Fort Stockton, TX

Today marks a milestone in my journey around North America. Up until now, while some of the specific places I saw were new to me, I had been in every province and state before coming on the journey and I was familiar with many of the areas I was visiting. Today that all changed and it’s very exciting. Texas is a new state for me and the 6th state for my trailer. (Other than changing flights in Houston and Dallas, which doesn’t count – me, not my trailer).

Today was primarily a travel day enroute to San Antonio. I left New Mexico early this morning and headed south east on Interstate 10 toward El Paso, Texas. I drove right through El Paso, thankful that it was Sunday morning and not the usual amount of traffic. Although it was busy enough.

Then it was clear sailing pretty much across flat prairie with mountains popping up from time to time and a couple of interesting canyons between valleys. I stopped at the Texas Tourist Information Centre just north of El Paso and two enthusiastic young men helped me find a bag full of information. They also talked me into getting this ridiculous picture taken. Go big or go home, right!

Then it was pretty much straight through to Fort Stockton, my stop for this evening. I’m staying at a cute little independent RV Park, just west of Fort Stockton, called Hill Top RV Park, yup, you guessed it, up on a hill overlooking the Interstate and a really nicely done metal sculpture called “Indian Scouts”.

You’ll see a couple of pics of some other metal work that greeted me at the entrance to the RV Park. The people who own the park are super friendly and helpful, and I’ve already spoken to half the Park by now! (It’s only 37 sites, but VERY friendly people).

So it’s on to San Antonio tomorrow for a couple of days. Might get up to Austin and Fredericksburg as well. Will see how the weather is.

El Paso, TX

Las Cruces, NM

This morning I checked the forecast for my route for today and not only was the forecast for heavy winds all day, there was a wind warning. So I made the decision to stay put for today and visit some more of Las Cruces and get some chores done.

While extending my stay at the office this morning, I asked if there were any special things happening this weekend, and they told me that there is a “Farmers Market” every Saturday morning throughout the year on the main street of downtown. So, before heading back to La Mesilla area, I checked it out. At this time of year, when there really are no crops, the market ends up being mostly artisans and food booths.

The quality and uniqueness of the artisanship was fabulous. There were some of the usual things you’d find at an art fair like stained glass items, wood carving, etc. But there were an amazing number of things I’d never seen before. Like one woman who makes jewelry out of antique glass, and a woman who uses a special glass cutter to remove the bottom of glass bottles and makes votive candle holders from them, etc. People were really friendly and there was no pressure at all. I bought a couple of things to take home and in the name of research I felt I should try the State Cookie of New Mexico called Biscochos, so I bought a small bag of them. They are very light short bread-like with cinnimon sugar on the outside.

The main street where the market is held, looks to be interesting itself with galleries and museums running along the 3 blocks where the market takes place.

But with time short, I headed over to La Mesilla Historic Area to grab some lunch, take some pictures and look around. Since I’d already blown my budget for today I tried not to look in too many stores. I checked out two historic restaurants and decided to eat at Peppers which is attached to the Double Eagle Bar. It is an amazing place with different rooms done in different historic settings. I ate in the brightly coloured atrium, which was beautiful with the filtered sunlight coming in through the windows above, and the soothing fountain in the middle. I had the “Award Winning” margarita special and a chicken salad which was really nicely presented.

The other restaurant, called La Posta was more traditional Mexican food and had a more traditional Mexican interior as well. It has been there serving food, in what started as a small building, over 150 years ago. Originally, along side it was the Butterfield Stage Coach office and other offices, but it gradually has taken over all of the buildings on the block and each is now enclosed into a maze of rooms. A must see, if not tried. Next time.

The square in front of the church is full of plaques and explanations of the area’s history and it was warm enough near the end of my visit for people to be sitting and strolling the square like they might have generations ago. The church, Basilica of San Albino, has a beautiful brick and wood interior, unusual to see but fits with the area so perfectly.

