The drive between Carlsbad KOA and our next destination, San Angelo, is a long and rather boring one, except for the occasional dust storm and the huge trucks which frequent this part of the World.
We moved to the border of New Mexico and Texas, and just before crossing into Texas we came across the little town of Hobbs, New Mexico. Hobbs being the monica of one of our best mates, we could not resist stopping to take photos of the town's welcome sign, and I am sure it will look good blown up and hung above the door of Hobbs' house in Mona Vale.
We checked in to a nice RV park in San Angelo late in the afternoon, and planned to explore the town next morning prior to the four to five hour drive to San Antonio - a place we have heard a lot about and really want to see.
Wednesday, 30 April 2014
Sunday, 27 April 2014
Carlsbad Caverns
An early start from El Paso and a three hour drive to Carlsbad Caverns today. The wind was not quite as strong early, but bared its teeth not far into the trip, and we could see great clouds of dust again in the distance.
The drive to Carlsbad Caverns was spectacular in many places. The desert scrub gave way to grass trees and then prairie grasses. As we started to climb the mountians, the vistas were exceptional - mile after mile of beautiful cliffs and mountians, though the wind in the mountain areas was a bit scary at times. Brian did a great job of ploughing through 50+ mph cross winds that buffeted the RV and got the awnings on the slideouts flapping. It even caused the skylight in the bathroom to pop up, and we couldn' get it closed again, so travelled with it open, half expecting the wind to rip it off at any stage, but it held firm.
Carlsbad Caverns was a delight. The descent underground to 750ft was either by walk in or by lift - it was no contest really. The ride down took about 1 minute, and when we reached the bottom and entered the caves we were spellbound by the beauty of nature. It is no wonder that theses caves are referred to as the eighth wonder of the world, and are a US National Treasure.
The pathways through the caves are all bitumen, so there is no sloshing through mud, and the sheer volume of the caverns meant that claustrophobia was not an issue. The features are well lit, and there are information panels at every turn. The whole trip throught the caverns took over an hour to complete at a pretty steady pace - there are literally kilometres of caves to explore. We saw stalegtites, stalegmites, columns, shawls and other things we can't remember the names of. It was really like a fairyland and we half expected to see fairies or elves (or something like that) at the next turn. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and we would recommend the caves to anyone visiting the US. It is right up there with the best we have seen in this country, and they deserve a better reputation.
From there it was on to the Carlsbad KOA near Lake Brantley State Park. It was highly rated as an RV Park, and we would agree that the reputaton is well deserved. The staff are friendly and very obliging, and Brian has made friends with everyone. Jimmy even came over and helped us to "fix" the delinquent hatch in the bathroom. The showers are extremely clean and the park is well kept. It was a good find.
Tomorrow we start our trip towards the Texas Gulf Coast. We plan to go through a town called Hobbs, where we will take some photos - Hobbs is the nickname of one of our best mates. We intend to get to San Angelo tomorrow. Just a lazy four to five hour drive.
Cheers.
The drive to Carlsbad Caverns was spectacular in many places. The desert scrub gave way to grass trees and then prairie grasses. As we started to climb the mountians, the vistas were exceptional - mile after mile of beautiful cliffs and mountians, though the wind in the mountain areas was a bit scary at times. Brian did a great job of ploughing through 50+ mph cross winds that buffeted the RV and got the awnings on the slideouts flapping. It even caused the skylight in the bathroom to pop up, and we couldn' get it closed again, so travelled with it open, half expecting the wind to rip it off at any stage, but it held firm.
Carlsbad Caverns was a delight. The descent underground to 750ft was either by walk in or by lift - it was no contest really. The ride down took about 1 minute, and when we reached the bottom and entered the caves we were spellbound by the beauty of nature. It is no wonder that theses caves are referred to as the eighth wonder of the world, and are a US National Treasure.
The pathways through the caves are all bitumen, so there is no sloshing through mud, and the sheer volume of the caverns meant that claustrophobia was not an issue. The features are well lit, and there are information panels at every turn. The whole trip throught the caverns took over an hour to complete at a pretty steady pace - there are literally kilometres of caves to explore. We saw stalegtites, stalegmites, columns, shawls and other things we can't remember the names of. It was really like a fairyland and we half expected to see fairies or elves (or something like that) at the next turn. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and we would recommend the caves to anyone visiting the US. It is right up there with the best we have seen in this country, and they deserve a better reputation.
