Tucson, AZ

Aaron Weisgerber's Going Away Gathering

I can’t believe that it’s been over 2 months since my last blog.  We enjoyed our time in Bend catching up with friends and eating good food and drinking the best beer in the US.

On October 2^nd we left Bend to head toward Tucson where we will stay at Desert Trails for at least 3 and probably 4 months.  Of the two or 3 places we stayed last year, this was our favorite and we made some good friends.  Plus, there are tons of activities:  yoga, bocci ball, card game nights, bingo, and free music one or two times a week, just to state a few.



Storm Pooper and Party Pooper

From Bend, we made it to Lakeview, OR for one night’s stay.  We then headed on to Sparks, Nevada for 3 nights because Mike wanted to show me Virginia City.  Little did we know that we would pick the weekend where they had their annual outhouse races.  It was quite a site (http://www.visitvirginiacitynv.com/events/world-championship-outhouse-races.html). 



Sam's Town Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas

After Virginia City, we stayed one night in Hawthorne, NV.  Not much to say about this park because it was pretty much in the middle of nowhere.  The next day we headed to Las Vegas at Sam’s Town RV park.  I had never been to Las Vegas so it was my one-time experience.  So, now I’ve been there and done that.

 

 

 

 

 

Every once in a while during our travels, we run into some very unique/whacky little places. 

White Hills AZ Gas Station



White Hills, AZ Gas Station

Route 66, Seligman, AZ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob and Momi Dean, Prescott, AZ

Jerome, AZ - Stairs from one street to another

Our next stop was Willow Lake RV Park in Prescott, AZ.  I honestly wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone, but it was the only place available in town.  We stayed here 9 days so we could catch up with our friends, Momi and Bob Dean.  We enjoyed a number of escapades.  Downtown Prescott was actually pretty cool and they have their own Brewery.  The biggest surprise we encountered during our visit was the town of Jerome, located between Prescott and Flagstaff.  Its claim to fame is “America’s Most Vertical City” and “Largest Ghost Town in America”. Founded in1876, the town sits at 5,200 feet in elevation on Cleopatra Hill and during its hay day (1920) it had a population of 15,000 people.  The town mined mostly copper but had both gold and silver veins as well.  At one point, the miners were blasting so near the town that several buildings collapsed or slid down the hill.  Today it’s still quite a happening place.  They have a really good rock band, Llory Mcdonald and Combo Deluxe. Most of the city’s current residents are artists or hermits.  It was well worth the visit.  If you enjoy ghost towns, I recommend visiting their website for more information (http://www.azjerome.com/jerome/).

 

Jerome Hotel now owned by a private individual, Jerome, AZ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sonoma, AZ - Red Hills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Prescott, we bee-lined it down to Tucson and started our wintering 12 days early (October 20^th).  We’ve had a good year of traveling, but it’s nice to spend some time with the same ground under our feet.

So, for the time we are settled in here, I’ll not be doing any more blogs but will likely post pictures straight to Facebook.

 

Until later…