Saguaro Country

Hello from Saguaro Country.  The Saguaro Cactus, pronounced SAH-WAH-RO, is indigenous to the Sonoran desert of southern Arizona and northern Mexico, in the state of Chihuahua, yet is a symbol of the entire southwest.

Saguaros in Catalina State Park, outside Tucson

 
We decided to stay in Benson, Arizona instead of Tucson, because it was more centrally located to places we wanted to see.  We stayed in an out of the way park named Pato Blanco RV park, which translates to white duck.  It was a very nice park with artesian ponds on the premises.

The artisian lakes at Pato Blanco Lakes RV Park

We decided to stay here for five days, so we could have our mail delivered from California and get some things done in Tumbleweed.  People were very friendly and there were a lot of activities scheduled.  A lot of the residents have stayed here for several months.  They invited us to have donuts and coffee the next morning and Pete's eyes lit up.  He rarely turns down a donut.  They also had a 60s-70s dance with a live band on Saturday but we did not attend as we were in Bisbee.


Bisbee was an interesting town.  One of the other campers from California likened it to Sausalito.  I would say he hasn't been to Sausalito in a very long time.  The entire town is built on a hillside and the similarity ends there.  The main attraction is the Queen Mine, which is an old copper mine that you can tour.  It is 47 degrees year round and since we didn't bring jackets, we passed on the tour and just explored the town.  It kind of reminded me of Haight Ashbury in the 60s.  Very eclectic.  Not our style at all.

Overview of Bisbee

Pete found a camper he liked

We stopped in Tombstone on our way back, even though we'd been there before and were treated to a gunfight. 

While in Tombstone, we happened by the Tombstone Fire Department.  We met the nicest fireman named Robert, who, after hearing about son Eric, promptly went into the office and returned with a Tombstone F.D. T-shirt and patch.  He was deeply moved by Eric's situation and strength.  Thank you Robert.

Sunday we took a drive back in to Tucson to see the saguaros and do some shopping. We encountered a street fair on 4th Avenue, which was great! Lots of cool booths and stores, but very crowded.

4th Avenue Street Fair, Tucson

Pete and his new friend

Pete met a friend.  This picture is for Julie, who I'm told loved Hello Kitty when she was a little girl.

                    

We had dinner at a great Mexican restaurant and still had time to get to Saguaro National Park in time for the sunset. 

Pete enjoying an Arizona desert evening

                               

A beautiful sunset in the Sonoran desert

                                          

We head for New Mexico in the morning.  Arizona has been a wonderful stop.  We have enjoyed spending time with our family and friends in western Arizona and our time alone in the southeast.  We look forward to seeing what New Mexico has to offer.  First stop will be the City of Rocks State Park outside of Deming.  Cheers!

Land of Enchantment

We are now in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment.  We left Arizona on Tuesday, the 25th of March and planned to stay at the City of Rocks State Park, near Deming.  However, when we arrived there was no place large enough for us to park.  We were disappointed as our friends in Quartzsite had said it was a great place to camp and hike.  In the end, we stayed at an Escapees Rainbow park in Deming for one night, and then drove a few miles east to Las Cruces, which is the second largest city in New Mexico.  Our plan was to stay there for three nights, but we actually stayed four.

White sand as far as the eye can see

 
There are some very interesting things to see around Las Cruces.  Probably the most interesting for us was the White Sands National Monument.   It is the largest area of gypsum sand dunes in the world.  The sand is soft and very bright to look at in the sun.  It looks like snow, and there were many families there with saucers and snowboards.  They were sliding down the hills, just as if it were snow, but they had on shorts and were barefoot.  Lots of barbeques and picnicking going on as well.

Cheers!  She made it to the top.  
Linda's exercise for the day

'Snowboarders' on White Sand

Patriot missile

Also in the White Sands area, is the White Sands Missile Range.  This is where the first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945, at the Trinity Site.  The designing, building and ultimate detonation was known as the Manhattan Project.  The missile range is still an active part of the United States Army and continues to provide missile testing and recovery among other operations.  Parts of it are open to the public and there is a wonderful museum and missile display.

The white sands must be a very good area for air and space travel as there are also the Air & Space Museum in Alamogordo and Spaceport America, the first commercial space flight company, 30 miles north.  We were unable to tour Spaceport America, as they were not open, but we did go to the Air & Space Museum.

Ham, the chimpanzee, in his capsule

An Apollo type space capsule

The museum was fascinating!  Twenty eight countries participated in the completion by donating artifacts and exhibits of man's conquest of space.  There were displays of space travel vehicles, satellites and even the capsule that Ham, the first chimpanzee sent into space, rode in.  Ham is buried at the site of the museum.  There is also an IMAX theater on site that doubles as a planetarium.  It has different features throughout the week.  We happened to see a documentary called Tornado Alley, which was very informative.

One of the highlights of Las Cruces itself was the Veterans Memorial Park, honoring veterans from all wars and a special tribute to the soldiers involved in the Bataan Death March.  What those soldiers endured on that 60 mile march, was horrible beyond belief.  Many of them didn't survive and those who did, suffered horrific abuse at the hands of the Japanese soldiers once they arrived at the concentration camp.  Once again we are reminded of the sacrifices of many for the freedoms we take for granted.

Statue of soldiers from the Bataan Death March of WWII

We are now in a very nice RV resort in Elephant Butte, outside of Truth or Consequences.  T or C is known for its' mineral hot springs and Ralph Edwards.  It is also known as the last place where Linda's grandparents lived.  We were able to find their house and must say, it was the best looking on the block...maybe the whole town.  Time has not been kind to T or C.

We move on in the morning to Albuquerque, where we hope to spend at least a couple of weeks and travel by car to places like Santa Fe and Taos.  We are looking forward to it.  Cheers!