Day 187 - Fri 31 Jan 2020 - Renaissance Faire

As luck would have it, there is a Renaissance Faire in town. A large group of volunteers re-enacts life in the 1500-1600's. A whole village has been built and we see pirates, jesters, royalty and jousters.

The jousting show is pretty impressive. The knights go at it in full armour!

Niels is knighted after an intense game of jumbo jenga against an duke who had to use his sword in the game, instead of his hands.

And he has a go at ax throwing... bulls-eye!!

The highlight must have been the Black Powder show which includes a demonstration of the very first pistol, many different types of pistols & rifles and some artillery pieces. Gradually increasing the volume of the salvo's. They are also very knowledgeable about the what and how of piracy, explaining how the pirates lived and fought, and of course about all the different types of guns.

As a little bonus for Martijn, the neighbouring Marine Air base is prepping for their Air Show to be held in March. He's especially pleased with seeing the F-35 for the fist time in the sky, and there's a C-130, some F-18's and T-45's...

Today: 33km - 1h20m

Total: 22,325km - 436h7m

Day 186 - Thu 30 Jan 2020 - Yuma

We're having to pack up from our desert paradise as we are running low on all supplies. We heard it's a bit warmer to the south in Yuma so that's where we'll head. There should be plenty of places around Yuma as well to camp in the desert. Looking at the long-term weather report it appears that over the next two weeks there will be 2 separate spells of below 10 C at night so we'll plan our nights on and off campsites accordingly. Fingers crossed it all works out!

Today: 119km - 2h
Total: 22,292km - 434h47m

Day 185 - Wed 29 Jan 2020 - Signal Hill

At breakfast we are treated to a glorious sunrise over Signal Hill.

It looks so beautiful, we decide to see if we can hike up Signal Hill. We drive 10km of dirt road which takes us half an hour! But we can park right at the base of the hill. Our little trailer is out there somewhere...

There is a hiking trail through the canyon which is still in the shade and quite chilly. Good thing we were still wearing our jumpers. After about 30 mins we get to a spot from where you can see palm trees growing in a little micro-climate up one side of the canyon. A left-over from the days when the climate was much wetter here.

Niels and Martijn do some rock scrambling to get closer to the palm trees. They get quite far, but cannot find a route all the way there. After a bit of chatting with other Canadian hikers we explore further on. There is hardly a path anymore so we have to figure out how to keep going. There is also a lot of scrambling involved. We're all having a great time, especially Niels.

We get to a point were we're not quite sure how to proceed, and our tummies are starting to rumble so we head back. In total the walk was about 2 hours and we'd love to come back another day to see if we can scale the full 1,460 m to the top (since we're already at 400 m and parked at 600 m height).

At night another campfire for burgers and beaver tails. Delicious. And we've learned we should keep the bonnet of the car slightly open so the mice don't use the engine compartment as a nest. We'll check tomorrow...

Today: 21km - 1h
Total: 22,173km - 432h42m

Day 184 - Tue 28 Jan 2020 - Escape to the desert

Well, we were not disappointed. The freight train ran all night and it was a busy night for the emergency services. Not a lot of sleep for us :-(

But, our waste tanks are empty and the freezer is restocked with bread. While Niels and Lucy do their schoolwork Janine researches some desert camping a little further west.

After showers, lunch and filling up the fresh water tank we head out again.

We find our next piece of paradise as the late afternoon sunlight makes the hill in our back yard appear especially red.

Today: 234km - 3h26m
Total: 22,151km - 431h42m

Day 183 - Mon 27 Jan 2020 - From the desert to the suburbs

Our tanks are full and we are in need of some showers so we need to find a campsite. After a bit of calling around we find one.

While we are packing up the next group of horseback riders arrive. Big hats, big boots, big trucks, big horses. Not a bad place to go riding though, can't really blame them.

On the way out we stop by another ghost town. The Goldfield Ghost Town is actually reconstructed, but it is really nicely done.

We navigate across the outskirts of Phoenix to our next campground. We were hoping to stay here a few nights, but it's actually in the suburbs and we can hear the freight train honking, sirens ringing and traffic roaring... should be a fun night...

Today: 94km - 2h15m
Total: 21,917km - 428h15m

Day 182 - Sun 26 Jan 2020 - Phoenix

We head further North towards Phoenix. On the way we call some campgrounds. Unfortunately, they are all 55+ only. Our next option is another spot on public land near Phoenix, near the town Superstition. It's quite full, most other campers are also to young for the 55+ campgrounds. There are also many people here with their horses as there are some horse trails starting here.

