Monday 14 May, to Tucson AZ

Woke to a very colourful sunrise around 6am, it feels like 7am to us as we gained an hour yesterday, so we are ready and raring to go by 8am.  It was too hot to hang around here anyway.  As we left camp it was already 28C but it settled around 23C as we drove the I10 west.  We’ve had blue skies every day so far!

Not far into today’s roadie and still in NM, we crossed the Continental Divide, 4,585 feet above sea level.   The North American Continental Divide goes south from Alaska through the Canadian Rockies and in the US it follows the Rocky Mountains through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado ending in New Mexico. It separates all the water that runs toward the Pacific Ocean from the water that runs toward the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico.  Fascinating huh!

Don’t think it ever rains in these here parts, not much is green and both the San Simon River (NM) and the later San Pedro River (AZ) were just dry gulches.

Dust storm warnings, you can see why it could be a problem - flat and arid both left and right!

This is what a dust storm looks like (copied off the web)

New Mexico is only about 162 miles wide at this latitude, doesn’t take long to pass through it.  I was a little disappointed to not see more adobe dwellings though.

As we are coming up to the state line we can see green in the distance, a nice change. Got a photo of the ‘Welcome to Arizona’ sign and almost immediately it did become greener.  Pecan and also pistachio trees lined the interstate. Pecan trees are extremely thirsty and we saw a lot of irrigation too.  Pecan growers can only get new growing stock from Arizona or California as states to the east have been devastated by the pecan weevil.

Pecan Tree Nursery

Look at these amazing rock formations, definitely a nice change in scenery from wide, flat and arid. How did these rocks get here and how do they remain poised so perfectly?

Beautiful blue sky backdrop too!

Multiple trains were thundering their way east, only 10-15 minutes separating each one (double tracks). Union Pacific Railroad seems to own the freight business here, mostly pulling freight from the west coast to the interior. Last year, after a downturn in manufacturing they had 300 locomotives stored on the tracks near Benson, AZ, we drove by there today.  The climate is ideal, no rain therefore nor rust, perfect to store engines. I don’t think UPR is in trouble, they have been operating for 155 years after all.

We thought about detouring into Tombstone, it only about 8 miles south of the I10 but Kim didn’t think it was the real Tombstone - “that’s in South Dakota”.   I googled it and found the ‘town too tough to die’ is in fact, in Arizona!  It does create images of gunfights, dusty streets, whiskey and Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and lots of old western movie scenes, like Gunfight at the OK Corral etc. Silver mining is probably a thing of the past.

Driving into Tucson we see palm trees, now that’s what I am talking about, an oasis in the desert!

We rock up to the Sentinal Park RV Park, right in the heart of downtown Tucson and book in for the night.  It is only 11.30am so we have all day to take the complimentary shuttle van six blocks down to the Sun Link tram stop for an all day travel pass to explore Tucson.  It is hot, 30C but it is a lovely dry heat and it doesn’t feel draining, although we did stop at Diary Queen, on the famed 4th avenue for some cold refreshments - of the icecream sort!

Front yards seem to be mostly gravel with cactus adornments, very few have grass!

Tucson seems to be a bit of a foodie paradise, dotted with micro breweries, lots of theatres and a thriving University culture, a brand new 131 miles bicycle trail and of course, great weather.

Bike Library

Sculpture made of alphabet letters, at the AZ Uni

'Keep Tucson Pretty' 

Lock my Heart, Tucson style

We are back to base in time for a laze by the little pool, in the sun, what more could one want!