First week in Arizona

Written on December 29, 2014

Our week-long stopover in Benson, Arizona was filled with joy from the very beginning. While checking into the campground, The Saguaro SKP Park, Julie was asked if we had one of those huge windows in the back of our 5^th wheel. When Julie said yes we did, the lady assigned us to a terraced site, with our rear window facing the Dragoon Mountains (ie: Julie happy, means Jim happy). It was a gorgeous view.  Our campground had a few of the majestic Saguaro Cactus that the owners had transplanted to their lots. The natural growing range ends about 40 miles west of Benson, so it was quite a thrill for me to see my first one up close and personal in the campground.

The Dragoon Mountains outside of Benson, Arizona

Such stunning views out our back window of our Montana

Looking down on the SKP Park from a nearby hillside

Stunning sunset on the Dragoons

I love the clouds!

While in Benson we took a little trip east into the Dragoon Mountains (Texas Canyon) which we had driven through on our way to Benson and the awesome Amerind (American Indian) Museum. The landscape out here continues to amaze and excite me. Julie is thrilled to be back into the mountains again. Across west Texas and most of southern New Mexico the terrain had been flat, flat, flat, with an occasional flat place. Southwestern New Mexico and now Arizona have given us a pleasant new perspective. Lots of mountains and valleys for us to enjoy. Watching the clouds gather over and around the mountains is breathtaking at times.

The Amerind Museum, a stunning collection of American Indian artifacts

I love this one big cloud!!!

Texas Canyon

Texas Canyon Rock Formations

Later in the week I found a cool place on the web to explore, Gammons' Gulch. This is a little town made up of buildings and cowboy things collected and built by one man, Jay Gammons, in a little gulch that he happened by one day and saw as an empty plot of land for sale out in the middle of nowhere, so he bought it! Jay has been in a few movies (bit parts, his most famous role was the little boy marching and beating the drum in a parade at the very beginning of the movie “Rio Bravo” staring John Wayne. He had lots of John Wayne stories and pics since Jay's father was John Wayne's body guard while he was in Arizona filming his westerns. Gammons Gulch is a one man operation (if you don't count the wife, dog, three cats, a cow roaming through the set once in a while and the Javalinas each night raiding the cat food on the porch). The Gulch is occasionally rented to film producers to make old westerns, and any other films supposedly in a small western town. When not being used for filming, Jay gives guided tours of the property (you have to call ahead to make arrangements since it is a “one man” operation and sometimes he has to go to town to get supplies! There is a charge though – if you liked the tour you are asked to put some money in a jar located in the saloon on your way out, if you didn't enjoy it then just exit – no hard feelings!!

Jim and Jay

The bar of course...

town necessities back then

Jay entertaining us with his really good banjo playing

Stars who have filmed here at Gammons Gulch

More stars, and he had stories about each

John Wayne and Jay's Dad,  John's body guard and film extra

We filled another fun day taking a trip to Tombstone and then on to Bisbee with Al and Carol Stevens.

Tombstone, home of the famous “Gunfight at the OK Corral”, of which many full length movies have been made, along with countless mentions in other vignettes, actually took a total of (best guess estimates) 39 seconds. It was a typical tourist magnet. Good for a walk around, look at the cute stuff, watch the “locals” dressed as cowboys and cowgirls trying to sell you something as they walked up and down the wooden sidewalks. Kind of disappointing after all the hype we had heard “back east”!! According to those who have been to Tombstone previously, it wasn't like this. The town must be struggling.

Boothill

Stagecoach, festive for the holidays

Gunslinger

in Tombstone

locals in Tombstone

After our brief stop in Tombstone we headed on south to Bisbee, AZ stopping about 10 miles north of the border. Bisbee is one of the coolest towns around. Built in the side of the hills with Main St. the canyon floor, no matter where you are going it is uphill!! Bisbee was built because of the big mines nearby.  We drove to and looked down into the Lavender Pit Copper Mine, just outside of town.  

