Some Tucson snowbirds stayed during the pandemic year, others did not return, according to local news

So, Koller’s Canadian friends and others from states across the country who were cautious about traveling because of the pandemic stayed away from southern Arizona.

Koller plans to return to Michigan next month or early May and then return in October.

“The worst part is that I miss my friends and family. I miss their hugs, the human touch, ”said Koller of his loved ones in Sault Ste. Marie.

Others returned hesitantly

Other winter visitors from Wisconsin, Colorado, and Michigan made their annual trip to southern Arizona last winter and plan to be on their way back to the cooler country within the next two months.

For Charles “Chuck” Hill of Eagle River, Wisconsin, he reluctantly left Green Valley last May, concerned about the pandemic, but returned safely in October. The retiree from a communications company in Naperville, Illinois, and his wife were traveling in a Chevrolet Suburban and visiting families in Washington and Oregon before arriving at their Green Valley home.

“People were more aware and cautious about the coronavirus,” said Hill, 82, noting others in his travels as they took the necessary steps last fall to ensure safety last fall.

As a member of the Green Valley Fire District Fire Brigade Corps, Hill volunteered at vaccination sites at the Santa Cruz Valley Regional Hospital. He received his injections in January and February and continues to enjoy mountain biking on trails in southern Arizona with Bob Nicholson, 76, of Grand Junction, Colorado; Bruce Gallagher, 70, of Rifle, Colorado; and Dale Sonnenberg, 72, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

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