One of the buildings from 1850, claims to be the place where Billy the Kid was tried and sentenced to hang. He was a notorious gun fighting, cattle rustling partying kind of guy and he went by many names. His history also seems to be a little vague and perhaps enhanced.

On my way back to get to my chores, I stopped at a viewpoint just west of the city to see the view but also a road runner statue that caught my eye. It was originally built by artist Olin Calk in 1993 from items he hauled out of the landfill. He was making a statement “look at the stuff we throw away”. It has been refurbished a couple of times as people keep taking bits of the statue as souvenirs or amazingly have tried to climb on to the back. The last time it was refurbished they mounted it on a fake boulder hoping to avoid that problem in the future. The road runner has a pretty darn good view.

I am glad I decided to stick around today to get to know more about this town, which it turns out is one of my very favourites of the whole region.

Las Cruces, NM

OK, once again I’ve used a title to hopefully catch your attention. More on the white out later….

Today was State number 5 for my trailer as “we’ve” entered New Mexico. I left Tucson this morning, having not done all that there is to do or that I wanted to do but really, I’ve got a lot of miles to go and I can’t stay everywhere for days on end. I rolled into Las Cruces at about 1:30 with every intention of doing laundry, getting caught up on email, cleaning the floor, etc. But the KOA staff were so helpful and enthusiastic about some things to do around Las Cruces that I forgot the chores and went off exploring. I’m really glad that I was off the road with my trailer because the wind picked up almost as soon as I pulled in. It’s picked up even more this evening. If it’s still like this tomorrow, I won’t be going anywhere.

After I was set up with just the basics, I headed out Highway 70 north to White Sands National Monument. You’ll probably recognize the name White Sands because of the Missile Launching site there. They are both in a valley, just an hour or so north east of Las Cruces. I chose the National Monument over the missile launching site, although there is a museum to visit there for those so inclined. (Most ham radio operators I would imagine would be thrilled to see it, but really, I’m thankfully not like most ham radio operators.).

By now you will have realized the white out I referred to was sand and not snow, although it was only between 5 – 10 degrees out there and really, really windy. This National Park covering 275 square miles is a unique experience. The sand is unbelievably white (caused by the gypsum content) so while it would have been nice to see it on a sunny day, I think I should be glad it was overcast, because even with the clouds, my face is a little pink tonight. That could also be from the free dermabrasion I got from blowing sand.

The dunes are huge, some 50 feet high, and have a high moisture content which keeps all but a small amount of the surface sand from blowing away. I can attest to that because when I sat down to remove my shoe for the money shot you’ll see here, I could feel the moisture on my butt. They sell sleds to use on the dunes at the visitor centre. If it was a calm, warm day it would be great fun. After watching the sun set over the San Andreas Mountains I headed back covered in sand but loving it.

The other spot in the area that I had been told not to miss is Messila, which is an old town just south of Las Cruces. I stopped there on my way back from White Sands when the shops were closed and it was dark so I didn’t get the full experience but from what I saw it was a neat area in which to spend some time. There is a small plaza (a national historic landmark) with the usual Basilica surrounded with shops and restaurants. Around the area there seemed to be a few high end resort type hotels. There is some interesting history involving Billy the Kid visits to the cantinas of the area, it’s part in the Civil War and the Gadsden Purchase. None of which I got to immerse myself in because it was too late in the day. If it’s still windy tomorrow, maybe I’ll stick around a day as much to my surprise, I really like Las Cruces.

Tucson, AZ

I thought I was done with visiting Spanish missions after leaving California, but I was wrong. Today I visited two missions south of Tucson, and while they were similar to the California missions and to each other, they couldn’t be more different in the way they have been preserved.

