The Old West

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2010 trip so far: javelina, mule deer
*Birds we’ve seen on our 2010 trip so far: white-wing dove
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2010 trip so far: 4
*State Parks visited on 2010 trip so far: 1

Benson, AZ, is located about 40 miles southeast of Tucson, and centrally located to a couple places we wanted to see plus it meant we could visit with our good friend, Mike, who works in Tucson during the week.

We were still having issues with the electrical system and figured it had to be tied to the inverter/converter which converts the DC power (12 volt) into AC power (110) mainly used when drycamping. The fact that this was our 3rd set of batteries in 3 years indicated that something else was wrong, and even after the new set last week, we kept getting an over temperature warning.

We checked in at Cochise Terrace RV Resort (http://www.cochiseterrace.com/) and had a spot directly across from the office in their short term asphalt lot. The spaces were large pull-thrus with a nice view of the mountains in the distance, and the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Their resort map/brochure listed several RV repair places in the area including several mobile units, so Russ made a couple calls the next day, and Alan from Bondurant Mobile RV Service came out within the hour. He quickly confirmed our suspicions…the fan in the inverter was not working which was causing the drain on the house batteries and the overheating issue. Before he had even arrived, he had charged the gal in his office with locating a new one just in case. She located one in CA, and he was going to try to get authorization for coverage under our extended warranty since this issue with the inverter has been ongoing for some time. That evening Mike came over for dinner, we had a great visit, and made plans to meet up for lunch in Tucson on our way out of town Mon.

Sat. we decided to play tourist, and our first stop was the town of Bisbee, located about 75 miles south. Bisbee (http://www.discoverbisbee.com/) is an old mining town surrounded by the Mule Mountains, and back in the 1900s Bisbee was the largest city in the southwest between St. Louis and San Francisco. Nowadays it is quite a tourist attraction. In front of The Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum are several pieces of old machinery and a coal train…ideal for picture posing. We didn’t tour the museum or take the copper mine tour but simply walked and drove the streets of town. Many homes and buildings are built on the hillside, and in fact you have to climb a flight of stairs to get to the City Park! In the 70s Bisbee became somewhat of an artist’s colony and appears to still be so today. It’s been referred to as a quirky little town, and we’d definitely agree with that! Lots of funky shops and art on buildings!

Halfway between Benson and Bisbee lies the most famous western town in the world, Tombstone, site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Also known as “The Town Too Tough to Die”, Tombstone is a living, breathing town that still maintains the atmosphere of the old west especially on Allen Street which is closed off to cars. You can take a narrated stagecoach or covered wagon tour of the town, cowboys and saloon girls roam the streets, and you can even see a reenactment of the famous gunfight (for a small fee, of course). Tombstone is nothing if not a definite tourist trap, but a fun one. Shoot, you might even see Doc Holliday or Wyatt Earp moseyin’ along.

We ate lunch at the Crystal Palace Saloon (http://www.crystalpalacesaloon.com/), which has received the Best Historically Accurate Saloon award by True West Magazine. In photos of then and now, the bar itself looks the same except now there are tall chairs for sitting whereas back then you just bellied up to the bar! When we walked in, Russ had hoped that this sexy little saloon gal was going to be our server, but alas we got the cowboy.

After lunch we moseyed over to the Tombstone Epitaph building, where the oldest continuously published paper in Arizona is still being printed. Inside is a small museum of period furnishings, old presses, and walls covered with articles and history all at no charge (wow, there is a free attraction in Tombstone!)

On our way out of town we had to make a stop at Boot Hill Graveyard (another free attraction!) It was given this name because most of its early occupants died with their boots on. Contrary to popular belief, none of the Earp boys are buried here nor is Johnny Ringo or Ike Clanton, but Billy Clanton and two others who were killed at the OK Corral gunfight are. Some of the tombstones are quite interesting to read. One of our favorites was: Here lies George Johnson, Hanged by Mistake 1882, He was right, we was wrong, But we strung him up and now he’s gone.

Oh, and on the way back to Benson, we went through another border patrol checkpoint. So that makes 3 in 3 different states for us.

Sun. we drove the other direction to Saguaro National Park (www.nps.gov/sagu/index.htm), which consists of two separate districts about 30 miles apart, but we only visited Saguaro East. We arrived too late in the day to do the Jr. Ranger program as theirs takes several hours, but we toured the visitor center and then took the 8-mile scenic drive. We were both a little disappointed because we had envisioned that there would be way more saguaros. There are thousands of them, just spread out. Did you know that saguaros normally live for 150-200 years but don’t get their first “arm” until they are about 65-75 years old? In the picture at right you can see the size of these things as Russ is standing between a mature saguaro on his left and an ocotillo on his right. Amidst all the saguaros and ocotillos are prickly pear and cholla cacti, many of which were in full bloom. Who says there’s no beauty in the desert!

