Into the Sun

The end of October ended up being a very busy time, and our trip literally snuck up on us.  We went down to visit my parents the previous weekend, and Anna was able to join us.  We left Chip with them, for an extended stay at the "Wintergreen dog spa."  Halloween came and went, and before we knew it we were packing.  I knew next to nothing about the area we were about to visit, and when I did a late weather check for the towns/cities we'd be visiting, I was surprised to learn that we would be dealing with cool temperatures.  We were promised a wide range of weather, ranging from the 40's at night to low 80's during the day, across our nine-day tour.

Our Itinerary (in Reverse)

We had an early-morning departure from Dulles.  We had a slight delay in leaving, which resulted in our just making our connecting flight in Denver.  In hindsight, it worked out well, as we walked off of one plane and directly onto another.  Our tour was departing from Tucson, which was more than okay with us, as we both love the city and had not been there for a while -- me especially.

Arriving Into Denver

We were not to meet our tour for a welcome meeting until 7:00pm, and with our arrival shortly after noon local time, we took full advantage of our time by renting a car.  We headed north to Sabino Canyon, in hopes of taking the tram to the top and doing some hiking on the way down.  On our way there, we stopped by Jane and Dean's condo, which is in a development literally across the road from the Sabino Canyon entrance.  Whereas K had visited once before, this was my first visit.  The place was closed up well, but it was in excellent shape and we both enjoyed being able to stop in for a brief visit, and to eat the lunch we had picked up along the way.

Katherine Outside J&D's Condo

At the canyon, we were dismayed to learn that the tram, which normally ferries people up the mountain, was not operating.  The operator had lost its concession license and they had no timetable for the resumption of service.  The park ranger at the entrance, who told us all this, sensed our disappointment, and offered to let us into the park for free, and recommended a short hike that started at the visitor center.  As we couldn't turn down her kind offer, we went on in and made the short hike.  This was, easily, the warmest day of our entire trip, with temps in the mid-80's.  There was no humidity, but we still worked up a sweat on the admittedly short hike, which was beautiful nonetheless.

We had made reservations at a highly rated restaurant in the Tucson foothills, from where we planned to watch the sunset.  Our timing worked out perfectly, and over an outstanding Italian dinner, we were able to watch the cascading sunset from our table, which also abutted an outdoor terrace, from where other diners were eagerly snapping pictures of their own.  Our meal was simply outstanding, and we've told Jane and Dean they must visit when they return to Tucson after Christmas.

Sunset From the Restaurant

Our hotel was located at the airport, which is on the south end of town, exactly opposite of where we had spent the majority of our day.  It was a longish drive back down, but we arrived with about 10 minutes to spare before our kick-off meeting.

This was our fourth Gate 1 trip, and we've booked a fifth for this coming March, to Morocco.  Still, each tour has had its own flavor, and we were both a little anxious to see how large our group might be, and try to get a handle on the personalities and "vibe."

Our tour director, Raul, was in his late 50's, and was very gracious when we checked in.  Though we were five minutes early, we were nonetheless the last to arrive.  We quickly learned that our group totaled 20, which we agreed was a nice, relatively small size.  With our guide Raul, and our driver, Arturo, we were 22.  Looking around the room, however, it was soon apparent that K and I were the youngest travelers, and by a considerable margin in most cases.  That was fine, but it was a new dynamic for us.  We were used to traveling over school breaks or the summer, which has always meant more families.  That was not the case this time, but now in hindsight, I believe we had our best group of fellow travelers yet.

The meeting just laid out the basic schedule for the coming nine days, and afforded an opportunity for people to ask questions.  Everyone introduced themselves, and we hailed from all corners of country -- upstate New York, Chicago, Florida, Denver, and a healthy California contingent.

It was a three-hour time difference from Virginia -- soon to be two hours, as the rest of the country was to switch to Standard Time the following morning -- so we were both very tired and were eager to get into bed as quickly as we could.