Casa Grande, AZ at Desert Shadows

Sunday we made the short trip from Benson to Casa Grande, about 120 miles. We checked into a Western Horizons park named Desert Shadows, a little before noon and it's our first time here. There were 5 or 6 RVs checking in at the same time and guess what....one couple was a fellow Haulin' HitchHiker.....JV & Carolyn Evans. The last time we met was in TX when a rally was cancelled due to hurricane Ike. We had a long visit & cocktail hour with them Monday. Desert Shadows is such a nice name but the park isn't quite like it sounds. It is growing on us though. We took a site in the back which is against a block wall and when we stand up we can see over it. A bunch of old falling down wood corals & small buildings. Now, what's nifty is the donkey, rooster & peacock that hee haw, crow & squawk. It's kinda nice, Patches thinks there's a strange jungle on the other side of that wall, she's a little concerned something over there might get her.

Monday was meeting with a Western Horizon rep, lunch at KFC, laundry, Curves, grocery & post office day. Today, Tuesday, was a VERY busy day. It was in the low 70s and starting tomorrow it's going to be in the 80s for awhile so we spent the day washing the RV and then the truck. I'm pooped, Judy worked harder than me and is still going. Patches, she's having a great time watching all the birds and Judy has been going to the clubhouse playing cards, attending presentations, bingo and such. This might not be a beautiful desert park but it has activities up the ying yang.

Gammon's Gulch

Today we went to Gammon's Gulch, about 20 miles outside Benson in the boonies. It has been under "construction" since 1971. The man who owns it and has built it (that's him playing the banjo) is the son of John Wayne's body guard, he has old pictures to prove it. He said he's always wanted his own western town but couldn't afford to buy one so he built his own. Some buildings are originals that he moved there, other he's built. There have been 40 some movies that have used his town, mostly westerns. I suspect they were B movies, he has been in several of them. He was 11 when he was a drummer boy leading a funeral procession in El Dorado with John Wayne & Robert Mitchum.

It's getting nicer out, the wind has finally returned to a gently breeze, and it's in the high 60s.

Pima Air & Space Museum, Tuscon AZ, & the boneyard

We had a busy day starting in line at 9am when the museum opened to get tickets.

First the boneyard, 4400 planes in short (3 years or less) or long (3 to 25 years) or salvage (disassemble for parts then scrap the leftovers). Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and foreign planes & helicopters, even 2 missiles. Big planes, little planes; hummers, desks & chairs and we passed a few hundred cars & trucks confiscated for smuggling drugs. Rows & rows of airplanes, many were unique and some waiting for museums to pick them up.

Second was a tram tour of the outside museum planes, I never knew there were so many different planes. President Johnson's planes, Eisenhower's helicopter, Russian, Canadian, Swiss, NASA, CIA (unmarked), Italian, French, commercial, one with an engine cylinder that blew through the engine cowling (still there) landing at the museum, etc, etc, etc. Someone has a sense of humor....there was a sign & tie downs in an empty space marked as a B117 stealth fighter.

Finally we walked through several hangers full of more planes. The most impressive hanger, to me, was dedicated to the 390th bomb squadron based in England during WWII flying B17s.

We returned to Benson and had a real good Mexican lunch/dinner before returning home. Great day.

Tombstone, "the town too tuff to die"

Today we went for a ride, did ya see the picture of the dinosaur that ate a McDonalds? After that we went south near the Mexican border then to Tombstone. We were there 2 years ago and enjoyed the courthouse museum but the city is a tourist trap. Judy had some info on the remaining original building, the Birdcage Theater, which was built from bricks so wasn't destroyed when the rest of the wooden structures were destroyed by fire in the 1890s (Jody & Bruce....it looked A LOT older than your house!). The Bird Cage was a bar, gambling house, theater & house of ill repute.

Wyatt Earp & his brothers spent time there as did Doc Holiday who dealt

faro, his table is still there as are some of his dental tools. How about the "rental" casket used for showings then into the pine box ya went for the trip to boot hill in the hearse called Black Miarara. They had a high stakes ($1000) poker game going around the clock for 8 years. You gave them you stake and waited 3 or 4 days to sit in when another player left.

When we returned home Judy finished the laundry while I made supper then she played Mexican Train for nickles.

R&R weekend

We went downtown to check it out, not much there. I think 50% of Benson is RV parks. We did a little shopping and had lunch at Subway Saturday. Sunday Judy went to church at the clubhouse and did 2 loads of laundry. The weather today wasn't the best, mid 60s and snow clouds. A little rain and lots of wind. Patches is very consistant...sleep, sleep & more sleep.

Benson, AZ

Caution, guard cat on duty. We had an easy 170 mile day to Benson, AZ and

arrived a little after noon. The CG is nothing to write home about but it's a no charge membership park and Judy is sitting outside soaking up the 74 degree sunshine; & that's what we were after. We'll be here 9 days and have some exploring to do, I also want to get the truck serviced. Well, 3 consecutive days in the 70s, sweet.

Deming, NM & another 70 degree day

We had another long day & covered 335 miles. We stopped just before El Paso at a rest area for lunch and a break. Patches was well behaved in the back seat for 6 1/2 hours but was glad to get back inside her house. I have to say that that cat can sleep & sleep & sleep! We remembered passing miles of stinky cow factory pens when we saw them again today. LOTS of cows. Judy was excited and texted Jody when we saw the first tumbleweed of the trip. We are at the Escapee Dream Catchers RV Park for the night. I'd like to stay another night but after checking the weather tomorrow is the better day to travel because of the winds. The park managers are friends, Wanda & Wallace, we have met here, in Branson, MO & Gillette, WY. They told us of a Shepard's Pie dinner tonight so we went....boy, it was good! Looking forward to sitting still tomorrow after a short day to Benson, AZ.