3:00. We had to make a fuel stop along the way and while we were there we had lunch. The Bullocks are also going to the same rally and were traveling with us. We got checked in and parked and did a minimal set up since this is just an overnight stop. The Bullocks were parked right next to us. We had cocktails together, the first time Jackie has enjoyed happy hour for several days. After cocktails Peggy served up some tortellini soup that she had made a couple days ago. It was great. We had dinner, talked for a bit, then went back to our coach for the rest of the night.

Thursday, February 20, we were up and out early as we wanted to get to the Pima County Fairgrounds, where the rally is being held, before the threatening weather moved in. There is a terrible, very cold winter storm heading in from California. As we were packing up we had some very light rain, but it passed and by the time we left at 9:00 it was cloudy and windy, but no rain. We were going 75 miles southeast to the Pima County Fairgrounds on the outskirts of Tucson. We have been there for rallies before and it is a pretty nice venue. We arrived about 10:30 and the parking crew got us into our full hookup spot and we began to set up. As it turned out we didn't get any rain at all, but it was pretty cold. After we got set up I took all my sound equipment down to the rally meeting room. I am the “sound guy” for the rally, except for tonight because they have a band which has it's own sound equipment. I just took my stuff down and put it in the corner so it would be there tomorrow when I go down to set it up for the rest of the rally.

About 5:30 we went down to the rally room for our welcoming dinner. The rally hosts and some other volunteers had done a bunch of tri tip on the BBQ, along with all the fixings. It was fun seeing a bunch of the same people we hung out with in Indio in January. The dinner was good and after dinner they had a country band perform. It turns out that the band leader is the brother of the president of the Overland Trailblazers Chapter, so they came cheap, as in free. They were actually quite good, although we left about halfway through the show because Belle, Peggy and Vernon's little dog, was not feeling well and they wanted to get back. After we got back to our coach we relaxed with the TV and went to bed early. Both of us are fighting colds and didn't feel a hundred percent anyway.

Friday, February 22^nd, we woke up not to the expected rain, but snow! And not just a little snow, a full fledged snow storm. We got an email from the rally hosts that all three of the events that had been scheduled for today had been canceled due to the weather. We had been scheduled to go to Karchner's Caverns, an Arizona State Park featuring a cave system that had only been discovered about 25 years ago. We were told that the trip was being rescheduled for Monday. Peggy and Vernon were going to visit a big cattle ranch, and the other choice was the Pima Air Museum. Because of the bad weather and icy roads, everyone stayed home. I went down to the meeting room during the day and set up my equipment and the pot luck dinner scheduled for 5:30 was still on since the meeting room was very close to the RV parking. We went to the dinner and had a big selection of really good food. The snow continued until late evening, leaving about 2 or 3 inches on the ground. After dinner they had some organizational stuff for the next day, then we went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Saturday, February 23^rd, we had a full day of activities scheduled, all occurring on the campus of the University of Arizona in downtown Tucson. The rally committee had set up three different tours, a visit to the University's Richard Caris Mirror Lab, the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium, and the Laboratory of Tree Ring Research. The rally was split into three groups and each group was scheduled for each of the three activities, just at different times. The group we ended up in was scheduled for the Mirror Lab first, then the Planetarium and then the Tree Ring Lab. We elected to skip our first activity for several reasons, it was too early, we would have had to leave at 8:00, it was too cold, still below freezing at sunup, and there was still a lot of ice and snow on the roads. It would have been interesting as the Mirror Lab is the countries premier “factory” for making very large concave precision mirrors for large telescopes. They are currently working on mirrors for an observatory in the mountains of Chili.

We left the coach about 10:00 when it had warmed up a bit and the roads were clear. Apparently those in our group who did leave early were stuck in traffic on the freeway for a while due to a weather related accident. We arrived at the Science Center and Planetarium for our 11:00 tour and joined our group. The Planetarium show was very interesting and well done, they have recently installed new digital projectors and computers that allow some very fun displays of the solar system and the universe in general. After the sky show we took a guided tour through the Science Center, which includes displays about all kinds of things, including sharks, geology and minerals, and several other physical sciences. It was a great tour and we were glad we took the time to go. After the tour the group walked through the UofA campus to one of the dormitory complexes and the Highland Market and Cafe that is part of the complex. They had a wide variety of lunch items and a nice coffee shop and the group all had lunch. Lunch was not included as part of the rally, but we were all there at the same time and sat together.

