Friday, June 29, 2018

Back to Tucson

June 14 - 26, 2018:

It was another scenic roller coaster ride from Globe, AZ on routes 77 and 79 to Tucson, AZ.  We went over the Pinal Pass and through the Mescal mountains through much Apache reservation land.  Nearing Tucson, there were threatening skies in the mountains, badly needed rain is in the forecast, we were told it hasn’t rained in over 100 days.  
We checked into Desert Trails RV Park and it was weird to see the campground mostly vacated although many snowbirds are now leaving their rigs there over the summer.  On the way to Tucson as we started to see Saguaros, we noticed a few still with flowers, but most are now in the fruit stage.  The fruits when open are bright red and almost appear to be flowers.  The rain started in the evening on the first day of the Monsoon season and after a long drought, it was a big deal.  It was a good soaking rain just what was needed and continued Saturday morning. It was weird to be driving through puddles of water at intersections on Saturday afternoon.


In the Mescal Moutains with 76 miles to go 



We're back in Saguaro territory again and the
the fruits are opening


I believe this is a Sotol which was in full bloom.
They are another incredible desert plant


We've never seen the campground this empty


The rain was a welcome relief


Our tenants moved out of the house on Saturday and called in the afternoon to see if we could come to the house in late afternoon to check it out and hopefully return their security deposit.  After going over with them how the thermostat works, how the security alarm works, how the garbage pickup works and a few other details, they left and we sort of hung out for a while looking around at all the work in store for us.

Sunday morning we took a final walk around the campground and into the desert behind it, kind of a last waltz as we don’t expect to ever return there again as campers.  Twinkles had to take a look in the campground library which she used to keep organized.  We also checked a few of our friends RV’s in storage to see if they looked OK.  We had an interesting short hike seeing a coiled up Rattlesnake, a coyote and some birds that we don’t usually see in the winter.



This campground was originally a Water Park and some of
the park features remain 


We don't usually see the Mesquite beans


The Palm trees are also loaded with seeds 


We saw a coyote wandering around the campground,
and were told that she had pups in the campground


Twinkles is taking a close look at the Saguaro fruit, they were
a staple of the Native Americans diet


The birds also love them


The fruit resembles flowers, but the flowers
bloomed earlier on top of the fruit pods and were
a pure white color 



This rattlesnake was coiled up under a bush, we left him alone


We then drove the RV over to the house, parked in the driveway and spent the rest of the day unloading it.  I couldn’t believe the quantity of stuff we had accumulated, way too much !  We removed about everything except RV specific things like hoses, sewer pipe stuff, leveling stuff and a few assorted hardware items as we don’t know at this point what we are doing with the RV.  We are storing it month by month for now at Desert Trails RV Park while we work on the house.  This will be a busy week with a mattress being delivered, a washer and dryer being delivered, multiple items from Ikea being delivered (assembly required) along with much repair, cleaning and organizing.  Alice (the Cat) is not doing well with this change, she is totally freaked out mostly with the noises in the house.



We have a dove nesting near our front door


Twinkles is loving this


Also loving the kitchen


I loved the cookies


It’s been a very hot week, with about 106 degree highs, but the mornings are beautiful, we are really enjoying coffee on the patio at 7 AM.  In mid afternoon it usually gets a little breezy, but its a hot wind like a heat gun.  In the evenings, it cools off a little and we go out to rake debris in the yard, it was once a beautiful yard, but its been neglected for years and most of the plants have died. We will replant it using desert plants that can tolerate the sun and heat and repair whats left of the commercial grade drip irrigation system.  A couple of years of hard work should have it looking great again. Regardless, we have a great park like view with a rocky hill, or knob ( trying to find its name) covered with native desert fauna, lots of birds and wildlife.  We have had a roadrunner and quail in our backyard. no snakes yet but I’m sure they are lurking out there.



That's our coffee spot


And our patio view


The front yard with a pile of yard debris from the back yard


The Mesquite Tree in the front yard is very productive


The kitchen area is a big change from the RV


By weeks end Alice is more relaxed and loving the house


In between work assignments, I took time to check a few of my favorite local musicians.  I saw Lana Rebel and Kevin Mayfield at LaCocina on Wednesday evening, they have moved their record shop into a better shop space at LaCocina and are doing well.  Next was the St. Charles Tavern to hear the Determined Luddites, for the first time.  To my surprise, Gary Mackender, of the Carnivaleros Band was playing accordion with them.  Next was the Sunday Sessions with Kevin Pakulis at Borderlands Brewery where Gary also plays the drums.   Finally on Monday night I head to the Chicago Bar to listen to the Rondstadt Band which seems to change its name every other month. 
  


