“Cruise, BBQ and Blues” with a side of Lemmon

We utilized the microwave egg cooker for breakfast.  I had thought to request a small container of pico de gallo from the restaurant a couple nights before.  We’d picked up some sharp cheddar for snacking and within 2 minutes had a great little scramble breakfast.  To cap it off, I cut up some of the fresh fruit for a little fruit salad.  It was a feast!

On the agenda for today was the Oro Valley “Cruise, BBQ and Blues” car show.  I had found it on upcoming events for Tucson and thought Bill would enjoy.  We arrived late morning and the sun was toasting up the parking lot.  One thing we had discovered about Tucson was the importance to be prepared for temperature fluctuations.  It was warm enough to go with a t-shirt and enjoy the sun!  There were at least 100 cars and three blues band during the day.  There was only one “BBQ” tent.  (We had hoped for a little competition!)  It was sweet walking through the cars with the mountains looming in the background.  My favorite was a Falcon wagon with a rooftop camper.  It was certainly not a “beauty” but I loved the idea of climbing up the ladder to sleep up there.  It was romantic to me.  Okay.  So I’m weird.  

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Bill’s favorite was a Triumph TR3.  We were also invited to snuggle up in a ’57 Chevy Bel Air convertible.  Everyone was so friendly there!  

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We eventually scored a table under a sun umbrella where we split a pulled pork sandwich.  As we enjoyed the music we welcomed another couple to escape the sun and join us.  Within minutes, she and Bill established that they had both been born in the same hospital in central Michigan — just a couple years apart.  They both ended up moving as children – to rival school districts in Illinois.  Wow. Small world.

We really enjoyed taking this afternoon slow and easy.  When we left the car show we decided that we still had time to check out Mt. Lemmon.  This had been one of Bill’s interests.  On the map it looked due north of Oro Valley.  It seems like nothing in Tucson is very direct. It took about a half hour just to get to the start of the drive up Mt. Lemmon.

Confessing that I originally had no interest in visiting Mt. Lemmon I have to admit that this drive and location was one of my favorites of our trip!  The drive was spectacular as the road wound through beautiful rhyolite rock formations.  It reminded me of the Chiricahua Mountains in many respects.  There were multiple pull-offs as we climbed in elevation but we wanted to get to the top and then work our way down.

Sure enough, we drove as far as we could up Mt. Lemmon and ended up in the parking lot of an active ski hill.  How fun was that?  We watched the last skiers of the day gliding down the slopes to the base of the hill.  It was refreshingly cool and also cool as in awesome!  I took note that Spanish seemed to be the majority language spoken among the skiers and visitors.  In fact, I was tapped to take several group photos before we left.  I did not expect to be at a ski slope outside Tucson.  Thanks Bill!

We took more time on the way down.  Once again our views were to the west as the sun was lowering.  Windy Point Vista was a great stop.  There was a large rock outcrop where visitors could walk about and take in the views from three directions.  I would highly recommend this for a picnic stop or just a super hangout.  Our horse was headed home so our stop was brief. 

When we arrived at Raven Ridge we met our hosts in the pergola to watch the sun set to the west.  Cal and Celine were lovely hosts.  As the night temperature dropped, Cal built a small fire in the brick fireplace of the pergola.  It was a beautiful night with great company.  When we got back to our own space we moved out to the patio and laid back in the lounge chairs to watch the stars above…briefly.  It was cold!