At Home in the Desert

"It doesn't get more
 peaceful than this"

When we got on the road, it was hard to imagine ever finding a comfortable place for us to live that wasn’t in the Northeast.  Both of us were born and raised in upstate NY, and every house we ever lived in was within 20 miles of every other house we lived in.  All we knew was green forests and lots of lakes and rivers and mountains, no matter which way you traveled.  We loved the changing seasons, were lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful areas for autumn, and even had our winter activities that we enjoyed in the snow and cold.   Getting on the road, we knew that we wanted to see as much of the country as possible and never imagined that we would “settle” in any one place for more than a month or so.  It really didn’t fit in to our vision of our “wandering” lifestyle.  As we move around the country, we certainly find places that we love, some harder to leave than others.

"The desert in bloom"

"A Beauty all of it's own"

Our first year in Tucson we knew there was a special feeling about it.  We had spent our first winter travelling in the South, through Louisiana, Texas, and on to New Mexico.  We were surprised to find that, even though we were far south, there was still the risk of snow, and we knew we had no interest in pulling our home on icy roads.  When we got to Tucson the weather was perfect, and we loved our surroundings.  We found a park that was big enough that we were able to spread out and never felt too crowded and we quickly found friendly people and realized how much there was to do in the area.  As with any new experiences, there were things to get used to.  The first day I went grocery shopping, I came home close to tears.  I told Cliff I couldn’t go back there because it seemed I was the only one who spoke English, and I didn’t recognize half the foods.  I found, in time, that I was just nervous, and have found now that there were just new kinds of foods to try and now I am recognized as “one of the regulars”.

"No, they aren't telephone poles"

"Color in the desert"

 My other big first impression of Tucson was the beauty of the natural surroundings.  In our park, you can turn around 360 degrees, and you will always have mountains in your view.  On our first motorcycle ride in the area, we went over a mountain pass and as we rode along I mentioned to Cliff that there were hundreds and hundreds of telephone poles on the mountain side.  As we got closer I realized that they were the tall Saguaro cactus, the natural asset and symbol of Arizona…the same cactus that wears a Sombrero in all of the Mexican restaurants up North.  I felt pretty silly about that until on two different occasions, when we had visitors, we took them in the same direction, and both times they asked the same question..”Why are there so many telephone poles on the mountainside?”  A lot of people don’t understand the beauty of the desert, but as much as we loved the tall majestic pines and dense forests of the Northeast, the Saguaro cactus and all of the open surroundings in the desert carries its own beauty that we look forward to exploring each year when we come back.

"We love living near the
Air Force Base"

I realized recently that Tucson is almost a mirror image of Clifton Park.  Drive a few  hours south and you are in a different country, a few hours west and you are at the ocean, and a few hours North and you are in a major city…just the opposite of driving North to Canada, East to the Atlantic, and South to NYC back home.  While we don’t really have much interest in going to Mexico, or even to the Pacific, we know the possibility is there if we are looking for it.  Maybe that gives me a sense of “home” that I grew up with.  What we did realize is that there are endless things to do here in the area.  We have been to music and sporting events, museums, festivals, we've ridden on beautiful, winding motorcycle roads and we found hiking that fits both Cliff, and myself. 

"We can't hate calling this home"

Since I’ve already written about Tucson before, I won’t go into too much detail about what there is to do, but rather, what it has taught us about ourselves.  As I mentioned before, in the beginning we never imagined settling down anywhere for any length of time.  But for us, we realized, realistically, that we needed a quiet time, a place where we could sit back, regroup and figure out our next plan of action.  Even with just slight medical issues, it is very difficult to get care and prescriptions from different places all of the time.  While the doctor’s we have had back at home, and one’s we have met on the road have been extremely gracious and willing to help, sometimes you just need familiarity and history with someone for them to feel they can do the job correctly.  Cliff is extremely conscious of caring for all of our vehicles, and he finds that, even though he does most things himself, it goes much easier if you can find people that you trust, stores that you know and time to do the job right.  So, while it may not be for everyone, we’ve decided that the best way for us to live on the road is to live “off the road” for a couple of months out of the year.

"My favorite view 
out our window"

We pull into Tucson the week before Thanksgiving and get settled in for the winter.  Before we even get there we have Dr. appointments made, repair lists and tons of “to do” lists so we are ready to get done what needs to be done.  We are right near the airport so we can travel to see family for the Holidays, and friends can come and visit us.  We have our traditions – things that we have found that we love to see over and over again, and we can always find new and fun things to do.  We have consistent people who we have seen over the years that we always look forward to catching up with, and who we leave with big hugs and promises of seeing each other the next year.  Cliff gives everything a good check up and everything gets cleaned and polished, repaired and tightened and readjusted, in time for us to pack up and get a fresh start in the spring.

"No matter where we are,
 this is home"

While we never planned on “settling down” we are so glad we found Tucson.  It gives us a feeling of security and familiarity, yet still feeling like we are living on the road.  I'm not sure how many years we'll continue to do it this way, but for now, we are so glad to have a place we have come to know and love, and that gives us a place to feel like we are "home away from home."