About That Tucson Sun (January 20 - 26)

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello from sunny Tucson! The record cold that we experienced last week has changed and we are now enjoying that wonderful Tucson sun. With temperatures in the upper seventies this week, we were able to do the things we love, like cycling, seeing friends and family and just enjoying the beautiful weather.

Bear, Roger and I took lots of walks around the Fam Camp that offers a dog run. Bear loves meeting other dogs at the park.

 Roger, Bear and I are off to the dog park. Notice the shorts and short sleeve shirt on Roger.

Bear loves for Roger to throw the Boomerang (in Bear's mouth) at the dog park.

The best part about being in Tucson is reconnecting with friends. Although I don't have pictures with everyone, thank you Deb, Sandy, Cynthia and especially Michael (our son) for meeting me this week.

Deb and I had so much fun catching up and sharing grandmother stories.

One morning, Roger decided to bake!!! Wow this had to go into the blog. Here are pictures of Roger baking wheat less biscuits. He did such a great job. Not only were they delicious, but beautiful and look just like the real thing.

We capped our week cycling with friends Jeff and Sandy. We challenged ourselves by riding on Mt. Lemmon.

Thank you for checking in with us. Roger and I are heading to Park City this coming week to ski with my brother, Warren. I will have lots of pictures in the next post which will be two weeks from now.

About That Sunshine in Tucson (January 13 - 19)

Dear Family and Friends,

We left Van Horn, Texas (our way stop for one night) and continued on to Tucson, early Sunday morning. Our trip took us along I - 10 (through El Paso), passing through three States. With a Sunday morning departure, we planned for only a small amount of traffic, but found lots of heavy truck traffic. Our goal was to drive through El Paso early enough to avoid that city's heavy traffic.

 Approaching El Paso

 The left portion of this bridge leads to Juarez, Mexico while the right portion goes to Ft. Bliss.

 Downtown El Paso

 Truck traffic along the way.

 Hello New Mexico

 In addition to traffic, we always have construction.

 Hello Arizona

With both of us taking turns driving, we arrived in Tucson around 2 o'clock. Avid blog readers know that we stay at Davis - Monthan Air Force Base while we are in the area. We love the base as it brings back many happy memories of our time in the Air Force. Luckily we got the last spot at the Fam Camp and settled in for the five weeks that we will be in Tucson. 

 The entrance to Davis Monthan.

Our ID's are checked at this gate.

What a shock to find the temperatures in the low 20's during our first few nights. This was very cold for Tucson. We have several ways to heat our Tour. One is with a heat pump that only works until temps hit the 30s. The other is called Aqua Hot which takes over when the temps plummet into the 20's and below. We supplement that heat with our fireplace (electric) and a recently purchased space heater.

It is so much fun to have our friends, Butch and Pam at the Fam Camp. They are a favorite couple of Bear's and of our's. We have learned a lot about RVing from them.

 Bear is getting a belly rub from Pam as Butch watches.

We finally got on the bikes on Saturday morning. We met our friends, Jeff and Sandy at one of our favorite places to ride, Sahuaro Park East. 

 Sandy just crested a hill with a 9% grade.

 The Sahuaros in the background of this shot are native to the Sonoran Desert.

 Jeff and Sandy

Jeff, Sandy and Roger after a great ride.

With the temps finally in the 70's, we have warmed up and are ready for lots of fun seeing family, friends and just enjoying the winter in the Old Pueblo. Thank you for checking in with us.

About That Quiet (January 6 - 12)

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings from Van Horn, Texas, which is on the way to the next destination of Tucson.

After saying goodbye to the Dallas Radcliffs on Sunday, our lives changed drastically. It was so quiet during our last week in Kerrville. Roger and I treasured the time we had with Abby and Jackson. It is wonderful to continue on with our journey, but we really do miss those precious children. Let's just call it "mixed feelings."

We left Kerrville early on Saturday morning in drizzle. Halfway to Van Horn, we switched to beautiful blue skies with lots of sunshine. Our trip took us along I-10.

 Roger is happy to be on the road again.

 We saw lots of RV's.

 The Apache Mountains near the intersection of Interstates 10 and 20 had a dusting of snow.

 Couldn't resist this picture of the best RV traveller, Bear.

We arrived at Van Horn around three and plan an early departure for Tucson on Sunday morning. Thank you for checking in with us. See you next week.

About That Happy New Year (December 30 - January 5)

Happy New Year Family and Friends,

Can you believe it is 2013!!!

Roger, Bear, Abby and I completed our first week in Kerrville, which is in the heart of the hill country of Texas. Avid Blog readers will remember my posts from this area last year. We really enjoy being at Buckhorn Lake Resort which is located immediately off of I-10. This is one of our favorite RV parks.

Many of you may remember that the hill country was home to Lyndon Baines Johnson (think the western White House ranch, Perdenales River and barbecues), Austin Stone (the white limestone that almost everything is made of), lots of goat farms as well as cattle ranches and vineyards. It is a beautiful area in Texas with the hills that give it it's name.

Having Abby with us has been a dream come true. The week has flown by. Bear adores her as much as Grandad and I do. She has such a bright, bubbly personality and is pure joy to be around.

 Bear gets dressed up a lot and is very patient with Abby.

On Wednesday we drove 30 miles to Fredericksburg. This area was settled by Germans in the 1800's.

 Abby tried out her skills on the mechanical horse. Unfortunately, after we put the money in, nothing happened. Oh well!

 Abby posed in front of the wishing well in one of the stores.

It is so much fun to see the sights through the eyes of our granddaughter where everything is magical.

 The Christmas decorations are among the best that we have seen. Abby and Bear are standing in front of the town Christmas tree.

 The town pyramid has detailed wooden characters as beautifully crafted as any we have seen in Germany.

 The gingerbread park is always lots of fun.

On Friday, Abby's parents and brother drove down from Dallas. Before they arrived, Abby got to build a snowman from the previous night's snow. Snow is rare in Kerrville.

                                      

Suzanne, Rob and Jackson made it in time for dinner and we had lots of fun catching up. The children spent the two nights they were here with us while their parents got some well deserved rest at a local hotel. I am not sure who had the most fun, grandparents or parents.

 Little Jackson toes taste great!

 Abby and Jackson teach us about Gangnam style. 

On Saturday we drove to Fredericksburg to celebrate Roger's birthday.

 Jackson takes a look at the town's pyramid.

We had a birthday dinner for Roger at Bejas Grill. That is our favorite restaurant in Fredericksburg.

Sunday morning arrived quickly and we had to say goodbye. We have had two incredible months with immediate and extended family in Dallas and Kerrville. Saying goodbye to our Dallas children caps the end of a wonderful holiday season for us.

Suzanne and Rob

We leave for Tucson on Saturday. The rest of this week will be spent having some work done on the coach and enjoying this beautiful area of Texas. We do look forward to the warmer climes of Arizona. Thank you for checking in with us.