Reunion and Celebrating 70 with Smitty in Tucson

The final leg of this trip ended in Tucson to celebrate Smitty’s 70th Birthday. It was a great time with a lot jammed into short, Friday night to Monday morning time period. I left Tijeras early Friday morning wanting to be inTucson in time for dinner with the Smiths and the Palmers without feeling rushed. I got to their winter host Mark’s house mid afternoon and quickly said hello to everyone before heading over to the condo from Air BNB that I would be staying at. Originally I was going to be sharing it for the weekend then just for Saturday night but as it turned out I had the entire place to myself the whole weekend. It was a great place. The people who own the place are international tour guides. 

That evening we met for my favorite, Mexican food including margaritas. This was the first time I’d been together with Smitty and Joe since Oregon a while ago and the first time I had seen Smitty’s mom in almost 50 years. 

Needless to say it wasn’t a “typical” pre race meal but it wasn’t going to be a “typical” race the next morning either. The race included fitness tests from the police officers fitness test before, at the midpoint and at the end and the clock started when the exercises started not when the run started. 

After we hung out after the race for a while we headed in separate directions to clean up and get ready for the party that was going to be held at The RV resort where Joe and Judy were staying. 

A highlight of the party was reconnecting with Willy (Bill now) Hall who we were stationed with in VA 23 in Lemoore and aboard the Oriskany. Willy also lived in the Whitehouse in Lemoore when I did. 

I heard I missed an incredible sunset that night because I was sound asleep by 7:00. 

My last day in Tucson we made sure to fill it up as usual. Smitty and I took his mom to church and he and I went to breakfast and then visited a desert park before returning to pick up his mom. 

Smitty, his mom and I then went to Mission San Xavier Del Bac. It was a beautiful piece of Southwest history. 

The Land of Enchantment

Before I planned this trip I knew I would have Monday through Friday to do something between leaving Flagstaff and arriving Tucson. I contacted my friends Ken and Kristy to see if they were going to be around and made plans to stay with them and do some wandering around Northern New Mexico. They have a beautiful home in the mountains east of Albuquerque and it’s like staying at a retreat whether I’m there just overnight passing through or like this time spending a few days. 

Kristy cleared her calendar so we were able to visit the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument in Mountainair; spend a day going to thrift stores all over the area where I bought a ridiculous amount of books, take a day trip to Madrid and visit a brewery in Moriarity. 

It was a really good, busy but restful time before heading to Tucson. 

You can’t find better Huevos Rancheros than New Mexico! 😋

And all that was done in just the first day!!

Day two was spent visiting the thrift stores I mentioned and then relaxing at their home. 

The final full day was spent in Madrid a town with a very interesting history. While I enjoyed visiting many local galleries and talking to “locals” about the area the absolute highlight was the sandwich I had for lunch! It was thick cut tender smoked brisket with barbecue sauce, cheddar and cream cheese jalapeño poppers on a pretzel bun. It was amazing and if that wasn’t enough they had fried okra. 😋 It should be obvious by now that food and friendship play big roles in my travels. 

On Friday I had a beautiful sunrise on my way out of New Mexico on my way to Tucson to celebrate Smitty’s 70th Birthday!

Death Valley Days

When I was a kid there was a TV show called Death Valley Days and it was sponsored by 20 Mule Team Borax. I’ve wanted to race in Death Valley since I moved back to California and this year it worked perfectly into my travel schedule. The race was on February 3rd and I was going to Smitty’s birthday to do another race, in Tucson, on the 10th. I stayed in Beatty, Nevada just outside the park. 

Race day started like no other. As I was driving to the race I saw a car out of my peripheral vision and backed up to look. It was dark and there was no one else around. It turned out to be a vehicle rollover and the driver had been there over three hours and was still in the car. I helped him get out and another vehicle came along and gave him a ride to the park. 

It was a good time of year to race in Death Valley, the weather was perfect. Only in the low 70’s by race end. While my time was nothing to write home about I enjoyed the race and finished second in my age group. 

After the race I spent the rest of the day driving around and stopping throughout the park. A totally different kind of beauty!

When I started this post I mentioned 20 Mule Team Borax and I visited a former borax mine in the park and then stopped at a mining ghost town between the park and Beatty. 

In Beatty I finished off the day with chili and Bud Light. The next day I was going to Flagstaff where I was going to stay and watch the Super Bowl. 

While the game didn’t end the way we hoped it would it was a great game to watch.