Yuma and Tucson

The Desert Southwest: Yuma and Tucson
Sunday morning we packed up and started on our eastward swing of Our Southern Safari. Leaving San Diego was difficult, because we had had such nice weather and so much fun. BUT, we knew there was a lot more on our itinerary and time was a wasting. We quickly left the green rolling hills, palm trees, and picturesque homes and entered the DESERT; beautiful in its own right to be sure, but definitely a very different landscape. I-8 (also much of it the old Historic US 80 Highway) is a fairly straight and unassuming road across the last part of California and into Arizona. Early afternoon we came to Jacumba CA where we visited the very quirky and interesting Desert View Tower. This structure was built in 1922 as commemoration of the early settlers that struggled across the desert. The view from the 4 story tower of the Anza-Borrego State Park was fantastic. They say you can see about 100 miles in any direction on a clear day. The most fun we had was hike up the hillside of huge granite boulders; they had build in steps, so the climbing was fairly easy even for the creaky old knees. Guinness was in his element, scampering a head of us and enjoying his exploration freedom. We then got back on the road, driving through El Centro, the Algodones Dunes Area and Felicity (the center of the world in a children’s fairy tale book). We stopped for the night at the Quichan Casino, just west of Yuma. We experienced some good desert winds; they seemed to blow all afternoon, through the night and much of the next morning.
Monday we headed into Yuma and found the Yuma Territorial Prison (not before we had to un-hitch and re-hitch the towed, cuz the parking lot was too small to U-turn in). It was an interesting place with well preserved grounds, showing the old cells and quite a bit of memorabilia from the prison and after it was closed the grounds and buildings were used as the Yuma High School 1910-15 after their school burned down, and later a hospital, homeless shelter and animal shelter. The setting is right on the Colorado River – near the narrowest point across the river. On through the desert we drove, stopping in Gila Bend for a Dairy Queen treat. We past Picacho Peak, just west of Tucson, the western most battle of the civil war, April 15, 1862 – 12 Union Soldiers skirmished with about 17 Confederate Cavalrymen. We arrived at our camp sight, tired and ready for an early night. We read the park rules after getting set up and realized that there might be a problem. The park rules referred to 20lb dogs, uh oh!! The office was closed for the night so we decided to lay low and hope for the best
Tuesday we decided we had better go discuss the dog size discrepancy that we had, for we were sure that someone had noticed. The office was very nice and said “yes” that there was a problem, but if we could keep them to out of sight for the most part, it should be ok. We are lucky in that our site is right across from the doggie park, so we try and sneak the Boys across when no one else is around. That being settled we found a dog park for the “guys” then we headed into the city and had a wonderful day touring the Pima Air and Space Museum part of the Davis-Monthan Air Base. What an amazing set-up, museums, displays and aircraft of almost any size or description. We took 3 tours: a naval aircraft tour led by a former Navy Pilot, then a tram tour takes you around to the planes that are tied down out on the grounds that surround the 4 hangers and the 3rd tour was a coach tour of the Bone Yard – where all military planes that are retired go to be either refurbished and to be reused by our forces or to be sold to friendly militaries from other countries, or used as parts or to be dismantled, destroyed, and sold as scrap. The planes were all lined up by type; in very straight rows; amazing to see so many military war toys from World War II up to planes flown in our current war activities. We ended our day with a good Mexican dinner at the El Charro Restaurant built in 1922.
Our last day in Tucson, we headed up to the mountains to see some of the famous saguaro (“sah-wah-row”) cacti. We had a tour of the Saguaro National Park – took a short walk into the desert floor and a 5 mile loop drive with 1000’s of the incredible cacti that can live to be 150 years or older. The little Prius headed us back into town where we took a quick driving tour of downtown, saw much of the University of Arizona campus and surrounds. Tucson has been great and we have enjoyed our stay, we headed back to camp to ready ourselves for hitting the road again tomorrow morning.

