Tucson
Campground
Tucson / LazyDays KOA Resort
First things first, we have a grapefruit tree on our site! And what goes well with grapefruit???? Tequila!
Being a resort, there was an on-site restaurant - a BBQ joint that had a nice selection of beers and very good food. Pancake breakfast Sunday mornings. Lots of activities every day of the week. Mark played music at a lot of the "Wine'd Down" evening events and we taught line dancing! Our friends Mark & Lisa were in the site right next to us. Nice big dog park for Polly! Pickleball courts. Mini-golf "tournaments" every Saturday. Met a lot of wonderful people.
Things to see
Arizona-Sonoma Desert Museum
This is a bit south of Tucson and is a beautiful drive. A very well done desert museum. Loved it!
B & B Cactus Farm
We wouldn't normally place such a high value on going to see a "store" but this place is amazing. If you are into cacti at all, or want to be "wow'd" by a place that has everything, go here. We couldn't help ourselves; we bought several.
Mount Lemmon
Mount Lemmon is a great little ski town with a few shops and restaurants. It is worth the 1.5 hours to get there from Tucson as the drive is beautiful. We also recommend the UA Mt. Lemmon Science Audio Tour app. It is a free app, see the link below for additional information.
Pima County Historic Courthouse
An interesting and quick stop at the museum and grounds of the courthouse. They preserved the courtroom where Dillinger and his gang were arraigned.
Saguaro National Park
We love the Saguaro National Park and learned that there is an East and West location. Check out our various hikes in the park. We also participated in the annual Holiday Caravan through the park at night. Dogs not allowed.
San Xavier Del Bac Mission
Also known as the White Dove of the Desert, this mission was started in 1700 by Father Kino. It is currently an active parish and is free to tour.
Tombstone
We went here a couple years ago when we were staying at Picacho and came back this time too, taking our friends, Pat and Tom, during their visit. So many things to do, including museums, shoot-out re-enactments, carriage rides and shopping.
Tucson Botanical Gardens
This botanical garden is right in Tucson and is wonderful! This time of year, they wrap many of the trees with holiday lights. Going during the day to see how many strands of lights they wrapped is amazing! A great garden to come back to time after time.
Tumacacori National Historical Park
This park has a mission, museum and hiking trail. Would highly recommend taking the guide-led tour (free). No dogs allowed.
Winterhaven at Christmas
This large, multi-block area of Winterhaven is blocked off from all but pedestrian traffic for a few weeks leading up to Christmas. Pretty much every house is decorated. They ask for non-perishable or cash donation and have food trucks and such along the way. Also trolley and tram rides! VERY impressive.
Hiking
Lower Tanque Verde Falls
This trail is in the Coronado National Forest. Although there were no falls due to the time of the year, it was a great hike. A short hike down into the canyon and then the remainder of the hike was in the canyon. There was quite a bit of climbing over large boulders along the way. Dogs allowed.
Sabino Canyon (Phoneline Trail)
We highly recommend checking out Sabino Canyon. It is a national park that does not allow cars. Instead, they have an electric shuttle ($15 per person) that will bring you up to the end of the canyon and back. They provide headphones for a narration of the area's history. You can get off at any of the 9 stops and do some hiking too. We enjoyed the Phoneline Trail. Dogs not allowed.
Upper Tanque Verde Falls Loop
This trail is in the Coronado National Forest and was by far the most memorable hike we have ever had. There were warnings on AllTrails and the trailhead signs stating "clothing optional". However, since there was no water or beach at this time of the year, we assumed we were "safe". Think again, turns out nude hiking is a thing and this is one of the only places in the area that allows it. We met some very friendly people...everyone was hiking nude except for us. Dogs allowed.
Food and Drink
BBQ Rush
This restaurant was on-site at the KOA. If it wasn't so good, we wouldn't have gone back so many times! They have quite a selection of beers, our favorite being the hazy IPA. I really think everything on the menu is good and we tried so many things. The family that runs the place are wonderful, especially the primary bartender Maria.
BlackRock Brewers
Stopped in here with our good friends Tom & Pat, who came from WI for a great visit. Good beers. A bit of an industrial feel.
Borderlands Brewing
Stopped in here with our good friends Tom & Pat, who came from WI for a great visit. Great layout, with a large outside patio that appears to have a stage, nice interior, they host various game nights! The German Chocolate Cake stout was SUPER GOOD!
Calle Tepa
Nice place with a fast-food-ish area in front and a full bar with tables in the back. A bit too cold to enjoy the outdoor patio. Good drinks and a salsa bar!
Cookie Cabin Pizzeria
This is a wonderful place to stop when in Mt. Lemmon. The person taking our order was persuasive in calling our attention to the plate-sized cookie conglomeration. No complaints! Ate outside on a beautiful day.
El Charro Cafe (downtown)
The original location near downtown. On weekends, be prepared to wait quite a while. Even on a Tuesday, we had to wait 20 minutes or so. Great food!
El Sinoalense Hot Dog #5
Can't say this would be a normal place for us to stop, but the ratings were fantastic! And ratings don't lie! This style of hot dog was really good and it was a nice, easy lunch stop. Do it!
First Watch
OMG! Great place for breakfast. They go "above and beyond" the ordinary breakfast foods. There are several locations.
Guadalajara Mexican Grill
A very colorful interior! Very good food and margaritas. We went with friends Tom & Pat and Mark & Lisa.
Locale Neighborhood Italian Restaurant
A lovely Italian restaurant. You get the feel you're eating in someone's large house, various tables in different rooms. We were in a room with a large holiday gathering and it got a bit loud. The food and wine were fantastic!
