Made it to Arizona!

On Tuesday Dec. 26th we said good-by to Ohio and trucked on south. With son Duane Jr. helping with the driving, we made it back to Van Alstyne by 11pm. Next day we picked up our house and headed west. We stopped at Santos and Pecos (TX) overnight, and stayed at Deming, NM for 5 days resting from driving and visiting with the friends we made there this past summer. On our entire 5000 mile journey from Deming through Texas and Louisiana, to Ohio and back to Deming, we had no problems, no accidents, and only a few hours of rain. Pretty good, we thought. Friends said that on the way to Congress, AZ (our next work camping job), we needed to stop and see The Thing!


So we did. It only cost a dollar apiece and was worth the stop and the price. Anyone traveling on I10 just west of Wilcox, AZ should take the time to see it.


After enjoying this stop and a brief lunch, we motored to Benson and set up for three days in the SKP co-op park at Saguaro. We arrived in time for social hour. After saying hello to friends and fellow class of '06ers Diane and Dave Jones we chatted for a liesurely hour and a half. The four of us continued our visit at a local resturaunt, before heading home for our "Gibbs fix." (NCIS viewers will understand).


This morning at 10am we joined the bikers club for a day ride. Most people had other things to do, so only Don and Sue Gilbert showed up. The four of us enjoyed a ride to Bisbee for coffee and hot chocolate, then to Douglas for lunch at the Hotel Gadsden. This building is a national historic site. After lunch we roamed around the hotel. Below we are posing in the beautiful double stairway. Louise is pointing to a chip in the marble. Supposedly the damage was done when Pancho Villa rode his horse into the hotel and up the steps! On either side of the mural are beautiful stained glass windows depicting the desert the width of the wall.

Between these steps and the front desk, there is this skylight.

View of the lobby from the top of the steps.

Closer view of the mountain lion at the top of the steps.

After viewing numerous pictures portraying the history of the hotel, we saddled up and took back roads home to Benson, arriving in time for social hour. We traveled 175 miles, the most that Louise had ridden to this point. Our friends the Jones' weren't at social hour so we decided to stretch our legs for a bit before heading back to the clubhouse for movie night. We hadn't seen The Help at the theater, so now was our chance.

Time to go!

Louise and Duane