November 28-December 1, 2009 The Long Road Home
Saturday morning we said our “good-byes” to the Long Beach family and headed north to Karen’s brother Eric and his wife Carol in Plymouth, CA. (east of Sacrament) It was a bit of a drive, but again the traffic was pretty light and was moving quickly, so we made good time and arrived before dinner time. We had a good time visiting and enjoying Carol’s home-made corn chowder.
Sunday we walked to the nearby Dead Fly Diner and had a marvelous breakfast – oh my! This has been a trip of gastronomic proportions (can you spell get back on the wagon and diet after the holidays?) The afternoon was spend enjoying some more nice sunny weather and visiting with some friends of ours Tom and Mary Trana and their two cute grandsons. Dinner was another celebration, we were joined by Carol’s sis Sandy and husband Bill. We enjoyed a marvelous Kahlua soaked tri-tip steak topped off with a surprise birthday cake for Karen. Does the fun ever end?
Monday we headed north, getting to Redding by early afternoon. We went out to dinner for a final “ta da” celebration. The meal was exceptional. We finished the evening off with a walk along the illuminated Sun Dial Bridge over the Sacramento River.
Tuesday morning we took off knowing that this was the last leg of what has been a “most wonderful expedition”. We both have enjoyed this American Safari of ours and are already talking about the next “big trip”. We have had such a fantastic time going some 15,000 miles in 110 days and seeing so much of this amazing country of ours. After much discussion, some arm twisting and several glasses of wine our compromised TOP TEN List of Memories for this 2009 trip are:
1. Glacier National Park, Montana - The Road to the Sun and the fantastic scenery.
2. The State of Maine, the lobster, Acadia National Park, the lobster, the beautiful country-side, the lobster, Bar Harbor, the lobster, the incredible sea shore, the lobster.
3. The Bourbon Trail – Kentucky: Buffalo Trace, Woodford Reserve, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, Tom Moore, Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark, and Jim Beam Distilleries.
4. Route 66: Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California……
5. The UPPer – the upper Peninsulas of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan – enjoyed our days along Lake Superior.
6. The Connecticut Experience: New London (Kris and Laura), Mystic Sea Port, Barn Island, Mystic River, Good Speed Opera House’s production of a Funny Thing Happened on the way to Forum, Kris in the dunk tank, the list goes on and on…
7. The Outer Banks (OBX): Kill Devil Hill (the Wright Bros. Monument), Dirty Dicks, fantastic colorful lighthouses, The Ferry Boat Rides from the islands back to the mainland.
8. Lake Placid, New York –Adirondack Brew Pub , the Olympic Experience: Cloud Splitter Gondola Ride up White Face Mountain, K120-Olympic Ski Jumping Tower Complex, and of course the Bobsled Ride ½ mile ride in 40 seconds – phew…
9. Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota – amazing park lands, with many Plains Bison, wild horses and much memorable scenery.
10. Last but certainly not least --- The Arch in St. Louis Missouri – Incredible structure, amazing view and the beginning or our #4 favorite Route 66.

November 24-27, 2009 The End of Route 66
Tuesday we saddled up the MoHo and headed west from Barstow, across the desert and into the metropolis of Southern California. We were fortunate to be ahead of the Thanksgiving Holiday traffic and made the trip to Long Beach in good time. We were greeted by (this is getting boring) amazingly warm and clear weather. The weary travelers spent the afternoon enjoying a cold one on Steve and Elena’s (Mike’s middle brother) beautiful patio.
Wednesday we enjoyed visiting with family; our son Marq (from San Francisco) and our grandpup Kahlua joined the So.Cal. Wraights, (Steve, Elena, Morgan, Marina and Mia) for the Turkey Day Celebrations. Let the partying begin!
Thursday was spent enjoying family time, drinking, cooking, feasting and generally having a marvelous time. The meal was a fantastic one, of turkey and all the trimmings, thank goodness for elastic waist bands.
Friday we went to Santa Monica on the Pacific Ocean and saw the END (or it could be the beginning) of Route 66. There, just a few hundred feet from the sand was a bronze plaque marking the culmination of our western travels. It was a bittersweet moment knowing how far we had come and that our trip was nearing its end.

November 22-23, 2009 --- Ghost Towns along Route 66
Sunday morning we took a run up to Oatman, Arizona. The 25 mile road was quite narrow, steep and twisty, we were glad we left the MoHo behind and gave the Prius a good run This is a two block long vintage mining town, big on the Ass Theme. Many donkeys roam the area; we saw a momma donkey and her two new babies up on a near-by hill. We had breakfast at the 1902 Oatman Hotel, the location of Clarke Gable and Carol Lombard’s honeymoon in 1939. The décor of the old restaurant/bar was highlighted by the $65,000 of single dollar bills that are stapled all over the walls, and ceiling. We added our touch, along the bottom step leading from the bar into the restaurant. We joined back up with our home on wheels and headed west across more of the Mojave Desert and on to California. We stopped for the night in Barstow.
Monday was another Ghost Town tour; we spent our morning touring the old Calico Silver Mine Town. This had been owned by Walter Knott, of the Knott’s Berry Farm fame, until early in the 1960’s. Mike remembers coming here when we was a kid about that time. We also visited it back in the early 1970’s, camping in our old VW Van. A fun re-visit, beautiful weather, and only a few others doing the same. This marks about the end of our sight-seeing on this wonderful trip. Tomorrow we head west toward family and Thanksgiving Celebration in Long Beach, CA.

