The Rovin’ Pebbles spent five days in Oracle, Arizona.
Thirteen rigs from the Rovin’ Pebbles RV Club recently spent an enjoyable stay in Oracle, Arizona, (north of Tucson) from April 13 to 17. With five sunny days to fill, club members visited many of the interesting and informative attractions to be found in the Tucson area.
Monday saw our caravan drive to Catalina State Park at an elevation of nearly 3,000 feet, nestled along the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The view was beautiful as lazy white clouds cast ever changing shadows on the hills and valleys surrounding the campground. We began the week’s activities with a scrumptious potluck dinner and you can bet that no one went away hungry when the evening chill drove all but the most hardy campers into their snug RVs for the night.
Tuesday started early with a 30 minute drive to the Biosphere 2. This one of a kind enclosed facility, owned and managed by the University of Arizona, hosts several ongoing scientific studies. The guided tour started with a quiz question, “If we are at Biosphere 2, where (or what) is Biosphere 1?” After an informative video presentation on the history and mission of the project, our guide took us through the facility’s biomes or habitats, including an ocean with a Hawaiian coral reef, a mangrove wetland, a rainforest, a savannah and a fog desert. We also saw the electrical and air handling infrastructure (think really big lungs) as well as the original crew’s living quarters. Naturally the many steps and ramps during the two hour tour caused our group to develop quite an appetite, so it was off to lunch and an afternoon of individual activities until Happy Hour’s trivia game. (Oh, by the way, Biosphere 1 is planet Earth!)
Wednesday started even earlier with a 45 minute drive through Tucson traffic to the privately funded Pima Air and Space Museum. There we saw more than 150 restored aircraft, both military and commercial, as well as displays of equipment and personal histories of both people and planes. The visit included tram and walking tours of aviation hangers, a space gallery and the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame. One of the most interesting and touching attractions was the 390th Bombardment Group Museum containing a fully restored B-17 Flying Fortress as well as memorabilia from World War II. The trip also included an air conditioned bus tour of the “bone yard” of military aircraft stored at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and, of course, lunch at the Flight Grill. Later our campers’ aeronautical engineering skills were tested during Happy Hour when they had to make and fly a paper airplane. D. K. Loo won when his entry glided 32.5 feet to take First Place in an often humorous and friendly air show competition.
Thursday morning began in a more leisurely fashion. Juli Thornton and Sharon Oehlerking treated the campers to a hearty breakfast of hot biscuits and sausage gravy over scrambled eggs cooked up by Terry Thornton and Ted Oehlerking. By mid-morning, everyone was full and ready for a YOYO (you’re on your own) day visiting the many museums, art galleries, shopping centers and other attractions in the Tucson area. Others of us spent a lazy day lounging around the campground. Still others burned off their breakfast calories hiking on the many trails in the park. We all ended the day back together for a final evening of hors d’oeuvres and camaraderie during Happy Hour.
Friday began with hot coffee and donuts in the sunshine on a chilly morning. Several of our group got an early start on the trip home, but others of us stayed almost to checkout time at noon. One couple so enjoyed the trip that they extended their stay for the weekend. For sure, “it’s all about the journey” we Rovin’ Pebbles take.