JANUARY 17, 2019 TO CALIFORNIA, TUCSON AND BACK

January 17, Thursday

Woke early this morning and finished some last minute packing, before hitting the road from our home in Spring, Texas.  A chilly, light mist was falling as we took Hwy 99 around the west side of Houston, where we got on I-10.   This adventure will take us to California and back in about three weeks. After this, we will have traveled I-10 from coast to coast!

Nothing extraordinary as we headed toward San Antonio.  We listed to NPR for most of the way and had pretty smooth sailing.  The rain tapered off and temperatures were soon in the 60’s.

Familiar sights of West Texas.  

We were going to go as far as Van Horn, but read on some of our rv/camping aps that Van Horn passed a “no overnight parking” ordinance.  Unfortunately, this is happening more and more as towns and cities receive pressure from campgrounds that want the business.  Instead we stop a little sooner at Walmart in Fort Stockton, a well known and well used stop, encouraged by this Walmart. We have no problem using campgrounds if it is somewhere we will be for a while.  If we are just stopping for the night on our way to or from a destination, Walmart works fine.

  There ended up being about a dozen rv’ers, including 3 other Roadtreks!  I spoke with a lady in one near us – she was traveling alone from Connecticut to see her military son in California.  Taco soup for dinner. Colorful sunset.

January 18,  Friday

Greg woke very early and decided to hit the road, while Beth went back to sleep for an hour or two….waking up near El Paso, where we stopped for a breakfast sandwich and coffee. This is a large sprawling city and morning traffic was heavy but not terrible.  We stopped for some gas, but will fill up at Las Cruces, New Mexico which has always been cheaper.  Prices are all over the place.  $1.95 at home, then up to $2.45 at Fort Stockton,  $2.25 at El Paso and then a drop to $1.81 near Las Cruces!   Not looking forward to California prices!

El Paso is in a bit of a bowl with hills and mountains around it.

It gets very windy as we get to New Mexico,  passing large dairy operations and lots of pecan orchards.  There are many warning signs about dust storms and winds, and though it is very windy in spots, there is only light dust here and there.  Tumbling tumble weeds parallel the highway and sometimes bound across traffic. Most are smallish and don’t cause problems.

We see the first of many trains which criss-cross the west, many following the routes of the highways. 

Arizona beckons and we pull over at a rest stop at Texas Canyon not far over the border.  Rocks everywhere, but things are fenced off so there is little room for hiking.  Nice restrooms and picnic area, though.

 We wave to Tom & Sue as we pass Benson and decide to take a short detour through Saguaro National Park – the eastern section.  I had called ahead and found that the visitor center was closed but the driving loop was open during the government shutdown. There was a ranger at the entrance, but he wasn’t collecting any fees, just handing out brochures and answering questions.  We thanked him for his work, and took a leisurely drive through the park, stopping several times for photo ops.  

 The saguaro are amazing.  They don't even begin to get "arms" till almost 100 years old!

 Lots of other types of cactus too, a few of which we recognize.

We stop at one turn out and follow some trails a bit.  Both of us accidentally brush against some sort of cactus that sends dozens of tiny sharp hair-like spikes through our jeans and shoes.  Yikes.  We'll be picking them out for a couple of days!  What a souvenir.

The  loop was pretty busy – many bicyclists too.

Next stop was an LA Fitness in Tucson for a workout and nice hot showers.  Then on to our night’s destination – Casino Del Sol.  We have stayed here before,  in their large parking area for rv’ers.  (There were probably close to 100! )  We went inside and hit a sushi happy hour, then Greg hung out while Beth lost a quick $20.00.

It was a quiet night and we were happy to see the rv area looking neat and clean.

January 19, Saturday

We rose with the sun, and after a quick visit to the Casino restrooms and Starbucks, we hit the road again. We took a back road to avoid going through the city of Tucson, and instead went through the western part of Saguaro National Park.  The Saguaros are beautiful, along with teddy bear, cholla , prickly pear, ocotillo and many other kinds of cacti. 

  A pair of hot air balloons drifted over the park.  One might think of Arizona as flat desert, but there are quite a few mountains and hills (not to mention grand canyons!),   We passed this cute ranch.

We continued north, past an ostrich farm among other things, then turned west to bypass Phoenix and reconnect to I-10 west.

This stretch of highway is pretty uninteresting. At first there were a surprising number of cotton fields - all with irrigation.  The yellow things in the photo are large bales of cotton which have been harvested and wrapped in plastic.

Then we passed lots of desert, mostly with sand and rocks dotted with scrubby brush and occasional groups of saguaro and other cacti. 

 Lots of dry washes, some identified as rivers but dry or nearly so. We stopped by one to take a look at the rocks there….  Once you get out and look closely, there were a surprising number of flowers!

We continued on toward Quartzite which is a huge gathering place for RV’ers in the winter, snowbirds, travelers, people living in cars, dirt bikes, dune buggies.... you name it. Many people from the north spend every winter down here.  There are rv communities with amenities and social gathering places, but most seem to just stake a spot in the desert.  Town has a few gas stations, restaurants, etc.

  There is a gem show going on, as well as an RV show.  We spent a few days here one year and opt to skip the crowds and crazies this year. Lots of vehicles that are a bit "different", as are some of the characters.

 Instead we stop in for gas and then pull into the desert a few miles past town for a lunch break.  There is a lot of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land here, and folks are allowed to camp free for 14 day stretches.  We passed hundreds of rv’s of all sizes and models.  Many pulled tow cars or jeeps, ATV’s or bikes.   The weather today is perfect – blue skies, a breeze and 70-ish.   You wouldn’t want to camp here in Summer!

 Not long after Quartzite, we cross the California border.  At Blythe, we decide to detour a bit to see the Blythe Intaglio – large figures impressed onto the desert floor – similar to those in South America. They are estimated to be anywhere from 400-2000 years old and include human and animal forms.  Most identify them as Indian in origin.  Photos from the late 1890’s show more complete forms, but they were not protected till the 1970’s and parts have been destroyed. Interesting stop, but we were glad we only drove a dozen miles out of our way.

Back to good old I-10.  Beth has been looking for a night time landing spot.  We had thought of Joshua Tree Park, but last we heard it was closed due to the shut down and vandalism.  We call the Reagan Library to get some info about possibly going there tomorrow and have to leave a message.  Fortunately a really pleasant young guy returns the call and verifies that we can get tickets there (vs on-line) and gives us an estimare of how long it will take us from Palm Springs – about 2- 2 ½ hours.  We’d like to be a little closer, so opt for another Casino near Cabazon - Monogoro Casino.   Again, an rv-friendly place, as Greg counts 26 others in the RVs only parking area.

We have passed Bob Hope Hwy, Sonny Bono Boulevard, Gene Autry Trail - yes we are in California.

We get there about 4:00, relax a bit and go inside the old casino/bowling alley to stretch our legs and look around.  Greg notices that the Duke vs Virginia game is on at their little café, so we share some quesadillas and watch the last 10 minutes of an exciting game (which takes about a half hour of course).  The good guys won!  (They were showing an old Patriots vs Kansas game too.) 

The rv area is quiet, but no one warned us about the trains which rumble and toot their way through a nearby valley.   We say goodnight and hope the train traffic will slow down later! (It does.)  

That Wolf Super Moon is coming tomorrow and tonight the moon is looking bright , but not very clear on a hazy night.