Lana and Kevin on the LaCocina stage


The Determined Luddites at the St. Charles Tavern


The Sunday Sessions with Kevin Pakulis


I went to the storage garage to start the 38 Dodge, all seems well but the car was covered with dust, there seems to be a lot of dust blowing from a nearby construction site. I’ve measured the length of the car and the length of the house garage and it appears to be very close, actually too close.  It appears that the car can fit in the garage but there would be no room to walk around the ends.  The interior access to the laundry room goes through the garage so this is an issue.  I may have to extend the garage entrance out a few feet into the driveway which could be done rather easily but at a some cost.        

I will fly back to New Jersey on June 27th to get a rental truck, load it with our New Jersey storage stuff and then drive it back to Tucson.  After getting that stuff in the house or back in storage again and getting the house under control some decisions need to be made about the RV.  Regardless, I anticipate some road trips in the future in the 38 Dodge and /or something like a truck camper or a van with or without Twinkles, don’t know if I can pry her out of this house.   

After the New Jersey trip across country the travel blog will be retired, no point in doing a travel blog if your not traveling ?

Next stop is Hightstown, New Jersey;
Travels with Twinkles



Thursday, June 21, 2018

Globe, Arizona

June 12 - 13, 2018:

This was a wild 150 mile ride from Holbrook to Globe, AZ on routes 77 and 60.  Route 60 takes you across the massive White Mountain Apache and the San Carlos Apache reservations.  You then wind your way like a roller coaster ride into and across the Salt River Canyon.  It’s then all downhill along the Tonto National Forest to Globe, AZ where we pull into the Gila County RV Park.  This is a small campground in the city of Globe, we’ve been here before, with full hookups.  It is super hot, 104 degrees, and we get the AC cranked up fast as possible and mostly stay in it the rest of the afternoon.
     


Rugged country


As Twinkles is checking in, she learns that the owner is a native of Elmira, NY where Twinkles lived when I met her.  I was in Elmira in the early 1980's for New Jersey Transit to monitor a railcar overhaul project being performed by ABB Traction.

In the evening I venture to a favorite Globe saloon, the “Drift Inn Saloon" as I need to keep myself hydrated in this heat.  The Snowdrift, built in 1902, is one of the oldest continuously operated bars in Arizona.  The barmaid saw me taking a couple of photos inside and asked me if I would like to see the “Bar stories” binder.  Hell yes, I love to see this stuff, bring it on (I didn’t really say that, but should have).  It told the story of a Italian Immigrant Pasquale Nigro, who built the building housing the Saloon in 1902.  He obviously was quite an industrious man who took risks. He started with a saloon in Tombstone which  failed, then went to Bisbee where he started another saloon but got in trouble for selling illegal bootleg Mescal and finally to Globe.  He built the International Lodging House and ultimately became a very successful businessman.  I also read in Bar Stories about a shooting in the bar on a Christmas morning and reports of ghostly happenings since on Christmas mornings in the bar. 

It’s also noteworthy that two gay women from Washington DC bought the Drift Inn about 15 years ago and have maintained it in near original condition to this day.  I don't approve of the overuse of bar advertising signs on every wall, but at least they didn't modernize it.
  
http://www.copperarea.com/pages/pasquale-nigro-interesting-part-globe-history/



The Drift Inn Saloon where you can sit on the front porch


Pool and shuffle board tables and an active juke box


We returned on another night to find a friendly crowd of
Apache youth in the bar


Great old painting on the wall, it goes on for another 20 feet


We visited the Gila County Historical Museum which we have somehow missed in previous visits.  It has a ton of local history on this area of the country.



Titled, A picture of good health


Painting of the beloved Toastmaster Cafe


This was a hard working family


A cowboy tribute


Globe in more prosperous days 


The Globe- Miami mining area is immence 


The Salada people were great potters


A few miles away is the Best Ba Gowah Pueblo ruins of the Salada people, we saw it back in 2012, but decided to take another look.  It is actually better than I remembered.  It is an excavated and partially reconstructed pueblo site that was occupied from about 1225 to 1400 AD.  It has 200 rooms and many artifacts were found during the excavation.  The Salada people are renown for their pottery style and quality.   The artifacts found in the ruins are on display in the museum in the visitor center.