November 18-21, 2009 Route 66 West Trek continues….
Wednesday and Thursday we took it easy in our camp in Albuquerque. We were in a holding pattern, while the little green Prius got her treatment at the local Toyota Dealership. Too many $$$$ later she is a new “gal”, our wallets are a bit lighter, but we are ready to get back on the road. We have been off the trip itinerary for over a week now and are itching to re-start the trip.
Friday morning bright and early we left Albuquerque and headed towards the last part of New Mexico seeing Gallup and the sights of the beautiful old El Rancho Hotel. We stopped for coffee and a mid morning donut at the Eagle Café, a family run diner on Main Street, a sort of “down and out” town, but everyone was very friendly. The road heading toward Arizona was heralded by an area of beautiful red rocks, a nice contrast to landscape of sand and sage we had been seeing for many miles. We made camp mid-afternoon in Meteor Crater just east of Windslow, Arizona (famous for the Eagles song). We made a mad dash up the hill to catch the last tour of the day of the Crater ---- wow it was quite a hole that was made some 50,000 years ago, can only imagine the “BOOM” it must of made. This crater is some 550 feet deep and about ¾ of mile across. We took a hike out along the rim, with a very informative tour guide who explained the difference between volcanic craters and the meteoric craters. The old folks continue to learn new things every day. This location continues to provide NASA Astronauts with a realistic training sight and a great film location as well.
Saturday we drove through Flagstaff and onto a fun stop in Williams Arizona. Williams is where the train can take you to the Grand Canyon, think this could be a fun trip to take some time. A few more miles down the road we stopped in Seligman for lunch, what a “Kitchy” town—Route 66 is the theme. We ate lunch at the famous Sno-Cap drive-in. The owner/wait guy was a real “wise guy” Every possible joke and pun were in his repartee as he took our order. This was our choice over the other tourist dive the Road Kill Café. We went a few more miles to Kingman for our night’s stay.

November 10-17, 2009 – a short break from our safari
Tuesday morning, November 10th, we flew home to Ashland from Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a sad trip, Mike’s mom had died the night before and we didn’t get to say good bye. We knew at the onset of planning this adventure that this might happen, but none the less it was difficult to deal with. We took the week to make the necessary arrangements, make plans, deal with paper work and gather up loose ends. Mike was able to spend some quality time with his brothers Steve and Chuck, to remember their mom. The family will be together for the holidays this year and we will set some time aside to remember the senior Wraights and what they meant to our families.
Monday, November 16th we flew back to Albuquerque – long day, but we were glad to get back to the MoHo and restart our adventure
Tuesday morning we bailed the “Boys” out of their kennel and discovered that our “Towed”, the Prius was ailing and in need of some TLC. A visit to the local Toyota shop revealed her in need of a new fuel pump, water pump and some work on the hybrid system. Not good news. We know that she has 93,000+ miles on her, with over 3,000 we have put on in this trip, and we have had to do little to no work on her, BUT the timing could have been better. Oh well with our familiar mantra “it is only money” we left her for the needed repairs and went to rest up at the campground in Albuquerque. Hopefully we will be back on the road in a day or two. Our plans are still to be in So. Cal. for Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for next installment: “Will they make Turkey Day?”

November 7-9, 2009 -- Route 66 the adventure continues through Oklahoma, Texas, and into New Mexico
Sunday morning we drove through Tulsa, Oklahoma enjoying the sights, sounds and eats along Route 66. We arrived in Oklahoma City mid afternoon and went into town to have a look around. We made our way to the Oklahoma City National Memorial - an incredible place of remembrance of the bombing of the Federal Building; April 19 1995. We spent quite a bit of time walking around the grounds, absorbing the events that must have occurred there; the reflection pond, the walls that mark the boarders of the bombed facility, and the 168 chairs that sit looking over it all. We both think that this was one of the most moving sights we have visited on our trip. From this solemnity we walked around through some of the downtown, enjoying the sights of the old and new buildings intermingled between each other. Dinner was in an area called Brickstown, old brick buildings that once were factories and warehouses have been retrofitted to be a fun and active dining and entertainment area. We ate some more good southern cooking – barbequed brisket, pork, ribs….. What a feast.
Monday morning we left OKC (Oklahoma City) could definitely have spent more time there. We continued west, stopping in Arcadia to see a 100+ year old round barn, which has survived many tornados, due the design. The afternoon was spent traveling to and going through the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK. We enjoyed the displays – rooms with themes for each decade since the 1920’s. Each decade featured a sound track, vehicles and many collectibles of the time. The MoHo then motored on into Texas. We stopped for the night in Mclean – quite a stop to remember, rural and nothing to see or do. Oh ya, it is Texas