Mi Midito Fine Mexican Food
A highly rated Mexican restaurant. Don't let the entrance fool you...it is great food! For part of our meal, we had a screaming child throwing a temper tantrum. Love that.
The Longhorn (Tombstone)
While in Tombstone with Pat & Tom, we stopped in for a quick lunch. The waitress was a hoot and gladly gave back all the crap we were giving her.
Wisdom's Cafe
Great Mexican restaurant close to the Tumacacori National Park and Tubac. Just look for the giant chicken statue. We were there on a Tuesday and they had 2 for 1 margaritas. Be warned, they are potent. If you follow them on Facebook, you can get a weekly code for 2 for 1 margaritas every day. Great patio too!
To make a long story short ...
Aurora Laray
Aurora played a few times at the LazyDays/KOA in Tucson while we were there. She is a wonderful person and we're glad we got to know her. She's a comedian, story-teller, song-writer, mandolin-player, actress, and probably a bunch more talents. She travels the country, like we do, playing where she can, meeting up with people she met in Hollywood, people she has made connections with in her travels, etc. Look her up!
Mark and Lisa got a dog! (and a house)
You might remember us talking about Mark & Lisa. We originally met them in Santa Fe about two years ago. We all met up again in South Padre Island and Corpus Christi. Wonderful people.
When we met them, they had "Penny", a mini-dachshund that they rescued from a shelter in Phoenix. Well, Penny went to doggie heaven and they decided to rescue another. This little doll is named "Piper" and is also a mini-dachshund. At the time of this writing, they have acquired another rescue named "Lucy", a cute little chihuahua.
Due to a variety of reasons, Mark & Lisa decided to come off the road after two years of adventures. While they haven't been everywhere [man], they have crossed the deserts bare [man], and breathed the mountain air [man]. They found a beautiful house in the north-west side of Tucson that butts right up to the Saguaro National Park.
We enjoyed helping them get moved in and celebrating New Year's Eve at the new place! Congratulations!
Our First Super Fan
Never would have imagined this happening. Here we are on a flight from Florida to Tucson after our weekend of doing the Tough Mudder and meeting our very first grandson - Harrison. The plane was full and we sat next to a lady (by the window) who slept most of the way. As we started to land, she woke up and apologized if she was snoring. (She wasn't).
Then she look at us and said, "I know you." Uh. Sorry? She asked if we have a website or something on social media. We said we had a website and before we could say any more, she said "Oh! You're Mark and Barb from TheSwanStory.com!" Wow.
Turns our her brother, had been watching our travels and told her that she should too! She said he's going to flip when he finds out she met us!
First super-fan. Only super-fan? Time will tell.
The case of the missing phone
Mark & Lisa. What would they do without us?
Mark & Lisa pulled into the campground and proceeded to tell us that they had lost Mark's phone. At first, they weren't sure if they had left it in the camper, or if it fell somewhere in the truck, or there was some other explanation. The last place Mark remembers having it was at a gas station on the other side of Tucson.
Two words - ROAD TRIP
Barb and I piled into their truck with them and set off for the gas station. When we got there, I went in and explained what might have happened and "did anyone turn in a phone?" Nope. So all four of us started looking around the pump that Mark had used. On the pump? No. In the trash? No. In the five-gallon bucket of window cleaner? No. In the backroom? No.
Oh, what the heck. I'll call it. Mark's watch started vibrating because he was getting a call. Huh? The only way that can happen is if his phone is near. I know, let's use the age-old method of "Hey, Mark, walk over to the other side of the parking lot and I'll call you again." Sure enough, when he got far from the gas pump he had used, no watch vibration. So it HAD to be close.
What else had he done? He got D.E.F. But Lisa and Barb had looked in there already? Ah, but it was dark and Mark remembers that hose being pretty hard to pull out. Lo and behold, there it is, tucked way down in where the D.E.F. hose goes, leaning up against the side, in the dark.
The only thing Mark can figure is that when he had to pull on the D.E.F. hose, he knocked it against this belt-attached phone holder and it got knocked off. What bad luck to have it fall right in where the hose was! Crazy!
Again, what would they do without us?
We survived a Tough Mudder (and met a grandson)
About a year ago, our daughter Breanna asked us if we would consider coming to Florida to do a Tough Mudder. This is one of those adventure races with a bunch of obstacles. Sure. Our default answer to things like this is always "yes". So what if we're in Tucson, we'll fly there for a fun weekend with her, her husband Kyle, and other team-mates from his family. We'll have a great time, we thought!
Well, not too long after we said "yes", Breanna called and announced that she was pregnant. She'll be due about a month before the Tough Mudder. It was obvious to us that she was not going to participate, but we'll do it anyway! The team turned out to be Barb, Kyle, Kyle's mom Candy, and me. Cool. Bonus - Breanna will have Harrison there!
Kyle warned us about "shock therapy". Okay, yeah, whatever, we have 18 obstacles to do. How bad can one be? He warned us. He said "It will feel like being punched. Hard." Okay. It will be the last obstacle. We're hyped on success. How bad can it be? We'll just run through it.
That was one of several faulty thoughts about this obstacle. Yeah, it felt like getting punched. Hard. I (Mark) got knocked down three times. After one of them, I took a header into a plastic culvert and, well, look at the pictures.
We really did have a fantastic time doing this adventure. It wasn't a race. It actually took teamwork, not only from our own team, but from other teams, to get through some of the challenges.
Besides that, we were so excited to spend a few days with our very first grandchild! Harrison James was born November 9. What a little cutie. Looking forward to seeing him and Breanna and Kyle in a trip in the near future.