Tucson - Maintenance Day

Ah, life. We play a little, we work a little. Today was maintenance day. Looks as if we will be pulling out of Tucson this weekend. Clint wants to make it to Dallas by March 3rd. Since we've own our home for a year now, it's time to do annual maintenance-- especially if we're going to do any boondock camping.

Our exciting day of generator oil & filter changes, Jeep tire research, inspections of heater & fridge outlets, and rear tire covers for the RV. I also did a little more research on the goings on in Tucson as far as workshops, events, etc. I'm amazed at how many different cultures exist within this small town. The architecture, the people, the priorities, the stores, the entertainment, etc. is all different.

Tucson has a university scene that is scholarly, focus on world events, and houses national and international acclaimed research especially in astronomy and archaeology. We've seen the international gem group in the smaller hotel chains. One area is very colorful, family oriented, few restaurants, lots of family events, and many of the stores list Spanish first. I was entertained by the woman in line at WalMart frustrated because she couldn't find an English language "trashy" magazine. She's right. The Spanish versions far outnumbered the English.

We've toured the newer area that is cookie-cutter. Reminds me of Elk Grove. Same chain stores and restaurants everywhere. We drove through a part of town that reminded me of Folsom around the zoo. Same park, zoo, police station, etc. Even the feel of the places are the same. I know we have a wealthier version along the foothills that I've not seen yet and of course the poorer areas which we've been through. I'm just fascinated with the diversity and how well it's connected to the world for being out in the middle of nowhere.

The landscape appears to be as diverse as the people. Within 30 minutes I can be at a desert, high desert, valley, or even to the top of a 9K foot mountain. I haven't seen many wild animals in town, but did see a bunny near a park. The architecture is as varied along with the age of the buildings. Some are thousands of years old while others are brand new. The city does an awesome job of bringing beauty to their roads. Most of the overpasses are pieces of art. I can tell when I'm nearing a major landmark based on the decor of the road.

Tomorrow is a roof maintenance day. I'm hoping to make it to the mountains afterwards. I'd really like to see the BioSphere and the SkyLab if possible. If not, I guess I'll have something to look forward to for the 2010 show.

Tucson - Home Day

Thursday in Tucson. Sun's bright and so nice not to have smog. I visited the local Post Office and spent a good part of the day playing with cards and rocks and arts & crafts. Fun to be a little creative. Nice to see my floor again though and to have some clean dishes.

I enjoyed visiting with my daughter and getting a download on how her family's doing. I'm a little bummed that I can't be there to help Laura celebrate her 30th birthday. (If you're near Davis, CA on Friday, stop by to help her have a great day.)

I discovered Hulu tonight. Wow! I'll have fun for a while. Over 80 shows in my queue. Some old movies and a few TV shows that I've missed due to no cable or TV. I'm looking forward to getting caught up some of the series.

No fun photos today. I'll spare you the snapshot of what my floor looked like earlier today - covered with pens, pencils, stickers, papers, tape, envelopes, rocks, colors, etc.

Tucson - Aztec Fire Dance

We returned to the Native American Show to witness the Aztec Dance. Only two gentlemen were present and they only did a partial presentation saving their energy for a full fancy presentation for the Senior Citizens later that day. I fully enjoyed the honor of being present during their ceremony even if they didn't pull in the full spiritual forces nor were allowed to play with the fire.

I was fascinated by how visible the dancer's decor makes him, plus how loud. Reminded me of a lion or peacock. Extremely large feathers, rattles on their legs, loud drums, and hand rattles. They started the ceremony by blowing a shell into the four directions.

The elder shared a little about their history such as they prefer being referred to as Ingenious People since they were here first and they don't come from Mexico, they come from Aztlan - their name for their homeland.

The drummer was great with the drum. Beautiful tone and an awesome design.

Afterwards we did a little more touring of the shows including the new one at Holiday Inn. We want to check out the rest of the show tomorrow. This wholesale event appears to carry gold and high end jewelry. Fun to go through, but not much that I can afford to buy. I'm learning a few more terminology on fine jewelry. Gold appears to be very expensive at this time.

We finished the evening watching I Robot. Appears Clint and I may have caught a small bug and kind of puttering. His online business has picked up with the new additions.

Tucson - Largest Geode & Native American Show

We work up to snow on the mountains again today along with a biting cold wind. We stayed inside, did some work and then broke to see two more shows. I wanted to ensure I saw the largest geode in the world before it left. In my defense, I did see only the back of the rock when I visited the J.O.G.S. last week and it does look just like some large ugly rock from that view.

Today, we entered from a different lot with a view of the front side. The inside is beautiful! The cavity is large enough that a person could sleep comfortably (except the points) inside. The show was closing down. We picked up a few last-minute deals.


The Native American Show was much more enjoyable. Clint caught sight of a Mother Drum and this mask on a skull head while I was touring the crafts. We're curious if they'll be using it tomorrow for the ceremonial Welcome dance.