We get talking with some middle aged you-tubers. Apparently most of the campgrounds around here are 55+, and all campgrounds are very busy with snowbirds (people spending the winter South).

Tomorrow we'll have to make some more phone calls and figure out the next week. It looks like the weather is not really moving for another 2 weeks at least.

Today: 137km - 2h30m
Total: 21,823km - 425h58m

Day 181 - Sat 25 Jan 2020 - Tuscon

Time to move again. Surprisingly, it is actually warmer a few hours North so we head towards Tuscon. On the way, we finally see the tall 'coathanger' or 'organ pipe' cactus plants, the icon of the American West. Whole fields of them!

On the way we pass one of those airplane boneyards. Hundreds of airplanes waiting to be dismantled and sold for parts and scrap.

We find a great spot on public land. There are a few other campers already there, including a young couple who have their horses in an old cattle pen there. It's a real community feel, everyone is looking out for each other.

We go for a little walk around and spot some really gigantic saguaro cactii. This one was easily 10m tall and therefore around 150 years old.

Also spotted, coyote footprints.

We also finally get to have a campfire again. Stuffed and smelly we roll into bed.

We are serenaded to sleep by the wild coyotes and cactus wrens.

Today: 157km - 2h30m
Total: 21,686km - 423h23m

Day 180 - Fri 24 Jan 2020 - At home

Another day at home. We entertain the entire campsite with our game of hide and seek tag.

Today: 0km - 0h
Total: 21,530km - 420h53m

Day 179 - Thu 23 Jan 2020 - At home

We stayed at home for the ususal. At night, the sky is amazing, sooooo many stars.

Today: 82km - 1h32m
Total: 21,530km - 420h53m

Day 178 - Wed 22 Jan 2020 - Tombstone

Time for another field trip. We make our way to Tombstone to visit the site of one of the infamous Wild West shoot outs.

Being so close to the border, the town was an open market for cattle stolen from ranches in Mexico by the 'Cochise Cowboys'. In those days the word cowboy meant rustler or cattle thief. The Earp brothers (including Wyatt of later fame) and Doc Holliday were keen to clean up the town as it was better for (their) business.

For months tension had been rising between the two groups and the cowboys had been uttering threats against the Earps who had become deputy marshals. The actual gunfight took place on Oct 26, 1881 around 3pm. The 4 'good' guys confronted the the 4 'bad' guys on a vacant lot. When the shooting started they were only about 6 feet apart from each other. After 30 seconds and about 30 shots, 3 bad guys lay dead on the ground (one had ran away). The 'good' guys all walked away, some with minor injuries. We witness a comedic gunfight show re-enacting the whole lead up and showdown.

There was a lot of debate around town and in the press surrounding the shooting. Later, the 'good' guys were actually trialed for murder, but acquitted. In revenge, one of them was killed and another survived an attempt on his live. Wyatt Earp became quite notorious due to events before and after the Tombstone gunfight. It became hard to tell what was real and what not. He eventually sold his story to book publishers and Hollywood who romaticised him into a western superhero...

The town prospered in the early 1880's but suffered from fires and mining disasters. By the mid 1880's the population started to dwindle. The main road in town has been reconstructed to look like as it did in the 1880s. We have a lovely time walking around and talking to the cowboys and marshals. It really feels like the Wild West and we spot some authentic bullet holes around town.

Janine and Niels go on for some shopping and stop by at the Visitor Information Center in Benson where Niels gets to drive the model train.

Today: 82km - 1h32m

Total: 21,530km - 420h53m

Day 177 - Tue 21 Jan 2020 - Rainy day

Another one of those rare rainy days. Fortunately they have a great DVD library here so we watch some movies, do some schoolwork, some baking and tidying up. The usual stuff.

It looks like the colder weather is here to stay so we sign up for another week at the campground. Hopefully by then the warmer weather will be coming in so we can continue our travels.

Today: 0km - 0h

Total: 21,447km - 419h20m

Day 176 - Mon 20 Jan 2020 - On strike

We all go on strike and refuse to get in the car today. So it's back to baking, laundry, schoolwork, blog updates, etc. We do manage a quick little walk out of the campground and Niels and Lucy find some sticks to whittle into walking sticks.

