Traveling with the Longdogs: Tucson AZ

Showing posts with label Tucson AZ. Show all posts

Vacationing at Voyager RV Resort

The last four days of our Pink FlaminGoes GTG was spent at Voyager RV Resort and then several of us stayed an extra three days at the Passport America rate. It was a great place to stay.....the one many of us liked the best as far as the actual resort. They had plenty of room for RVs to park and check in....something that seems to be ignored by many RV parks. They had everything ready for us and took us right to our RV sites. Our sites were close to all the amenities like the pools and hot tubs. We were in an area for RVs not tucked in among park models wherever they could find a spot. That was nice. The spaces were large, pull-throughs with every other vehicle facing the same direction so there was no crowding. The sites were level and paved.

The whole park was very well maintained and staff as well as other residents were all friendly. While there were pet and non-pet areas, they were arranged so that everyone had great access to amenities. This is one of the streets of park models.

The park has two Laundromats, a restaurant, activities of all kinds. They even have a nurse practitioner available a couple of days a week, a massage center, etc.

Long pull-throughs.

There was this much space on each side of my RV.

The restaurant and market.

The indoor pool and fitness center in the background.

One of the two outdoor heated pools.

The large Jacuzzi behind the pool.

This is a really nice park either for overnight or a destination. It is also a Passport America park which is why we stayed for a whole week.

Mission San Xavier Del Bac

The Pink FlaminGoes GTG is officially over and everyone but Birdie, Sharon, and I are gone. We decided to extend our stay a few more days since we could stay at Passport America rates. Birdie had exciting things to do like cleaning her rig and doing laundry so Sharon and I decided to check out Mission San Xavier Del Bac (White Dove of the Desert).

The mission is open to the public whenever church services are not being conducted. Everyone is welcome to attend services.

San Xavier Mission was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Construction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. Restoration is currently in progress.

The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church's interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and murals. You feel like you have stepped back in time to the 18th century.

The gardens outside are interesting as well.

There were so many candles lit in this little side chapel that it was really hot inside.

The only disappointing part of our visit was that the museum portion of the church was closed due to a bee infestation. They were waiting for someone to come and smoke them out. There is a very nice little gift shop next door with very reasonable prices for nice items.

This looked like some kind of shrine next to the church but there was a sign saying it didn't belong to the church.

We went across the parking to lot to a small mall of shops. They had jewelry and other items made by the local Indians. The Mission and surrounding area are one of the four parts of the Tohono O'odham reservation. There was a small restaurant where Sharon and I split an Indian taco....my first.

Up, Up Away to Mt Lemmon

After our tour of Sabino Canyon, we had lunch at a nearby restaurant and then headed up to Mt Lemmon. Here we are following Herbie.

Because the road starts in the Lower Sonoran vegetative life zone and climbs to the high forests of the Canadian zone, it offers the biological equivalent of driving from the deserts of Mexico to the forests of Canada in a short stretch of 27 miles.

This charts shows how the scenery changes from desert to semi-desert grassland to Oak woodland to Ponderosa Pine to Mixed Conifer to the very top of the mountain. The scenery changes every time you round a corner.

The rock formations are amazing.

The road below us looks like a ribbon.

Now we are into the pines.

We didn't go all the way to the top as the altitude is nearly 10,000 feet and we were running out of time but it is definitely a drive worth taking. The views are amazing.

Sabino Canyon

Sabino Canyon is a natural desert oasis located in Tucson's Coronado National Forest. Twelve thousand years ago, Columbian mammoth roamed here. About 1200 A.D., irrigation dams were placed in the creek by Hohokam Indians.

In the 1870's, pony soldiers from Fort Lowell enjoyed horseback excursions to the "ol' wimmin' hole" which is still in use today.

You'll see lots of saguaro cacti. In the 1930's, 180 Civilian Conservation Corps workers build bridges and 3.8 miles of road up into the Santa Catalina Mountains.

A shuttle bus/tram operates 365 days a year. The narrated round trip is 45 minutes and the scenery is more than camera ready.

You'll see hikers along the road and you can hike other trails as well. The tram had a number of stops and you can get off and on as long as you have your ticket and don't ride all the way back to the starting point. You won't see cars on the road and you'll be glad because the road is not wide enough to share.