My name is Mud OR Stuck in the mud

Hello dear readers! Did you have a good Christmas?

Every year I look forward to the New Year with high hopes for great change, exciting adventures and endless possibilities.

After this past year, with all its personal dips and trips, I have to fake my optimism for 2015. It has been a slippery slope-of-a-year. We all have them, right? But you know what they say; Fake it until you make it! So I’ll just keep this frozen smile on my face . . . fun part is, I think it is starting to scare people, Tee hee hee

Once we arrived in Tucson, I kind of lost track - scratch that, I completely lost track of the blog. (Head hung in shame).

It is here that the Tumbleweed and Toad blog got stuck in the mud (metaphorically speaking).  Speaking of mud, the real kind, Tucson has had an unusual amount of rain this year. Great thing, as they desperately need it, however they are not making a very good first impression. This RV may be BIG, but when you are cooped up inside it, it starts to shrink rather fast. 

All three of us have completely fallen in love with the Catalina Mountains.

We've spent our weekends going to open houses and are pretty sure we have found the area we would like to eventually buy a house.

However, as this is the first community in Tucson we have really taken a good look at, it is probably wise to check out other areas as well. I will be VERY surprised if we find any place that is a better fit...but shopping for a house is like shopping for a dress. The only way to prevent buyers remorse is to try everything on...of course 98% of the time you end up buying that first dress.

Meanwhile, it isn't easy to stay parked in one spot too long. Rv-ing, in my opinion, is best enjoyed on the road.

In Tucson, so far our favorite place by leaps and bounds, is the Catalina State Park. They, unfortunately, do not offer sewage hook-ups. So for the sake of sanity, we only stay there one or two weeks at a time. 

On one of our searches for full hook-ups, we stayed at a place that was a bit rough – the park manager (woman) rode around in her little golf cart, donning a gun holster and packin’ a good sized pistol! 

We were sure we’d miss watching the Catalina’s change color throughout the day, but instead, we had a spectacular view of a wall that also changed colors!

While doing laundry in the above building, the local Sheriff plus two deputies, barged in, guns drawn, and demanded “Have you seen a short man wearing a cap come through here?” – Thank God this happened at a laundromat where soiled britches could be taken care of on the spot.

Once we get settled into a home, I do believe my first new hobby will be hanging out at the shooting range. If I am going to get a gun, I want to make sure I can aim. I can't kill a fly (compassion) but if I need to protect myself, I sure as heck want to be able to slow a bad-ass down long enough so that I can waddle my way to safety!

Not all the RV Parks are so edgy. Just before Christmas we moved an hour southeast to a Resort called The Voyager. They have a section for homes, a section for “park homes” which are permanent modular homes built to park specifications, and then sections for both long and short stay RV’s.

This place has all sorts of things to keep one busy;  pickle ball, ping pong, golf, shuffleboard, craft classes, music classes.  There is a restaurant, a masseuse, hair and nail salon, grocery market. It’s like a beached cruise ship, with cactus instead of a beach.

Here are some beautiful cacti I have seen on our drives:

I am also finding all sorts of fun fences!!!

And Making New Friends:

Looks like we are booked in this spot for another three weeks. I'll keep you updated on our house hunting and let you know if we get anymore guns pointed in our direction . . . Be Safe and Be Happy and I will be back soon . . . I promise!