Downtown shops, narrow streets

You can't even imagine the excitement of driving on the side roads up to and among these houses, where there were any.

huff puff, huff puff

Bisbee has found a way to control their rain water to protect their town.

The Lavender Pit Copper Mine outside Bisbee, Az

Our friends Carol and Al took us to a funky little trailer park, also on the edge of town, Shady Acres.  A gentleman has collected a lot of vintage trailers and after restoring them,  rents them out in his unique little park.

Shady Acres

A few vintage rentals

A step back in time

Burgers and Fries anyone - with a milkshake of course!

Traveling Southern New Mexico to Arizona

Well, we finally made it to Arizona

- written December 16, 2014

Arizona Welcome Sign!

 
 Our last Blog entry had us ready to leave Las Cruces, NM, and not a moment too soon. After a delicious authentic Mexican evening meal, on the way back home, I decided to take Julie on a little side trip with a “different way home”. Due to previous flooding the Rio Grande has been rerouted around Las Cruces. I thought it would be a nice thing to see, so leaving the restaurant we headed west instead of east. Let me tell you the western US is not designed like the eastern part. If you error you can't just go a block or so, make a couple of turns, and all will be right. There aren't very many roads out here. We are in a desert, so when we found the “river”, we crossed a ¼ mile wide completely dry ditch with a very high levee of sand/dirt piled up on each side. I'm thinking we can just travel on a little farther and find a different road back to town. (Julie's eye-roll here) OOOOps. The road curved right and then went through a few pecan orchards and eventually we came to Interstate 10. Sorta, we were down here on a road that ended at the huge mound of dirt supporting Interstate 10 about 30-40 feet above us. Did I happen to mention that it is now totally dark? Well it is! 

 

YES, it was THIS dark!!!!!

 

The road ended yes, but not dead ended. There was a “road” going east, so we turned right and followed the I-10 mound east on a two track “sand road” heading into another pecan orchard (Turn around?? Not on your life!!) Guess what? After leaving the orchard, this “road” turned right leading us to an abandoned railroad culvert with a hole in it about eight feet wide and nine feet high. Did I happen to mention that the dark out here is really, really dark? (see, if you just keep turning right logic dictates you will eventually get back where you started) passing through the culvert the now very narrow lane/road takes us to a huge ramp made of dirt leading upwards. OK, I look at her and shrugging, we head up. At the top we realize where (well sorta) we are. We are sitting on top of the west side levee alongside the (now dry) Rio Grande!!!. We veer (right) onto it and after two miles of nail biting, heavy breathing, and wide-eyed stares we come to the road that we were on when we first crossed the river. I very proudly tell Julie that my trailblazing skills have once again gotten us to civilization. I cannot tell you what she said !!! Yep, I don't know why but I seem to have an undeserved reputation for finding exciting “shortcuts”. Sorry there are no other pics, the camera was shaking too much, and did I mention that it was dark?

From Las Cruces we headed west but only traveled a little over 50 miles, stopping in Deming, NM where we continued our touring. We took in Rockhound State Park, where you guessed it, we picked up some rocks!

The next day we spent with friends, Al and Carol Stevens (who stopped in Deming also), and drove up to Silver City, an incredible little town that was the boyhood home of Billy The Kid. From the Visitor Center we crossed “The Big Ditch Park”. This park used to be Main Street, but since the water rushing down the mountain decided to take the least resistant route (Main Street) and dig a ditch about 20 feet deep the entire length of town, the townsfolk just made a park out of the hole with walks and benches and no longer had a Main Street.

The Big Ditch of Silver City

a walking bridge over The Big Ditch

Jim in a cabin on the site that Billy the Kid lived with his Mother

The Palace Hotel Lobby

Jim, Al and Carol by Silver City shops

a glass decorated adobe wall behind a Silver City shop

A beautifully painted mural in downtown Silver City, NM

 

We took in a few local artistic stores and then stumbled onto/into the Palace Hotel, a beautifully restored 1882 project that the owner Cal Thompson gave us the run of the place to explore.

