Tucson, home of the blood red sunsets..

A delightful surprise was Picacho Peak State Park, half an hour south and not far north of Tucson (photo left.) The hikes, views and camping were lovely and at $20 a night, very reasonable.
Then into the famed Saguaro National Park complex and Tucson Mountain State Park, a vast and gorgeous spread of saguaro cacti, but many, many other desert plants and wildlife. A highlight here is the Saguaro Park which highlights all the allure of the Sonora desert. Split in two either side of Tucson, it is a glorious area of preserved terrain, good for walks and hiking, but with the blood-red sunsets for which Tucson is renowned.
The park is a wonderful place to visit to see and hear docents and experts describe the flora, fauna and habitat of this area. We always enjoy it and this is our third visit. Last time we visited, a full moon came up between the mountain peaks, we were not so lucky this time around.
But as I write, Ted is sitting in his new sunhat at the base of a statuesque saguaro cactus with nothing between him and the mountain ridge. As I look out the back of the RV all I see is desert growth, listen to the birds, coyotes at night, and the occasional sound of civilization. I believe there is a military reserve nearby as we have seen several heavy duty helicopters fly by. It seems the US is always at war with someone, and it seems like a big business that keeps a lot of people occupied! There is a fair breeze blowing but it usually dies down in the evening, hopefully in time for Ted to put 2 bacon-wrapped filets on the BBQ, ah the gypsy life!
We are now in a civilized RV park in Tucson where I swam, showered and will do the washing! Yeah. Also some retail therapy...
We have found some really good outlet stores all over the place. In Palm Springs I got Columbia gear for less than 50% of Cdn prices. We also went to Scottsdale's upscale mall where I got a super swimsuit for Tahiti for $120 which I thought was really good. then in Casa Grande (south of Phoenix) we went to an almost deserted mall but got good buys at Izod, with expensive golf gear you can also wear even if you don't golf! My friend in Phoenix had the catalog for Chicos and I've fallen in love with some of their stuff. Found one store but didn't have my size in what I liked, so we are on the hunt as there are about 3 in Tucson. There is a pile of money in some of these cities, no sign of a recession among the ladies who lunch...
It is interesting staying at all these 55+ RV resorts, we feel like youngsters. They have all sorts of rules to keep out 'young' people and children! There are special arrangements for families to visit..strange really. We had a night camping after hiking at Picacho Peak State park between Casa Grande and Tucson. There we found lots of people like us in small RVs, trailers, tents, etc. One woman from Whitehorse traveling alone in the bigger version of our Leisure Travel RV, quite inspiring really. We do meet some interesting people and the minute we arrived here, for instance, the neighbour came out to greet us and tell us all sorts of good local lore. Also to say - don't put the awning up as we are due for some big wind tonight. Really helpful.
We are told more people arrive in Tucson with binocs than golf clubs, it is a birders paradise and that is what our neighbors from Salem, Oregon, spend their winter doing. The birds down here are lovely. Last night we settled down with birds and coyotes calling across the canyon.