OUR ROAD TRIP

Anita and Madison drive to TEXAS

                              

The best advice I can offer to anyone driving anywhere in the country is to stay off the interstate.  Be spontaneous and adventurous.  There are so many small towns and points of interest to be discovered and enjoyed.  So don’t whiz by at maximum speed on a boring freeway.   

Our trip began on Friday morning at approximately 11 a.m.  I left Victorville and headed East on Bear Valley to Highway 82 through Lucerne with my cat Madison.  Friends, Lucerne is not the center of the universe, but it is a cute little desert town with a terrific place to eat.  Be sure to visit Lettie’s when passing through.  Once in Yucca Valley, we drove toward Joshua Tree National Park.

                                                                                                      

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California friends, many of you have never been to Joshua Tree National Park.  I find that shocking.  It is heaven in the desert.  There are hiking trails for all levels, off-road routes, and rock climbing for those adrenaline junkies.  If you don’t even own a pair of hiking boots, the least you can do is watch the rock climbers and take a nature walk through Cholla Garden.  At least go for a picnic and take note of the interesting names such as Fried Liver Wash.  Do not go in the summer months!!!

When leaving the south side of Joshua Tree NP, you will find yourself on Interstate 10 near Chiriaco Summit which was the entrance to Camp Young, command post for the DTC during World War II. Here, you can find the General George S Patton museum, a must-see, for World War II gurus.

When crossing over the I-10, I took a back road down toward Mecca to access Highway 111. This route is quite scenic with unusual canyon walls and washes. Once at Highway 111, you can find the Salton Sea. Other than a grand view of the mountains West over the water, there is not much else to look at. Along the coast are glomerulates of small RV resorts. Not much has changed since my frequent drives to Yuma in the 1980’s. Many Glamis fanatics are familiar with this lonely highway.

I drove right down to Brawley and had the need to see Glamis once again. For those of you who are not familiar with this area, Glamis, 20 miles east of Brawley, are sand dunes which provide an open off-road area and open camping. The sand dunes get crowded with thousands of people playing in the dunes in dune buggies, ATVs and Jeeps, especially on the big holiday weekends.

The road that took me to Interstate 8 was S34. The S34 is about 22 miles from Glamis to the interstate and is quite scenic. To put you at ease, this road is also known as Ogilby Road which connects right to the Interstate near Winterhaven. I drove East through Yuma and observed the majestic Castle Dome Mountains. By this time, the sun was setting and I drove into Gila Bend for the night. Madison was happy to be out of the car.

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The above photos are of the Saguaro cactus found in the Sonoran desert. These were my favorite drawing subject as a child and I have never tired of their beauty.

I took the Western drive through Saguaro National Park located on the West part of Tuscan.  The larger park is on the East side, but I had yet to drive down to Tombstone and see a gun fight at the OK Corral.

Below are photographs of the courtroom in the historic Cochise Courthouse in Tombstone, Arizona. Just behind the courthouse, in an enclosed yard, can be found the reconstructed gallows. 

Let me take you back to a cold, windy, overcast day, October 26 1881. This is the re-creation of the famous OK Corral Gunfight in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. The way it happened!  There are several versions to this story and I am afraid that Hollywood has, as it usually does, misled us with how the shootout occurred.  However, Tombstone has all the versions available to you at your local bookstores, museums, and shop clerks. The shootout is quite entertaining and there are so many resources available to Tombstone buffs.  Tombstone is a must see!!!

After a leisurely stroll through the shops and museums downtown, I left Tombstone with a bit of spontaneity in mind.  Instead of driving back toward the interstate only to see what I saw coming to Tombstone, I took the same highway South toward Bisbee.  Friends, when traveling, pay close attention to your map.  The little green dots that parallel the route you are taking on the map mean “scenic route”.  That is the route you should be on.  Very little mileage of the interstates has green dots.  Stay off the interstate. 

Welcome to Bisbee. 

