Taking Care of Business

After Pancho Villa State Park, it was time to head to Tucson to take care of business. I had to see my doctor, take care of getting that water pump fixed and get new tires for Bart..

Annoying business.

I have been to about ten different RV repair places during my two years on the road. Two of the least satisfying service experiences I have had have been in the Tucson area, and yep, I had another annoying RV service experience. I will not share the company that didn’t do what I wanted this time. (If you need to know, contact me and I will tell you privately.)

Instead, let me share my favorite RV service centers:

Woodland Travel Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Airstream Factory Service Center, Jackson Center, Ohio (also known as “the Mothership”
JD Sanders RV Center,Gainesville, Florida
Foley RV Center, Gulf Port, Mississippi

Anyway, I got to my RV park in Benson, SKP Saguaro Co-op, about 60 miles east of Tucson. I picked this location because they had a special deal for first time visitors – only $50 a week plus electricity. The second week was $110, and the electricity for the two weeks came in at $19.65. Fellow bloggers, Wheelingit, wrote a good review of the place, so rather than recreating the wheel, I’ll just refer you to their review.

You can’t say that they don’t have a sense of humor at SKP Saguaro.

Actually, it is a very nice place, and I guess one shouldn’t expect acres of grass in a desert. Acres of gravel, maybe. They have a lovely clubhouse and the cheapest laundry facilities anywhere.

My stay coincided with Mexico Days. They had a parade around the park while I was there.

Golf cars on parade.

The parade was complete with rolling mariachis…

and a one-man clean-up crew at the tail end.

They had a real mariachi band in the club house that night.

https://www.facebook.com/kalamazookim/videos/vb.586021988/10153476822926989/?type=3&theater

This was a high school band!

I spoke to these young women after the concert, and they were delightful.

I explored the town of Benson a bit. Sometimes I just need to take a break from my cooking.

The first place I visited was The Farmhouse.

I liked their motto.

Lunch was a “down-home” plate of white. It was kind of an open-face hamburger and mashed potatoes smothered with sausage gravy. Every now and then I do try something different.

After the down-home Americana, it was time for something I was more familiar with – Mexican food.

Pat, an Airstream buddy I met at South Llano River State Park in Texas, recommended this restaurant. I couldn’t believe this tiny building housed a restaurant. But, it had a sign, so I parked and gave it a shot.

Occupancy load 28? Wow! That’s a small restaurant!

I ordered a chile relleno and a bean tostada. I liked the garnish I got. Although it is broken, you can tell that it is a saguaro cactus.

I shared my table with a couple of snowbirds that were staying in another RV park. Their garnishes were even cuter.

A howling coyote! I do appreciate an attractive plate.

One other bit of business I had to take care of while I was taking care of business was getting new tires for Bart.

The old ones were getting kind of raggedy. Rubber was peeling off the sides from rubbing against curbs and the tread was getting low. Although I probably could have run them a little longer, I figure when you are towing a four ton trailer behind you, you want to have good rubber.

In keeping with the theme of “annoying business”, it took me three hours to get the tires. They told me it would take about an hour and a half, so twice as long was kind of a bit much.  They gave me a discount on the tires in compensation for the inconvenience, which I thought was nice.

I took some of my savings and treated myself to a Whataburger meal before I left Tucson to return to Benson.

I had been looking forward to visiting Whataburger when I was in Texas, but didn’t make it.

Gooooood burger!

And I think the message on the cup was a good thing to keep in mind.

I hope I am disposed of properly when I am empty.