Alan called early Mon. morning to let us know that the inverter had not arrived so we extended our stay at Cochise Terrace, and early Tues. morning he called with good news…he had the inverter and he’d be out within the hour! He and his assistant, David, worked quickly to remove the old inverter, install the new one, and made sure everything was working properly before they left. We can’t say enough about their professionalism and great service. They don’t have a website but can be reached at (520) 378-0549. By the way, it was covered by the extended warranty so only cost us the deductible and the shipping.

One thing you may not know is that Arizona does not change their clocks for daylight savings time. So in the summer they are basically on west coast time, which is fine except that means that the sun comes up at 5:30 in the morning instead of 6:30 and that means the dogs think it’s time to get up and go outside!

We left Wed. morning, and met Mike for lunch at In-N-Out Burger (http://www.in-n-out.com/). This chain is only located in CA, AZ, NV, and UT (though they are talking of expansion to other states), and we hadn’t had an In-N-Out burger since we left CA in 2000! They only serve burgers, fries, and drinks…the same basic menu since they opened in 1948. Everything is still made fresh to order, and the fries are made from hand cut, fresh, whole potatoes. Employees are extremely friendly and customer service oriented, and we learned from Mike that they’re starting pay is about $11/hour…maybe we should apply! Another thing we learned from Mike is ordering your burgers “animal style”, meaning mustard is fried into the meat patties as they cook and in addition to the lettuce and tomato they also include pickles, grilled onions and extra spread (basically a Thousand Island dressing). We’d never heard this before but is evidently something the “insiders” know…thanks, Mike! You can also order your fries “animal style” meaning they will come with cheese, spread, and grilled onions. Think we’ll skip that one and just get 'em regular.

Saying Goodbye

*New critters we’ve seen on our 2010 trip so far: javelina
*New birds we’ve seen on our 2010 trip so far: white-wing dove
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2010 trip so far: 3
*State Parks visited on 2010 trip so far: 1

Earlier this year while planning our itinerary for this trip, we planned on passing through the city of El Paso, TX, around May 6 on our way to White Sands National Monument. After we heard of Scott’s passing, we learned that a memorial service would be held at 4pm in El Paso on May 8, and we changed a couple reservations so we could attend the service, deciding White Sands would have to wait for another time.

We arrived in El Paso around 1pm, and immediately headed for Camping World as we’d been having problems with our house batteries, but unfortunately their service dept. couldn't get to us for 11 days. There’s an RV park directly behind the store, and they had space available. American RV Park is nothing fancy, basically just a gravel parking lot, but has full hookups, large sites, a great view of the surrounding mountains, and friendly staff. We got settled, quickly dressed for the service, and drove to a Verizon Wireless store nearby as our internet card had also decided to stop working. They were packed (everyone there for Mother’s Day evidently) so we decided to come back the next day and just head on over to the funeral home.

Though we had never met Shayne, we knew each other immediately from pictures. We had talked on the phone and corresponded via e-mail when Scott’s cancer ordeal began, and Scott talked of him and his family often…we felt as though we had long been friends. Shayne introduced us to his kids, Samantha, Jake, and Katina, (pictured at left) all wonderful young adults who told us that Scott spoke of us often. We also met his other brother, Chris, his wife, Rosa, and their kids, Alessandra and Ethan. Scott’s ashes were in a lovely wooden box set amidst a beautiful arrangement of roses, and recent photos of Scott graced the wall while black & white photos of him as a child were on a nearby table. About 20 people attended the service, and after the minister finished speaking, he encouraged anyone to come up who might want to share their thoughts. Shayne spoke of his gratefulness of having been able to spend this last year with his brother and how they had grown even closer. He reminded all of us that we never know how much time we have left and to be sure that those you love know how you feel about them. We were sitting with Shayne’s long-time friend, Dick, who had flown in from Maine, and who also got up to say a few words. When he returned, he strongly encouraged us to get up and say something since we had been so close to Scott. Russ finally did, and off the cuff made some of the most beautiful remarks, bringing tears to the eyes of many. Scott was a true gentleman, a kind man, a decent man, a good man….and a good friend.

