My boondocking spot at the Pima County Fairgrounds. You can see the real campground in the background. I'm the only one here so I have plenty of room, and for the first time, they actually put a dumpster here so I don't have to schlep my trash bags over to the real campground. In case you're wondering what that big three sided box is next to the dumpster, that's where the horse people shovel all their horse manure when their camped here. I don't know why they don't just leave it on the ground, it's not that the boondocking area couldn't use a little fertilizer.

My favorite night of the year is almost here. I've rented one of the event buildings here at the Fairgrounds and invited two or three hundred of my closest friends to be in attendance at the most lavish party Tucson has ever seen.

I've invited numerous movie stars and some of the most famous athletes in the country, if not the world. But scheduling that many "A" listers of that magnitude to all be someplace at the same time is challenging to say the least, so if all of them can't make it I'll understand.

Not being a "name-dropper," I won't be saying exactly who will be at this gala soirée. But, there will be Captains of Industry, Tycoons, Magnates,  Financiers, Moguls, and Grand Pooh-Ba's of every persuasion, including the richest man in the country who asked to remain anonymous, so let's just say he's a "Prime" businessman that promises "next day delivery."

Now, if you didn't receive an invitation, don't take it personally. Due to stringent Covid restrictions, I'm restricted from inviting otherwise restricted persons that are restricted by their own states restrictions from being in other states that have restrictions on restricted individuals.

So, the people I've invited are rich and famous enough that they're not restricted by any restrictions. Because the rich, the famous, and the powerful, have a special immunity from troublesome restrictions during a pandemic, and its not a vaccine, it's an American Express Black card carried in a Stefano Ricci wallet next to their heart.

Well, I've got a million things to do, and not much time to do them, the clock is ticking and the 12 o'clock midnight celebration will soon be upon us, and I have to get over to the event center and sign for a truckload of champagne.

If I'm still partying tomorrow, and don't have time to write my blog and talk in great detail about all the incredible things that went on at my party, just pick up any newspaper, New York Times, the London Times, or the French paper Le Monde And you'll be able to read about the highlights.

                                           theboondork

My view of the mountains from my boondocking site.

I was taking a picture of the sunset and was lucky enough to have a passenger jet fly over.

 Utter, total, and complete disappointment does not even begin to express my misfortune.

When I arrived at the Pima County Fairgrounds and signed in at the office, paying for a week of boondocking and making sure I could re-up as much as I wanted. I asked the host if she had a current list of the events taking place here at the Fairgrounds, at which point she informed me because of this accursed Bat flu, all the events have been canceled until March!!! Excuse me? says I, I just looked on the Internet last night, and it listed four or five events that were taking place this month, including the Rodeo. And the host said she would remind her boss to bring the website up to date.

It seems like every time I make plans, and I have been planning on going to the Rodeo since last spring. Often as not, I end up sorry, and swearing I'm never going to make plans again, and just live day by day, enjoying the present and not deciding on what to do in the future until the day I feel like going somewhere. That, of course, wouldn't make the Rodeo come back, but its loss wouldn't be near as heartbreaking as planning on it for months.

So here I sit with literally the only reason I came here completely gone, no rodeo, no horse shows, no dog shows, no drag-racing, no motorcycle racing.... Nothing. But as I've said before, I am, if nothing else, adaptable and enjoy a challenge. And in my opinion, If one is to be a happy and successful boondocker, it does pay to be adaptable and have the ability to deal with adversity.

So, I've got a week to enjoy being in Tucson, Arizona, and it shouldn't be all that hard; after all, Tucson is a tourist town. And the fact that it's not cold and it's not snowing right off the bat makes it an excellent place to be. I've got a Walmart 3 or 4 miles down the road. I've got the Air and Space Museum 5 or 6 miles away. The Saguaro National Park is only about 10 miles north of me, and next to Walmart there's a Popeyes chicken place, one of my favorites. So I will find things to keep me happy and somewhat busy, and if nothing else, I'm always happy relaxing.

                                            theboondork

It's been a little cloudy today but still warm so I'm happy.

I took a drive out to Darby Well Road to see how the boondocking was going out there, and there was a lot less folks boondocking than the last time I was here. That road has what I would call the top-of-the-line, premier boondocking in the area, it's mostly BLM land and its more mountainous, with better views than I get here at the old rodeo arena.

But the reason I tend to stay here is, it's easier to get to town from here and the roads between here and town are less beat up. And I can always find a spot to boondock at the rodeo arena, whereas out on Darby Well Road it's usually more crowded and boondocking's spots are harder to come by. Also people tend to park closer together than they do here at the rodeo arena because there's less room to park on Darby Well Road which is fine for the gregarious types, but I tend to enjoy being off by myself, particularly with the Bat flu hanging around.

But I would say if you really want to get the real boondocking experience and some pretty scenery at the same time, behind Ajo in the mountains on Darby Well road is the place to be.

As much as I like to surprise myself by deciding when and where I'm going to go, I'm starting to think that tomorrow would be a good time to go. I've already made up my mind that I'm going to boondock at the Pima County Fairgrounds, the only question was when, and I think that since the Fairgrounds is one of my favorite places to be, it seems only right to be there on the first day of the year.

I don't want to be driving on December the 31st since it's the day before a holiday so leaving tomorrow makes the most sense. It's about 150 miles from here to the Fairgrounds and most of that distance is interstate driving on I-8 and I-10 so it sounds like an easy 2 1/2 hour drive. And It sure will be nice to go to a grocery store where a can of soup doesn't cost four dollars.

                                                 theboondork