Blub! These turkeys got stuffed on Thanksgiving! But hey,

that’s what happens, right? We hosted a traditional

Thanksgiving Dinner at out house for 10. And if you’ve

been to our house, you know that’s very near capacity. But it was a happy time for good friends, good conversation and of course, lots of good food…turkey with dressing, ham, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, mashed potatoes, a healthy green salad, green bean casserole, rolls, cranberry sauce (the jellied version with those memorable “can lines” — love it), topped off with gherkins and olives. And for dessert, coffee with pumpkin pie, cherry pie and a big ol’ bowl of fresh whipped cream. Who could ask for anything more? We were happy to be among friends and thankful for those friends and the good time we enjoyed despite the turmoil in the economy and watching our retirement funds shrink by the day. Yes, despite it all, we are thankful and have hope for better times. 

And we were also thankful when the dishes were done and the leftovers put away. We turned our thoughts to the rest of our holiday weekend, which we were spending with Airstream friends at The Shady Dell Vintage Trailer Park in Bisbee, AZ. For those uninitiated, The Shady Dell is a fun, funky and unique place in Bisbee. It’s a collection of vintage trailers that have been restored/renovated and furnished in their period … made available to rent like a motel room. They also happily have a number of RV hookups, so those of us with our own trailers can take them to visit some of their old relatives.

We’ve been to The Shady Dell a couple of times before. For a run down and a lot of pictures from the first trip there after we got our Bambi, visit our travel log entry “Exploring Bisbee, AZ: 5-7 Oct 2007.”

We had basically gotten the Bambi ready for the trip earlier in the week, so the Friday after Thanksgiving, we just had to get gas, do our final packing, get the

Bambi out, check the tires, etc., and get the Girls in their harnesses so we could buckle them up, and head out. We got out about 12:30 PM.  It’s only a 2-hour

drive to Bisbee (about 95 miles from our house). The first leg is via I-10 east to Benson, then south through St. David, Tombstone, on Highway 80 and on to

Bisbee in the SE part of the state, not too far from the Arizona-Mexico border.

It was a pleasant drive, and we even got to see some “fall colors” along the way

in the southeastern areas where there are actually trees that turn fall colors.

                              St. David, for instance, is remarkably non-Arizona in

                                   character ... mostly because of the non-desert feel of it.

                                     We’ve always liked St. David for some reason, though

                                    there’s not much there obvious from the main drag.

                                     There used to be a couple of good antique shops but they

                                         have long since closed. The Holy Trinity Monastery on the southern outskirts of town is intriguing. They have an RV park where the public can stay, which we’ve always thought was odd. We’ll have to stay there sometime and see what that’s all about.

It was a cool day … overcast from the lingering rain clouds from the previous day. Rain is uncommon in this part of the country this time of year, so it was different.

By the time we got to Bisbee, about 2:30 PM, it was pretty chilly, as Bisbee is higher and therefore cooler than Tucson. (Last year it snowed in Bisbee over Thanksgiving weekend!)

For those who have not been to Bisbee, a little warning about the “round-about” that you go through to get to various parts of the town … it is very confusing at first. You really have to pay attention to the yield signs, arrows and the stop signs or you might end up a statistic. Terry almost got us creamed there the last time we were there … luckily, the semi-truck he pulled out in front of (when he should have yielded) was forgiving. This trip was better, but still pretty confusing, and of course, the locals whiz right through it offering no mercy to the tourists. So be warned.

The Shady Dell is very near the roundabout ... turn right at the gas station off the round-about and it’s right there across from a school and next to a wonderful old cemetary (which we enjoyed strolling through). It’s so close to the round-about, in fact, that you may miss the turn the first time around because one is pretty busy making sure not to run stop signs and ignore yield right-of-way signs which are everywhere on the dang round-about. But this time we drove right to it like we knew where we were going (because we did). We pulled in, went into the office and met Jennifer of Jennifer & Justin, the young, energetic couple who bought The Shady Dell two or three years ago. They are very personable and welcoming. And they have made some nice improvements to the place. They have

moved out the handful of non-vintage trailers (occupied by

full-time residents) to another section of the property which

they are improving with time, and they have added a

number of additional vintage units which we presume will

eventually be renovated and added to the rental offerings.