Bisbee, 90 miles southeast of Tucson, is the picturesque county seat of historic Cochise County. The community was founded in 1880 and named after Judge DeWitt Bisbee, a financial backer of the Copper Queen Mine.  This Old West mining camp proved to be one of the richest mineral sites in the world, producing nearly three million ounces of gold and more than eight billion pounds of copper, not to mention the silver, lead and zinc that came from these rich Mule Mountains. 

I spent the evening at a coffee house just across the street from the post office where I mailed off some postcards.  Bisbee is beautiful. Stroll its sidewalks and find delight in the many art galleries, gourmet restaurants, coffee houses, book stores and specialty shops. Visit the charmingly restored neighborhoods of Victorian and European-style homes perched miraculously on the hillsides. 

About those green dots:  Don’t take highways with green dots after dark.  You will miss the beauty of the countryside!  I missed 46 miles of beauty as I drove northeast to the NM state line under a full moon.  Lordsburg NM was the destination to stay for the night.  There is not much in Lordsburg. 

There is however, a goldmine of galleries in Silver City.  The next morning I drove up to Bill the Kid country and quickly discovered, on this Columbus Day, that I had missed and entire weekend of the Art Festival.  The downside of being spontaneous is not planning for such events.  Just the same, I met several gallery owners and artists who brought me current with the trends in this adorable mining community.  Silver City is definitely a must see for all.  There truly is something for everyone whether it be galleries, antiques, eateries, Wal-Mart, hiking, or the mines. 

My next big stop was the 275 square miles of desert which have been engulfed by gypsum sand.  It has been many years since I drove through White Sands National Monument and remember sledding down the dunes as a child with my family.  

   

Madison and I took the drive through the dunes stopping along the way to take photographs and find a park trail.  Madison was cooperative at first with walking with me, but as you can see, did not care too much to walk up the dune with me.  And, yes, I drug her.  She’s my cat.

     

I left White Sands at 5 p.m. and drove up to Cloudcroft for dinner.  Cloudcroft is a small mountain village located in the heart of the Lincoln National Forest, and is known as a year-round Mountain Playland for: Hiking, Mountain Biking, Horseback Riding, Hunting, Downhill Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Snowshoeing, Sledding, Snowmobiling, Snow Play, Shopping, Restaurants, Astronomy, Golf, Camping, Festivals, Scenic By-ways, Wildlife and Nature Photography, Disc Golf, Bird Watching, Lodging, Cabins, breathtaking scenery, and the list goes on.  A wise word of advice:  make sure you have no black widows in your car when driving unfamiliar mountain roads after dark. 

Hobbs NM was my destination where I stayed with the Coburns.  Once off the mountain, much of the landscape through NM to the state line is of oil rigs.  In fact, I was surprised to see so much traffic on the road after leaving Artesia, the smelliest town in North America.  Your stay in Artesia will be a short one, maybe a quick trip to the toilet.  The refinery on the East side emits a horrible odor that, when the winds are blowing, smells up the entire desert.  Don’t go there.

I spent Tuesday evening in Slaton Texas with the Millers.   I discourage travelers from visiting the Lubbock area in November due to cotton ginning.  Your allergies will surely act up.  There are interesting towns along the way and you will notice that people actually drive the speed limits especially in school zones, unlike crazy Californians who race to be the first one through a school zone only to sit at the next red light for 2 minutes.  Much of the drive between Lubbock and Whitesboro on Highway 82 is farmland and ranches.  Be sure to pay attention to the Four Sixes Ranch which legend persists that Samuel Burk Burnett’s brand was devised to honor a winning poker hand of four sixes that he once held in the early 1870’s. 

There were so many wonderful little towns and many I have not mentioned.  My personal journal is far lengthier and colorfully detailed. All photographs in this letter were taken by me.  I hope you have enjoyed a bit of our journey to Texas. 

Warm Regards,

Anita