Arizona & Texas, 2008 Version

Welcome back! I’ve been on the road for two weeks already, but wasn’t able to get into my blog until now. I reversed my route this year, going first to Arizona for about two weeks before heading to Texas. The temperature in MN when I left was hovering around zero, but at least it wasn’t snowing. The weather driving south was great…no snow, ice, or rain all the way. It did rain a couple times while I was in Ajo, but the heavy rain was in the middle of the night and the rest was just showers. The next five days were completely cloudless and warm. I’m in Texas now and the clouds have moved in as well as a forecast of rain the next couple days.

Ok, the weather woman is done. Now on to the travelogue. I spent a week with my friends Julie and Sandy in Ajo, AZ with beautiful warm days and chilling nights. We took a day trip to Rocky Point, Mexico on the shores of the Sea of Cortez (or the Gulf of California, if you prefer) where we window shopped (ok, there weren’t any windows), ate authentic Mexican food (except for Sandy, who had pancakes), and walked on the beach. The water was a beautiful aqua color and the shelling was wonderful...made me long for the week-long Mexican vacations I’ve taken in the past. If you find yourself in Ajo, ask someone about the scenic circle drive. It makes a large circle to the immediate south of the town, passing through some beautiful views of the mountains and millions of cacti. I became completely enthralled with cacti on this trip and am determined to learn as much as I can about them. I must have been a desert rat in a previous life!

Next, it was on to Tucson and a stay at my friends Jack & Judy’s house in Sahuarita. They live in a beautiful over-55 community with a club house offering lots to do. The homes are all single level with stone-fenced back yards. The dogs loved being able to go outside without leashes, both in Ajo and Sahuarita. Jack & Judy’s dog, a very cute Border Terrier named Effie, quickly established herself as alpha dog and it took a couple of days for them all to work it out, but by the time I left they were getting along fine.

During my stay in Sahuarita, we went to a craft fair at the local casino. There were some very interesting items, but by far my favorite was the booth of a former middle-school science teacher named Delight, and her husband. Delight created jewelry based on her love of science, such as a necklace representing the solar system with various sized beads for each planet and the asteroid belt. The head of the wearer is the sun. It would be great for a person who thinks the world revolves around them! She also created a double-helix necklace, a coral snake necklace, and more necklaces of all the constellations comprising the astrological signs. All of them were as technically accurate as the limitations of her media could make them. She and her art would make a very interesting magazine feature!

After leaving Tucson, I started the trip east to Texas. It’s not too bad in AZ and NM along that road, but once you pass El Paso, it’s many miles of nothing. I found out exactly how far when I failed to check my fuel gauge and saw with dismay that the warning light was on and I had gone 511 miles with a 26 gallon tank of fuel. Since my mileage hasn’t been as good as normal with the high winds and higher speeds (high is 80 mph in west TX!), I was pretty concerned. Service stations are few and far between there and I decided to stop at a rest stop and see if anyone knew of a station off the highway, or if I should just keep going with no towns in sight.

At the rest stop, I went up to the first truck driver I saw and told him of my predicament and asked if he knew where the closest fuel was. He told me it was in Ozona, about 30 miles on. I said I didn’t know if I could make it that far, and he told me to go on ahead holding my speed to between 55 and 60. He said if he saw me on the side, he’d stop and take me to Ozona. Well, he caught up to me, slowed down to my speed, and followed right behind me. It must have driven him crazy to go that slow…time is money to those guys! When we started down the interstate, I saw a sign that said it was actually 56 miles to Ozona …no way I was going to make it!

After what seemed like hours, my trucker friend pulled in front of me and indicated I should pull off at the picnic area ahead. When we met there, he said he had an idea. He cut off a piece of a hose he had with him, poured the water out of a couple gallon jugs he had, and siphoned fuel from his tank into the jugs. Then he cut the bottom off of a water bottle and using it as a funnel, poured the fuel into my tank. I gave him $20 and he said a kiss on the cheek would have been enough. I told him he was my guardian angel and I would be eternally grateful to him. He said he had been an eagle scout and a scout leader, and that helping people was drilled into him. He also said he was a Missouri hillbilly and was a descendent of the Hatfields of the Hatfield/McCoy feud. He was a short, grizzled man around my age with a halo over his head His name was Chester Hatfield and I gave him that kiss on the cheek before we parted.

I’m in San Antonio now, sitting out some rainy, windy weather before heading to an RV Rally in Kerrville, TX. I’ll try not to wait so long before posting next time!