Desert Mountain
Have any of you been to Tucson before? I find it really … unique. And quite beautiful in a way that is so very different from anything I’ve seen before. It sits right in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, which I’ve been told is one of the most biologically rich deserts in the world. Think towering saguaro cacti, wide-open skies, and mountain ranges in every direction.
The light here is something special—it turns everything golden at sunrise and sunset. It seems “quieter” than most cities, and the pace feels intentionally unhurried. It doesn’t appear polished or flashy—and that’s part of its charm IMHO. Even though I was here for just three full days, I was able to take in a little of everything that Tucson is known for.
It didn’t take long for Maisie and me to get back into the swing of things with the RV lifestyle; after three long days of driving, we could finally settle in, unpack a little, and then go explore! Day 1 started out with a short drive to Saguaro National Park – Rincon Mountain District (East). A curving drive up desert mountain roads brought unbelievable vistas overlooking the expansive footprint of Tucson. Jaw-dropping views. I didn’t get many photos because I had to concentrate so much on the narrow road with hairpin turns! Good thing I had unhooked my truck from the camper :D.
But wait – did I say, “desert mountain”? Hold on for a sec for a little back story as to why those two words don’t go together in my brain. I grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. Big city, big suburbs. The closest desert is 1,500 miles away. The closest mountain? 75 miles. In my mind, those were two very distinct landscapes. I mean, maybe this is pure silliness, but I just haven’t ever seen them merge into one before. (Am I the only one? Admit it - you didn’t know they could join together to form the most interesting landscape you might imagine!) I’m not sure why I find this so astounding, but there it is. Full-on dry desert land with lots of sand and dirt, small bushes, and then there’s those giant saguaros. But all along the sides of a mountain! And those saguaros? Let me just say that they are very cool – so much so that Saguaro National Park was actually created to protect the vast forests of giant saguaro cacti here in the Sonoran Desert. Did you know the saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) can live 150–200 years and reach 40–60 feet tall? The park protects more than 25 cactus species along with creosote bush, mesquite, and desert wildflowers. Wildlife ranges from roadrunners, Gila monsters, and javelinas to coyotes, bobcats, and—at higher elevations—black bears and white-tailed deer. Fortunately, we haven’t seen any bears (yet), but we spotted some rabbits and lots of lizards out on the trails that morning. There’s a really pretty paved loop around part of the park—Cactus Forest Loop—just 8 miles long but with lots of scenic pull-outs and trails to hike; I’d highly recommend it!
After a 3.5-mile hike down a couple of trails in the park, as well as a climb up a place called Javelina Rocks, we decided to head to the campus of the University of Arizona. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, but I just LOVE exploring college campuses! My own college experiences at the University of Tennessee were mostly incredible. While walking around the Arizona campus, I remembered that I actually had been here once before. My volleyball team at UT played the Wildcats here my junior year. In the week leading up to the match, I remember attending a mid-week post-match concert at Tennessee’s Alumni Gym; I’m pretty sure it was actually the Stray Cats! I always had my camera with me, documenting all the amazing trips we were able to take as collegiate athletes. So of course I wanted to take pics of the concert! I decided I needed a little better vantage point, so I stood on top of a folding chair (yes, one of those old metal folding chairs), and somehow managed to lean back too far and fall, bruising the hell out of my hamstring. What a dunce. But the next few days saw the whole back of my leg turn all shades of black, brown and purple. I’m only reliving this now with you because the main reason I even remember it is the match we had at Arizona that next weekend—a group of frat boys at the match decided to call me “Hematoma Woman” and were so loud. I’m serious, y’all, I had my own fan club! How embarrassing. But truly hilarious.
So, yeah, I remember the University of Arizona. :D
And you know I can’t resist exploring the athletic facilities; Maisie and I walked completely around the football stadium—and yes, we might even have snuck in to get a peak of the field. (I mean, there was a padlock on the gate, but it wasn’t engaged, so, well, we did what we had to do.) The whole campus was quite beautiful, with gorgeous palm trees surrounding lush green lawns and typical college lecture halls, dorms and student centers.
