Riding the CDO Loop

Look at the reflections in the water.  It was a calm day in the Old Pueblo.  It's just amazing after last year.

We did the reverse CDO loop again today.  It's a hard-ish ride for me still.  However, the glory of the day smoothed over my weakness on the hills.

That's it!  That's all I have for the day.

The Cutest Dog

On the way back from riding today, we rode across a piece of desert to get to Mission Road.  There was a small dog wandering around.  No collar, no tags, no nothing.  His ribs were prominent, he was lost.  If we'd gone straight down the trail, we never would have seen him, but we did.  As we headed towards the really busy road, we saw him following us in our mirrors.  Is there anything worse than a lost dog?  No.  No there is not.
Jim went for the truck, and I stayed with the dog, trying to get him to come to me.  Feeding him an Odwalla Bar gained some trust. I sat on a big rock, scooped up the dog in my lap, and eventually he went to sleep. 
He's a Chihuahua mix.  Instead of carrying his tail over his back, it's a flat carry with a twist at the end.  Also, his neck is really long.
 

Look at that face.  Is he not adorable?

I wish we could have a dog now, but it's just not doable for us.  We took him to the pound.  At least he will not be run over by a car, eaten by a coyote, or die from any number of other deaths that befall a stray dog.

I feel bad about this.  After being lost, he had a nice nap in someone's lap, two Odwalla Bars and  a ride in the truck, which he enjoyed.  Then he was at the pound with lots of scared barking dogs. Dogs really pay the price for their association with people.
The pound was sad.  There's a waiting line to drop off dogs. With the terrible economy, people can't afford to keep their pets.

A Trip to the Dentist and Out to Lunch

Saturday we did the CDO route in reverse.  Normally it's a fast ride with some excellent downhill bits.  Going the other direction is not nearly as much fun, but it's a better workout.  We went through the Christopher Columbus park, the tethered airplane guys were out with their really noisy little planes.  In this photo, look in the upper right hand corner, and you can see a plane doing slow flight.  It was interesting to see it doing that.

This is just a gratuitous picture of the sky and palm trees.  The weather continues to be excellent this winter.

Today we were up and out to go to the dentist.  It was a beautiful morning.

Afterwards we met friends for lunch at Roma Imports.  These are frozen cannolis.  The pointy tube is full of frozen cannoli filling.  I'm thinking we could defrost that and just suck the piping tube dry.

Roma carries the good San Marzano tomatoes.  They also have olive oil that looks like it might be unadulterated.  I am still scandalized by recent articles about what goes in to many brands of "Virgin Olive Oil."

Lunch was fun, good food with good people.  Neither of us had any cavities, so it was a total win for the day.

Lunch at Roma Imports

The Friday lunch ride went to Roma Imports.  The wind was up, so we wussed out and drove there.  It was a farther ride for the northern contingent, and they rode their bikes.  I'm glad we took the truck, the amount of dust that was in the air just kills my contact lenses.  It was really good.  In addition to a very good lunch, they have frozen take out; lots of frozen take out. 

Check out the takeout;  lasagna and sauces of all sorts.

Ravioli.....

Mmmmm, anchovy stuffed olives.

 
All the pasta you could ever want.

This is a great find.  If you're in Tucson, check it out.   There are meat and non-meat entrees ready to take home for your dining pleasure.

As Seen in Tucson

Tucson has a problem with red light running.  Red lights seem to be treated as merely a suggestion, with predictable results.  We saw this yesterday at the intersection of Mission and Silverlake.  One involved car is off to the left.

The other car really took it in the head.  That's kitty litter on the ground, soaking up the vehicle's precious bodily fluids.  Anyway, the point of this is to offer the advice that while driving here, don't automatically move forward on a green light, look both ways first.

This is one of the coaches in the RV park.  They are getting a new windshield.  The install has been taking quite awhile.   

This morning, they had the glass out again, put it back in and spent several hours pounding on it with heavy rubber mittens.  We were wondering what happens if they can't get the glass in properly.  What happens then?

I took this at the intersection of Mission and Ajo.  It's a busy part of town and there are high traffic volumes.  Why on earth would you bring your horse to a McDonald's parking lot?  We've seen him multiple times, but this is the first photo I've gotten.  The horse's rider is wearing a huge gun, similar to the Buntline Colt that Wyatt Earp allegedly used.  It's very odd.

These are a few things we've seen in the Old Pueblo.

Driving and hiking

What up with all y'all?  Winter in Tucson continues to be extraordinary.  Last season was really cold and windy, this season has been warm and calm so far.  It's odd because both years are La Nada weather patterns.  I think the Pacific Decadal Oscillation is helping by keeping us under a ridge of high pressure.  Whatever, we are enjoying it.
The RV park has new food trucks this year.  I'm posting a picture of this one for our Canadian friends. I just checked their menu on Facebook, and see that they have regular poutine, poutine with bacon, hotdog poutine and pulled pork poutine.  So, all of your poutine needs can be met here.

Yesterday we had to take the bus for a drive.  First we went out to Tucson Truck Terminal.  It's a good truck stop.  They put the diesel in for you.  Our fuel tank tends to spit if one tries to fuel too quickly, and the attendant was very careful with it.  They also have 4 homemade soups every day.

There is a gift shop.

Then it was out to drive up and down the roads in the Tucson Mountain Park.  The entrance road has a bunch of rollers.  When you drive that in an RV with air bags, it's almost like being weightless at the top of the hill.  As was the case on New Years day 2013, the black tank was not clearing itself.  Bad, very bad.  One wonders if it's a function of being in one place for so long. 

This is the far end of McCain loop.  I find making the left onto this road from Kinney to be hair raising.  Jim says it's fine.  Anyway, driving through the park, up and down, left and right, clears any problems a black tank might have.

Today we hiked.  We went up Bowen, down the other side out to the stone hut and then back up the big hill and down.  It's a hilly and rocky route.

Looking back towards Tucson.

It was about 5 miles.  It was enough hike for my soft non-calloused feet.  It'll be good when the callouses return.

The brittle bush are blooming.

Other than riding and hiking, there is not too much to report.