Bill and Kit’s 2010 Excellent Adventure

Latitude: Wherever ••• Longitude: Who Cares

 

 The Bill and Kit 2010 Excellent Adventure Journal-Issue #6

 Tucson, Arizona, January 18 to January 27, 2010-Part One:  OK, most figured out that the Doobie RV Resort and Riparian Desert Oasis is really the home of my bruzzin Dewey (Dew) and my bruzzin–in-law, Beatrice (Bea).  It is however a very nice and a very inexpensive place to stay:

 

 These great folks always make us feel welcome; we have a lot in common and have a great time together.  In addition they have been the primary local contact for most issues concerning my mom…..from monitoring her medical needs to taking her to appointments and on various outings.  In addition they always include her in their holiday celebrations.  We have really been thankful they are in Tucson and that they have willingly and lovingly taken care of all the “heavy lifting” concerning my mom’s care.

 What’s a “bruzzin” you ask?  Well, um…..funny you should ask.  A bruzzin is the result of my mom marrying my uncle so my cousin became my stepbrother and then my mom divorced my uncle so my step brother became my cousin again but that seemed kinda impersonal so we decided to call each other bruzzin’s.  Now, aren’t you sorry you asked?  And, uh…..oh by the way, I have a “bruncle” as well…..but that gets really complicated.  Here is a picture of the happy couple……yep they are the Desert Rat’s that they appear. 

 There are three other residents of the home; Sammy, Max and Nile.

    

 Yep, they too are the Desert Rats, um…..Dogs that they appear.

 The first morning when we signed on the internet a Winter Weather Advisory banner was scrolling across the screen.  We smugly dismissed it because we were in Arizona.  Then we realized it was the Tucson Weather report we were looking at!  Yikes!!  Reading further we learned that it was for blizzard conditions with up to 20 inches of show.  Double Yikes!!  Reading still further we learned it was only for elevations above 7,000 feet…..Tucson sits at 2,380 feet.  Whew!

 We visited mom most days and were pleased to see small but consistent progress toward recovery from her stroke.  The prognosis is that she will stay at the skilled nursing facility for a few more weeks and then return to her room at the Adult Care Home.  She is still weak, can walk a short distance with assistance and in pretty good spirits.  Here she is laughing at one of my dumb jokes:

 

 Dew and Bea invited me to join them on a hike up Sabino Canyon in the Coronado National Forest.  They were nice enough to let me lead as we hiked down the trail.  However it not so suddenly came to me that they invited me along as bait as they were hunting snakes for Rattlesnake Taco’s.  Fortunately we didn’t encounter any.

 Arizona, like Maine, has problems with invasive species of plants taking root and squeezing out the native plants.  In Sabino Canyon, one unusual invasive plant that has taken root along the riparian corridor of the river is Watermelon…..hum, wonder how they got there?

 It was a nice day but we still worked up a sweat and went through a bit of water.  Fortunately there were plenty of Barrel Cactus and Aqueous Rocks around to tap and draw water from.  However, only if you know what you’re doing…..not all rocks or cactus are safe to drink from.  One should only tap those that they are sure contain potable water…..such as the one below. 

 

 There has been a lot of rain in the area recently and combined with the snow in the higher elevations, a lot of trails were impassable due to high water.  Even the bridges over the Sabino River were under a foot of water:

 

 A really nice day, sunny and cool…..perfect for a hike in the mountains.

 Speaking of mountains, Tucson is surrounded by them.  There are the Santa Catalina’s, the Rincon’s, the Santa Rita’s, the Tucson’s and the Tortolita’s.  The highest peak at 9,453 feet is Mount Wrightson which gets up to 180 inches of snow a year.  Mount Lemon in the Santa Catalina’s at 9,174 feet boosts a thriving ski area….yep, in Arizona!  As you drive around Tucson the various mountain ranges are constantly in the background.  At times it feels like you can reach out and touch them, which I wouldn’t advise because, after all, you are driving.

 

  

   

Stay tuned for part two of Fun in the Sun in Tucson,

 Love, Dad/Mom, Poppy/Guma, Bill/Kit