However, let me back track to the beginning of my day which started at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum adjacent to Saguaro National Park. I didn’t spend near enough time at this museum that is 85% out of doors, but tried to make the best of my time there. At the entrance I was greeted by a trainer with a Great Horned Owl who was a little skittish and easily spooked, (the owl, not the trainer) but sat still long enough for me to get a picture. Then I dashed in the gate because the Rapter Live presentation was starting. It was fabulous to be so close to these magnificent birds that you could feel the air disturbance as they flew over the crowd standing along a designated pathway. My favourite was the Red Tailed Hawk who they have trained to head out to the valley to ride the thermals and then to come back at a sign from the trainer. After meandering through the museum, which is really more like a zoo with animals, birds, plants, insects, and reptiles from the Sonoran Desert, for a couple of hours, I grabbed some lunch and then jumped in my car for my next stop.

The missions I visited today were originally founded by Jesuits in the late 1600s, early 1700’s however, when Spain banished the Jesuits in 1767, Franciscans took over the missions and continued the work on the Missions and teaching Christianity.

The first one I visited was Mission San Xavier del Bac, just south of Tucson. It is a National Historic Landmark and the oldest intact European structure in Arizona. The church in this mission continues to be a busy parish church and has been maintained and restored over time and in fact there is a Foundation continuing to raise funds to complete the current restoration. As you can see from the pictures, the inside has beautiful statues and murals which have been restored many times over. We had an excellent docent guide us through the church and you can tell how passionate he was about the church and its history. He told us that he has worked a lot with one of their expert restorers, Gloria Giffords, mother of former Arizona Congresseswoman Gabby Gifford who was injured in an assassination attempt in 2011. When the lions near the alter were stolen back in 2008, she recreated them using similar materials from sketches they had of the originals.

The next mission site I visited was Tumacacori National Historic Park. This site has not been restored as is the policy of the National Park Service, and most of it is in ruin, but some of the structures remain and you can still imagine the mission in action back in the late 1700 or early 1800s. There is a great self-directed tour of the ruins, with an explanation of all the features. The church here, was never completed, and in fact the picture of the bell tower below shows it as complete as it ever got. Poverty in the parish and the Mexican wars of Independence slowed construction and then when it was decreed that all Spanish residents had to leave the country, construction slowed and although it limped along for another 20 years, the last residents abandoned the mission in 1848 after a bad winter and Apache raids.

It was great to be back visiting missions again but then for something completely different I headed to the town of Tubac, near Tumacacori. There is some historical significance to this town (in fact the Presidio that protected Tumacacori was built here) but it’s main claim to fame are the dozens of shops designed to separate tourists from their money. It has become a major centre for art from the area and from around the world (mostly the Spanish speaking world). It’s really a lovely place if you’re a shopper, and while I’m not usually one, they managed to extract some cash from me today as I added to my “red bowl collection”.

Tucson, AZ

There were two stops on my itinerary today, Tombstone and Bisbee, both of which are south-east of Tucson. Both are shameless tourist traps, but hey, I’m a tourist so trap me!

Tombstone is only an hour or so east of Tucson on I-10 and then south on AZ-80. It’s a pleasant drive through the desert mesa with hills and mountains all around at various distances away. It was fairly early when I arrived and so there weren’t a lot of tourists but as the day progressed, more and more appeared. The area to visit is fairly small in size and it’s easy to take everything in wandering about on foot.

There are different re-enactments of the famous Shoot Out at the OK Corral around town, but I figured the one called the OK Corral would be the logical choice. For some reason, in my head, the shoot out should take place on the Main Street, but then they couldn’t charge for it, now could they. I watched the Historama, which was cheesier than most of the rest of the place, but it did the job of filling in the huge gaps in my knowledge regarding this historic gunfight. It also told the story of Tombstone as well.

Tombstone grew after the discovery of silver in the area and was a thriving town until the cost of extracting the silver got too expensive due to the need to manage the water table. Twice the main streets of Tombstone burned to the ground, and it was quickly rebuilt. Then a disaster at the mine, when salt water was used accidentally instead of gas for the generators which kept the water out of the mines, meant the mine shut down. Tombstone stayed alive as the county seat for a while until it was eventually replaced and fell into disrepair.