Shayne had invited us to join the family for dinner at a nearby restaurant after the service in celebration of Scott’s life, which we gladly accepted since Scott always bragged about the great food in El Paso. So we followed him to Billy Crew’s (http://www.billycrews.com/bc/index.htm), one of the finest steakhouses in the area. We were a little early for our 6pm reservation, and as we exited our cars, Sam said that we were first heading into the bar for a Mai Tai in Scott’s honor…one of his favorite drinks. She ordered 7 Mai Tais, and we raised them in a toast. There were 17 of us for dinner, and during the next few hours, we chatted, shared stories of Scott, and had an excellent meal. It was great to spend time with such wonderful people, just a shame it couldn’t have been under different circumstances.

The next day we had very little power coming into the coach even though we were plugged into a 50amp outlet. The house batteries were basically shot but fortunately there’s a separate battery used to start the engine which was working fine. We loaded the dogs and cat into the car (since we couldn’t leave them in the RV with no A/C) and returned to Verizon, where the problem turned out to be a bad charger that was replaced free under warranty. When we returned to the coach, we did some internet research and made a couple calls to find someone who could work on the house batteries. We found a place in Las Cruces, NM, about 50 miles north, and they said if we got there the next morning when they opened, they could get us right in.

From the moment we walked into Border International (http://www.borderintl.com/), the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. We had been told to ask for Dennis, the electrical expert, and he was great. Besides replacing the 4 batteries, he checked all the cables, replacing a couple, thoroughly checked all connections, and changed a couple fuel filters at our request. Unfortunately, none of this was covered under our extended warranty and cost about $1,000 but now we felt safe to hit the road again…at least for the moment. Before we left, Dennis wanted to be sure all was working properly, and everything was back up and running except there still seemed to be an issue with the A/C. Alas no one there could work on that issue, but they directed us to 3 different RV service shops in close proximity. Can you believe that all 3 were booked solid until some time on Wed.?!

It was now mid-afternoon Mon., and we were tired and frustrated. We checked in at Sunny Acres RV Park (http://www.sunnyacresrv.com/) just down the road using our Passport America discount. While getting settled, another camper stopped to chat and gave us the name and number for Larry’s RV & Marine Service whom he highly recommended. Larry showed up in about 15 min., and within 5 min. found our problem…a faulty switch that will need to be replaced at some point. We just need to handle it with care until then. Thank you, Larry, for such speedy and friendly service! He doesn’t have a website but if you need mobile service in the Las Cruces area, call him at (575) 649-0139 (cell) or (575) 373-4979 (office).

The last couple of weeks had been so busy, and since we didn’t have to be anywhere right away, we decided to spend another night at Sunny Acres. Though located in the heart of Las Cruces, it’s a very nice park with nice-sized sites and friendly staff.

One place we had talked about visiting this year was The Pepper Pot in Hatch, NM, located about 45 min. north of Las Cruces. Hatch is known as “The Chile Capital of the World” and having lived in New Mexico for several years, we knew well the wonderful taste of Hatch chiles, though we had never been to the actual town of Hatch. To top it off several months earlier we had watched the TV show, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (the only time we’ve ever seen the show), and one of the places he visited was The Pepper Pot (sorry, no website). Watching this segment made our mouths water, and Tony said these were the best enchiladas he had ever had…and he’s been all over the world! We immediately added it to our list of things to do on our trip, if possible. On our drive there, we encountered our first Border Patrol checkpoint complete with a drug sniffing dog. All vehicles were required to stop, and the agent simply asked us if we were both U.S. citizens, then sent us on our way.

The village of Hatch is small, poor, and many storefronts are boarded due to a flood in 2006. However, Larry had told us of another restaurant in Hatch called Sparky’s that he said was very good, and though they weren’t open, we could still enjoy viewing all the oversized décor outside the restaurant that he also told us about…what a hoot! But we were in town for some Hatch chile, and The Pepper Pot did not disappoint. Though we would not say the enchiladas were the best we’d ever had, they were very good as was the salsa. On our way out of town, we stopped at a roadside chile vendor and purchased half a Ziploc bag of freshly roasted green chiles (the bag was still warm!) Now we’ve got Hatch chile in the freezer to enjoy whenever…at least for awhile.

The next day we left Las Cruces and headed to Benson, AZ, going through another border patrol checkpoint on the way. Lots of what appeared to be cameras along the roadway leading up to it. No questions this time, just flagged us on through. Maybe those are infared cameras because they didn't stop any of the trucks in front of us either.