We’re still not done with our Day One exploring! Craving local ice cream (a favorite during my travels), we headed to the entertainment district in downtown Tucson, which was quite similar to Austin TBH. Parts of it were super funky, and I was impressed with the quality of art found on many of the buildings in the form of giant murals. Tucson is actually a UNESCO Food City (yes, really!)—being named the first U.S. UNESCO Creative Cities Network City of Gastronomy. Who knew? Unfortunately, by this time, we were too pooped to experience some of the cuisine they are known for (plus, with a dog, it can be a bit of a challenge). 17,328 steps later, and we were ready to call it a day.
What will tomorrow bring?
I-10 Forever
Even if you’ve never been to Texas. or perhaps live there but don’t venture out to other states much, you know that Texas is BIG. Someone once told me if you flip the state up, it would touch Canada. To the right? The Atlantic Ocean. Left? Pacific Ocean. Like, BIG, y’all. And while I normally don’t like to drive more than 4 hours in any given day, at this particular juncture, I just wanted to get to the West Coast more quickly, so I decided a few long driving days wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Now wrapping up my third day on the road, I feel like I’ve spent all of the last 3 days on I-10. And that’s because I have essentially spent all of the last 3 days on I-10! Podcasts have become my new best friend :D. Two of those days was just getting out of Texas. Seriously, y’all—have I said that Texas is a BIG state?
We stayed at a funky little RV park in Fort Stockton, which actually was a little gem in the middle of a giant desert of … nothingness. Have you been to West Texas? Endless horizons of desert land dotted with brush, cactus and tumbleweed. I-10 stretched out in front of your forever. Some mountain vistas and canyons far in the distance—like the Glass Mountains, Davis Mountains, and the Sierra Diablo Mountains—with jagged edges and huge rock formations. It really is its own kind of pretty.
This first blog will probably be a little boring, because like I said, it was mostly spent driving lonely highways. Day 2 found us traversing the rest of West Texas, all the way through El Paso. It’s a LOOOOONG way. We stayed at a lovely state park outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Best sign of the day? “Watch for snakes. They’re watching you.” Welcome to New Mexico, amIright?!! Second best sign? “We like big nuts and we cannot lie! – Pistachio Land, New Mexico” billboard. ;D
Day 3 took us through the rest of New Mexico over to Tucson, Arizona, which greeted us with another great sign: Poisonous snakes and insects inhabit the area. What am I getting myself into?!! Have I mentioned that I am a city girl?
Anyway, we arrived at our next desert oasis RV park early enough to take a wonderful, much-needed shower and nap before heading out on a 3-mile hike to take in a magnificent sunset at Lincoln Regional Park. Even though I’m anxious to get to California, I decided to stay in the Tucson area for four whole nights so we can explore Saguaro National Park and the surrounding area. Can’t wait!
Until then …
On the Road Again …
Well, friends, here I am again. Who knew when I set off on my first RV adventure 10 months ago that I’d be super excited to do it all over again? I wasn’t sure I was even going to like it, you know? But I guess I had an inkling. I mean, not too many people would sell their house, buy an RV and plan a 14,000+, 5-month, 31-state adventure and expect not to like it, right?
I am definitely hooked. At least for this season of life. If you’re not totally familiar with the impetus for these adventures, let me fill you in. Back in June of 2024, I lost my beloved husband of almost 33 years after a long illness. Then I lost my post-retirement job (and a third of my income), and became in empty nester, all within 6 months. It was a rough time, a lonely time. But I didn’t want the adversity to define me, or to spend my days feeling sorry for myself, or wondering Why me? Why Michael?
That’s just life. My faith in God and my family got me through those times. Now it was time to make some lemonade after processing those sour lemons. So make lemonade, I did! My friends encouraged me to keep a blog of that trip, so they could ‘live vicariously through me’ … no pressure, right? And I’m so glad I did! I faced so many new adventures each and every week that there was no way I could remember everything. I ended up turning it into a book, and called it Driving Miss Maisie, because my beloved Goldendoodle Maisie made all the difference in the world on that trip. She’s so special, and I’m so excited to have her by my side when we explore a whole other part of the country this year! (If you’re interested, the book is available on Amazon here).
I’m so blessed to have loving family members by my side as well. Although both my parents have passed, my three sibs have helped me process those lemons, along with my two daughters. I am especially grateful that my sister Sarah and her husband Tony allowed me to bunk with them after my traveling adventures last year. The quality time we were able to spend together these past 5 months has been truly incredible. I will definitely miss her daily presence in my life but at the same time am looking forward to exploring the Pacific coast!
So, let’s go!