Week Three: Tucson, AZ

Hey there!  We are already on week three of this journey in Tucson! 

Saturday

Saturday morning Steve and I headed up Mt. Lemmon for a hike and picnic. We chose a hike with some spectacular views.  There were Aspen trees and ferns and even a very cold spring that was flowing.  It was a really great hike! Not too many people, cool, invigorating, and the views….Wow!

After the hike we drove around the top of Mt. Lemmon.  We didn’t know there is a little village up there called SummerHaven.  SummerHaven sits at 8000 feet in the center of the Santa Catalina Mountains.  What a perfect name, it truly is a haven from the heat.  We brought sandwiches with us and enjoyed them at a picnic table with another amazing view. 

Afterwards we drove on some sketchy forest roads and explored some areas for dispersed camping.  We plan to bring back our tent and some gear next time we are in Prescott, so we can do some camping up there one weekend.

After an enjoyable morning in cooler temps (it’s 30 degree cooler on Mt. Lemmon than in Tucson), we headed back down and did some grocery shopping for the week.  The rest of the evening was spent reading, working on our computers and relaxing. 

Sunday

Sunday morning we decided to try out a local church.  We went to a service at a Foursquare Church.  Steve had wanted to go to a Foursquare Church for some time.  About a year ago he had a very powerful dream that was associated with this denomination and ever since had wanted to visit one of their churches.  The service was international and we saw many cultures represented.  It was also bi-lingual with worship and the message being in both English and Spanish.  People were friendly.  The service was a little longer than Steve and I are accustomed too.  The service started at 11 and after 2 hours, and no ending in sight we slipped out the back.  Our stomachs were growling! 

We ate at yet another delicious Indian restaurant.  Yum! 

Steve and I stopped at Home Depot and got some “Reflectix” material to put on our windows to help mitigate the heat that is coming through them during the day.  Hopefully it will bring some relief.  It was 111 degrees again today.  The Airstream’s air conditioner works great and we are so grateful for it, but that is still quite a lot of degrees to cool and we don’t want to wear it out the first month we are using it.

We came back to “Airy,” as we have affectionately named our Airstream, and put the Reflectix in the front and back banks of windows. Almost immediately we could feel it blocking the heat from the sun.  I think it’s going to be helpful.  We spent the rest of the evening working on small projects and relaxing.

Monday

Monday has arrived and I have exciting news to share!!  I ran an entire mile today.  I did it!! I felt like I was going to die…but I did it.  After I ran the mile I drank some water and then walked another half mile to cool down.  It was 89 degrees out already!  Steve ran most of it with me and then got ready for his day. 

After Steve left for work I spent time catching up with friends and working on some writing projects. 

In the evening we took a nice walk around the park and observed all the different RV’s parked here.  There are so many kinds!!  Some are too big to fit in the pull through sites.  There was one that was really big and super high and was pulling a matching enclosed trailer.  I told Steve they must be movie stars!!

Tuesday:

Tuesday I went to the little gym here for a bit.  I walked/ran on the treadmill and used a Bowflex machine.  Afterwards I hit the shower house.  I take showers in our Airstream, but like to take a longer, hotter one every now and then too. 

Coming back to the travel trailer, I worked on getting Airy spiffied up a bit. 

Then I worked on writing. 

For a while I have wanted to tell the story of our building a Homes of Hope with Starting Point Church a few years ago.  I am blending lots of different parts of that adventure together in a story from a child’s perspective.  I am exciting to be getting it out of my head and hope to share it with you all soon.

In the evening Steve and I took a walk around the campground and a new arrival caught our eye.  It was a shiny, obviously older, Airstream.  We spoke with the gentleman who owned it and found out it was a 1966 model.  It was exciting to talk with him a bit about his Airstream and some of the work he has done on it.  It was also exciting to see the longevity these travel trailers have.  That one was out on the road before we were even born and it was still quite beautiful!

Wednesday

This morning I conquered the mile run again! I spoke with my son yesterday who is a certified sports trainer about progressing with my running goals and he encouraged me.  I took on the run this morning with two goals in my head…one to do it again and the other to try and do it a bit faster. 

Monday my time was 13.19 per mile and today my time was 12.57 per mile. 

So I accomplished both of my goals plus…bonus…I ran for 1.06 miles today. 

So I am looking good.  My knees honestly don’t even hurt me anymore and that is outstanding. 

However, I must confess that I still hate to run.  Even when I am running I am thinking “I hate this!” but I am embracing the suck and doing it anyway. 

After my run I worked some more on my writing.  I really, really am enjoying getting stories out of my head. 

I was thinking yesterday I should try to do a sci-fi story, as I’ve never done one of those before.  My brain is funny because last night I had a sci-fi dream…lol…I might just work that dream into a story in the future. 

Thursday

Last night Steve and I went back to the Brooklyn Pizza place and enjoyed one of their pizzas together.  It was as delicious as it smelled!! ☺ 

Thursday morning we decided to walk the park not run it.  My knees are doing great, but the back of my thigh ached all night long, so I decided to walk a mile and a half and no run it to give my body time to recover.

Today will be a regular day for Steve and me, until this evening.  We are heading up to Prescott this evening. Steve has some training in Spiritual Direction to complete and wanted to be at our house to do it. 

I am excited to see our son Ben and hopefully spend some time with him.  He is living in our house this summer taking care of everything for us.  He will be going to college in the fall in Flagstaff, and we will have to determine what to do with the house then. 

We will be there for Friday and Saturday morning, and then head back down to Tucson.

Friday

Friday was a great day hanging out with Ben. 

Steve sequestered himself to do his online classes and Ben and I did some shopping. 

In the afternoon we worked on getting our irrigation system up and running.  We had several leaks to fix and repositioned the sprinklers after the winter.  I took a couple of hours but we got it going and hopefully we won’t lose our landscaping plants this summer. 

Saturday

Saturday I got to have breakfast with a friend and it was so, so good to connect.  I thoroughly enjoyed sharing in conversation and catching up on each other’s lives. 

Saturday afternoon we tended to some responsibilities in Prescott and prepared to head back to Tucson.