Soguaro Cactus around Gilbert Ray County Park

Soguaro  Cactus around Gilbert Ray County Park

I spent the morning looking at maps to plan my route north and also because the weather was so chilly a lot of people were hanging around the campsite so I enjoyed chatting with some people from Colorado and Idaho. Today I had lunch about five miles down the road at the Coyote Pause Café – I liked that name so I decided to check it out – I also liked their pear cactus lemonade. Next time I come here I would like to try out the Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant, but it’s 15 miles from here, and I don’t feel like driving a single mile extra right now if I don’t have to.

Old Tucson – a movie set “where the spirit of the old west comes alive” looked super busy so I didn’t drop in there. Instead, I drove to Saguaro National Park. There is a $10.00 admission and they don’t let you see their movie unless you have paid the entrance fee so I decided to give it a miss and drove back a few minutes to the Tucson Mountain Park which seems to have all the same cactus, just no entrance fee. The road has lots of huge dips, bumps, and no shoulder at all, crazy tough for cyclists. And there is no end to dweeb drivers who are going too fast. One was right on my back bumper and he seemed to have missed my turn signal because the next thing I heard was a great squeal of brakes and smoke rising up from his tires.

It’s raining tonight and still chilly. I can’t wait for this weather system to pass. I will pack up and be on the road tomorrow, heading north. I guess I have around 2,800 km/1760 miles to drive so best get at it. The weather is going to be a big factor in which route to go, inland or over to I-5 which I would rather avoid for as long as possible.

 

Musings:

In an article for the Desert Times, park volunteer Rae Jean Schlimgen writes about living in the desert and notes that “almost everything has thorns. There are scorpions, spiders, venomous snakes, not to mention a relentless sun and killer heat. Arizona is the rattlesnake capital of the U.S., and is second only to Australia in incidents of skin cancer” She concludes: “Doesn’t sound too welcoming.” I agree with her, there are a lot of things to watch out for and I have found out first hand or should I say first foot that some of those thorns can drill right through your shoe and end up making you dance a jig in the dust. But the light here, the immense distances, the blue mountains, the tenacious tough plants, the tiny blooms, and the big sky hanging over it all makes me want to stay.