LED ASTRAY IN TUCSON BY OUR GPS SYSTEM

Max had me up twice in the night & the big bad gusting winds finished me off again about 5 a.m. Repeat performance of the night before complete with black skies & rain. Temps really dropped as a cold front rolled into the area & I froze my fingers off hooking up the car. Had decided the day before to head for Hickiwan Trails RV Park this morning so by 9 o'clock we were all packed up & on the road heading west. Rains had stopped, sun came out & the winds from the northeast worked in our favor pushing us westward. http://hickiwantrailsrvpark.com/

East of Tucson we decided to program our GPS system (Garmin Gertie) to put us on track for highway 86 leading to Why & Ajo Arizona. The road, commonly known as the Ajo Way is a quiet little 75 mile highway heading due west out of Tucson's south end. As we approached Tucson from the southeast I had a pretty good idea where the highway was but as we got into Tucson Garmin Gertie directed me into the left lane of a 6 lane highway. Too late, I saw an overhead sign saying Ajo Way....right lane!! No way I could get over because it was a heavy traffic morning. Ok, I thought, no problem, I'll just get off at the next exit & double back. Garmin Gertie in the meantime was hollering at me & calling me names for not following her directions & I was yelling back at her with even blacker names & allegations. Then, the situation got worse!! I-10 heading into Tucson suddenly turned into one big huge construction zone. ALL exits were blocked off for miles & miles, lanes narrowed to Volkswagon width with heavy construction machines everywhere. We were swept right through Tucson from the southend all the way up to the north end on the way to Phoenix. Don't know how many miles we were carried along in the narrow two lane traffic but we were finally spit out of it somewhere northbound at an unblocked exit. Think I saw a sign that said Chicago 25 miles!! Swooped off to the right & then doubled back underneath I-10, grabbed a left turn ramp & swung back up onto I-10 heading south. Figured we'd head back down to the south end of Tucson & watch for the Ajo Way sign but we didn't even get 2 miles when we got siphoned off by heavy traffic into a right hand lane onto the southbound service lanes. This was a 3 lane road with traffic lights every mile or so but at least we were still pointed in the direction of the south pole. At one of those lights I spotted an oasis ahead in the traffic chaos. Bulled our way into the right hand lane & at the next light hung a right hand turn & swooped our 53 foot length in another tight right hand turn into the back parking lot of a Dennys. It was 10:30 in the morning & I was already a half hour behind on my 10 o'clock coffee.....so just get everybody out of my way!!!!!!!!

We got ourselves some breakfast, a couple dozen cups of coffee to steel our nerves, & we were back on the road again doing battle with the Tucson morning madness. Took us another 20 minutes of hollering & hooting before we finally spotted the Ajo Way sign pointing westward. What a relief to finally see Tucson disappearing in the rear view mirrors.

And Garmin Gertie?? Well, if she survives her upcoming lobotomy & apologizes profusely 35 times in a row while plugged directly into the cigarette lighter........... I might consider mercy & a conditional pardon!!

The drive from Tucson to Hickiwan Trails in Why, Arizona is one of my favorites. It's a narrow highway but hardly any traffic & I love the desert & mountain scenery along the whole way. Kitt Peak is a high mountain to the left with it's many telescopes & observatories. I was up there one day two winters ago & spent a couple of hours walking all over the place looking at the telescopes. Like I said, this is a nice drive.

Stopped at a gas station & filled up our gas & propane tanks in preparation for boondocking in the Ajo area shortly. Kelly tried out our new Verizon air card while we were driving & we had service for about 30 miles west of Tucson but then we lost the signal & that was it. The closer we got to Hickiwan the more familiar things became as I recognized the Ajo Mountain Range & the Darby Wells peaks way off on the horizon. So many pleasant memories from the past in those areas............ & more to come.

Rolled into Hickiwan Trails around 2 P.M & it felt good to be back once again to a little piece of Arizona that we had stumbled on 3 years ago one day while wandering aimlessly westward. To-day it sort of felt like coming home to our little piece of Arizona. We were at Hickiwan Trails RV Park twice last year & the second time we were here on our way back from California we were able to set up a website for the campground. http://hickiwantrailsrvpark.com/

We always try to park our rig away from other RV's because with 3 dogs it doesn't take long for people to start complaining & throwing things at us so we found us a place on an outer corner facing our side door to the desert. The Park's Wifi signal won't reach us so I'll have to take the computer & walk over closer to the office to send the blog later to-night. Only one fuzzy television channel too but as I said, it's a remote part of the State so we just have to expect some limitations. Just happy to be here & looking forward to our morning walks in one my very much most favorite little pieces of Arizona desert:))

No photos for the web album to-day.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/