Three weeks into this trip and today will be the hottest yet with a forecast high of 28C. Ahh. š
To follow on from yesterdays theme of āStranger thingsā, we awoke this morning to the notification that we had crossed into a new time-zone. Hey! Wait a minute, AZ is in Mountain time, isnāt it? Yes, yes it isā¦ but they do not observe DST and as such in early March they do not turn their clocks ahead thereby effectively moving themselves into the Pacific timezone until October. We are now 3hrs behind our family at home.
Barb rates the showers here a solid 9/10 yet I feel I should remove a point as they decide to clean the restrooms at 10am a full hour before checkout even though the sign on the outside of the building indicates that they clean at 11am. Grumble.
Driving today is split into two parts, the first taking us to Tombstone, AZ and the second to Tuscon, AZ where we will be stopping for 3 nights.
The drive to Tombstone started on the now very familiar I-10W for 30min and just outside of Willcox, over the first mountain range the scenery suddenly changed to be that of a giants rock garden. The rocks (boulders) look as if they simply been strewn about by a group of unruly teenage giants. Of course, they exist as they do because over time the softer rock around them has simply washed away leaving these boulders to rest as they do. Quite a sight.
Leaving the I-10W and turning South towards Tombstone we cross ranch land where the road simply cuts through a farmers ranch and entry and exit from the farm is made by crossing a cattle-grate. A smattering of Pecan orchards are still seen but itās mostly open ranch land before after 30min we arrive in Tombstone.
Tombstone, AZ is most famously known as the site of the āgunfight at the OK corralā but the town, like many in the West had its start in mining when silver and gold were found in the mid 1800s. The town has experienced three massive fires throughout its history and the mines have also been closed multiple times because of flooding. After each catastrophe many have thought it would be the end of Tombstone, but no it lives on earning the nickname āThe town that will not dieā.
The town today lives on as a National Historic Site and survives on the tourism industry. Itās kitschy and yet not overly done. Sure we purchased tickets to the live reenactment of the āshootoutā that is performed several time a day but the town feels honest. The Main Street is unpacked and has horse rails and the sidewalks are boardwalks under the eaves of the storefronts. There are no modern establishments made to look like they existed in the 1800s, the stores are all small craftspeople outlets making and selling leather goods, jewelry, tobacco. The restaurants are old saloons that now serve food as well as whiskey. We had a great time, and would recommend this for anyone traveling in the area.
Leaving Tombstone we were required to pass through a US Border Patrol checkpoint (you get used to these down here, even on the interstates) we retraced our steps North, back to the I-10W where we joined the highway into Tuscon. We are staying at the KOA Lazydays RV park at the SouthWest corner of the city. Although busy the site we have is spacious and has a patio and itās own Orange tree (no oranges, Boo). There are however Grapefruit and Lemon trees about the park that they welcome visitors to pick and enjoy.
All for today, talk soon.