Diane picked today to visit Oro Valley to attend an American Indian art and craft show. It was held in the National Parks Store located at 12880 N Vistoso Village Dr., in Oro Valley. Max and I had to stay in the car while Diane went shopping. We had to stay behind because I couldn’t find Max’s car leash. I’m sure it’s in there somewhere but I’ll be darned if it would reveal itself to me. So, I improvised and used my belt. It took a bit of adjusting for both of us because Max is accustomed to using all 16′ of his leash but my belt is only 3′ long. There was a lot of jerking going on until we found the limits of the belt. It wasn’t the best solution because I needed that belt to keep my pants up. Without it I was having a little trouble, but it worked. I just kept yanking them back up.

I saw someone with a dog go through to the doors, so I figured it was OK if we also entered. It was. We barely got through the door when a lady walked up and asked if Max could have a treat. He never turns down a treat. He did, however, do exactly what I told the lady he would do. She broke his snack in half and gave him a piece which he took and held it for a bit, tasting it. Then he put it on the floor and looked at the lady as if to say thanks. He pretended to ignore it for a bit, so I reached for it as if to pick it up and he grabbed it before I got close. It’s a game we play. Then he chomped it up and ate it. I gave him the second piece and he didn’t mess around. He just ate it.

We walked around the room where the art was being displayed. The artists were manning the tables, making new art which was pretty cool. I looked at a few pieces and admired the work, but the prices were way over the top for us. A 5×7 original watercolor was $120. After that, I didn’t touch anything else and returned to the store part of the venue. I did, however, decide that I needed to figure out how to paint stuff. Looks easy, right? Thinking about that for a minute brought me back to reality. Painting requires talent and ability. All I have are the physical tools. But, instead of just talking about painting isn’t getting it done. So, I’m going to give it a shot. One of these days.

There must have been 5-6 ladies working the store floor and every one of them came to visit with Max. He was pretty popular which was great because he detracted everyone from watching my struggle to keep my pants up. He’s quite a personality.

After leaving that the store, I did a search for the nearest Petco we could get a reasonably priced leash. The closest one was only a few miles away. I got the leash, and a new toy for Max, and got my belt back. It was a good trade.

All the sudden, it was time for lunch. Diane found a pet-friendly place down the road called Teaspoon. They had a large, covered patio area and we had a terrific lunch. The writing on their sign indicates they serve Breakfast, Brunch, and Lunch. No dinner.

Max spent the whole meal under the table or under my chair. Diane had a huge turkey omelet, and she’d give him a piece of turkey every now and them. He’s really a good dog.

One of the many pretty girls working at the Teaspoon couldn’t let us go without giving Max a hug. He’s a sucker for pretty girls.

We left there around 1440 and headed home after the young lady above rescued us while we were trying to get a selfie.

The chosen route took us through the heart of downtown Tucson where we’ve been a number of times. This is what it looks like. Not only are there just a few larger buildings, some really long freight trains run right through the heart of the city. They don’t go slow, either. The underpass you can see behind the barriers takes traffic under the tracks so there’s no disruption. We’ve never been that direction because the GPS always makes us take a left turn at the light, to a bridge that goes over the tracks.

Although the last photo showed some clouds in the sky, I had to include the next one to show you the Catalina Mountains as seen from the base near the Bone Yard. It’s much more dramatic that the one of downtown.

This next photo is the left side of the above mountain range taken on our way back to the valley. They call this area the Catalina Foothills.

That’s all I’ve got.