Tucson

Mar 10     Picacho Peak State Park - Prince of Tucson RV Park      37 miles     50 min

We're staying at the Prince of Tucson RV Park for 4 nights. Full hook ups and they offer a Good Sam rate $143.00. Not too bad here. We'll make good use of the pool and hot tub because it's going to be hot this weekend.

After we got settled, we took a ride to the visitors center to buy a Tucson passport book for $20.00. It's a book full of coupons, lots of 2 for 1 deals.

For dinner, we went to Texas Roadhouse about 8 miles from here. Joe had a rib eye which he really enjoyed. I had a prime rib. Was pretty good but a lot of fat. The last time we ate at a Texas Roadhouse, we were in Grand Junction, Colorado visiting our niece Keahi.

Mar 11    Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

This museum is ranked the #1 Tucson tourist attraction. The 98 acre Desert Museum is a fusion experience: zoo, botanical garden, art gallery, natural history museum, and aquarium. We used the Tucson Passport. Tickets were $20.50, so with this visit, we already paid for the book.

There was two miles of walking paths through various desert habitats. The cactus garden was one of my favorites.

We got there about 9am and did the Desert Loop Trail. There was a raptor show at 10am and it was real good. It got real hot, real fast. Lots to see and we saw almost everything. We left about 130pm and when we got in the car, it was 101 degrees!

We got home, took a nap, then went to the pool.

Mar 12     Old Tucson

We visited Old Tucson this morning. The drive took us through Gates Pass which was very scenic. Old Tucson is one of Arizona's top Wild West attractions, featuring live action stunt shows, musicals and live entertainment, and vintage rides for kids. Built in 1939 to film western classics, Old Tucson has been used for many films and western series.

We did the historic tour, a 30 minute guided walking tour. Went into the movie museum, which was real interesting. Joe spent a long time in there reading all kinds of stuff. We got there when they opened at 10am and left at 1130am. Just right, was starting to get hot. We were able to use the Tucson Passport so paid only $20 entry.

1868 School House

 We had lunch at Furr's Fresh Buffet. A couple at the pool yesterday told us about this great buffet for pretty cheap. All you can eat for $10.99. Drinks are extra so our total including tip was about $30. Wasn't that great, just ok. I guess what you expect for $10.99???

Mar 13       Sabino Canyon

Sabino Canyon Recreation Area's soaring mountain peaks and deep canyons draw over a million visitors a year to the Sonoran Desert and Santa Catalina Mountains. It is one of the most popular recreation sites in Arizona for hiking, jogging, wildlife viewing, photography, and picnicking.

We arrived at about 930am and the parking lot was full. We were directed to the overflow parking about 1/2 mile away. No shuttle to pick us up so had to walk to the visitors center. Entrance fee was $5.00 per person but we bought the National Parks Pass for $80.00. We always have this pass and our old one expired. We paid $10.00 each for the Sabino Canyon Tour. A narrated 3.7 mile tour into Sabino Canyon.

Crossing the river with the shuttle

At the last stop of this tour, we got off and hiked back. Beautiful hike, very scenic and most of the bridges we crossed had water flowing over it. Even if my shoes got soaked it felt so good to cool off. Towards the middle of the hike, Joe almost stepped on a snake...a big one! He was hiding under the ledge of the roadway. As Joe walked by, he moved. That was scary!

Water flowing over the bridge

It took us about an hour and a half to hike out of the canyon. By the end of the hike, it was really hot!

When we got back to the campground, we hit the pool.

Our favorite place to be