SaddleBrooke Homes and Stormy Desert…

As we wrap up our stay here at Justin D Diamond RV Park I would like to describe this little park in the desert. When we first arrived we felt a little deceived since there really wasn’t a fitness room and the pickleball courts, errr court, was not up to standard. Had we known we might not have visited this park and that would have been sad since this is a great little park in the Sonaran desert and it doesn’t need any amenities.

 

The reason amenities are unnecessary is that the park is adjacent to a fabulous trail system located right behind the park! The Big Mountain Park and the western part of the Sonoran Desert National Park are so close enough to bike to. Once we ventured out on the trails we wondered why the park bothers to advertise amenities to lure us to the excellent little park? The advertising instead should focus on its location, location, location…We enjoyed those trails everyday during our stay.

When we weren't hiking or biking in our backyard we were out and about investigating retirement communities in the Tucson area. . We took a trip up to Oracle to see a Robson community called Saddlebrook Ranch and a trip southeast to see a Del Webb Community near Vail, Arizona. Some have asked if we are ready to settle down and the answer is no… not yet. But we may not be west for another year or two so we wanted to get a feel for what the area has to offer retirees.

 

Not to mention as we drove to and from these places we saw some of the great scenery around Tucson including the Sangre De Cristo Mountains and the majestic Mount Lemmon. We have learned from these visits that anything over 1500 square  feet is a freaking big house! It’s amazing after living in about 400 square feet how little space we realize now we really need. The other thing we realized is location is important! Arizona is a beautiful state and one we will strongly consider residing in when we are finally ready to hang up the keys…

Our only regret during our short Tucson stay was that we had hoped to visit a few other people but our last day was filled with chores and a frustratingly long visit to Costco trying to have a prescription filled. We were at least able to use our Groupon we purchased at Sentinel Peak Brewery our last evening and the beers, especially their Porter, were quite good.

That last day we got back to the park later than we wanted but were still hoping to get in a little socializing.  Sadly the scheduled activity (bonfire and pot luck) was cancelled so we missed an opportunity to see some friends staying in the park. I did stroll out to see if an astronomer with his really big telescope was out as advertised and amazingly he was. So my last night at the RV Park I had a nice star gazing activity and even learned a little… always a good thing!

Where we travel to next is weather dependent and we will be boondocking nearby at the Casino Del Sol for a few days as we are still waiting for the cold night time weather to leave. I don't think we are the only ones anxious for warmer temperatures...