From there it was on to the Carlsbad KOA near Lake Brantley State Park. It was highly rated as an RV Park, and we would agree that the reputaton is well deserved. The staff are friendly and very obliging, and Brian has made friends with everyone. Jimmy even came over and helped us to "fix" the delinquent hatch in the bathroom. The showers are extremely clean and the park is well kept. It was a good find.
Tomorrow we start our trip towards the Texas Gulf Coast. We plan to go through a town called Hobbs, where we will take some photos - Hobbs is the nickname of one of our best mates. We intend to get to San Angelo tomorrow. Just a lazy four to five hour drive.
Cheers.
Saturday, 26 April 2014
And Then Came The Dust
We had been hearing predictions of strong winds for Saturday in SW Texas and New Mexico, and the forecasts were spot on.
Saturday morning the wind had picked up a little, but it wasn't a problem. There was a bit of dust in the air, and the temperature was around 80F.
While the boys headed off to rent a car for the day so we could go sightseeing, the girls attended to the mundane chore of keeping the washing up to date. Ho hum but got to be done !
After picking up the girls, we headed for the discount cowboy outfitters - the first one had a good selection of boots, but not in the size we were after. The second one - "Cowtown", had an advertised 20,000 pairs of boots, and it sure looked like it. The place was massive, and we managed to find a pair of natural python skin boots with leather tops in just the right colour at just the right price.
Shopping sorted, we headed for the city centre, and the wind picked up another few notches. Too windy for most activities. We managed to find a parking spot and wandered down El Paso Street. Lots of shops selling bargain basement priced goods - reminiscent somewhat of Asia or even Fiji, but without the aggression. We did not find anything which took our fancy, so we headed for lunch.
The event manager of the Mini launch that we attended (crashed) on Friday night had told us that if we wanted great food, to visit her restaurant - Cafe Central - so that is what we did. This is a fine dining restaurant - far removed from the usual American diner or family restaurants that are dotted all over. The food was excellent, and the service was impeccable.
And still the wind kept increasing outside.
We made the brave decision to once again walk down El Paso Street. At the end of the street is the bridge that connects USA with Mexico. We did it. We carried on past the end of the street, paid our fare of 25c each and crossed into Mexico - just for a look and to say we have been there.
And the wind blew.
If we thought that downtown El Paso was a little seedy, it had nothing on the entry to Mexico at Juarez. Everthing looked to be falling down or apart, the place was littered with all sorts of rubbish, and the locals were trying to sell anything they could lay their hands on - the deck of the bridge connecting the countries was choked with cars waiting at the border checks, and the Mexicans were in and out of the traffic with all manor of goodies and washing windows. It was quite comical really.
It was not hard to make the decision to beat a hasty retreat right back to the good old USA. We paid our 35c entry fee, crossed the bridge, and waited patiently in line at the border control. Rod was first through and got the third degree from the crossing guard - I don't think he could really believe that we came all the way from Australia. And he certainly was confused that we had spent only a few minutes (about 3) in Mexico. After a couple of minites interrogation, he allowed Rod to enter, and then one by one the rest of the party followed after a few questions and shaking of his head.
And the wind continued to blow, and the visibility dropped even further.
By this stage it was after 4pm, and it was getting darker. We could only see about 500m, and dust blew in great gusts across the roads as we drove back to the RV park and sanctuary.
And the wind blew.
The RV park is now filling with caravans and rigs trying to avoid the wind and dust. We heard that the I10 Interstate highway that we travelled over the past few days had been completely closed today, as there is zero visibilty in the desert due to dust. We at least have a base.
Hopefully tomorrow will bring calmer conditions and a drop in wind speed and dust. We don't fancy trying to drive this big rig in high winds, but we don't want to lose any time either - so much to see and so little time. The forecast is for lighter winds, so lets hope they get that right too.
We are now washing the dust from our throats, and a visit to the showers is also high on our priority list so that we can give back some of the dust we have accumulateed in various unnamed places today.
Tomorrow is Carlsbad Caverns - hopefully.
Cheers,
Saturday morning the wind had picked up a little, but it wasn't a problem. There was a bit of dust in the air, and the temperature was around 80F.