WOW! On the way home we went by the Chino Mine, a huge open pit copper mine that is still in operation and then continued on to City of Rocks State Park.

Chino Copper Mine

a bizarre looking pile of rocks.......

Now this place is quite different. Out in the middle of a flat valley with nothing around, suddenly there are these rocks of all sizes and shapes stacked up. Seems a far off volcano blew its top a gazillion years ago and these puppies landed in a spot far far away!!!

I guess all was forgiven for the next day we hooked up Monty and headed off to Arizona, where we spent a week in Benson before finally making it to Tucson. 

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Enjoying Southern New Mexico

While in Carlsbad (Lakewood) we rested and visited The Living Desert Museum, Carlsbad Caverns NP, and Guadalupe Mountains NP.

Jim's first Roadrunner - Beep Beep!

Guadalupe's El Capitan

We planned on visiting Roswell, but after talking with locals decided it was not worth the drive – guess that was the wrong decision since we didn't go there “THEY”came to see us!

Next we headed to Las Cruces, NM. Only two ways to get there from here 1. a trip over the Guadalupe Mountains or 2. a trip around the Guadalupe Mountains. The weatherman was predicting a strong windstorm (45-65 mph winds) so we chose the longer lower route. Carlsbad to El Paso is 155 miles, and not one fuel stop in between. Usually towing the trailer we get around 11-12 mpg. Driving 155 miles into the wind we got 6.3 mpg!!! Julie, being the southwest expert just kept laughing at my amazement at the total lack of anything for miles and miles and miles … We finally made it to El Paso and turned north ie: from driving directly into the wind to driving into a blistering sand filled crosswind.

OMG !!!

Salt Flats on US 180 going across northern Texas

We love New Mexico's signature Green Chili Burgers!

In Las Cruces we unexpectedly met up with Al and Carol Stevens, Montana Rally friends, and did a few things together including Thanksgiving dinner and a beautiful sunset overlooking Las Cruces and the Organ Mountains. They introduced us to the quaint town of Mesilla, an old adobe structured town that actually was once part of Mexico. It is now part of Las Cruces. We ate at La Posta, a plain on the outside, authentically decorated on the inside, Mexican Restaurant. It was delicious. We walked the shops, and of course, Julie picked up a Kokopelli wall hanging that spoke to her.

Ornate window in Mesilla

La Posta Mexican Restaurant in Mesilla, NM

Short door or tall Jim?  Mesilla

Las Cruces Courtyard

Sunset on the Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM

A 30' Roadrunner made out of recycled trash

Can you identify the junk? shoes, crutches, radios, phones...

While in Las Cruces we took in White Sands National Monument, the White Sands Missile Museum, the world's largest chili pepper, Billy The Kid Gift Shop (in building where he was sentenced to hang), a hike up the Organ Mountains to Dripping Springs, the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum , and a 30' tall Road Runner made entirely of recycled “stuff”. Yep, got lots of Touron time in. Also managed (just managed, whew) to partake of a few authentic meals of the Mexican variety. and OH BOY HOWDY, nothing at all like Taco Bell!!!! Learned their idea of a hot sauce and mine are totally different. When asked about a particular sauce if they shrug their shoulders and sorta turn up their nose TAKE THAT ONE. If they say “Oh not too bad” order a gallon or two of water before that first bite!!! Actually it is usually wise to have a bee hive close by as we learned that honey is a great way to put out a flaming tongue. (especially when drizzled on a sopapilla)!

White Sands National Monument Visitor Center

 Our hike up to Dripping Springs National Monument in the Organ Mountains.  

We are leaving Las Cruces but hate to leave this view from our campsite behind. However, as we are learning there are more and better things to see and do "On the Road" !!! 

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