Saturday Jan 20, 2024 - Bisbee to Gilbert Ray Campground (via Trombone Shorty)

I had “winterized” the van when we parked as we were expecting below freezing temps. It only take 5 minutes with this van, easy peasy. Deb had bought  tickets to see Trombone Shorty at the Fox Theater in Tucson and we had plans to meet some VT friends, Warren and Roni, and Warren’s cousin Micah, for dinner. Micah had just flown in from Montana for a week’s visit to go bird hunting with Warren. So a leisurely day of packing clothes and provisions up, pull the van up to the driveway and shovel stuff in and fill the water tanks.

We normally park in a garage and walk to the Fox but this van is nine feet tall, so no to a parking garage. I looked on Google Maps satellite pictures and saw what looked like outdoor lots. Quick run down to the post office (the town was busy with tourists), and then off to Tucson. A local news outlet had just done a multi-piece program about Bisbee, and it seems as though the weekends are busier than ever. We stopped at Walmart in Benson to find another bin for the overhead cabinets but no luck.

We found the parking lot an hour before dinner so we walked around town. We kind of know this area from other concerts we’ve been to. We met Warren and crew at the Playground Bar and Lounge where they had the music cranked up. Fortunately we sat outside and the music was not too loud and we had a great dinner and talk with those folks. Micah is from Bozeman MT, went to UVM, and he knows our daughter's good friend Spencer. Wow.

The concert was high energy and non stop. I had my hearing aids in so I could program them for really good sound. After the concert we found the van and drove the 14 or so miles to the campground. We snuck in without disturbing anyone, we hope, since it was 10:30pm. Hopped in bed and shortly a little rain tarted coming down. It is supposed to rain a bit the next few days which the desert should enjoy.