While the boys headed off to rent a car for the day so we could go sightseeing, the girls attended to the mundane chore of keeping the washing up to date. Ho hum but got to be done !
After picking up the girls, we headed for the discount cowboy outfitters - the first one had a good selection of boots, but not in the size we were after. The second one - "Cowtown", had an advertised 20,000 pairs of boots, and it sure looked like it. The place was massive, and we managed to find a pair of natural python skin boots with leather tops in just the right colour at just the right price.
Shopping sorted, we headed for the city centre, and the wind picked up another few notches. Too windy for most activities. We managed to find a parking spot and wandered down El Paso Street. Lots of shops selling bargain basement priced goods - reminiscent somewhat of Asia or even Fiji, but without the aggression. We did not find anything which took our fancy, so we headed for lunch.
The event manager of the Mini launch that we attended (crashed) on Friday night had told us that if we wanted great food, to visit her restaurant - Cafe Central - so that is what we did. This is a fine dining restaurant - far removed from the usual American diner or family restaurants that are dotted all over. The food was excellent, and the service was impeccable.
And still the wind kept increasing outside.
We made the brave decision to once again walk down El Paso Street. At the end of the street is the bridge that connects USA with Mexico. We did it. We carried on past the end of the street, paid our fare of 25c each and crossed into Mexico - just for a look and to say we have been there.
And the wind blew.
If we thought that downtown El Paso was a little seedy, it had nothing on the entry to Mexico at Juarez. Everthing looked to be falling down or apart, the place was littered with all sorts of rubbish, and the locals were trying to sell anything they could lay their hands on - the deck of the bridge connecting the countries was choked with cars waiting at the border checks, and the Mexicans were in and out of the traffic with all manor of goodies and washing windows. It was quite comical really.
It was not hard to make the decision to beat a hasty retreat right back to the good old USA. We paid our 35c entry fee, crossed the bridge, and waited patiently in line at the border control. Rod was first through and got the third degree from the crossing guard - I don't think he could really believe that we came all the way from Australia. And he certainly was confused that we had spent only a few minutes (about 3) in Mexico. After a couple of minites interrogation, he allowed Rod to enter, and then one by one the rest of the party followed after a few questions and shaking of his head.
And the wind continued to blow, and the visibility dropped even further.
By this stage it was after 4pm, and it was getting darker. We could only see about 500m, and dust blew in great gusts across the roads as we drove back to the RV park and sanctuary.
And the wind blew.
The RV park is now filling with caravans and rigs trying to avoid the wind and dust. We heard that the I10 Interstate highway that we travelled over the past few days had been completely closed today, as there is zero visibilty in the desert due to dust. We at least have a base.
Hopefully tomorrow will bring calmer conditions and a drop in wind speed and dust. We don't fancy trying to drive this big rig in high winds, but we don't want to lose any time either - so much to see and so little time. The forecast is for lighter winds, so lets hope they get that right too.
We are now washing the dust from our throats, and a visit to the showers is also high on our priority list so that we can give back some of the dust we have accumulateed in various unnamed places today.
Tomorrow is Carlsbad Caverns - hopefully.
Cheers,
Friday, 25 April 2014
Mesilla and on To El Paso
Friday in New Mexico - another glorious morning - not a cloud in the sky - a light breeze keeping the temperature to bearable - somewhere around what we guess to be 30C.
First stop today was the beautiful little village of Mesilla - just a few miles from our overnight stay, and right on the banks of the Rio Grande. The river is completely dry at the moment - it is dammed in winter and the water from the thawing snow will be released at the end of April in time for the summer.
In Mesilla we found a true to life New Mexican village complete with authentic adobe dwellings, shops, restaurants and more. We found a great courtyard cafe for morning snacks, then wandered the streets looking at shops, stalls and artefacts, and conversing with the locals. The girls found some beautiful sterling silver jewellery to buy, and the guys just hung around and paid for the purchases. After a great couple of hours, we headed for El Paso.
To say that the freeways and road network in El Paso can be confusing is a complete understatement. The freeway system is like spaghetti, and completely congested with trucks of all shapes and sizes, and thanks to the GPS system and some good navigating by co-pilot Brian, Rod managed to untangle the web and find the RV park. It is quite near one of the biggest freeway knots we have ever seen, and there are still 2 more sections to be built. When Marty Robins sang about El Paso, I am sure it was a quaint Mexican border town. It ain't that no more. On the US side there are almost 1 million people, and on the Mexican side of the Rio Grand in Cuidad Juaraz there are about 2.5 million.
