Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Onward to Tombstone!....and points west


(You might want to go back to the 2/19 post, as I added some more photos and scintillating verbiage.)

One last story and we leave New Mexico behind.  Mike and I were at the Deming Walmart buying groceries.  Mike went down to the liquor aisle to get wine.  Some distance down the aisle was a gentleman who carefully selected a bottle of tequila, broke the seal, removed the cap, took a big swig, replaced the cap, and put the bottle back on the shelf.  Then he selected another bottle from a different shelf, same process.  And then another bottle.  The moral to the story is if you are buying anything in a bottle with a screw-off cap, look closely at the seal.  

3/1, Saturday
We left Hidden Valley Ranch RV Park this morning.  Took us almost an hour to get from the park to Hwy 180, about eight miles.  The last 6.5 miles to the park is gravel county road.  More than 10 mph and you shake the rig, its contents, and yourself to pieces.  Fortunately we were only a couple of miles from I-10 west when we finally got to Hwy 180.

When you see a highway sign on the Interstate that says “No visibility conditions occur -  Use extreme caution” you can figure on a slow day.  There’s a stretch on I-10 where high winds and desert combine for “white-out;” that is, you can’t see $hit.  I've driven through snow storms with better visibility.  By the time we got into that area, we got….wait for it….RAIN!   The enormous Pacific storm that hit the coast several days ago is working its way east.  This area has been in extreme drought conditions for years.  I know the locals must have been running around in the rain naked, celebrating.

3-2, Monday
Spent Sunday at old Tombstone, doing the touristy things.  We took the dogs into a Western melodrama, complete with pistol shots.  Muppet freaked so I took him out, and then Lola freaked because Muppet was gone.  We did, however, get a few photos.  To add to my annoyance, my camera battery died.  Tried taking some photos with the phones but they were not particularly successful.  After the show, we took a trolley ride all around town (about 4 blocks by 5 blocks), seeing all the famous sights:  Tombstone Epitaph office, OK Corral, the Bird Cage Theater, the silver mine, the old Courthouse, etc.  (BTW, the gunfight took place ½ block east of the OK Corral.  Guide said the area is so small that it’s amazing more weren't killed….at least 35 shots fired.) 






It was only 175 miles to the next stop, Mesa AZ, a suburb of Phoenix.  Mike will fly tomorrow to KC to see the eye surgeon and then back on Wednesday.  RV sites in Phoenix tend to be very pricey.  I found a deal on a park that has almost 1800 spaces.  See photos.  This is how I envision hell….  You don’t have room to swing a cat.  We will stay through Thursday and then Friday head out to El Centro CA on the way to Long Beach CA.   After having spent the past three months in the middle of a 7000 acre ranch, this park feels claustrophobic.   However, the site next to us has orange trees and they are blooming.  The perfume is drop-dead wonderful.

View down the street ...



A couple of photos left from NM

Michelle and Wyatt

Taylor



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