New Mexico and into Arizona

From Texas the plan was to mess around in New Mexico for a couple of weeks but when we got there the cold front that prompted a quick exit from Texas was threatening to force us into jeans again… so we stayed one night at Rock Hound State park and then into Arizona. Incidentally it is called that because unlike other parks you can legally collect up to 12 lbs of rock from the gem encrusted surrounding mountains… our visit was too brief to find a single diamond - but it was a stunning location.

Arizona was fantastic… no other word for it fantastic!


Take the saguaro (Sa wah roo) cactus - a universal symbol for desert in North America. They look like forests of people standing around on the hills and mountains as far as the eye can see cutting human silhouettes against the sunset sky. The local Indians respect them like people, having just one word for both people and saguaro’s. To them we come from the earth and go back into the earth so they are all part of us and we are part of them – cute!

They are symbolic in many other ways not least patience and passage of time – very little happens quickly in the desert. It takes a saguaro 50 years to grow to six foot and 75 years before they sprout an arm as the grow to a 50ft maximum (200+years)… storing 200 gallons of water from a single rain storm.

Just like most people they can be as prickly as hell if you push for that photo opportunity!

Much of Arizona is a desert and bound to be hell in summer but let’s face it for the 2 weeks that we were there it was warm, in the high 70’s, wall to wall sunshine set in a deep blue sky with just amazing sunsets – every day! What more can one ask for? Occasionally when you travel you can be lucky enough to witness the most unbelievable sunset.

We were lucky in Arizona, the pictures do not do them justice… For the second sunset, by good fortune, we decided to have a BBQ that night as we were camped only 10ft from the Colorado River. We enjoyed a glass of wine (no insects, just perfect)… watching the sun go down with California just 100ft across the river. This RV life has its good and not so good points but it does gives you access to views from your bedroom window that you could never find (or afford) at any hotel anywhere.

We have followed the following route… Kartchner Cavens (Benson) Tucson Mountain Park, Saguaro National Park, Organ Pipe National Monument (Mexican Border issues again), Usery Mountain Park (Phoenix… sunset 1), Alamo Lake (very remote and close up with the coyotes)… Cattail Cove (on Colorado river), Lake Havasu City (think old London Bridge SOLD (moved and rebuilt) by some yanks in the 60’s) and finally La Paz near the Parker Dam on the Colorado again (sunset 2).

After 5 months some stats from Jane’s diary… over 8000 miles across 12 states, staying in 10 National Parks and too many state parks for Jane to count tonight, while spending 25.7% of Chris, Kate, Taryn and Logan’s inheritance… only joking closer to 23% :)

After peering across the Colorado river into California for a week we have taken the plunge after a final look at how strange and quirky Arizona can be by a trip to the world’s largest RV Rally turning the small 4000 population town of Quartzsite into a sea of RV’s parked for miles and miles into the desert… bringing over 300,000 people in them and yes you are right Bob and Mabel’s ville was not for us………………

Arizona we love you!

Jane and Den x