We called a taxi to take us to a shopping centre and somewhere we could get a really cold beer. The driver was a genius, and he dropped us at a brand new "pub" called Twin Peaks. As the name suggests, it is somewhat like Hooters - a real man cave, and as promised, the beers were extremely cold - served at 29F, just below freezing point. They were in fact ice slushies, and we lapped them up.
Just across the way we also found a western outfitters, and Rod bought some new shirt. We looked through the vast array of cowboy boots, and tried on a few cowboy hats just for the fun of a few photo.
After that we headed further into the shopping centre - we could hear a band somewhere close, and we followed the sounds to the promenande level of the shops. There we struck GOLD.
It turned out that Mini El Paso - the car Mini that is - was having a huge launch of the new model, and we managed to gate crash what was the hottest ticket in town. There was entertainment, beautiful gourmet food, and free drinks - we loaded up on mini burgers, fish and chips served in little glasses, beautiful beef dishes, goats cheese and cranberries and chocolate and pina colada mousse desserts. We love America.
We managed to spend a few hours rubbing shoulders with the A list of El Paso, enjoying the food and particularly the Marguaritas, made there in front of us - they were served icy cold in cups the size of wine glasses - until the Marguarita girls decided they liked Aussies, and the upsized us to cups the size of milkshake containers.
Eventually we called the same cab driver to take us back to our RV. He was a funny guy, and we learned that he was originally from New Mexico, lived for much of his life in New York, came back after being divorced, owned the cab, lived over the border in Mexico, was 67 years old and had a 26 year old girlfriend.
We have retired to the RV for the evening - very tired, but satisfied that our trip is right on traack. There could be a slight problem tomorrow, with gale force winds and dust storms predicted, and travel in high profile vehicles (such as RV's) not recommended. It looks like we will have to stay in El Paso another day.
I wonder what product launch we can find tomorrrow night.
Cheers.
First stop today was the beautiful little village of Mesilla - just a few miles from our overnight stay, and right on the banks of the Rio Grande. The river is completely dry at the moment - it is dammed in winter and the water from the thawing snow will be released at the end of April in time for the summer.
In Mesilla we found a true to life New Mexican village complete with authentic adobe dwellings, shops, restaurants and more. We found a great courtyard cafe for morning snacks, then wandered the streets looking at shops, stalls and artefacts, and conversing with the locals. The girls found some beautiful sterling silver jewellery to buy, and the guys just hung around and paid for the purchases. After a great couple of hours, we headed for El Paso.
To say that the freeways and road network in El Paso can be confusing is a complete understatement. The freeway system is like spaghetti, and completely congested with trucks of all shapes and sizes, and thanks to the GPS system and some good navigating by co-pilot Brian, Rod managed to untangle the web and find the RV park. It is quite near one of the biggest freeway knots we have ever seen, and there are still 2 more sections to be built. When Marty Robins sang about El Paso, I am sure it was a quaint Mexican border town. It ain't that no more. On the US side there are almost 1 million people, and on the Mexican side of the Rio Grand in Cuidad Juaraz there are about 2.5 million.
We called a taxi to take us to a shopping centre and somewhere we could get a really cold beer. The driver was a genius, and he dropped us at a brand new "pub" called Twin Peaks. As the name suggests, it is somewhat like Hooters - a real man cave, and as promised, the beers were extremely cold - served at 29F, just below freezing point. They were in fact ice slushies, and we lapped them up.
Just across the way we also found a western outfitters, and Rod bought some new shirt. We looked through the vast array of cowboy boots, and tried on a few cowboy hats just for the fun of a few photo.
After that we headed further into the shopping centre - we could hear a band somewhere close, and we followed the sounds to the promenande level of the shops. There we struck GOLD.
It turned out that Mini El Paso - the car Mini that is - was having a huge launch of the new model, and we managed to gate crash what was the hottest ticket in town. There was entertainment, beautiful gourmet food, and free drinks - we loaded up on mini burgers, fish and chips served in little glasses, beautiful beef dishes, goats cheese and cranberries and chocolate and pina colada mousse desserts. We love America.
