San Antonio, TX

We traveled from Tucson to San Antonio, Texas to visit our niece, Julie Hess.  It was wonderful see her again and be able to spend time with her.  While we were there we also had a chance to check out the sights in San Antonio.

We decided to take the San Antonio Riverwalk Tour so that we could learn some of the history and stay cool at the same time!

Starting our on the Riverwalk Tour

Bridges over the River

View of Riverwalk

Tim's enjoying the tour

After our tour, we'd worked up an appetite and decided it was time for lunch. We had read about the Buckhorn Saloon and it sounded both bizarre and interesting.  It opened in 1881 and the owner, Albert Freidrich promised customers either a shot of whiskey or a beer for a pair of antlers.  His wife, Emile, offered a shot of whiskey for each rattlesnake rattle which she then fashioned into "portraits".  Teddy Roosevelt recruited his rough riders here and Panco Villa was said to have planned the Mexican Revolution.  Sounded like an interesting place for lunch!

Buckhorn Saloon

Tim orders from the bar where you can see just of few of the antlers

Turns out they collected more than just antlers....

After lunch, we decided to take a leisurely stroll down Riverwalk to get a closer look at the sights.

A fountain under one of the bridges

A waterfall along the river

To round out the day, we decided a visit to the Alamo was in order.

The Alamo

The well at the Alamo

Our major reason for stopping in San Antonio was to get a chance to visit with Julie.  She was able to take time off from her studies to spend the evenings with us which we enjoyed immensely!  She even had dinner with us at our campsite.  It was a great evening filled with stories & memories.

Winding down at the end of the day

Enjoying the feast

All too soon our time in San Antonio came to an end.  It was time to head out to New Orleans - and a special treat - a visit from Suzanne & Vicki.

Tucson, AZ

Tucson was our next destination with visits to the Pima Air & Space Museum and the Titan Missile Museum.  Imagine our surprise when thunder storms followed us to Tucson.  We were in the desert....who would expect thunderstorms!

We definitely didn't expect to see a sign like this on the highway in Arizona!

Storms & standing water in the desert - very strange!

At the Pima Air & Space Museum, we spent the day enjoying the aircraft displays and taking a bus tour of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Boneyard.  Below is a small glimpse of what we saw.  

About a half hour south of Tucson is the Titan Missile Museum, a leftover relic of the cold war era.  It is the only publicly accessible Titan II missile site in the nation.  The tour includes a visit to the launch control center where the crew was always at the ready to launch the missile during the cold war.

Titan Missile in Silo

Control Room

Phoning in for "Clearance to Enter"

After our tour, we decided to explore Tucson and were treated to some interesting sights!  

Hippie Gypsy - flashback to the '60's

Hippie Gypsy

Re-purposed bicycle parts make a very unique trash container!

Tucson was fun but it was time to move on to San Antonio.

Phoenix Again - Sept 27-Oct 5

Leaving Malibu behind, we began the trip to Phoenix where we planned to spend some additional time with Jerry & Cynthia before we started the trip home. Our drive to Phoenix would take us from the Pacific Coast and LA through mountains and into the desert.  While driving through LA we experienced record breaking temperatures - 113 degrees!

View of Catalina Island from the campground

Malibu Beach Lifeguard Stand 

Painted by children, seniors and physically challenged individuals in the area

Dome Rock of I-10 in Arizona

Gorgeouse Mountains in Arizona

Phoenix gave us time to catch up with Jerry & Cynthia and relax for a few days. We also decided to take a trip to Prescott, AZ with Jerry, Cynthia & Dee so they could see what our trip has been like.

Tim relaxes with Dee & Jerry in Phoenix

Since Jerry & Dee had to work, we took Cynthia up to Prescott with us early on Friday so that we could set up and relax at Point of Rocks RV Campground.

Cynthia enjoys a few quiet minutes.  

The location was unbelievably beautiful - situated in the middle of the Granite Dells in Prescott.  The Dells consist of exposed bedrock and large boulders of granite that have eroded into an unusual lumpy, rippled appearance.  Truly hard to describe!  You just have to see them.

This blooming cactus was just behind our trailer

Jerry & Barb enjoy the cool morning

The crew on Saturday morning

It was such a beautiful day, we decided to take a short hike on the Dells behind our campsite.

Looking back at our campsite from the Dells

View of Watson Lake from the Dells

Jerry, Barb & Tim

One of the dramatic views of the Dells

Jerry & Cynthia

More dramatic scenery

Barb, Cynthia, Jerry & Dee toasting the sunset

Dee at Butt Rock

Dinner in the Dells

Cynthia, Jerry, Dee & Barb

Our last day, we checked out the local sights and then Cynthia and I took a hike from the campsite to Watson Lake.

Thumb Butte

Dells on the way to Watson Lake

Watson Lake

Cynthia at Watson Lake

Barb - Lake Watson

Unusual formations at Watson Lake

One last lake view.

Barb & Cynthia

Watching the sunset - the perfect end to a wonderful day!

Unfortunately, our time in the Dells came to an end all too soon...time to pack up.

All hooked up and ready to roll

Our last day in Phoenix brought rain...yes I said rain!  Hard to believe!

Look closely and you'll see the rain hitting the surface of the water in the pool