Arizona

On Saturday morning, we got up early and got on the road by 8 AM, heading West on I-8.

The drive was uneventful, just mile after mile across the desert. Cynthia read Lonesome Dove to me to make the time pass. It got dark and we kept driving. Finally we got to our destination in Green Valley, south of Tucson AZ. We were greeted by Cynthia's friends Cynthia and Tony, old friends from Denver who have retired in Arizona. We parked the rig in front of their house. They had a beautiful dinner waiting for us.

On Sunday morning we went to mass at the historic and beautiful San Xavier del Bac mission church, on the Pima indian reservation. The mass was well attended, and was in both English and Spanish.

After mass, we headed to Tubac to wander through the shops and galleries. There were some interesting things there, and Cynthia bought a metal boot. We had dinner in Tubac with Cynthia and Tony. They love it in Green Valley, and have decorated their house eclectically, with fabulous finds from estate sales. We chatted more after dinner, and went to bed.

Monday we headed north, and decided to hike and camp in Tucson mountain park. We set up in Gilbert Ray campground, and went for a hike through the Saguaros. This is a somewhat greener desert than Anza-Borrego in California, some of the same cactus, but looking healthier. The photo of Richard is from our hike, while the photo of Cynthia is essentially the view out our rear window. Very beautiful, in the desert way.

On Tuesday we headed up to Phoenix to visit Eileen and see more art. We learned that Eileen's friend Barbara would be visiting as well. We headed out to the galleries in Scottsdale. We saw some amazing art, of all different genres, but especially Western art. We particularly liked the Russia gallery, where the owner told the story of going to Russia right after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and buying art from artists who really did not understand the art market.  We also visited the Contemporary Art Museum, where we saw a piece of installation art of an old trailer filled with red sand, a commentary on the housing boom.   Eileen fixed dinner for us and Barbara.

On Wednesday morning we learned that the weather in the next few days would be colder than we had expected. It might have made sense to head for Colorado immediately, but we were not ready to go. We headed back to the galleries in Scottsdale, and saw more excellent art. In the evening we all went out to the fancy El Chorro restaurant.