Why and AJO, AZ

We left Benson on 2/7 and headed West.  While going thru Tucson, we could see the mountains in the distance.

And the cacti begin to show up in force...

Very rugged terrain, but the road (highway 86) travels in and around the mountains.

Here is a shot of the Kit Peak National Observatory located in the Quilan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O'odham Nation.  `

This observatory supports the most diverse collection of astronomical observatories on Earth for nighttime optical and infrared astronomy and daytime study of the Sun.  There are three major nighttime telescopes, 22 optical telescopes and two radio telescopes.

A little later on we came to a roadside rest and stopped for some snacks.

Continuing on to our destination...

Finally, around 3 o'clock we arrived...

As you may remember, Why was originally written as just "Y" because it is where two highways (85 and 86) meet and form a 'Y'.  But Arizona law required all city names to have at least 3 letters so town founders changed the name.

Sunset views.

Our campsite faced East toward the desert.  And this picture was taken from about 100 yards out back at the campground.  We are the 4th one from the left.

And, in case you were wondering, there are an assortment of animals in the desert, including burros, coyotes, etc.  Did not get a picture of any of them, but Judy did manage to get some pictures that prove there are animals in our midst.

On Wednesday we drove North the a small town called Ajo (pronounced Ah...ho).  This picture shows the tailings from a major copper mine that was in operations years ago.

Ajo has a couple of beautiful churches.  This is one of them.

We were here last year and liked the ambiance so we came back. Went to the visitor center to get an AZ map and then walked around the square.

It was lunchtime so we stopped in at Estrellas, a local restaurant that advertises the best burgers in town, and, they are right about that!!

On the way back to the CG, we could see the mountains that we would be traveling by tomorrow on our way to MX.

Benson, AZ

On Friday we left Alamogordo, NM and started our trek to AZ.  First, we stopped at the White Sands National Monument and I got a replacement Nat'l Parks card as mine was splitting in two.  We also got a new one for Judy for $10.  Later this year they are supposed to go up to $80.

This picture is of us coming out of a mountain pass with Las Crucez in the distance.

Later on, we hooked up to I-10 and headed West with mountains in the distance.

All along the way there were railroad tracks and plenty of traffic both ways. Here are two passing one another.  Don't see that very often!

More mountains along the way.

Abou 20 miles from Benson, AZ. we came up on what is called the "Texas Canyon."  It lies between the Little Dragoon Mountains on the north and the Dragoon Mountains to the south.  The canyon is a massive granite formation that has weathered over the eons to create a jumble of rocks that catch the eye.

We found our campground, Cochise Terrace RV Park just west of Benson.  Very nice park with great sites.  (And cacti!!)

As a first-time guest we were treated to a nice dinner of spagetti and meatballs, salad, dessert, and a drink.

On Saturday we hung out at the campground and then drove into Benson for supper.  Last year we had found this great little restaurant so we went there again and weren't disappointed.

On Sunday (today) we attended church - Episcopal/Lutheran.

Very small church - seats for about 80 - 90 and it was mostly full.  Today was Lutheran Sunday so we sang out of the red hymnal.  After church we had coffee and snacks.  Nice morning.

Plano, TX to Post, TX to Alamogordo, NM

We left Plano, on Tuesday, the 31st.  Our vacated site below:

And all ready to go:

We drove approximately 320 miles to Post, TX where we spent our first night.  Weather was good – temp was in the 70’s. 

West Texas is known for the following:  winds that are always coming at you or at your side, never pushing you;  wind turbines that can be seen for miles and miles;  West Texas crude – pumps operating again now that the price of oil has gone back up;  and cotton fields as far as the eye can see.

Bales of cotton:

After getting set up we sat outside for a while in our new lawn/rocking chairs that Julie and Ken gave us for Christmas.  Very nice.  Guess you can't see them as they are in the shade by the tree.

On Tuesday the 1^st of February, we left Post on highway 380 and drove into New Mexico.  Very nice road with little traffic.

When we got into New Mexico we saw some animals in the fields that looked like small deer but they had horns.  After googling it, we found out that they are prong horned antelope.  They are about 36 inches tall at the shoulder and can run 55-60 miles per hour.

Had lunch in Roswell – did not see any UFO’s.  

From there the road started to climb very slowly.  At one point we were at 4,100 feet and didn’t even realize it.  

When we got to the Ruidoso area, we did get to 7,000 feet but it was an easy climb compared to some of the mountains we have been in.
As usual, whenever there is snow, Judy gets her picture!

From there it was a leisurely drive down the mountain to Alamogordo.  This picture is of the White Sands Missile Range. 

And some cacti at our campground.  (NOTE:  On this trip you will see more of this than you ever thought possible!!).

Our campground is just north of Alamogordo where we spent the night.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the White Sands National Park and then leave for Benson, AZ on Friday.

2017 Travel is about to BEGIN!!

Hi All.

For those of you that are anxiously awaiting (with bated breath!!) our travel plans for this year, here is a start.

DATE	NAME	City	STATE	# of Nights
1/31/2017	Post View RV Park	Post	TX	1
2/1/2017	Edgington RV Park	Alamagordo	NM	2
2/3/2017	Cochise Terrace RV Park	Benson	AZ	4
2/7/2017	Hickiwan Trails RV Park	Why	AZ	2
2/11/2017	Playa De Oro RV Park	Puerto Penasco	MX	14
2/9/2017	Tower Point Park	Mesa	AZ	7

We are meeting up in Why, AZ with several of the group that we went down into MX last year.  Looks to be about 8 couples again.

We are going to another RV park in MX this year.  I think it is smaller and not so crowded.  Last year our sites were so close to one another that we had trouble backing into our site and then when leaving, we had to back the truck up to the trailer at a rather severe angle to get hooked up.  So, we shall see...

Not sure what we will do after Mesa, but will be planning that after we get out of MX.

Trip Home

Well, as you may know by now, we are back in TX for the time being.  We did get home on 9/23 and are enjoying being stationary for awhile.  Haven't seen Julie, Ken, and Emma since May so we are enjoying being with them again.

We did get to Chanute, KS and had some maintenance done on the trailer - replaced all the moulding around each slide as they were all deteriorating from the elements.  Also had some tree damage repaired.  Trailer looks really nice now and is ready for new adventures.


Next trip is planned to be in late January when we head out West again to visit Mexico (Puerto Penasco) and then AZ and NM.

For now, I hope you have enjoyed reading about our travels.  We certainly have enjoyed the travels and the people we have visited.