After lunch we walked a short distance to the Laboratory of Tree Ring Science. This is a one of a kind laboratory dedicated to the science of dendrochronology, or the dating of trees. Our very knowledgeable and entertaining docent explained that this is a fairly recent science, dating back to the early 1900's, which was actually created right here at the UofA. dendrochronology is used as a technique in many scientific endeavors, especially archaeology and anthropology. We had an hour long tour with lots of information and demonstrations. After this tour we were done for the day, so we picked up one geocache that was right next to the tree lab building, then drove back to the campground. We went down to the rally room at 5:30 for dinner, which was provided by an outside catering company tonight. They had lasagna, salad and bread and it was filling and tasty. After dinner they had a local historian give a talk on the history of Southern Arizona, with an emphasis on Tombstone, one of the places we are scheduled to visit during the rally. He talked about 45 minutes and was very interesting. After the talk we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Sunday, February 24^th we left the RV park with the Bullock's and drove the 56 miles southeast to Tombstone, Arizona. Now all of us have been to Tombstone a number of times in the past, but it is always interesting to see some of the stuff again, and now that the weather has cleared up and warmed up a bit, it was a pretty drive. Lots of snow on the ground still and the mountains were all white. The rally had also arranged for two tours, a tour of the old silver mine in town, and a trolley tour around town. We got to Tombstone a little early and went to lunch at one of the Mexican restaurants in town, Cafe Margarita. The service was good, but the food was not much to talk about. I had red chili and the meat was so tough it was almost inedible. The others had different types of burritos and no one was happy with

the food. The only thing I had that was good was the tortilla soup. After lunch I went on the mine tour while everyone else stayed above ground. Peggy doesn't like being underground, Jackie didn't want to do the 60 steps in and out of the hole, and Vernon got winded early and left right after the tour started. I thought it was an interesting and informative tour and was glad I went. After the mine tour we were supposed to take the trolley ride, but the trolley broke down, so it was canceled. We walked a little bit on the main street, then got back in the car and drove back to the fairgrounds. We went to dinner at 5:30, which was hamburgers and beans cooked by the rally staff. After dinner they had a local cowboy singer come in and do a 45 minute musical show that was very good. After the show we went back to the coach and watched TV.

Monday, February 25^th, was supposed to be a free day for the rally, but it turned out to be the day that they rescheduled all of Friday's activities for. Jackie and I left the coach about 11:00, went out for a quick lunch, then drove to Kartchner Caverns State Park for a tour of the Kartchner Caverns. The Bullock's went the other way for a tour of a working cattle ranch south of Tucson. As I said earlier, Peggy doesn't do caves. The Kartchner Caverns tour was one of the things that I was really looking forward to, as it is something that we have never done. This cavern system is one of the most recently discovered large caverns in the United States, having only been found in 1978 by a couple of amateur spelunkers. They went to the land owner, a doctor by the name of Kartchner, and told him about the cave and that they thought it should be protected and preserved. Kartchner agreed and they went to the State of Arizona which took the necessary steps to purchase the land and create a State Park. In 2003 the park opened to the public for the first time.  They did not allow any type of phone or camera to be brought into the caverns, so the photos are from the Internet.

The big draw for this cavern is that it is pristine, having never been vandalized or looted, and it was a “living cave” in which the various formations were still growing due to the water in the area and the fact that there were no large openings to let in air, which would dry out the cave and kill the growth process. The State did a great job putting in nice, smooth concrete walkways and railings, as well as lighting, without doing too much damage to the cave. They also installed steel air lock doors at the entrances to keep out the external air, thus keeping the cave alive. It is the first, and only, fully wheelchair accessible cave system in the world and the tour was not strenuous at all since there was very little up and down. The cave system is under a series of large hills and doesn't' go very deep into the ground, only a few hundred feet at the deepest. You just walk into the hill and then you're in the cave. We have been to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, which is, of course, much larger more grandiose, but this was a very nice tour and a great facility that the State has built. The tour was about 90 minutes and we had spent about an hour before the tour going through the visitor center.

After the tour we drove back to the fairgrounds, rested for a half hour, then went down to the rally room at 5:30 for dinner again. Tonight they provided some very tasty chicken soup that they got from Costco. The food was good and we had a nice time visiting with people. After dinner they had another speaker, this one a docent from the Mission San Xaiveir, south of Tucson. One of the tour options for tomorrow is the mission. He gave a talk for about 45 minutes, but was not an especially good speaker. After the lecture we went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, February 26^th, we left the coach with the Bullock's about 11:00 and went to lunch at a nearby Thai Restaurant called Lucky Thai. Peggy and Vernon had eaten there the other day and said it was very good. I thought the food was good, but not fantastic. The flavors were not as big as I would have liked, but it was still good. After lunch the four of us drove to the other side of Tucson for a visit to Mission Copper Mine, also called the Pima Mine. This was another of the tours set up by the rally group. The Mission mine is a large, open pit copper mine which was started in 1960 by the American Smelting and Refining Company. It is one of three such mines the company operates in Arizona. The company is now called ASARCO (basically the initials of the old name) is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, a large Mexican industrial conglomerate. They have a very nice visitor's center and gift shop and we spent a half hour or so walking through it and looking at exhibits. Then a tour guide takes you on a bus on a tour of the facility. The first stop is at an overlook on the very top of the facility which allows you to look down into the pit and see the operations. This part of the tour was

