Phoenix and Tucson

The scenery on the drive between Las Vegas and the southwest is something to behold.  The high desert is a harsh and unforgiving environment full of nothing but tumbleweed, giant saguaro cactus and Joshua trees.  The Saguaro are like sentinels in the desert who are guarding the gateway to their territory - their arms rigidly straight, and always the middle finger raised higher than the rest, giving us the bird. There are literally millions and millions of them, lining the hills and filling the valleys.

We motored into Phoenix with high hopes. We settled on an RV park a little out of town, and called a cab to take us into the heart of the city to see the sights.  The cab driver had no idea of where to go or what to see in Phoenix, and dropped us at a shopping centre where we had a great lunch and did some shopping for the essentials.  We called a cab to take us back, and after a great deal of difficulty in establishing exactly where we were, managed to get a cab on the second attempt after about an hour.

We have established that the favourite saying in Phoenix is "I wouldn't have a clue". It seemed to be the standard answer we got to just about any question relating to tourism, or where to go or what to do, so we made the decision to cut from here and head for Tucson - smaller and much more to our taste.

From the moment we entered Tucson, it had a much better feel to it. For a start, the temperature here is about ten degrees cooler. Still it was 93F Somewhere in the mid 30'sC. There is little to no humidity, and it is very comfortable in the shade, and even bearable in the sun.

We spent a lovely afternoon walking the streets off the inner part of Tucson, having visited the Visitors Centre and been shown where to go.  Rod had a haircut - "a regular gentlemans cut" and we found a shopping centre, where the checkout guy gave us a VIP discount which saved us 45% on the shelf price.

We checked in to the Prince of Tucson RV park and headed for the pool.  A few cold beverages and a good meal will recharge the batteries, after a long and very hot day.

Tomorrow w will see the sights of Tucson - the western desert museum, maybe the old town of Toombstone and more.  This is a very interesting part of the world, and Brian has already met and conversed with most of the people on the RV park.  He should get some good tips from them.

As night falls, the temperature is dropping to a very pleasant level. Hopefully the night will be cool,enough for a decent sleep.