Hank – We woke to rain that soon became snow. Big fat snowflakes proceeded to fall for about 4 hours this morning. It was cool to see cactus plants and palm trees with snow on them. One of the ladies on the custodial staff was dancing outside and catching snowflakes on her tongue. She said she had never seen snow before. She played like a child for several minutes. Apparently, Tucson hasn’t had snow in many years. What a joy it was for me to witness someone relishing their first experience with snow.

We weren’t in a rush to go anywhere and since we doubted the local populace had much experience driving on snowy roads, we waited for the roads to clear up before venturing out. We went to the Franklin Auto Museum. (You can read more about the Franklin Automobile Company and its parent company, H.H. Franklin Manufacturing Company. Pretty cool stuff.)

The museum was surprising in that you’d never know it was there except for the two signs they had placed out on the unpaved, muddy roads. Otherwise you’d think you were driving past someone’s house, which is essentially what you’re doing. The cars were really cool. They had models ranging from 1908 and into the 1930s. As small as the place is we ended up spending about two and a half hours there.

After that we got a late lunch and then went to REI to pick up a couple of things. By then it was close to dinner time. We headed back to the base and called it a day.

Kathy – Well so much for staying south the winter months to avoid the cold weather.  We have only had a handful of days above 60 degrees since we left Florida.  Apparently Tucson, Arizona has an average of zero inches of snow yearly, and it hasn’t snowed here in 15 years.  Well we arrive and the snow starts falling.  Although it was cold, it was also super cool to see cactus and palm trees full of snow.  Happy we stayed south rather than going to the Four Corners and Grand Canyon areas as we had originally planned because there was quite significant snowfall there.  We also would have driven through Flagstaff, Arizona to get to Phoenix which had 40 inches of snow today.  We choose wisely by going to Tucson instead and only getting a few inches of snow. Our drive tomorrow to Phoenix should be uneventful since we are further south.

The Franklin Auto Museum was fun to visit.  Lots of stunning old cars to look at.  Never heard of this company before but they really made some beautiful looking cars.  What a treat for us to come here, see the cars, and hear their history from our guide.  We enjoyed it immensely.

Since we had a light breakfast in our room we were getting hungry for lunch.  I found a real gem. Sweet Tomato restaurant in Tucson is wonderful.  It is literally a massive all-you-can-eat salad bar.  We really enjoyed our nutritious and healthy lunch/dinner.  We also found an REI store nearby so obviously we had to hit it up.  We picked up a few dehydrated meals and other items of light weight that we needed. Love this store and the yearly dividends check you get based on your purchases.  We should have a nice check this year.

Our evening was spent relaxing in our lodging room at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.  Our second night of pampering with the “Distinguish Visitor” status at the base lodging…for a nice cheap price.  Being retired military has some sweet benefits at times.  It has been a very relaxing week off from riding.  Tomorrow we turn in the rental car in Phoenix.  We will spend a little time with one of our Spokane friends who winters in the Phoenix area, then hit the road again on Monday.  We are both looking forward to riding again after a well deserved break.

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