So our next stop was Tucson, which seems like a cool town, but we primarily stopped for some repairs on the RV. Our step wasn’t working and we found a repair place that could get us in for a diagnosis, and we hung out while they appraised the work. We ended up staying overnight, and had an appointment the next day for the work at 1pm.
While we were waiting for an answer, we went into town and had a late lunch and walked around the downtown area. I love this theater that actually had the upcoming acts painted onto the side of the building.
In the morning, to kill a few hours, we drove a short distance to Saguaro National Park and had a beautiful morning enjoying another national treasure.
We got the repairs done and it was late in the day, and the tech advised us that that night was a hard freeze warning and temps were expected to get down to the low 20’s. Everywhere we’d been so far has been cold and windy, and we were still wearing our layers, but we really wanted to find a place not too far away with electric hookups.
Lucky John was able to to secure the last available spot at a super cool Arizona State Park called Kartchner Caverns just east of Tucson. We asked about tours and they were all booked, but said we could show up at 8 am to see about getting a spot. We did and we got tix and went on an hour and a half tour of some of the most well preserved caves we’ve ever seen. We only saw one third of the whole system. The extent that the park goes to protect this feature is incredible. We weren’t able to photograph, but I got some shots of the area.
The caves were discovered by a couple of guys in the 60s who did crazy things like squeeze their bodies thru tiny holes underground. I personally think spelunkers are insane, but that’s my own personal (phobia) opinion. Fortunately, they took their discovery to the property owners who were educated and recognized the value of preserving this natural resource, and agreed to work with the State of Arizona to turn it into a state park and keep it protected. We were extremely impressed with the whole operation, and were grateful for the electric hookup so we could run the heater!
We asked about staying another night cause the forecast was again for a hard freeze, but alas they didn’t have any room so we set off and headed towards New Mexico.
John & Armen On The Road 