The Big Hole

*New critters we’ve seen on our 2010 trip so far: javelina
*New birds we’ve seen on our 2010 trip so far: white-wing dove
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2010 trip so far: 3
*State Parks visited on 2010 trip so far: 1

Leaving Davis Mountains State Park, it was time to head northwest to Carlsbad, NM, and Carlsbad Caverns National Park (http://www.nps.gov/cave). Once at the Visitors’ Center, we chose to take the Natural Entrance route, which is a self-guided tour that descends 750 feet into the Earth following a steep paved trail of switchbacks. This one-mile tour follows the traditional explorers’ route, and is suggested for people who have the time and are in good physical condition….sounds just like us! In the early days there were no elevators or paved trails, and the lighting was very primitive. Visitors entered and exited the same way…by wooden steps like these pictured at right.

Once inside the cave, it takes a couple minutes for your eyes to adjust to the lower light levels, and this picture on the left is looking back up at the natural entrance we had just entered. We rented audio phones for our tour, and at each designated signpost, we’d press the appropriate button and hear a recording that would give us some history or tell us at what we were looking. The route did not seem as strenuous as the literature and rangers kept stressing, but Russ did say his knees started to get a little wobbly part way down, and I could definitely feel it in my thighs.

The bottom of our descent took us into the Big Room, where there is another one-mile self-guided tour, but this one is fairly level. The circular route takes you around the perimeter of this 8.2 acre natural limestone chamber past some of the most amazing sights. Carlsbad Caverns definitely exceeded our expectations!

The return back up to the visitor center is by elevator…thank goodness! We definitely would not have wanted to walk back up those 750 feet! While in the elevator, the ranger turned out the interior lights so you could really see the solid rock through the little windows as you passed. Oh, and by the way, we each earned another Jr. Ranger badge while at the Caverns!

We did miss out on one attraction at Carlsbad however. From about Memorial Day till mid-Oct. the Caverns are home to hundreds of thousands of Mexican freetail bats, and at dusk all these bats leave the cave in one huge swarm looking for dinner (insects not people). We’ve heard it’s quite a sight to see. Shortly before dawn they return to the cave where they sleep hanging from the ceiling till the next morning. Guess we’ll have to try and catch this another time.

The 7-mile drive to and from the Caverns’ Visitor Center through a limestone canyon rising from the Chihuahuan Desert into the Guadalupe Mountains was beautiful, and the ocotillo cactus were in full bloom.

The next day on our way out of town, we stopped at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park (www.nps.gov/gumo) mainly to get our National Parks Passport book stamped. On our drive there, in the distance we could see El Capitan with its top shrouded in cloud cover. It’s located at the southernmost end of the mountain range and is quite an impressive sight! It just amazes us that this desert, mountain area was once an ocean and that these are the remnants of an ancient marine fossil reef.

High In The Hills

*New critters we’ve seen on our 2010 trip so far: javelina
*New birds we’ve seen on our 2010 trip so far: white-wing dove
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2010 trip so far: 1
*State Parks visited on 2010 trip so far: 1

So did you know that in TX the speed limit on I-10 is 80mph?! We didn't go anywhere near that fast in the motorhome…definitely not fuel efficient!

After spending the night at the Ft. Stockton Wal-Mart, it was on to Davis Mountains State Park in Ft. Davis, TX. As we travel along, we make periodic stops to stretch our legs, use the facilities, maybe eat something, and so on. On one such stop this trip, Mikey didn’t seem to want to get back in right away. Russ had removed his leash at the bottom of the stairs, but instead of going inside, he turned around and started wandering out into the flowers! Since he can’t hear much anymore, you can’t call him back but clapping loudly gets his attention. He’s such a silly boy!

Our campsite at Davis Mountains State Park (www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/davis_mountains) was quite nice, a long pull-thru with full hook-ups situated at the bottom of the mountain. A few steps from the RV was our own covered picnic table, grill, and large grassy area. Within the park is the Skyline Drive that runs from the camping area up the mountain using switchbacks to the boundary of Ft. Davis National Historic Site (though you can’t drive this way to get there), and I took a picture of our rig from up there (zoomed in, of course). The views of the park and surrounding area are spectacular from here (you can even see part of the observatory in the distance in the upper right of the photo at right). Warning signs are posted in the park to beware of bears, mountain lions, and javelinas (hav-uh-LEE-nas), and though we saw none of the first two, we did see our first javelina (sort of a wild pig) and several mule deer not far from our rig. Only down side to the park was that we had no internet or cell phone service at our site but driving 4 miles down the road each of the 3 days while we were there solved that problem.

