Shopping and Lunch

 If you drive west on Hwy 8 for 21 miles and turn left, you will reach the Mexican border at Los Algodones in five miles. That's where we went yesterday with Steve, Jodi, Wanda and ### before crossing in the truck we paid $10 to park in the Quechan Tribe Border Parking Lot.  The rest of our journey was on foot.

26.7 miles from our lot we crossed into our neighboring country to the south and were immediately asked if we needed, dental work, glasses, or shrimp. This area has now moved to the top as the location with the most peddlers asking if we needed those types of services. We have traveled quite a bit in Mexico, and we are familiar with the salespeople in many of the towns visited. In Pourta Villarta they can be aggressive. In other areas, they can be persistent. Here in Algodones, they were polite about interactions, but there were many more than in other areas. We just got used to saying "no gracias" and kept moving on.

We did a bit of shopping, there were many metal, glass, and trinket shops like in all tourist areas in Mexico. Linda and I didn't buy anything, but Steve and Jodi acquired a metal Roadrunner figure. 

Our group took a break and ate lunch at a restaurant. The food was very good and everyone enjoyed the meal.

After lunch, we headed back to the border crossing. The line was medium sized and it took us about an hour to get back into the US with no problems. 

Linda in front of "The Wall."

Filling our Time

Linda led the way on our first trail hike.

It has been interesting settling into our spot, exploring Yuma, and establishing a rhythm to our snowbirding. The weather has been nice; it is cooler than expected but very sunny. The wind blows quite a bit more than at home in Post Falls, which we deal with. Linda has taken on the challenge of dusting the camper, which is a big job for such a little space. 

As a contribution to the home maintenance area, I have started waxing and doing some needed touch-ups to keep the exterior of our camper nice. The little home is about 16 years old, and many little projects are on my to-do list. Each day, I wax a section of the exterior. When I see a crack in the caulk that needs repair, I clean and replace it. This list will keep me busy for most of our stay, and our little home will appreciate the attention.

Dome Valley.

Steve put together our first group hike. We were joined by nine of the Nelson's friends and we hiked up Telegraph Pass to a vista overlooking Yuma to the west and Dome Valley to the east.  I have to admit that I failed to make it to the top with the rest of the pack. The trail was a cement road that went straight up and my poor knees suffered both ways. Linda made the top and took photos for me. I took my time hiking back to the truck after I turned around. It was a nice hike and I really enjoyed the solo descent.

Looking to the southeast from the hilltop.

We have some friends, Rick and Teri Wright, who moved from Idaho to Tucson about three years ago. Linda has kept in touch and they invited us to visit and explore Tucson and see their new home.  We packed our bags and drove the 226 miles to the big city. 

As we drove, a short diversion off Highway 8 took us to the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site. We exited the highway and drove about 10 miles to the site where we parked in a dusty lot and walked to the fenced-in area containing the glyphs. There are over 800 petroglyphs viewable in this rocky area. They are very concentrated in these rocks and it's considered one of the largest grouping of glyphs in America.

The Wrights own a very nice house in a neighborhood of Tucson called the Oro Valley. Their home is on a golf course and they have a beautiful chunk of property with a nice one-level house and a large pool. We spent our first evening there sitting around a huge fire, eating, drinking, laughing, and catching up. It was a great way to start our visit.

On our second day visiting, Linda and I drove south through Tucson to Saguaro National Park. This is a very large park that is divided into two separate park units. Our excursion took us to the Tucson Mountain Unit about 10 miles outside of Tucson. The park is famous for the giant Saguaro cactus which spread out like a massive carpet over the landscape.

We viewed the area, visited the park gift shop, and then drove to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. There, we spent about three hours reading about the desert and viewing the numerous desert animals, plants, and crawly critters they care for at this site.

The other days in Tucson were spent eating amazing food, continuing our conversations about what we'd been doing the last three years, and enjoying exploring the city a bit. We had such a great time with the Wrights. Thanks to them for their wonderful hospitality. The best part was that there were things they still wanted us to see and more things we wanted to do. We all decided that was perfect because it meant we'd have to get together again very soon.

Mountain Sheep feeding in the shade.

A bobcat

Javalina resting in a cool spot.

Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus spp. baileyi).

Mountain Lion, the park's mascot.

Our stay with the Wrights was delightful.

Practicing my swiveling. Some call it sleeping.

Rick in his pro-swiveling mode.

After a great visit, we returned home to our normal life. The next morning, a group of new friends met at a trailhead a quick couple of miles from our place. The trail led us across the scabland to a small canyon where there were a few petroglyphs hidden along the trail. It was a nice hike, and you could clearly see the three glyphs. The entire hike into the petroglyphs and back was about three miles which made for an easy morning of talking and walking.

A final note, yesterday I experienced my first brush with a cactus. It was a real eye-opener and I still really don't know how I got into the bugger. My theory is that as I was working on some camper projects, the wind blew one of the rags onto the ground, where I first picked up the microspines. I noticed them on my left sock as I was finishing up my projects but by then it was too late. I had very fine prickers in my ankle, then my hand.  Once I noticed them, I removed the socks and tossed them in the trash. Linda worked me over with a pair of tweezers and then she took duck tape and covered all areas affected. She pulled the tape and got most of the spines out. Boy, do those things spread fast! After about an hour we figured most of the spines had been removed and I took a long shower. The final result of the debacle was that I lost two socks, and my old Crocs (the left one was covered in spines). I learned to stay alert while working in Cactus Country.