A depiction of the Pueblo


This section of the Pueblo has been reconstructed
  

It is an impressive structure


It’s now time to return to Tucson to deal with our new house.  

Twinkles and Slick

Monday, June 18, 2018

Holbrook, AZ and the Petrified Forest

June 11 - 12, 2018:

The ride today could have been all I-40 at 70 MPH, but instead I slowed it down by taking historic route 66 for about 35 miles.  It wasn’t really a very interesting section of the Mother Road, but it was a more relaxed ride.  Of course, coming into Gallup, New Mexico I had to exit I-40 and take route 66 through the downtown area.  I could have stopped for hours and wandered around, but I’ve done that before and I don’t want to leave Twinkles waiting too long for me in Holbrook.  After Gallup, it’s back onto I-40 west through more Indian country, past several roadside Trading Posts, the Petrified Wood National Park entrance and to our destination in Holbrook, New Mexico.



Remains of an old Trading Post on route 66


I just can't resist train photos in front of mountain views


The El Rancho in Gallup is where the stars hung out


Many Indian souvenirs can be had along this route


I went into this shop at the Continental Divide and bought a soda 


We have been to Holbrook a few years ago staying at the same OK RV Park.  We’ve done and seen about everything here, but it’s still nice to come back to familiar places.  The petrified wood here is incredible, it’s everywhere.  We’ve been to many places where they are excited about a few logs, but here the streets are lined with it, if you dig a hole here, you probably hit petrified wood.  We always go to Jim Gray's Petrified Wood where they have a huge lot filled with huge petrified logs of all sizes for sale.



I thought about getting one, but they weigh tons and cost thousands


There is a huge inventory


The Rock Shop is one of the most interesting in Holbrook,
but always appears to be closed


A building built from petrified wood


Holbrook is a most interesting town with its route 66 nostalgia, its wild shoot em up cowboy history, the Indians, the Railroad, the gateway to Petrified Forest National Park and adjacent to I-40 with several Hotels and dining options.  I believe this is the 4th time I have visited over a period of 8 years and not much has changed over the years.  The historic downtown still appears depressed and half vacant and the newer business district isn't much better.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holbrook,_Arizona




It's very quiet these days on the Bucket of Blood Street 


I keep expecting some revival of this store, not yet
  

One of my favorite murals in Holbrook, on the side of
Corral Bar 


Probably the most photographed view in Holbrook


Along with this one of the Tee Pee Motel



I keep waiting for someone to do something with
this historic area and the original Bucket of Blood Saloon 


We go for dinner at Romo's Mexican & American Cafe which was very good and as we were sitting there we saw Indian dancing going in the park across the street.  It was very nice, there were many dancers, of all ages in great costumes.



Romo's is one of the top rated restaurants in Holbrook


We’ve been to Petrified Forest National Park a couple of times and it’s still amazing to see.  The colors and textures along the Blue Mesa Trail are the best for me and in spite the 95 degree temperature we do it again.  The Painted Desert Inn is always great to and the Painted Desert view from Tawa Point is incredible.  The ice cream at the Painted Desert Inn sure was good in the 95 degree heat.

It all began about 225 million years ago when when this area was located near the equator with a tropical climate.  The trees fell, became buried and eventually became petrified. After much tectonic continental movement and uplift the wood and fossils were exposed by erosion.  I wonder if this cycle is continuing now ?



This is a huge tree which has been reassembled for display


The colors vary much depending on the minerals they
were exposed to


There are many great views along overlooks in the park


A sign on the Blue Mesa Trail


The colors and layers are incredible


Twinkles looking at it all in amazement


The Painted Desert Inn was built by the CCC in 1937 - 1940.
It was a Harvey House Restaurant from 1947 - 1963


Great Hopi Indian murals inside painted by an Indian 
artist Fred Kabotie 


A better view of the Painted Desert Inn


The actual Painted Desert


I feel like I an doing a farewell tour, first Santa Fe, then through Gallup to Holbrook and now on to Globe, all places we have spent considerable time at.   

The next and last stop is Globe, Arizona before we return to Tucson;

Twinkles and Slick