After watching the famous re-enactment, I wandered the shops for a bit, and then grabbed some lunch on the main drag (Allen Street) at the Longhorn Restaurant. I had a steak sandwich that was fantastic. It was a thick sirloin cooked to perfection served on Texas toast and was melt in your mouth tender.

Boothill Graveyard awaited my exploration and so I backtracked a little to take a look at it. The Graveyard is a registered National Historic Site. The gravestones often indicated how the individual had died, and you quickly realized just how wild the west really was at that time.

During my time in Tombstone I was reminded of another town that was inspired by a silver rush, Dawson City, Yukon, which I visited with my friend Nanci a few years ago on our northern adventure. It didn’t have the Wild West (cowboy and Indian) element to it but I have to say, that overall, the quality of the re-enactments, and the organization and presentation of the buildings and history in Dawson City was far superior to that of Tombstone. Skagway, Alaska also has similar history and they have done a great job of capitalizing on the Alaskan cruise ship tourists by presenting the history and providing tourist opportunities.

After taking some pictures of the town, I jumped in the car and headed south on Highway 80 to the Mule Mountain community of Bisbee. It’s 5000 feet above sea level so the remnants of the recent snow were still in evidence on the north slopes an sides of buildings and even on the Main Street. Despite Bisbee’s claim to fame that it has near perfect weather year round, it was only 9 degrees but the sun was warm making it feel much warmer.

From it’s historic roots, the town, which is in such a ruggedly beautiful setting, has grown into a popular getaway for residents of Tucson and Phoenix as well as tourists from everywhere. The main streets are filled with shops of all sorts, but mainly art, and restaurants. There is much said about the how the environment there “stimulates creativity and an appreciation for freedom”. It definitely appeared from some of the locals I saw that it is attracting an “alternative” lifestyle in the desert.

Once again I’m reminded of a Canadian town that is somewhat similar to Bisbee, Nelson, BC. I wandered along the main street, and into some shops but I’m afraid I didn’t do anything to help stimulate the economy. Unfortunately, I didn’t see anyone offering to take Canadian money at par.

Then it was off for home. On the return drive I had the delightful treat of watching the warm light changing shadows on the mesa and the mountains to the east and north as the sun went down behind the westerly mountains.

Tucson, AZ

Today I stayed relatively close to home after being on the road yesterday.

The first place I headed was the Sabino Canyon Recreational Area in the Coronado National Forest in the Santa Catalina Mountains. There is a lot of history in this canyon which goes almost 4 miles into the mountains. As early as 1200 AD, Hohokam Indians built dams on the creek for use in irrigation and for generations the area has been used for recreation and agriculture. In the 1930’s 9 bridges were built at various points over the creek to allow easier access up the canyon and hiking trails and picnic areas brought thousands of visitors. So many visitors, in fact, that in 1978 the National Forest Service restricted private cars in the area and started running trams into the canyon to help maintain the area.

So that’s how I got up to the end of the canyon today. And given the recent rain and snow in the mountains, the creek was flowing over all but one of the bridges along the canyon and hiking was pretty much out of the question for anyone without proper footwear. The trams could plow through the fast moving water on the bridges and some hikers with waders or just by rolling up their pants and taking off their shoes make the hike, but I wasn’t about to freeze my feet when a tram did a perfectly fine job of getting me from point A to point B. I actually did hike down two tram stops from the top, which didn’t involve any bridge crossings and walked along the creek for a bit. The sun was warm and it was very quiet except for the various bird songs along the way. It was a beautiful way to spend the morning.

In the pictures you can see some of the boulders are of grey stone which is a little different from the rest. This is because these boulders were thrown down into the creek by an earthquake early in the 1900’s.