One note: Airstreams of any vintage fit in quite nicely …

after all, it’s not that easy to tell a new one from a vintage

one unless you know what to look for!

Jennifer showed us where we could park the trailer … right next to our friend, Julianne’s 22’ Airstream, and across the way from Louis & Sergio’s 28’ vintage Ambassador. It was like seeing old friends again. We hadn’t seen them since the WBCCI Four Corners Unit Labor Day Rally in Williams, AZ. And we’ve been looking forward to this mini-gathering for a long time! Just as we were pulling up to our site, the cell phone rang.  It was Julianne! She said, “Where are you?” And Terry said, “We’re here … where are you?”  We had just arrived and were literally sitting in the truck outside Julianne’s trailer window when she called. Good timing! She and Louis & Sergio were in town, but heading back to The Shady Dell.

By the time we were almost set up, they got back, and we all just stood in the roadway and talked all at once. It was so good to see them again. They told us all about Jennifer and Justin’s potluck Thanksgiving Dinner for everyone in the park on Thanksgiving Day, which sounded like a lot of fun. We admired Louis & Sergio’s trailer that they had just completed the first cut of polishing on. Wow! What a

                              difference it made…they are going to go over it again and when

                                      that’s done it will have a mirror shine. We needed

                                         sunglasses! Louis & Sergio had left their two dogs home

                                          for this trip (we missed them), but Julianne’s “kids” were

                                         there …  Hanna (the Great Dane), Shane, and Rex …

                                       Annie and Sadie greeted their cousins and seemed to

                                        remember them from Williams. As we all greeted and

                                         carried on, it was getting cooler and cooler. They said it had been downright chilly the night before, so we knew we were in for a cold one!

We finished setting camp up and changed to warmer clothes while they regrouped from their trip to town. We met Alex and Michelle, who were in the site next to us in a wonderful vintage El Ray trailer … 24’ if we remember right. It’s a cousin of Airstreams and has a revitted aluminum skin, and only made for a couple of years in the mid-50s. Alex and Michelle are a young couple from Tucson, and got married at The Shady Dell! Their little son, Dashiell (Dash), is a real cutie. They also had their very shy Mexican rescue pup along, Frankie … a nice family we were happy to meet. They tow their trailer with a big old Cadillac and conversation revealed that they have a couple other trailers. And a Cadillac hearse that they had there with them… As Alex explained with a grin, they like to “embrace the creepy.”

After settling in and getting the Girls fed, we all congregated in Louis & Sergio’s trailer around their (amazingly roomy) dinette table had snacks of cheese

and crackers and spicy hot dip, and a series of very good martinis,

which is quickly becoming a trademark cocktail for Louis & Sergio.

Who can fight that? Alex joined us for a while, too. We all had a great

time of it! 

We all said goodnight and settled into our respective trailers for a chilly night. We tested the trailer’s furnace that evening since we had not used it since last winter, and it worked great. The Girls don’t like the sound of the furnace coming on … they are unnerved by a number of little sounds like the ignition clicking when the furnace comes on, or the cell phone beeping periodically to alert us to a text message or missed call … or smoke detectors chirping to let us know the battery is low. It’s the oddest thing … they just get all scared and shaky and we have to calm them down. We don’t know why they react this way. So we were happy that we also brought the little electric ceramic heater that we picked up for camping. It really does a nice job of keep us toasty and has a thermostat, so that’s what we used for the rest of this stay. This saves us a lot of propane on a cold night. And the Girls act like they don’t hear it at all … it’s very quiet.

The Shady Dell not only has full hookups, but they have cable! So we hooked up

                      and enjoyed what was left of the evening, then watched a DVD movie

                           after the Girls went for their last walk of the evening and then

                            crashed on the bed. It got down to about 36 degrees that night.

                          Chilly, but we were toasty warm! Life is rough when we camp,

                            as you can see..

