Leaving Las Cruces, New Mexico, we were finally off to a destination where we would be staying more than one evening. We stopped at a Walmart to stock up on food and supplies because we were attending an event called Escapade for the next five days. Escapade is hosted by the RV Club we belong to called Escapees, which is where we get our mail and have our domicile address. Escapade is basically a convention for Escapees members, with seminars during the day and socials at night. There are also vendors there, the same as you would find at any convention, including RVs for sale that you can go through to see and experience.
Escapade was being held at the Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, Arizona. We had planned to be in Tucson a few days later but when we heard about Escapade, we compressed some of our stays in Texas and New Mexico to squeeze this event into our schedule! There were 871 RVs at the Pima County Fairgrounds for Escapade and a total of 1,980 attendees at the event. There were full hookup sites available for RVs, along with sites that had electrical only, and sites that had no hookups. We chose a site with full hookups of course. Our RV site was fairly close to the facility that had a general meeting every evening with door prizes (and entertainment on some evenings) and the area of the fairgrounds where the afternoon socials were held. 
During the five-day event, we attended seminars on Planning a Trip to Alaska (hoping to do that in a couple of years); Visiting National and State Parks in Utah (we had some of these planned for this year); Tips for Cooking in Your RV; Planning Routes for RV Travel; Maximizing Escapees Benefits; and Things to Consider When Purchasing an E-Bike. We also made a few purchases from vendors at the event.
Of course, we attended every afternoon social; with free beer, wine, margaritas, mixed drinks, and snacks. On our first day at Escapade, there was a special social just for first-time Escapade attendees that we attended. We also attended a social for a group of Escapees called Xscapers, which are mostly younger RVers who work from the road, but they welcome retired RVers like us to their group. 
The entertainment each evening included a country-western band called Few Miles South; a pop cover band called The Status Crowes; and dances and music from a Native American group called Native Spirit. One evening our entertainment was from fellow Escapade attendees, called "Escapade’s Got Talent."
On one day during Escapade, Pat participated in an event called Dip a Chip for CARE. Escapees CARE is a charitable organization run by Escapees, whose mission is to provide a safe haven with professional assistance at affordable prices for members whose travels are permanently ended because of age or temporarily interrupted because of health problems. The Dip a Chip event was a fundraiser where Escapade participants lined up for a taste and made donations (for CARE) to the dips that they liked the best. Pat made a spicy Cajun Crab Dip that one reviewer called, "so delicious" (you know the reviewer was Tim, right?). Pat's dip raised $48 for CARE.
We also made many new friends at Escapade. Escapees has various subgroups that members can join, called Birds of a Feather. One of those subgroups is called Stonewall, which is a group for LGBTQ+ Escapees members and their friends. Stonewall had a meetup at one of the afternoon socials, where we made new friends in Lupe, Sky, Linda, Lisa, Brady, and Jeffrey. We were even invited to take part in a tradition (not sure how longstanding) of packing the largest/nicest women’s restroom for a photo shoot! We hope to meet up with these new friends somewhere down the road. We also made some new friends at the Status Crowes concert one night when we sat and chatted all evening with Kathi and Shawn from Texas. 
Overall, we really enjoyed our first Escapade. We look forward to attending another Escapade in the future and keeping in touch with our new friends.
Pima County Fairgrounds, located in Tucson, Arizona, has an annual fair, but also hosts many other events (like Escapade) and concerts. Facilities include four buildings (including a large convention space and a large auditorium), an outdoor park, RV and camping space, stage and concert areas, and a large equestrian facility. There were also food trucks and an indoor bar available while we were there, but it isn’t clear if these are available outside of events held at the Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds has beautiful mountain views and great sunset viewing.
There are over 400 RV sites available at the Pima County Fairgrounds. The sites include full and partial hookups or dry camping. The website states that the Fairgrounds doesn’t take reservations except for events hosted at the Fairgrounds but it also states that it is open year-round. In reaching out to Pima County Fairgrounds for more information, they stated that RV sites are available on a first come, first served basis, except when there is an event happening at the Fairgrounds.
The RV parking area includes a dog park, laundry room, dump station (if you don’t get a sewer hookup site), fitness and nature trail, restrooms/showers, and picnic areas. The RV sites are on dirt and gravel, with no picnic tables, fire pits, or grills located on the sites. Our RV site was a bit unlevel. We probably would not choose The RV Park At the Pima County Fairgrounds for camping unless we were there for an event, as there are other outstanding RV campgrounds available in Tucson (see the next post), but we can’t imagine many county fairgrounds having facilities this nice.
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