We managed to spend a few hours rubbing shoulders with the A list of El Paso, enjoying the food and particularly the Marguaritas, made there in front of us - they were served icy cold in cups the size of wine glasses - until the Marguarita girls decided they liked Aussies, and the upsized us to cups the size of milkshake containers.
Eventually we called the same cab driver to take us back to our RV. He was a funny guy, and we learned that he was originally from New Mexico, lived for much of his life in New York, came back after being divorced, owned the cab, lived over the border in Mexico, was 67 years old and had a 26 year old girlfriend.
We have retired to the RV for the evening - very tired, but satisfied that our trip is right on traack. There could be a slight problem tomorrow, with gale force winds and dust storms predicted, and travel in high profile vehicles (such as RV's) not recommended. It looks like we will have to stay in El Paso another day.
I wonder what product launch we can find tomorrrow night.
Cheers.
Thursday, 24 April 2014
Travelling Day - Tucson to Las Cruces
The GPS tells us that the distance to Las Cruces (City of Crosses) is about 300 miles (500km). We returned the rental car in Tucson, and took off south towards the junction of the borders of New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. We decided that El Paso was just a touch too far for the drive today, and settled on Las Cruses as an intermediate stopover in a highly recommended RV park.
The drive through ever changing desert scenery was an eye opener. Not far out of Tucson the Saguaro cactus disappeared, and there was more vegetation - mainly scrub, cactus and then prairie grasses. The whole area is surrounded by mountains, and driving across the floor of the valley gave us some great scenic backdrops.
The speed limit through this part of the desert is 75mph (120km) and our RV copes well with this speed. We are still not the fastest rig on the road - trucks and other RV's speed past, but we are comfortable driving at this speed - the roads are well made and wide, and there are police cars everywhere. Brian and Rod are taking turns at driving - about 1.5 hours at a stretch.
We stopped a few times en route. One of the stops was at an Indian Trading Post, where there were thousands of artefacts on sale - most made in China !! They also sell fireworks in this part of the world - and the trading post had all kinds and sizes, and even had a package deal for $600 - a real bargain - wonder how we can get them back to Oz?
After a stop at Wal Mart for more provisions, we made it to Las Cruces well before dark, and found a great KOA campground with sensational views over the town and surrounding mountains. And GREAT WIFI. We can now catch up on the Blog.
We managed to find a great little patio with comfy chairs and we spent a lovely evening watching the lights below us and planning the activities of tomorrow.
One funny incident occurred when Rod and Helen both headed for the shower block. Neither knew at the time that they had neglected to take a towel with them, and Rod managed to dry himself on the bath mat from the disabled shower. Helen was not as lucky, as someone was using the disabled shower, so she had to dry herself with the shorts she had been wearing.
You have to laugh.
Brian continues to be Mr Social - at every opportunity he disappears, and we know instantly that he is prowling the RV park looking for someone to talk to. He never fails to find some poor traveller with an ear to bend. I must say however, that he often comes back with a snippet of information on destinations, RV parks or the like. He is our official information gatherer.
Tomorrow we are going to head into El Paso, Texas, and we will book into an RV park that has been recommended (to Brian of course). From there we plan to hire a car and see the sights. There is a cable car that looks interesting, and we might look for the famed "Roses Cantina".
Cheers from New Mexico,
The drive through ever changing desert scenery was an eye opener. Not far out of Tucson the Saguaro cactus disappeared, and there was more vegetation - mainly scrub, cactus and then prairie grasses. The whole area is surrounded by mountains, and driving across the floor of the valley gave us some great scenic backdrops.
The speed limit through this part of the desert is 75mph (120km) and our RV copes well with this speed. We are still not the fastest rig on the road - trucks and other RV's speed past, but we are comfortable driving at this speed - the roads are well made and wide, and there are police cars everywhere. Brian and Rod are taking turns at driving - about 1.5 hours at a stretch.
We stopped a few times en route. One of the stops was at an Indian Trading Post, where there were thousands of artefacts on sale - most made in China !! They also sell fireworks in this part of the world - and the trading post had all kinds and sizes, and even had a package deal for $600 - a real bargain - wonder how we can get them back to Oz?
After a stop at Wal Mart for more provisions, we made it to Las Cruces well before dark, and found a great KOA campground with sensational views over the town and surrounding mountains. And GREAT WIFI. We can now catch up on the Blog.
