Vegas to Tucson.
With monsoon season in Arizona, we decided to drive the longer route
to Tucson via Flagstaff and then down I-17 rather than the highway
which cuts along the desert floor. I know flash floods. Now, orianna
loves Flagstaff. The fact she has no reason to love to love Flagstaff
is unimportant, for every visit she has had there has been a
disaster. Every visit I have in Flagstaff has also been a disaster,
but I have no illusions about Flagstaff....she holds onto hers that
Flagstaff is a wonderful place. Go figure.
We arrived in Tucson that night -- I always forget how early night
falls south of Portland -- and nestled in orianna's delightful and
charming house. nolte was flying into Tucson the next day. I did
laundry and shaved my legs. We set up dinner with a few friends. We
visited with her son and mother.
Day Eight: My fella was due to
arrive at noon but called from Portland that the flight had been
canceled and he was now arriving at 1:45. My friend had a job
interview that morning so I wandered the town alone. I arrived at the
airport in plenty of time to watch my fella get off the
plane.....except there was no plane. It was stuck in Phoenix due to
severe storms for an unknown amount of time. There was nothing to do
but wait around since they didn't know when the plane could arrive.
Three hours later I saw his sweet face light up as he found me. We
headed off to ori's to get ready for dinner.
Great food. Great friends. Great night *swoon*
Have you ever slept on one of those blow up beds on the floor? If
you don't get them blown up just right your butt hits the
floor all night. We discovered this first hand. And have you ever
tried to have a conjugal visit with you husband of one month after
being apart for a week while on the floor of a friend's frontroom on
a blow up bed, with your friend just a few feet away sleeping? Sort
of like those old days as a teenager in your parents house. nolte and
I started laughing so hard, hardly breathing we were laughing so
hard, we knew we would wake her up........but we
persevered.......
Day Nine: Tombstone and
missions and sightseeing. nolte had never been to Arizona and wanted
to see it all. First we had breakfast with orianna and her son,
Stefan, at the old hotel in Tucson. The bathrooms were a trip, so I
got a picture for kammie.
We visited the mission San Xavier Del
Bac, built in the 1700's and still a working mission. Incredible
brilliant colors and paintings on the
walls -- all original works, faded but still gloriously ornate. The
mission has become a pilgramage of late, with people pinning little
body part charms on St. Francis Xavier that they want healed. While
we were there we watched people light candles and touch the statue,
pay and pin on charms. It was sad and hopeful all at once.
We visited the Saguaro National Forest.
I love it there :) Each arm of the saguaro cactus takes about 150
years to create......we saw some cacti which had to be over 1000
years old. We were given a wonderful tour
of the whole area.
Tombstone is an interesting town that had it's heyday for only
about two years and then gone. It is now a tourist town -- more
touristshitshops per square inch all selling the same stuff. I wonder
how they can all survive? How many "But it's a DRY heat" t-shirts can
one buy? We wandered the streets, visiting a museum in the old
Birdcage Saloon.
On to Day Ten
