From: "David M.Kuyper" To: "Tabatha Greve" ; "Susan Koch" ; "Ron Monson" ; "Norma Gehner" ; "Monard & Mary Boots" ; "John & Gretchen Hoskins" ; "Jim Benson" ; "Janet Boyd" ; "Garry Kuyper" ; "Eric & Heather Matheny" ; "Bruce Boyd" ; "Bill & Ruth Guentter" ; "Bill & Roberta Sprague" ; "Bill & Elena Stothfang" ; "Jennifer Johnson" Subject: West of the Rio Grande Date: Thursday, May 02, 2002 12:14 PM Howdy again, Pat & I blew into Tucson yesterday in the late afternoon EDT and early afternoon MST. There is a three hour time difference between here and home so it makes it hard to do things on EDT and still have meals at a decent hour. We left Carlsbad on Monday after a very nice stay there. We traveled over US 62 to El Paso where we picked up I-10 and headed west again. OK, so now we can say we were in El Paso but that's all we can say. From what we saw there's not much reason to visit there unless you wanted to cross the boarder to Mexico. The road (US 62) was nice and smooth with very little traffic. The pass at Guadalupe was a non event for trailer pulling since it was a descent for us. The rest of the trip to El Paso was essentially straight and flat until we actually got to El Paso. There was a twenty mile section that crossed what seemed like a very large salt lake bed. At least that was what the color reminded us of. When we picked up I-10 at El Paso we also picked up a lot of traffic that we hadn't had to deal with for two weeks. The wind started to pick up since it was after lunch and that's the usual time for things to get windy. Since these were west and south west winds they took a toll on the old gas mileage and handling of the rig. Monday night was a stop in Deming, NM. Another place not to write home about. I-10 was a decent road and we were only stopped once by the Boarder Patrol. These folks take things seriously! All west bound traffic was routed off the expressway and through the check point. We were waved on through since the officer saw our two hounds. I guess that they figured Ohio plates, two dogs and two old people weren't much of a threat for illegal immigrants. Another 30 or so miles down the road we blew into Deming for the night. Pat thought that "reservations" would be a good idea so we went to a local steak house. OK meal but you could tell it was range beef. Since Tuesday was supposed to get very windy we left at sunrise as they say. The landscape changed some as we crossed into Arizona. The desert that we had seen cacti and little else turned into more low trees and even some fruit and nut tree farms. Still desert, mind you but with a little more green. The welcome station was just another rest area but welcome none the less. Those cups of coffee just seem to multiply as the wander through the body. Pat was walking the dogs but didn't see the sign that said the area was home to some poisonous creatures like snakes and scorpions. When I pointed that out she was not a happy camper (I guess traveler at this point). Guess who got to walk the dogs then. We stopped for lunch east of Benson, AZ at a quiet and cool rest area up in the mountains. The rocks here are different than the ones we had seen at Carlsbad. Much more boulder like rather than the flat rocks from southern NM. This was also the place we had to make a decision on where to stay. We originally had planned to stay in Benson rather than in Tucson. Cell phones are great. Here we are out in the middle of nowhere and called the Beaudry RV Resort in Tucson to see if they had space and what their rates were. Well, they had lots of room and the rates were going down May 1 due to the summer season. That clinched it, we could stay in Tucson for just a little more than we would pay at Benson. Little did we know when we decided to stay here that the place looked like a desert version of the Fort Wilderness Campground at Disney World. Not quite as much room between sites but very clean and neat. This is a resort! Pool, laundry, Cafe' and all the trimmings. Almost like checking into a hotel. Pat decided that since we had traveled a bit in the wind again that "reservations" would be nice again. I may have to get another job after this trip is over. We had salmon and halibut for dinner, which were very good. The place even has a little entertainment (singing folks, singing!). This morning I got to see the first Arizona sunrise in two years. It was 8:00 EDT but 5:00 MST. Oh, I forgot, Last night was a beautiful sunset. I hope the photos came out OK. I'll try to send it by E mail later. Monard, we thought that you had come out here. The guy who did the entertainment last night looked a lot like you, hat & beard. Today, we contacted Tabatha and she and Grant are to have dinner with us tomorrow night here at the resort. We found the necessary stuff this morning, that's food and a Wal-Mart. Tomorrow we will go to the Saguaro National Park, East Unit. We'll probably get to the west unit another day. Tabatha also suggested the Southwestern Desert Museum, so we'll get to that too. Time to stop and put this in the outbox. We have phone service at the site. We just need to pick up a phone cord and figure out how to connect it up. Keep your heads down in the crummy weather you are having. Could y'all possibly get it out of the area before we get home? Blessings - Pat & Dave