We managed to find a great little patio with comfy chairs and we spent a lovely evening watching the lights below us and planning the activities of tomorrow.
One funny incident occurred when Rod and Helen both headed for the shower block. Neither knew at the time that they had neglected to take a towel with them, and Rod managed to dry himself on the bath mat from the disabled shower. Helen was not as lucky, as someone was using the disabled shower, so she had to dry herself with the shorts she had been wearing.
You have to laugh.
Brian continues to be Mr Social - at every opportunity he disappears, and we know instantly that he is prowling the RV park looking for someone to talk to. He never fails to find some poor traveller with an ear to bend. I must say however, that he often comes back with a snippet of information on destinations, RV parks or the like. He is our official information gatherer.
Tomorrow we are going to head into El Paso, Texas, and we will book into an RV park that has been recommended (to Brian of course). From there we plan to hire a car and see the sights. There is a cable car that looks interesting, and we might look for the famed "Roses Cantina".
Cheers from New Mexico,
Tucson
Our day in Tuson has been really good. We decided that since the place is so spread out, and there were a few things we really wantd to see, that we would hire a car for a day. That turned out to be a great decision.
Our first point of call was the Arizona Sonora Desert Musem. It was highly recommended, and it is a bit of a misnomer. It is not really a museum but a real live desert environment - a 1.6km walk on paved trails, and a 1km walk on a pathway through the desert. This is a fascinating place, and despite the heat (90+ degrees), it does not feel as appressive as similar temperatures at home. We wandered the trails for hours, seeking out and finding a host of desert animals, including coyote, ocelot, bob cats, prarie dogs, hevelinas, rattle snakes, tarantuals, wolf spiders and pythons to name a few. The closeup views of the various species of cactus, and the giant saguaros and the skeletons of dead saguaros were fascinating. There is so much life in the desert. It was a fascinating few hours. We enjoyed it immensely.
From there we moved on to Old Tuscon - a town built for the movies in the 1950's, including lots of John Wayne movies, sets for Little House on the Prairie and many more. The movie momorabilia was good, but thats about where this place ended. The rest was a tacky cash grab reminiscent of Old Sydney Town or similar. We didn't spend long there.
Our next destination was the San Xavier Mission - a beautiful Catholic Church set in the middle of the San Xavier Indian Reservation. The church has been really faithfully kept and is a credit to the priests and the local parishoners.
Having the hire car made things really easy to find a good restaurant for dinner - BJ's was a great venue, and we retired early after a vey busy and enjoyable day.
We are getting really confident now driving on the right hand (wrong) side of the road, and we have not had any close calls to date. Lets hope that continues.
Tomorrrow we head towards El Paso.
Our first point of call was the Arizona Sonora Desert Musem. It was highly recommended, and it is a bit of a misnomer. It is not really a museum but a real live desert environment - a 1.6km walk on paved trails, and a 1km walk on a pathway through the desert. This is a fascinating place, and despite the heat (90+ degrees), it does not feel as appressive as similar temperatures at home. We wandered the trails for hours, seeking out and finding a host of desert animals, including coyote, ocelot, bob cats, prarie dogs, hevelinas, rattle snakes, tarantuals, wolf spiders and pythons to name a few. The closeup views of the various species of cactus, and the giant saguaros and the skeletons of dead saguaros were fascinating. There is so much life in the desert. It was a fascinating few hours. We enjoyed it immensely.
From there we moved on to Old Tuscon - a town built for the movies in the 1950's, including lots of John Wayne movies, sets for Little House on the Prairie and many more. The movie momorabilia was good, but thats about where this place ended. The rest was a tacky cash grab reminiscent of Old Sydney Town or similar. We didn't spend long there.
Our next destination was the San Xavier Mission - a beautiful Catholic Church set in the middle of the San Xavier Indian Reservation. The church has been really faithfully kept and is a credit to the priests and the local parishoners.
Having the hire car made things really easy to find a good restaurant for dinner - BJ's was a great venue, and we retired early after a vey busy and enjoyable day.
We are getting really confident now driving on the right hand (wrong) side of the road, and we have not had any close calls to date. Lets hope that continues.
Tomorrrow we head towards El Paso.
Tuesday, 22 April 2014
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.
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.
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