and now from Tucson

We pulled away from our very comfy hotel at 7 AM and drove down the quiet streets of Palm Springs through a light drizzle. The hotel provided us with a rather strange breakfast; an omelet made with, I think, one egg mixed with about a cup of water to stretch it out. Totally tasteless but hot. Back onto I-10 ~ a freeway to be avoided at any cost ~ through the barren, drab California desert, heading for Blythe and the Arizona border. The CHP was out in force; we saw many drivers who had been pulled over for speeding. For heaven's sake; the speed limit out there is 70 MPH! How fast do you have to go, anyway?


We crossed the border into Arizona (sorry about the quality of this photo but it's hard to get a really good shot at 70 MPH)about 10 AM, which was actually 11 AM because of the 1-hour time difference. Then we picked up 1-8, a much better road, then the 85 connector back to the congested I-10. This takes us through Gila Bend, not a garden spot by any means, but there's a funky motel there that we always stay in as we are heading back to California. Anyway, we are now tucked up in our hotel in Tucson, have made a provisions run to the local Trader Joe's and are well stocked with snacks and wine for the long trip down the Mexican coast. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will not get stopped and inspected and have all our treasures (liquid) confiscated. So tomorrow morning we head a bit east, then hang a right on Highway 19 to Nogales and try our luck.

This is the photo I should have put up yesterday of the snow on the Grapevine. It covered the eastern end and the summit, but at about Gorman it disappeared. Too warm as we headed down into the LA basin.

Next stop will be San Carlos or Alamos, both in the state of Sonora, MX. Maybe a message from there.