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