We enjoyed a lot of little adventures in Tucson, Arizona. It was off to a rough start but ended in a mecca of wonderful food and the beauty the desert has to offer. We were in Tucson to attend the JCK Jewelry show at the JW Marriott. We would work during the day at the jewelry show and then we would explore the area in the evening.
Boon-docking Off Ajo Highway
We boon-docked just off the Ajo highway in an area called Snyder Hill. We arrived rather late at night and managed to find a decent spot that was level for us to park our RV for the next few days. There were several motorhomes along this stretch, we guess that there were at least 30. All dry camping and enjoying their free spot. You can stay on this BLM land for up to 2 weeks and then you are suppose to move to another location. When we arrived we unhitched Gidget (Jeep) to take a little drive around to see if we could find a better spot, only to find out that from our long haul from Mohave Valley to Tucson, the battery had died on our tow vehicle. It was a very cold night on bumpy unknown ground. You can imagine after a long drive, we were very tired and now we had to go out in the freezing cold (20 degrees) and try to jumpstart Gidget in pitch-black darkness. I have to tell you, at the time, I would say I was fairly grumpy. This was the last thing in the world I wanted to do at that moment, but I knew it needed to be done because we would need to get up early the next morning to go to the jewelry show and we needed to make sure we could get there, thus we needed to make sure we could get Gidget started that night. Ugh.
Keeping Warm near the Wave-6 Heater
We managed to get Scotty and Gidget nose-to-nose to allow for the jumper cables to reach and a fellow boon-docker came out of nowhere to help out. He was a rather tall man and a little on the gruffy side. He stepped right in ensuring the cables had good connection. In a short time we found that he was also a full-time RVer, a Marine Veteran, and had a strong opinion on political candidates. We appreciated his assistance and bid him a good night and a heart-felt thank you for helping us. Shortly after we got settled and I found my spot right next to our Wave-6 heater, where I thawed out and was able to wind down after such a long day. We had made it and everything was going to be fine.
JCK Jewelry Show
We awoke early the next morning and drove straight to the jewelry show. The drive to the show was about 25 minutes from where we were boon-docking. The show had several different great exhibitors. Our booth showed off 3D Printers. There were many curious people that would come by and ask questions about the wax printers. 3D printers are not new to the jewelry world, but there are several that are still curious about the technology and if it makes sense for their business. The show was 5 days long and it went until 5:30pm. When the show would end each night we were exhausted and hungry. We made it our mission each night to find some place good to eat and if we could fit an outdoor adventure in there, we did. We were expecting the desert to be gorgeous but who would have thought that there would be such good food in Tucson?
Jimmy and I make it a point to eat healthy. It is not always easy, but we try. Our diet mostly consists of meat and vegetables. We usually substitute the carb sides for extra vegetables or salad. Our first night after the show we were craving some sushi. We found a great sushi restaurant called Kazoku claiming to have the best sushi in Tucson. Although we didn’t try any other sushi in the area we have tried our fair share of sushi in different cities and this place is good for the price. It is not too fancy but their rolls are fresh tasting. We did have a bit of an issue when it came it getting our food in a timely manner, but the place was packed and they only had one chef making up the sushi, until they finally had someone help him. We gave this place 4 stars on Yelp.
Daisy Mae’s Steak House
The following night we ate a delicious steak dinner at Daisy Mae’s Steak House. You know the steak is going to good when you can smell the seared steak from a mile away. There was a BBQ out front and you could see all of entrees being cooked outside on a open fire over mesquite wood. The ribeye was tender and flavorful and surprisingly we loved the baked chicken wings. We could have eaten those as a meal and been satisfied.
Sher-E-Punjab indian Restaurant
While we were in Tucson for the show we found that some old neighbors of Jimmy’s were also in town for the show, so we met them for dinner at an Indian restaurant. Jimmy and I love Indian food, so we always make it a point to find the best Indian food in each area we go. We went to Sher-E-Punjab. The tikka masala was tender and creamy and the tandori chicken was very good. The atmosphere was nice with low lighting and great service.
We ate some seafood at Mariscos Chihuahua. They’re known for their famous shrimp dish, Camrones Culichi. It was thee best shrimp dish I’ve had in my life. It consisted of a creamy green sauce that was to die for. Jimmy had ordered the ceviche which was also very good, but he wished he had ordered the shrimp. It’s a good thing I share 🙂
Tucson – Sentinel Peak
We also had many outdoor adventures. We hiked a short trail to Sentinel Peak that had a large “A”. From the top there is a great view of the city. We also went to the Desert Museum that was highly recommended. Our favorite part of the attraction was the humming birds. We were pleasantly surprised at how many things there was to see at this museum, from sea otters, coyotes, wolves, to smaller creatures like insects, spiders and fish. It had it all. We could have spent the majority of a day at the museum, but we had arrived in the late afternoon and it closes at 5pm. It was worth the $20 entry fee.
We definitely enjoyed our time in Tucson. There was plenty to see and do and it was all good. Next stop was Benson, AZ.