All the campers and the staff are super nice and relaxed. We get some beautiful rocks from one of our neighbours. Niels gets his fix in petting the dogs.

Today: 0km - 0h

Total: 21,447km - 419h20m

Apache Mobile Park, 79 N Apache Trail Box 237, St David, AZ 85630, USA

Day 175 - Sun 19 Jan 2020 - Arizona

Turns out it did not freeze last night. It was actually not as cold as expected. It is a beautiful desert campground, and staff and other campers are lovely but we are determined to make it through this mountain range.

As we drive on, we see mountain ranges all around us. We even see snow capped peaks on Mount Graham! Somehow, the Interstate manages to snake around them all. We gain and lose altitude along the way, but nothing strenuous. The car keeps rolling on like a dream. We say goodbye to New Mexico and enter Arizona.

Tired from all the driving we reach our campsite for the next few days, weather permitting...

Today: 302km - 4h

Total: 21,447km - 419h20m

Day 174 - Sat 18 Jan 2020 - Desert Driving and Camping

A day of driving so some road side observations: pecan nut farms, signs for how to deal with a sand storms, tumbleweed, lots and lots of trucks, border control stations checking the trucks (they keep asking us if we are US citizens, despite our Ontario plates on the car...).

Since we are heading towards a mountain pass and the weather is a bit colder than usual we need to be a bit lucky with our overnight stops. We decided not to stop in El Paso since it is a very busy city so we keep driving.

Unfortunately we luck out at the casino just across the state border in New Mexico. Just 15 mins before we arrive they had filled the last spot. Many casinos here have hook-ups for RV's!

So we drive on again. A bit further in New Mexico we finally set up at the campground in the dark. We put the tap on a very slow drip just in case it dips below freezing tonight.

Today: 514km - 6h54m

Total: 21,145km - 415h18m

Day 173 - Fri 17 Jan 2020 - Big Bend National Park day 3

We pack up again and are on our way with many stops today.

First off we view the 'Mule Ears' which really are natural dikes. Millions of years ago magma was trying to find a way up and filled cracks in the soft limestone. Since then, the limestone has eroded away, but the harder solidified magma still stands.

Next stop is the 'Lower Burro Mesa Pouroff'. A pouroff is a seasonal waterfall. Add millions of years to the mix and you get a vertical channel eroded in the rock.

Niels and Lucy have a go a climbing it but it's pretty smooth. Eventually Niels manages to get up quite a bit.

The weather has been closing in over the last few days and our views are pretty limited today...

Whilst this creates some dramatic views, it also means that going up to the top of Chiros Mountain is going to be pointless. The weather is not looking any better for the next few days so unfortunately we're going to have to miss out.

On our way out of the park the landscape changes again. Instead of mountains we see deep and wide valleys in the plateau. This section is called 'The Badlands' and is similar to 'The Badlands' that we saw on a previous trip to Alberta.

We drive to Terlingua, a mining ghost town. In the early 1900's the Mercury mining was very good here, but it did not last very long.

Now, only few people live here but tourism keeps the town going.

After another big drive we make it to our next campground. Niels and Lucy have fun on the saddle swing.

Today: 297km - 5h

Total: 20,630km - 408h24m

Day 172 - Thu 16 Jan 2020 - Big Bend National Park day 2

Straight after breakfast we go to the hot springs. On the walk to the springs we see pictographs (images painted on the rocks) and petroglyphs (images carved into the rocks) from about 3000 years ago.We also see another roadrunner and a red desert cardinal.

A natural springs feeds about 750,000 liters of water at 40 degress Celsius every day. Martijn and Janine even brave a quick dip in the cold river.

After that we take a guided walk with a Park Ranger and learn about the geology of the park. It is one of few places in the world where 2 mountain ranges cross eachother. The Rocky Mountains start here and run North to South, East to West is a range that connects to the Appalachians on the East coast.

We see a whole group of those grinding holes, one is as deep as Niels' arm!

After packing up the trailer we drive to the other end of the park. On the way we do another short desert walk and see many different type of cacti and other desert plants.

We park up on the campground and have time for another walk before dinner. We go to the Santa Elena Canyon. It's a bit of a scramble to get over the Terlingua Creek but the view is rewarding. We see tons of marine fossils in what is now the canyon wall.

Today: 140km - 3h30m

Total: 20,333km - 402h49m