Yeah! We did! We woke up in the 5am hour! When we finally get used to this it will be time to move back to Mountain Daylight time.
We were ready for church and left a little after 7am for a 7:45am Service at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Tucson. As we were looking for the church one of the lanes on the 3-lane street was blocked off and police officers were at the corners. There was a street race that was being held. We couldn't find any information on it. Tom said that some of the riders looked like they were serious and some seemed to be just out for a Sunday ride.
We were there quite early and had a chance to look around. The 7:45 Service was held in the "Chapel" while the other 2 Sunday morning Services are held in the main church building. It's cornerstone reads 1956 and is the typical southwestern architecture with the red tiled roof. There is a a youth building and a nursery building.
Tom found a sign that said that the "Jr League" and the "Sr. League" were each going to participate in a workcamp. The Jrs. were going to somewhere in Colorado and the Srs. were going to Scranton PA. When Tom showed me this we looked at each other and smiled broadly. We wondered what they would be doing in Scranton. During the Service the Jr. and Sr. Leaguers who where at that Service were commissioned for their trip. It was explained that they were going to this "small town" to put roofs on buildings, paint and whatever. We both wondered what the kids would think when they got to this "small town." To us who have connections in Scranton, it is a large town.
After church the cyclists were still at it. I guess they have to start early in order to beat the heat of the day.
We headed for "Pappy's Restaurant" for breakfast. Eating breakfast out after church on Sunday when camping is a tradition for us. This restaurant is "nothing worth writing home about" but the food was good and the portions were large.
Back at the RV trailer park we changed into other clothes, packed up things to drink and headed out for the Saguaro East National Park. We followed the way Tom figured out by looking at the map. It was an interesting ride through another part of Tucson even though I was the navigator and had to watch where we were going.
At the Park's Welcome Center we walked through the exhibits and then took the 8 mile tour through the desert with many scenic vistas along the way. This was another time that our $10 Senior Pass served us well to get into the 8-mile tour for free.
There was a group of about 8 on bicycles that were going to go through the park. There was a 6-8 yr old boy with them and a girl who was a little older. Maybe there were two others who were teenagers and 4 adults. The first part of the tour was a series of up and down hills. Tom and I were both wondering how the little guy was going to make it. At one point on an upgrade two of the male adults were with him as he worked his way up. They were not going to let the little guy be the lone last person.
Then we came to a long, long gradual ascent. We stopped for a view about half way up the entire rise. The view was wonderful. It was a close up of the mountain about which I had rhetorically asked,"What are those white things on the mountain?" They were rocks; long white rocks. Then the cell phone of the woman next to us rang. When she answered it and talked for while I couldn't help but listen to her conversation. It was helpful and informative. She was explaining that this desert was nothing like it was when she was growing up in the area. There were no waterfalls or any water in the desert. It was dry all over.
Water in the desert!? Waterfalls!? Then I looked at my "white things" and sure enough they were the waterfalls! One could follow the stream that the water would have taken down the mountain and zig-zagged across the valley floor. This part of the country needs water so badly!
As we were getting ready to leave the vista the 2 adult males rode their bikes up to the scenic vista and stopped. None of the others were in view. It was my feeling and hope that rest of the group were all together and were coming along walking. I thought that the guys were permitted to go ahead in order to try to get as far as they could. At least that is what I had hoped.
We let "The Man" find our way back to the trailer. "He" did indeed take us another way. We saw more houses all over the place. From the road it looks like the houses are trying to disappear into the desert and become invisible. Don't know if that was/is the intention.
Back at the RV park we "crashed." We were asleep for about an hour. Then we headed for the pool. Again we were the only ones in it. The park is very quiet this weekend. Don't know if the season hasn't started yet here or what.
There are very few people here and lots of empty spaces. But there are a lot of permanent residents. People park their RVs on a lot and leave them. They have shaded shelters for their cars when they come and flower gardens planted. In this park we are literally right up against each other. If I can remember tomorrow morning I'll try to take a picture of our proximity to our neighbor. This is okay for 3 nights but I wouldn't want to camp like this. We bought the trailer as "something in which to sleep and stand up to get dressed!" We don't need all the other stuff that came with it. It is primarily a camping vehicle. However, the trailer being what it is, it has made this adventure possible.
A light dinner followed and then the first part of preparations for moving on tomorrow. We are headed for Williams, AZ. It's an estimated 4.5 hr drive and we will be moving to a higher elevation. Hopefully we/I will get to bed early tonight so that we can get an early start. Well, we ARE up at 5am. geeesh!
No comments:
Post a Comment