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