Saturday morning we got up, had coffee and did doggie things … and then we joined Louis & Sergio and Julianne for breakfast at a local restaurant. It is a very popular place, as evidenced by the crowd we found there. Everybody in town was there, it seemed. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast and continued good laughs with this crazy bunch. Then we stopped at an antique shop between the restaurant and The Shady Dell. Fun was had by all. Louis & Sergio found a folding camping table with a top that matches their Airstream’s awning — a nice find. And we found a small lake anchor that we will use as yard art at home. We are suckers for yard art, or anything that can be perceived as yard art. Those of you who have been there know of what we speak.

Breakfast sorta did us in, so we all rested and did our own things through the afternoon. We did leave for a bit to make our rounds of the resale shops we had discovered on an earlier trip, and found a few small treasures. That’s always fun. Then back to The Shady Dell to relax some more. We happily provided a quick introduction and show and tell for PressurePro Tire Pressure Monitors to Louis & Sergio and Alex and Julianne. We’ve used them since December ’07 and swear by them. They warned us immediately when we developed a very fast leak because of a failed valve stem, so they have already paid for themselves. Everybody should be using them, if for no other reason than peace of mind.

Annette, Justin’s mother, lives part time at The Shady Dell, helping out around the park and substitute teaching at a local school. When she’s there she’s going to live in a vintage Avion trailer that’s being renovated … Ken, the manager, was working on it while we were there, and doing a great job of it. Annette found some kitschy vintage Polynesian motif fabric that she wants to use for curtains in the front part of the Avion. She found out from Louis & Sergio about Greg’s sewing skills and AZBambi Décors, so she asked him if he would make curtains for her. Of course, he said he’d be happy to. She got a tour of our Bambi which we had outiftted in our “Paradise Décor” for this trip and she loved what she saw. So we went with Annette to look the Avion over and measure windows, etc. They are going to look great. He’s making curtains for the bedroom area out of a solid fabric Annette had picked up that looks great with the vintage print. We can’t wait to see how they look when the Avion’s finished.

Late Saturday afternoon we began preparing for the evening’s festivities. We made spaghetti sauce to bring down thinking that by this time we’d all be tired of eating left over turkey. So we heated that up and cooked the pasta, while Louis & Sergio made a beautiful antipasto salad, and Julianne contributed wine and tiramisu for dessert (which was wonderful). Annette joined us for dinner (again, in Louis & Sergio’s trailer, as it was kinda chilly outside). We augmented dessert with pumpkin and cherry pie (and lots of home-whipped cream, of course) that we had left from Thanksgiving. Once more, we had more food than we could eat and the evening was a delight of stories, conversation and laughter. Good times.

Drat it, Sunday, Louis & Sergio had to leave for home, as did our new friends, Alex and Michelle. But there was time for one more gathering, as Julianne sacrificed her early morning hours to marinate chicken in tequila, grill it, and construct her         now-famous “Drunken Chicken Enchiladas.” Her oven was on the

fritz, so she used ours to heat her creation, and we all sat down for

a “Last Lunch” of enchiladas, chips, salsa, and yes, margaritas.

Thanks, Julianne! It was all wonderful, and a great way to say

our goodbyes and “see-ya-soons” to Louis & Sergio. They didn’t

rush home after lunch, but did get out and on the road by 1:00

PM or so. And then there were three all in a row: Julianne, us,

and Alex & Michele.

Later in the afternoon Alex & Michelle packed up and headed for home. They leave the El Rey at The Shady Dell and drive back and forth to Tucson. We’re sure we’ll see them again. Then it was just Julianne and us. Our numbers were dwindling!