Then it was over to a “historic oasis in downtown Tucson”. Old Town Artisans is a city block in the historic Presidio area of downtown that has been converted into various artisan shops with a lovely courtyard cantina where I stopped for a very late lunch. I wandered through the really nice shops with some quality tourist items, primarily of Mexican and western themes. I picked up some prickly pear and champagne jelly. No art.

Then it was back home to enjoy some sun and the late afternoon happy hour at the Cantina.

Tomorrow the plan is to be up and out early to do a tour through Tombstone, and Bisbee in south eastern Arizona

Tucson, AZ

Today I made the short trip down the road south from Phoenix to Tucson and to the Tucson/Lazydays KOA.

It’s a really nice park and my site even has a lemon tree. They are scattered throughout the park along with orange and grapefruit trees. In the background of the picture you can see the sun screens over a row of RVs. They also hold solar panels and there are a couple of them in the RV Park, so they would be able to generate quite a lot of solar power.

After checking in and setting up, I enjoyed the sun for a bit on my patio.

This KOA also has a Cantina serving simple meals and with a bar. Since it is the college football national championship, the Cantina had a happy hour margarita special, which I happily participated in. Not a lot of attention was paid to the game except for a few die-hard fans at the bar.

I made an early night of it.

Tortilla Flat, AZ

Just a few minutes from my KOA in Apache Junction, State Highway 88 (also called Apache Trail) runs between the Goldfield and Superstition Mountains and heads north toward Roosevelt. The trail was originally built as a stage coach route for the cowboys and miners to get around and then eventually to carry materials into the site of the Roosevelt Dam. There are all sorts of wild tales of gold mines found, miners murdered and gold mines found again and gold hidden in the mountains and lost, and of a German miner named “The Dutchman” who the State Park called Lost Dutchman State Park is named after. You can read more of the mystery of the area here: http://azstateparks.com/Parks/LODU/

Now it’s a fabulous scenic route, frequented by tourists that winds through Sonoran Desert with Saguaro and other cacti past Canyon Lake, the tourist stop of Tortilla Flat, past Apache Lake and on to Globe.

I got a late start this morning, mostly just because I was being lazy and was waiting to see what the weather was going to do. It was cloudy all day but the rain held off until this evening, and the sun did poke through at times.

Superstition Mountain Museum was my first stop along the Trail, which is mostly just a place to trap tourists but which had some charm. They’re also making some upgrades to the landscaping which looks like it will be really nice when they are done.

And the next stop, at Goldfield Ghost Town didn’t pretend to be anything but a tourist trap. But again, it had some charm, and the blueberry pastry from the bakery on the Main Street was excellent. I wandered the street and was about to leave when it became apparent something was brewing. Some nasty looking gang types were milling about and we were warned to stay off the street as it was possible a gun fight might break out! And wouldn’t you know, it did. It was fun, and the kids in particular, enjoyed it. There was a train to ride, a museum, a historic church, mulitple shops to extract dollars from tourists and horse back riding opportunities. Wait a minute, time for me to leave as I’m allergic to only two things and one of them is horses. There were horses hitched a couple of places and a few walked through town on their way out onto the desert trails. They seemed like really well kept and spirited ones and it made me sorry that I couldn’t participate.

Back on the road, the highway wound its way up into the mountains past Lost Duchman State Park. I stopped as often as the road would allow to take pictures of the fabulous views along the Trail. The area around Canyon Lake was particularly beautiful. They have created a nice recreational area for boating and bathing, but it was all closed for the season and I couldn’t get close.

I arrived at Tortilla Flat just in time for lunch at the historic Superstition Saloon. It is a crazy place with $1 bills stapled to the walls throughout. It’s estimated that there are $300,000 worth. People have written notes and their names on the bills and the maintenance guys are kept busy finding new places for them. The washroom had a bright and interesting paint job as you can see by the pic of me in one of the stalls. I’m crouching down, BTW so you can tell how short the doors are. Quite bizarre. And the seats at the bar were saddles. It was a fun place and I had a great Beef Taco Salad there. The salsa had a really nice kick to it.

