Great Mexican Food - what are the chances!

1/8 - Recharge day, we never even got in the car. We took a morning walk in the desert as usual, and then an afternoon walk around the campground. In between Nancy did laundry and Dennis cleaned the inside of the trailer (the theory being that since it has wheels it is the man’s responsibility to clean it!). Otherwise we just relaxed and enjoyed the nice weather. Nancy’s new trekking poles from Sierra Traders arrived this afternoon, she is anxious to try them out tomorrow.

1/9 - Another early morning walk in the desert, a little short this morning since we were late getting going. Nancy tried her new trekking poles and likes them. They really do help the knees and you get a bit more of an aerobic workout since you use your arms more.We also took a short bicycle ride around the campground and the campground next door, just a couple of miles in all.

Decided to find another Mexican place for lunch, so we went to El Charro (the original one) in downtown Tucson. Turned out to be really, really good! Our new favorite place in Tucson (for now). After a belly busting lunch we took a walk around the area. Browsed through Old Town Artisans, a really interesting collection of six shops and galleries plus a restaurant. A person could spend hours in the place!

Across the street is the old Tucson Presidio. We arrived just after the end of a “living history” day. They have a living history day every other Saturday, so we will have to come back on the 23rd - be a good excuse to eat at El Charro again! They are in the process of restoring the old Presidio with special emphasis on the Spanish Colonial period through living history demonstrations and reenactments.

Back home in time to catch A Prairie Home Companion on NPR. We will be going on the cruise with cast the second week in March and we are really looking forward to it. We did their cruise to Norway in 2007 and enjoyed it immensely.

1/10 - Lazy morning, watched the Sunday AM news shows - on CBS only since that and PBS are the only broadcast stations we can get here. We do have our satellite dish set up so we get the same satellite programming as at home, but we can only see a single satellite at a time - I need to move the dish to get the one with local programming and it is usually not worth the effort.

Took a longer walk before lunch, a perfect day for walking, 61 degrees, high clouds to soften the sunlight and a light breeze. We’re gradually getting into shape going a little farther each day (can’t quite call it “hiking” yet, but we are getting there). The desert is really fascinating, it looks different every day and in every different light. While it seems flat in this area, with mountains in the distance, there are really little valleys and dry creek beds and a wide variety of terrains, rocky and sandy, hard packed or soft. The cacti, trees and bushes also exhibit a wide variety, saguaro, cholla, palo verde, creosote; we are slowly learning to identify the various types and the way their life cycles vary. Not seeing much in the way of wildlife, a jack rabbit here and there and a few birds. Fewer birds than we expected to see, maybe because it has been dryer than usual this year.

Relaxed this afternoon and then took a walk around the campground. Sunset not as spectacular as it was the last few days, but the mountains to the east are beautiful in the late afternoon light.