On to Tucson, January, 2022

OK, I know I am way behind but we have been busy. And that is not an excuse so I will try to get caught up.

We left Fredericksburg and headed west. It is about 1200 miles to Tucson, more than a reasonable person would do in two days so we took three.

Our first stop was Van Horn, TX. Van Horn has a negative reputation among RVers. They are not very friendly to big RVs in town. But there are several RV parks so they are OK for an overnight. We have been here for an overnight before but have never spent any time in town.

We were at Guadalupe Mountains National Park in western TX several years ago on our way to Carlsbad Caverns. As is often the case every place has an interesting story. Near Guadalupe, there was an old ranch homestead that had been preserved in much the same way it was in the late 1800s. The ranch had three springs, all still active. Water was stored in a pretty large pond and was used to irrigate a large orchard. Most of the trees (probably replanted as time went by) were still there and bearing fruit. Each tree was labeled with the type of fruit. Many different apple varieties, pears, and others. The family also had a large vegetable garden. All of this was much more than they needed. Every Sunday while crops were ready, the family loaded a big wagon with baskets of vegetables and fruit and left about sunset to travel at night south to Van Horn for the Monday Market.

So much for Van Horn, next stop Deming, NM and Mountain Time. We have been here several times, a familiar stop. There is a nice Escapee’s RV Park there, a Walmart, and one of our favorite museums. But we were there for just one night, New Year’s Eve. Not much partying for us, just a nice supper and early to bed. We were leaving the next morning for Tucson.

We added fuel in the morning, prices are going up the further west we get. It is a good thing we have a fuel program card. It can save us up to 65¢ per gallon when we use it at the big truck stops. And the fuel pumps are much faster than regular gas stations, we can add 100 gallons in about 15 minutes.

Interstate 10 continues on across New Mexico and into Arizona. Shortly after Wilcox it crosses through the Texas Canyon area at more than 4600 ft elevation. From there it drops to about 1200 ft in the Tucson area. We stopped there for a lunch break. Just a few hours to go.

When we drove down the on ramp there was flashing red lights everywhere. Police cares, tow trucks, an ambulance, and one of just about everything with flashing lights. A semi-truck had run completely off the Interstate to the right and into a rugged rock formation. It was on it’s side, the contents of the trailer scattered about, we hoped the driver was OK. No way to tell.

And then downhill and downwind towards Tucson. I10 intersects I19 in a big 180-degree flyover going from north to south and then within a mile exits on the Ajo Highway heading west. Ten miles or so and then north towards Drexel Heights, the Sonoran Desert Museum, and Saguaro National Park. We were headed for the Diamond J RV Park.

We have been to this park before. Our objective coming to Arizona this year was to see my cousin who lives closer to Phoenix and to meet other Foretravel friends from North and South Carolina. We also wanted to catch up with other friends who live in the Phoenix area. And since it was the first time we have been in Arizona in January we were going to the big RV show in Quartzite and meeting our friends from Los Angeles and San Diego. So a few weeks in Tucson, off to Quartzite and then north to the Phoenix area.

We arrived, got into our site, checked in with Hans and Marjet from South Carolina and Jeff and Sandy from North Carolina. We walked up to the mail stop to pick up a package and continued walking. We saw Jerry and Nona, Foretravelers from Washington and Kent and Peggy, Foretravelers from Oklahoma. It is a popular park for Foretravelers.

We’re here.

More later, Much Love

Roger and Susan