2009-05-19 ... 6:58 p.m.

previous - next

A thrilling ride home

Holy cannoli, Batman, what a ride home I had!

I started out, sadly, at 10:30. Sadly, because it would have been nice to stay and play for a month or so, but responsibilities call. So I set off, and after passing the first border patrol checkpoint, I just cruised.

Dang, I have to see about getting cruise control installed in my car. It sucks to have to keep watching my speed.

I would loved to stay, and I really enjoyed my time with casa-rosie, but I must admit, the scenery on the way back was beautiful. Not that it isn't nice on the way out, but there's something about the desert with the mountains of Arizona in the distance that really is beautiful to me.

Southern Arizona would be an awesome place to live, if only everything wasn't so far apart. For now I'll just stay in San Diego.

It was all good, gorgeous, hawks circling and dust devils twirling and spinning until they just disappeared. I saw FIVE army tanks being transported on flatbed trucks, and a giant yellow smiley face off the side of the road. No carnies, though. Bummer.

And the high temperature during my ride, according to my car, was 112 degrees (Fahrenheit). That was just east of Yuma.

I was just over the border of California, near the Imperial sand dunes,

when the sand started drifting over the road. Dude! It looked like drifting snow!! That should have been a clue... but I haven't run into that before, so I just kept driving. I realized it was pretty windy to make the sand blow across the road like that.

The view ahead suddenly disappeared. The sky and the surrounding areas all were the same shade of off-white. I figured it was just a bunch of dust, since there had been dust devils everywhere before that.

I was about 20 miles from El Centro when it cleared up, and became REALLY windy. I noticed a big cloud overhead, and in Wisconsin, that would have meant a downpour. Not here. It looked the same as the cloud that hovered over the mountains yesterday when I went to Bisbee with Rosie... and that cloud was due to smoke. So I figured that there were fires, and I was hoping I would be able to make it through the mountains.

It wasn't smoke. It was dust. A hell of a lot of it. There was so much at one point that I slowed down to 45mph because I couldn't see very far to drive. It lasted for about 25 seconds.. scary!!

Then I got a few drops of rain on my windshield, and finally I was out of it. I did see some lightning off to my left, so there was likely some rain somewhere. Cripes!!!

Once I got into the mountains, the rest of the ride was gorgeous. I wish I could take pictures while I am driving, but the pictures really don't do the scenery justice.

I stopped at a lookout tower and took some pictures from there. This tower was about 90 minutes from home. I will post a few of the pictures. If you click on one, and you have a photobucket account, you can look at the rest of them. If not, email me and I will send you my password so you can see all of the pics. I took 29 pictures!

It was so amazing up there. If it had been clear, I could have seen a lot farther... there again, the camera just cannot capture what I see. So here goes..

It was one of the most breathtaking things I've seen. Truly amazing!

And of course, no entry with pictures would be complete without a cactus..

There was a gift shop there (of course) and you had to pay to go to the top of the tower. That also gave you admission to the caves which were rocks that had spaces big enough for people.. This picture shows all the "caves". There is a man crawling on the rocks and he's wearing a white shirt.. that gives you an idea of how big the rocks are. Some were carved into animals...

This picture shows the tower from which I took the first pictures, and also the mountains, the desert behind them, and the dark skies

I had climbed up that hill to see the "springs" that were also here. I got halfway up the hill and wondered where the water was from the springs. I looked up, and, lo and behold, I saw the springs!

Yeah. Since it was pretty warm, I was really glad I had a cold drink still in the car. (No, Rosie, the ice was gone!) I made my way back home and was glad to see my apartment! Good thing I don't work until 10 tomorrow!!

previous - next

Kiss Me!

11 comments so far

Rosie - 2009-05-20 03:35:26
On a clear day you can see the Salton Sea! Maybe one of these days when I have a 4WD again, I will take you out to the other neat places out there, like Smugglers cave, and the Elliot Garnet mine. Them's mah stompin' grounds!
-------------------------------
mpeacock - 2009-05-20 04:09:33
I have lived in a lot of places (Oregon 20 years, California 10 years, Belgium 3 years, Arizona 6 years, that makes me only 39, two missing years at sea...then? I guess longer in OR) but I think I am truly an Arizonian now. Yes, AZ is beautiful and I like to be warm.
-------------------------------
wordy - 2009-05-20 06:02:10
i love arizona. my grandmother used to live there and from her stories, i grew up with a fondness even before i saw it - when i saw, i fell in love with it. my younger sis lived in southern AZ (in Paradise!) for a few years and she and my mom also lived near Flagstaff for a while. they both have nothing but good things to say about it.
-------------------------------
LA - 2009-05-20 11:47:25
Thank you so much for the pics and wonderful descriptions! That country is about as 'not like here' as you can get and still be on the same planet. Were I there I'd be enchanted and a bit freaked at the same time, I am so very much of my place, you see, all that all the beauty and strangeness would knock me over. Thanks again! ~LA
-------------------------------
words-4-less - 2009-05-20 12:10:38
I LOVE southern Arizona! The places you have been mentioning, Tombstone and Bisbee have a special place in my heart. I would love to move there when I retire.....or even sooner!!!!
-------------------------------
yankeechick - 2009-05-20 12:50:21
During our short 5 years of 'retirement' when we were traveling so much, we would spend about a month (during March and April) in Arizona. It is truly a unique and beautiful place! And February in Yuma is wonderful as well. Much past those dates and a person could FRY! hot, hot, hot...One of my favorite places in AZ is Salt River Canyon. OMG! Sooo beautiful! Hope you get to venture there one day. Sounds like a great visit and terrific (if precarious ) drive home!
-------------------------------
Poolie - 2009-05-20 13:12:06
I known you are drawn to the desert - and for good reason. Maybe when you become a best-selling author, you can move to Bisbee and enjoy all the beauty all the time!
-------------------------------
Tempewytch - 2009-05-20 13:45:09
Stunning photographs, it made my afternoon looking at them! Thank you :-)
-------------------------------
Jerry Cooper - 2009-05-20 16:48:43
sorry I don't have a url. plus why do you need one sign Jerry Eugene Cooper!
-------------------------------
MFV - 2009-05-20 17:42:28
LA sent me here: hello! Beautiful pictures; I particularly liked the one of the tower. You make me want to visit the USA again, someday... J.
-------------------------------
Paula - 2009-05-20 17:44:38
God I love Arizona..thanks for sharing the pictures...I forgot how beautiful it is.
-------------------------------

Did you miss a piece?

- - 2012-08-23
- - 2012-07-31
- - 2012-07-12
- - 2012-06-27
- - 2012-06-16

design