The quality of the items were magnificent and I loved visiting with the artists that created the items. I watched one gentleman as he was working on a beaded baby jaguar's head the size of a man's fist. Each tiny bead was precisely placed on what looked like a cardboard frame with no markings of any kind. The artist decided where to place the beads as he worked. We'll be returning tomorrow to see the finished product and to watch the Apache Dance.

This picture is an internet sample of the type of work being done. The artist's work is much more beautifully designed than this one.

I visited a while with a woman who makes beautiful pillows. She lives within a mile of where the RV's parked. Rosenta shared a couple of funny stories, a little of her history, and her shopping trip to the Garment Shows in LA.

We finished our evening listening to a recording of a workshop our friends left with us. Very informative and helped me feel like I was still part of home.

Personal: Many messages on sharing my wisdom with others.

Sat/Sun - Tucson Gem Shows & Farkle

Whew! We've seen so many shows this weekend and we've only hit 1/4 of the shows here in Tucson. I'm looking forward to going to two more shows opening this coming week. They're both public showings and hopefully educational. Then... I'm hitting the local museums and nature.

Saturday was walking miles of the multiple shows at the hotels along I10. They were mixed with retail and wholesale items from all over the world. We enjoyed many, many, many hours of crystals, spheres, carvings, minerals, books, Egyptian, Tibetan, African and Oriental items. Felt like an international bazaar. Lots of
fun.

PHOTOS: crystal spheres from Brazil; carved dragon from China; quartz carvings

Sunday we woke to snow on the mountains. The days was spent touring the large wholesale shows which contained stones, minerals and silver jewelry. We met other Sacramentians here taking advantage of the great sales. I picked up some tokens for loved ones and enjoyed all the views.




And of course, what would a visit with our friends be without our Farkle Nights. Since Clint's "vision quest", he's been rolling unbelievable 'miracle' rolls for the last two nights. Saturday he won every game except one....and he only lost that one because of a 6-dice farkle rule that allowed me to steal his winning score.

We've had a wonderful 3 days visiting and shopping. Wishing our friends a great trip home.

Day 5 - Tucson Gem & Mineral Show (1/30/09)

We've been enjoying the beautiful weather - sunny and warm 70+ - while walking miles and miles to view different vendors at the Tucson Show. Instead of just being one large area, the Tucson Show is spread out among 40 different locations throughout the city. And with all the highway construction and limited parking, we've had PLENTY of opportunities to walk. The shuttle bus won't be operating until tomorrow.

Highlights of the day: I met a vendor who says his bead display will look like a volcano by tomorrow - today it looked like a giant rainbow tortilla. I did see a new stone - Specularite, which is micaeous hematite, that was in a slab cut with one side polished - very pretty. The beautiful museum quality pieces aren't available for viewing yet. And topped off the evening with a visit to the local Wal-Mart.

The photos are of specimens on display at one of the venues. The vendors literally take over the local motels such as Motel 6. They sell out of their hotel rooms and set up tents outside the back door. The larger ones will set up in the courtyards. The expensive guys set up inside the meeting rooms.

Personally - I'm having a very hard time being here Show and to support . I'm torn cause I want to be with my kids to enjoy the Pine Derby, the Art Show and to comfort their sorrows.

Day 4 - Tucson, AZ - Thursday 1/29/09 (5)

I'm trying a new technique of keeping my family updated on our travel adventures. Not that we did any travel today, but we did see some new sites. Mainly because I couldn't locate the local Wal-Mart and cause we did some sneak previews of the wholesale rock show.

Here's a photo of the Beaudry's RV Resort ...minus our RV...that we're staying at for two weeks to attend the annual International Gem & Mineral Show in Tucson. A few of the dealers were finished setting up and allowed us to take a peek at what they had to offer. I like the $5,000 wand the best! It was made of diamonds, rubies, and other precious stones on a very high quality quartz crystal surrounded in 14K gold. I LOVED how it felt.

My next favorite would be the unique one-of-a-kind jewelry presented by the artisan himself. Nice man. His craftsmanship was beautiful and I loved how the metal swirled around beautiful gems. Of course I always enjoy the crystal spheres that are as tall as I am...and fortunately much wider. I need to obtain a small camera to share these special pieces.

Oh....and we finally bought a mattress topper for our bed. It took a year, but I'm looking forward to not sleeping on an air mattress nor on springs. I also purchased a thought-provoking journal to assist with daily writing. I risked today.... hey, it is for me.

Good night.
------------------------------------
PS for me - Record start of Trip: We started our journey Monday 1/26th from Elk Grove, stayed a night behind the gas station at Newberry Springs off of Hwy 66 & I40 with a few other truckers. Tuesday night I enjoyed the Milky Way from BLM property at Quartzsite and toured the left-over dealers and flea markets. Wednesday late we arrived in Tucson. So far, Quartzsite has been my favorite place to sleep. No noise, no lights, no electrical interference. I felt connected to earth and loved the peace. Dry camping definitely has its benefits. I want to take advantage of the heated pool here to appreciate the amenities of a resort.