USA January 2010

Sunday 31 January (Tucson AZ)
A day for errands....stocking up my van with food for the road for the next week....Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and Safeway! Dinner at Zona 78 with Clay and Becky.

Saturday 30 January (Tucson AZ)
Overnight return flight from Kona to Tucson via San Francisco and Denver was uneventful....very full airplanes and we were even early landing in all three cities.

11-30 January (Hawaii Big Island)
Having a wonderful time on the Big Island!!! I am staying with friends in Papa'aloa on the east side of the big island of Hawaii near Laupahoehoe. This is the more lush and green side of the island because it does get more rain but usually as scattered thunderstorms....we have had some gorgeous weather. The west side of the island near Kona is more dry and barren and also hot and humid so quite refreshing to be here. We have done several day trips and walks to explore the sites and history of the island.

I am not sure when I will get to internet...I needed to get warm...so booked flight to Hawaii 11-30 January using United mileage to visit friends who just moved there from SF! Plus I can stow my van at friend's house in Tucson!

Sunday 10 January (Tucson AZ)
Overnight with Clay and Becky in Tucson and then early morning ride to the Tucson airport on Monday for flight to Kona via LAX.

Saturday 9 January (Green Valley AZ)
Hanging out with Gail at the Green Valley RV Resort.

Friday 8 January (Amado AZ)
Getting organized at the Mountain View RV Ranch....warmer sunny day.

Thursday 7 January (Patagonia Lake to Amado AZ 55 miles)
Short drive via Nogales (close to Mexico again) to Amado Mountain View RV Ranch and then up to Green Valley to visit with Gail. I did see property for sale near Nogales advertised as Duke's Hill, former home of John Wayne....only for a few million dollars! I now need to spend the next few days getting organized for my travel on a plane!

Wednesday 6 January (Patagonia Lake State Park AZ)
Wonderful day for a hike at Sonoita Creek State Natural Area that is next to the Patagonia State Park.....finally shed some clothes.....down to shorts and singlet! This area is a haven for avid bird enthusiasts! Met Nora who is ranger at Tubac State Park and Phyllis from Iowa via Seattle (she left her husband at home in the snow because he is not much into birds and she is camping in the back of her truck).

Tuesday 5 January 2010 (Tombstone to Patagonia Lake State Park AZ 124 miles)
I drove the long way around to Sierra Vista.....Tombstone to Bisbee to Naca near the Mexican border then long climb up the hill by car and foot to visit Our Lady of the Sierra shrine in the Huachuca Mountains...then to Patagonia Lake State Park. Folks visiting the RV park yesterday told of their friends from Minnesota whose car was stolen New Years Eve while travelling through Durango Mexico and the man was shot in the arm.....everyone is saying how they have travelled through Mexico for the past thirty years and have stopped due to all the violence now going on! Have met some great folks here at the campground that are volunteers.....Andy and Bob from Boone NC and Esther from Spokane WA (and unfortunately her husband just died here).

Monday 4 January 2010 (Willcox to Tombstone AZ 74 miles)
Great drive to Tombstone and walk down the main street and visit to Boothill Cemetery!

Sunday 3 January 2010 (Columbus NM to Willcox AZ 190 miles)
Stopped for a visit to Rock Hound State Park where I had considered staying but because it is close to Deming, it was full (and it was a Saturday eve), plus the wind really howls through here....also stopped at Spring Canyon State Park and met two guys who were driving from Tampa Florida to Yuma AZ. Back on I-10 to return to AZ. Stopped at Lordsburg which is now pretty much abandoned. Spoke with Annette at the gift shop and she said that mining and the smelter were gone and so the folks that worked for Phelps Douglas are retired and the young ones are gone. The smelter had been located in the town of Playas which was purchased by Homeland Security for about $5 million and is now used as a training ground for those heading to Iraq.

Saturday 2 January 2010 (Rodeo to Columbus NM via route 9 east 93 miles)
The village of Columbus is right on the Mexican border so I walked to Palomas Mexico (City of the Doves) to shop at the Pink Store (which is next door to the pharmacy and optical/dental clinics!) and then enjoyed a pastry at the bakery. The last time the Continental U.S. was invaded by a foreign army prior to the Sept 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, was the 1916 Pancho Villa raid on Columbus....and Columbus is at the intersection of routes 9 and 11 beneath two water towers! Great films on this history at both museums....overnighted at Pancho Villa State Park and met fulltimers Bob from Vermont in his camper (age 60+) and June from California in her truck (age 70). Quite a few people living on the road these days!

Friday 1 January 2010 (Sunsite/Pearce AZ to Rodeo NM 138 miles)
Happy New Year!!!
Gorgeous but cold clear morning with full moon shining. Last evening, I met Shorty (from BC) and Hazy ( from Wales) with dog Nikki in a very large motorhome licensed in Oregon (?) and they told me of some wonderful places to camp in both southeastern AZ and southwestern NM so more places to explore (along with the history of Cochise, Geronimo, Pancho Villa).

I first visited the historic ghost town of Pearce but I was too early to shop at the Prickly Pear Emporium! I continued south on route 191 then right turn on some backroads to find the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area for a morning walk around the wetlands and a bit of birdwatching! Back on the road for a visit to Bisbee where everything was closed due to the holiday and about the only ones out and about looked like the homeless folks of the area. I continued east on route 80 to Douglas where I visited the famous Hotel Gadsden and saw the flag of Mexico flying just a few miles away. You are constantly going through border patrol checks along the southern border areas here. I had planned to visit the Slaughter Ranch but it is also shut today so continued on route 80 into New Mexico. All the art galleries were closed in Rodeo but the Chiricahua Desert Museum had some lovely things for sale (newly opened in April). I also stopped at the monument commemorating Geronimo's surrender in Skeleton Canyon in 1886. Instead of dry camping at the Chiricahua Park Cave Creek (still too high and too cold), I stopped for the eve at Rusty's RV Ranch (owned by a woman named Rusty from Colorado) and which has great wifi for me at the other end of the campground.