I had planned to keep going along the Trail (Hwy 88) to Globe and then back to Apache Junction by Old Highway 60, but when I came out a low area just east of town was flooding! I certainly wan’t when I arrived. There has been an unusual amount of rain and snow in the area, and although I could have driven through it (and I watched a truck coming through the other way), I didn’t want to chance running into similar and worse problems further along, so I returned the way I had come, with somewhat improved weather and nicer light for picture taking.

I was back into town early enough to go see Star Wars at an IMAX just 10 minutes from my camping site, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

BTW, didn’t get to the Heard Museum or anywhere downtown Phoenix today because it’s the college football championship here tomorrow and the whole downtown has been taken over as “Fan Zone” and they said not to try and park down there, and even the Light Transit was crazy busy. Next time……..

Scottsdale, AZ

Well, it was one busy day in the greater Phoenix area for me.

I started and ended today at the Desert Botanical Garden. Given how much I like cacti, you can imagine how much I appreciated this garden even more than usual. So I’m afraid you’ll see that I got a little carried away choosing pictures for today’s blog. I had only a short time there in the morning but I went back at the end of the day to see the garden again because they have a special light show on right now. So I got back there at 3:30ish and saw some more of the plants in daylight, then grabbed some wine and a salad and waited for the sun to go down.

I learned more than I can write about desert plants partly because there was so much info but mostly because I just can’t remember it all now. I really appreciate the recommendation that several people gave me to visit this venue and I would highly recommend it to others.

Next it was off for my 11 am appointment to tour Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and architecture school on the side of the hills in Scottsdale. I first learned about FLW in an evening interior design course I took back in Winnipeg in 1976-79. We learned just a little about the history of furniture design and architecture and FLW was one of the architects we studied. He was an amazing man, especially given he didn’t have any formal training beyond high school. What he did have was a curious mind and a strong will.

He loved nature and that really comes through in the design and construction of Taliesin West. His use of what was called desert organic rubble masonry, was the most obvious indication. The walls were made of the rock and sand of the desert, and most walls were built at a 15 – 18 degree slant because that was the slope of the mountain in behind the house. And he didn’t close in rooms unless really necessary, instead allowing the breezes and light to come into his work spaces.

He was an interesting character personally, and from some of the stories, it sounds like he wasn’t a person that you could easily like. His apprentices worked hard, but were rewarded with learning from a master. They travelled with him from his summer home/school in Wisconsin (Talieson) to the one here in Scottsdale. The school of architecture continues today with 45 students who continue to travel back and forth during their studies.

He owned 85 cars in his lifetime and was apparently a terrible driver. In the end his wfie used to have to drive them. His favourite color was red and you’ll notice that in the pictures. He likes to mix it up with shapes, with triangles being his favourite. He loved movies and his grandaughter, was Anne Baxter, a film star who starred in All About Eve, among others.

Of the list of 100 significant buildings in the U.S. 11 of them are designed by FLW. There are still 400 buildings of his design left and the Foundation is working to preserve as many of them as possible.

After my immersion in architecture this morning, it was on to History and Art as I headed to Old Town Scottsdale for lunch and to do a little window shopping. I stopped for a sandwich and I might have a had a sundae, at the Sugarbowl on the main drag in Old Town Scottsdale. It is a old diner style restaurant serving all kinds of ice cream treats. I might have had a hot caramel sundae.

Then I worked off some of lunch walking around Old Town and up and down one of the streets that is specifically non-stop art galleries, mostly specializing in artists and art from the area. They have Thursday evening Art Walks that includes wine and food along the way, or did the last time we were there. I didn’t find anything I couldn’t live without.

Then I was on my way back to the Desert Botanical Garden for the night light show as I mentioned above. A long, but happy day.