Leaving Mesa, AZ we headed southeast a mere 113 miles to Tucson. Enroute, I took advantage of the Blue Beacon Truck Stop Truck Wash in Eloy, AZ and got all the current rig road grunge taken care of for now. Clean and shiny again in just 15 minutes, $40. We love Tucson. More old west atmosphere than Phoenix, but still the SW desert. It is the home of miles of legendary Saguaro Cactus. We did hit one SNAFU when we stopped to water up prior to heading out to camp I discovered the fresh water drain plug was not only stuck in the open (drain) position, the knob was broken off. We always 'boondock' at Snyder Hill on the Ajo Highway about 10 miles west of the South Tucson metro area, but this time we set camp just up the road at Old Ajo Hwy. These are both BLM land and as such there are no services whatsoever. Better in and out access and lots of gravel; important with the incoming rain. We came prepared: solar power and generator if needed. However, all we get is bottled water. FREE
Camp Ajo, Tucson
We love Tucson as well as the entire area. Saguaro National Park is always worth a visit as is Old Tucson, where so many westerns were filmed. The famous USAF Boneyard near Davis Monthan AF Base is worth the tour as well. www.airplaneboneyards.com/davis-monthan-afb-amarg-airplane-boneyard.htm Plus, I can get an 'In and Out Burger' here. DOUBLE DOUBLE PROTEIN STYLE. That's right, no bread, just the rest. No carbs, but delicious.
We are also here to visit a very good friend from our USAF days, Mark Page. He and his family live south of town. Mark and his wife are both USAF retirees, but she is collecting that Civil Service $$$. Their beautiful daughter is a sophomore at a local high school. We met at an excellent Mexican Seafood Restaurant for lunch. http://cafevalencia.company.site I loved the food, the Cameron Culiche was delicious. If I were to live in Arizona, it would be near Tucson. After lunch we hit up Camping World for the new freshwater drain valve.
From here we head south to El Paso then on to our winter home in Texas. 299 miles later we pulled into Fort Stockton, TX for an overnight. This is one of the largest, if not the largest park we've every stayed at. 203 very spacious sites, 94 of which are covered. ftstocktontxrvpark.com Fair priced at $32 a day. This will also give me an opportunity to look up and chat with a guide that I am interesting booking with next fall for a javelina hunt.
On this leg of the 'Cuisine Trail' I served razor clam strips with slaw, pan seared sablefish, Pitkin County Pork Steaks, Razor Clam Strips, and Bacon Cheeseburger Twice Baked Taters among others.
We arrived at Rotodome Ranch in Leakey, TX 15 December. Good to be back. By now the highs and lows of diesel prices are a blur, but averaged 12.8 mpg this leg. Lots of projects to do this winter and only a couple of months to do it. It is also Barb's turn this year to harvest a nice Axis Deer.
NOTE: As always, we were passed by an exponential number of cars and semis this trip, but I was always amazed at the number of Amazon Prime trucks on the road. We saw at least 20 per day. Somewhere Jeff Bezos is smiling and drinking his single malt.
"Travel isn't always pretty. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that's okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind."
Anthony Bourdain
WiFi courtesy of AT & T Wireless
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