We have the airport drop down pat now. Pearl and I hang at the terminal while Tom parks the car Flight to Phoenix was uneventful. Getting two aisle seats worked out great especially because plane was full. Picked up a Toyota Sienna and headed for Tucson. Scenery was pretty crappy most of the way. A lot like this Improved some …

Tom started working on the Pearl assembly this morning and I started looking at maps for the Tucson Loop and other area activities. Pearl was rather uncooperative so it took a long time to get the frame back together and one of the tires appears to have a pinch flat as well. We did the only sensible thing in that …

Tom finished assembling Pearl and took her for the usual test ride to make sure all was tight and ready for the stoker. We loaded Pearl into the Sienna (fit was great) and drove to a nearby park on the Tucson Loop. The Loop is currently 110 miles of shared use path in and beyond metro Tucson. If it doesn’t …

Another beautiful sunny day in Tucson. Mid-40s overnight and rising to mid-60s today. It is actually warmer at home than it is here! We bundled up and drove to the Julian Wash Greenway section of the Loop. We saw this sign early on. Fortunately, the venomous creatures must have burrowed in on this chilly morning! The scenery on this section …

Mount Lemmon is the tallest peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains in the Coronado National Forest. The road up Mount Lemmon is a very popular scenic ride and a popular cycling route for the truly hard core. Apparently a lot of professional cyclists come to train in the area. There’s about a 6000 foot elevation gain over about 25 miles …

So let’s get right to it with those venomous critters! After a delightful breakfast served by Chef Green we headed off to ride the Loop out to Oro Valley. And what did we see, right off the bat in the parking lot Makes you sit up straight on that bike and really watch the path! The 9 miles out seemed …

We went to the Pima Air and Space museum this morning, arriving around 9:30, and there was quite a crowd there already! They have a tram tour of the planes in their lot and a bus tour of the plane boneyard at the Air Force base. We got on a tram tour quickly and booked a spot on the noon boneyard …

We pulled in to Casita Red Rock in the dark and rain last night so didn’t see much until the morning. The Casita is delightful! It was still rainy and quite cold this morning. We went to the Coconino Ranger Station and Visitor Center, getting our first taste of the red rock scenery. Stunningly beautiful! I was wowed by the …