very reminiscent of the tour we took last summer in Gillette, Wyoming of the open pit coal mine. The actual mining operation is nearly identical, the only thing different is what they are digging up. The tour then went down to one of the mill buildings where we went inside and could see the huge milling machines which are used to crush and pulverize the ore into dust and then the facilities where the copper is removed from the ore dust. This was new to me and was very interesting. The tour was about 90 minutes and was very informative. After the tour we drove back to the Fairgrounds, just in time to go to the rally room for another dinner. Tonight was pizza and salad. After dinner they showed a movie for those who wanted to stay. Jackie and I both stayed for the movie, which was Coco, an animated Disney film which had won the Oscar for best animated feature and best new song in 2017. It was a very good movie, very heart warming and funny. After the movie we went back to the coach and watched some TV before bed.

Wednesday, February 27^th, our first free day of the rally. We left the coach after lunch and went out to do laundry. We had quite the pile as it has been almost three weeks since the last time we washed clothes. After the laundry we stopped and Jackie got a haircut, the first one she has had since the end of December. She usually goes about once a month, but was hesitant to go until the cut on her head she got when she fell in January was all healed. While she was getting a haircut I went into the Safeway next door and got a few supplies. After our chores we headed home and put everything away. At 5:30 we had cocktails with the Bullocks, just the four of us, and then did some steaks on the BBQ, along with some potatoes and creamed spinach. After dinner we talked for a while, then went home and watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday, February 28^th, my brother Russ's birthday. Happy Birthday Bro! Today was another free day, at least for us and the Bullock's. There was a tour, for those who wanted to go, of the Sonora Desert Museum on the west side of Tucson. However, the Bullock's have been a couple of times, I have lived in the Sonoran desert most of my life and didn't need to see what it looked like, and Jackie didn't feel up to all the walking. So, we decided to have another mostly free day. The four of us went to lunch at a nice Italian restaurant just a few miles south of the fairgrounds which was called Argenziano's. We had eaten here a couple of years ago when we were last at the Fairgrounds for an Escapee's rally and remembered the food as being very good. Our memories were correct, the food was very good and plentiful. After lunch we went out, with Peggy along for the ride, and did some geocaching around the area. We had a good afternoon, getting 15 new finds, and one DNF in a couple of hours.

After caching we went back to the coach and did some chores. I put away most of the outside stuff in preparation for our departure tomorrow. At 4:30 we went down to the rally room for the last night's dinner and entertainment. In keeping with the generally Southwest theme of this rally, the host's had brought in a Mariachi band from Pueblo High School, one of the local Tucson schools. The band was called Mariachi Aztlan and over the years the group has won numerous awards and contests and have appeared all over the United States. When they started playing and singing it was easy to see why, they were fantastic. They played for about an hour and put on a really good show. After the show there was a nice dinner of chicken enchiladas and Mexican rice, which had been provided by La Mesa RV, one of the rally's sponsors. After dinner everyone said their goodbyes, I packed up my sound equipment, and we went back to the coach for the rest of the night. This has been an extraordinary rally, one of the best we have attended, but now I am ready for a few days of relaxation.

Friday, March 1^st, the start of the “meteorological spring.” Today was a travel day and we were going 205 miles east to Deming, New Mexico. Since it was a fairly long trip we got an early start, getting on the road at about 9:15. We arrived at the Low-Hi RV Ranch in Deming at 1:00, got checked in and parked, and spent the rest of the afternoon getting set up. At 5:00 we had cocktails with the Bullock's and Jackie and Peggy played cards for a while. They went back to their coach about 7:00 and we had a light dinner on own, watched some TV, and went to bed a little early.

Finishing this wonderful and exhausting rally marks a great place to get this episode posted. After a week here in Deming, New Mexico we go back to Arizona, spend a few days in Wilcox a few days in an RV park in South Tucson, and then it's back to the Fairgrounds for a week with the Escapee's RV Club Escapade rally. Until next time, remember as you go through life that there are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family. Make some new family. See ya soon.