But late in the afternoon a new Airstream neighbor pulled in and parked in Louis & Sergio’s old site. It was a 2005 25’ International CCD model. We felt a little better after having watched Sergio & Louis and then Alex & Michelle leave. At least the void was filled by another shiny wonderful trailer! We met the owners later … Karen & Chuck and their two very handsome Dachshunds, Bubba and Esmeralda, from Globe, AZ. They are traveling southern Arizona looking for property to relocate to from Globe. Nice couple. And unbeknownst to them, a timely stroke of luck for AZBambi Décors. You see, we have a project in process to make slip covers for an out-of-town 2005 25’ International CCD! The owner sent us a dinette cushion to use as a guide for the slip covers, so that’s going well … but then she decided she would like matching curtains for the panoramic window. We have a panoramic window in the Bambi, but a 25’ is a “wide body” model (while a Bambi is not) and therefore the panoramic windows are wider…but how much wider? Good question. Happily, these kind folks allowed us to come in and measure their windows. Aren’t Airstream folks nice? So now we’re all set. Thanks, Karen & Chuck for letting us intrude on you. (And Madame X in Canada … you know who you are … your cushions and curtains will be done soon!)

Sunday night was a night of rest for us and for Julianne … we all just hunkered down. Julianne made an early evening of it (we could tell because her exterior party lights and interior lights went out really early).  It was another cold one, too…in the high 30s again.

Happy December! It felt strange to all of a sudden (it seemed) to be in the last month of 2008. Time does fly when you get older — not that we’re old or anything — or is it just that we are having fun? Monday we had a mission to accomplish … we had not been into Old Town yet other than for breakfast, and that didn’t count, so we took off to make our rounds of the local antique shops. It had been very busy looking in town as we passed by on Friday on the way in, but Monday is was pretty quiet after the holiday weekend. That was fine with us as we don’t relish fighting crowds. We were in town only a couple of hours, but that was long enough to scour the shops and find a few little keepers. We thought we showed remarkable restraint, as we always manage to see things that catch our eye when we do these kinds of outings. A funny thing happened in one of the antique shops. Almost everything we picked up to look over and check the price was $28…it was uncanny and soon laughable. We told the clerk that whoever was pricing stuff had gotten stuck on $28. That will be an inside joke for us for months to come.

Back at The Shady Dell, we began to get around to thinking about what we were going to do for dinner. We put our heads together with Julianne and decided we’d

                      make a nice chef’s salad and share a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine.

                         Turns out Julianne has a history in the wine biz, so she shared some

                           interesting wine information. It’s always nice to be with someone

                            who knows wines … and Julianne knows wines! We know how to

                           drink it. Does that count? And then we polished off more of the

                            cherry and pumpkin pie. We ran out of whipped cream the night

                              before, so Terry had to whip up a fresh batch. That was a first in

                               the Bambi, but probably not the last. Terry’s planning to make a pie on one of these trips soon. We just have to remember to take the hand mixer along if we want to have whipped cream. Needless to say, once again, none of us went hungry. Both Julianne and we were taking off on Tuesday morning, so we said our goodbyes to Julianne that night so she could get up early and take off. She’s from the Phoenix area, so she had twice the drive ahead of her. We had a wonderful time with our friends, and we were sad that it was nearly over once more.

We didn’t hear Julianne getting her Airstream ready for the road and hitched up Tuesday morning, nor did Sadie, which is unusual a she acknowledges every little bump in the night with a “yip.” When we did get up at 9:30 AM, Julianne was already gone, and so were Karen & Chuck in the 25’ CCD. That left only us. It was very very lonely, looking out over the park … all of our friends gone. With everyone gone, we had little to keep us there longer. We took our time getting the camp broken down, we settled up with Jennifer & Justin in the office, and we were on the road to Tucson about noon.

The trip home was easy and uneventful, which is exactly the way

we like it. It has been fairly cool in Bisbee…warm during the

day, but suddenly cold when the sun went down behind the

mountains. We hear on the news that it was supposed to be in

the high 70s in Tucson, so we knew we had warm weather to look forward to … again. (It seems like we had a heck of a time getting to “cold” this year.)  We got home about 2:00 PM ... got the Bambi tucked away in it’s den and unloaded, and began our decompression with good memories of a great weekend. Thanks Louis & Sergio and Julianne, and Alex & Michelle, and Justin & Jennifer, and Annette, and Karen & Chuck … for making it happen so nicely.

Click on the slide show icon below to see the picture show, and you can click on “Other Trips” at the end of the to go to our main trip page if you’d like. And don’t forget to go look at more info and pics of The Shady Dell from our last trip there in October 2007. Happy trails!