Our main reason for going to Davis Mountains State Park was to visit the McDonald Observatory, but we got an added bonus of nearby Fort Davis National Historic Site (http://www.nps.gov/foda). Named for then Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, this is the best preserved fort we have seen in our travels. Most have only the brick foundations of the buildings, but here several of the buildings are still intact, having survived since shortly after the Civil War, and a few have been furnished as they would have been back then.

We stopped by the fort after we got settled at the campground so we could get our Passport book stamped and get the lay of the land. Near the entrance to the site are 3 agave plants, something we had not seen before. We learned that the agave blooms only once in its lifetime and then dies, and these had recently bloomed.

We returned on Wed. and decided to complete the Jr. Ranger program, such a great way to learn about the place you’re visiting. It just so happened that because of a school group, two of the National Park volunteers were in period costume. Mike Sloan was stationed in the Enlisted Men’s Barracks dressed in full uniform, and ready to answer any questions. We were surprised that the temperature inside this building was about 20 degrees cooler than outside which he told us was because of the thick adobe walls. As we talked with Mike, we discovered that he too was from St. Louis….small world! His wife, Jan, was in the Commanding Officer’s Quarters portraying Mrs. Grierson, whose husband had been the Commander at the fort in 1882. What a pleasure to meet such great people so full of knowledge!

Tues. was our planned trip to McDonald Observatory (http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/) which was built in the 1930s and is located up in the mountains 16 miles northwest of the park. Three nights a week a Star Party is held which gives you views of the night sky through telescopes, and we definitely wanted to participate so purchased the all day pass for $20 each. The pass included the daytime tour, the Twilight Program, and the Star Party. We arrived when they opened at 10am, toured the visitor’s center, watched a video, attended the Solar Viewing program in their multimedia theater (which shows you sun spots and flares as their happening live on the Sun), and then a 90-min. guided tour of two of their largest telescopes. The Harlan J. Smith Telescope, built in the mid-60s, has a 107-inch mirror, and their newest, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, has a 433-inch mirror (which is actually made up of 91 smaller mirrors combined to make one big mirror.) Since they are only used at night, we didn’t get any views through them but did learn how they operate (so much is handled now by computers). These telescopes are located at the top of Mt. Locke, the highest point on Texas highways at 6,791 feet. The entire program was fascinating, but probably the most memorable thing from this daytime tour was when our guide/shuttle bus driver, Joe, tried to back down the mountain road. Some construction trucks were blocking his way out, and he couldn’t figure out anyway to turn around (though there was one spot where he could have). He decided he would have to back down the hill till he got to the lower parking lot and assured everyone on board that he could see out his side mirrors just fine. This was a small shuttle but obviously he couldn’t see because he nearly ran off the road into the small retaining wall several times! People would tell him to turn the steering wheel to the left, and he’d keep turning it to the right while looking in his side mirror. Russ finally took charge, directing him from the back of the bus, and we finally got down the hill without going over the edge. Joe’s one of those geniuses who can tell you more than everything you want to know about telescopes and the universe but has no common sense. LOL

We went back home afterwards and returned shortly before 8pm for the Twilight Program called Modeling the Night Sky. This hour long program takes place partly in the outdoor amphitheater and partly indoors teaching about the planets - where to find them, where not to find them, and why they move and change in our night sky from week to week. Outside the instructor used volunteers from the audience to represent 4 of the planets in a visual demonstration of their orbits, and inside she utilized a computer program to show the locations of constellations at various times of the year.

After a half hour break, it was time for the Star Party which once again began in the outdoor amphitheater. Our guide started with a tour of the constellations, using a laser pointer aimed at the night sky. It was a beautiful, clear night, and we were amazed at the number of stars we could see. Now it was time for viewing through the telescopes (not the huge ones we visited earlier in the day but five smaller ones set up around the visitor’s center). What did we see? We saw an open star cluster known as M35 located in the constellation Gemini that is comprised of several hundred “new” stars, meaning they are only about 150 million years old, and we saw an old star cluster that has about 350,000 stars and are a couple billion years old! We saw the spiral Whirlpool Galaxy, and the Sombrero Galaxy, which is 37 million light years away. Keep in mind these were all discovered back in the 1700s! But the coolest and most awesome thing we saw was the planet Saturn…absolutely amazing! It was clear, sharp, bright white, and we could clearly see its rings. We got back in line for another view, and it’s a sight we will not soon forget.