Ripped Off In Mesa

Those who read my last post will remember that our next adventure was to have the oil changed in the truck. And an adventure it was. While I was in Massachusetts, Sarah gave up some of her time playing in the studios as Monte Vista RV park and took the truck to the nearby Berge Ford (http://www.bergeford.com/index.htm) for the oil and filter change. While there, the service agent told her that the truck also was overdue for fuel filter change, power steering flush, transmission flush and there appeared to be a small leak from the transmission. She didn't want to agree to all those items without talking to me. Unable to reach me that morning, she didn't let them do the work. When we spoke about those items that evening, Sarah was confused about where the leak was. She told me it was a power steering leak. I told her to go ahead and have the recommended work done. I purchased the extended power train warranty when I bought the truck and I didn't want to compromise it by failing to do timely required maintenance  The next day she returned to have the work done. They told her they could do the fluid changes, but she would need to make a separate appointment for the transmission leak. That appointment was made for the Monday after I returned to Arizona.

On the appointed Monday, we returned to Berge Ford to have what Sarah and I both believed was to have a power steering leak fixed. Neither of us had bothered to re-read the printed receipts Sarah received at the previous appointments. Apparently, neither did the service representative who checked us in that morning. When I asked how long it take would take to fix the power steering leak, he told me about two hours. We found a nice coffee shop with free wifi nearby where we could wait for the two hour repair. It's A Grind Coffee House (http://www.itsagrind.com/) is just a short walk from Berge Ford. The coffee was good and they made us feel welcome while we waited for the work on our truck to be completed.

After spending a couple hours working on the blog, we walked back to the Berge Ford. We were told by the cashier that the truck was not ready yet. We waited in the reception area for another hour and still the truck wasn't ready. I went and spoke to the service agent. He told me he didn't know what the delay was and called the technician to find out. The service agent then told me that the leak had been fixed the last time the truck was in. Today, they were doing a minor recall repair on the anti-knock sensor, but they hadn't started it yet. I asked him to forget the work and just bring the truck. "Would you like it washed", he asked. No, just bring the truck. He then called the technician to tell him to not start the work and that a "lot rat" (a young person who move vehicles around) would come and get it.

While waiting for the truck, I spoke to the service manager and expressed how disappointed I was in the service we had just received and that I believed he had some serious problems with both his customer service as well as his human resources department. The cashier seemed to be aghast at what the service agent had called the young man who delivered my truck.

When we arrived back at the Mary Joan, I read the paperwork that had been given to Sarah. The receipt from the first day's oil and filter change clearly stated that the filter and fluid changes were "overdue per millage". I then checked the owner's manual that came with the truck. The fuel filter did not need to be changed for another 10,000 miles, the transmission fluid didn't need to be changed for another 110,000 miles and there is no millage requirement for changing power steering fluid. The small leak in the transmission was included as the final item that needed to be addressed. However, there was no mention of any work being done to address the transmission leak on any of our receipts.

I called the service manager and asked him to check on whether or not the transmission leak had indeed been addressed since there was no comment on the receipt about it. He said he would check and call me back. I told him that when he did, I wanted to discuss the other recommended items.

Despite poor cell phone reception at Lost Dutchman State Park, the manager did work hard to communicate with me. After many dropped calls, I learned that the technician had just tightened the screws holding the transmission plan in place and therefore, didn't see fit to charge for it, hence it wasn't on the receipt. When I pointed out the fact that I was upset about the extremely premature fluid changes he attempted to argue that this was just their recommendation and preventive maintenance. After a lengthy discussion, during which he tried to convince me that this was necessary, I asked him to not insult my intelligence any longer. I told him we could resolve the issue if he would agree to refund 50% of the cost of the fluid changes or that I would take the matter directly to Ford and my credit card company. He took this as a threat, but I told him that I was just reminding him of my options. He agreed to the refund and told me a cashier would call to get my credit card information. I received that call a short time later and the transaction was pleasantly completed.

This was the first poor experience I have had with service of the trailer or tow vehicle since we have been on the road. The lesson learned was to check reviews on the internet. While I always take anonymous reviews with a grain of salt, especially if there are not enough of them to discern a pattern, the reviews given of Berge Ford (http://www.bergeford.com/index.htm) would have kept me from going there. The other lesson was to make a reasoned and calm argument and to offer a solution that both parties could live with. 

Return to Lost Dutchman State Park

Sarah had a good time at Monte Vista RV Park while I was in Massachusetts. She spent every day in the metals and lapidary studios. Resulting in new sterling ring with a beautiful fire agate. It's not quite finished. She still has a few other small stones to add. But, it is a very nice piece.

Early Saturday morning we got ready to move back to Lost Dutchman State Park. We have learned that when one doesn't have a reserved campsite, it is best to arrive shortly before checkout time in order to have the best chance of getting a non-reserved or overflow site. Having been at this park before, we knew how nice the overflow section is. As luck would have it, there was one site left. It was right next to the site we had occupied on our last visit. We paid for 3 nights, with the ability to extend for up to two weeks.

Moon rise at Lost Dutchman State Park

After getting settled in, we decided to climb to the top of the "Flat Iron". It was just after noon and the temperature was 73 degrees. With the bright sun, we were quite warm at the beginning of our climb. Soon, however, there was a cool breeze coming down Siphon Draw that we were ascending. The trail is rough and as one gets higher it is not very well marked. We got off the trail a few times and had to scramble and climb to find it again. In some places where the trail is well marked, the ascent can be a challenge requiring short climbs over vertical rock or long stretches walking up steep exposed ledge.

Sarah decides to do a little bouldering

We haven't seen many reptiles, but Sarah found this pretty one

We gained 2,800 vertical feet and were rewarded with dramatic views from atop the Flat Iron. I admit that I had butterflies in my stomach as I approached the cliff overlooking our campsite. The descent was not as difficult as the climb, but we had to stop and rest our poor legs. Taking large steps down from high rocks put a strain on our screaming quads. We had a real case of "sewing machine leg". The round trip took about 5 hours. I estimate that the climb felt like about doing four Tuckerman Ravine head walls.

Yes, it is as steep as it looks

The top of the Flat Iron was like being on the bow of  a 2,000 foot high ship

In the short time we have spent in the desert we have learned the importance of hydration. Even without physical exertion it is necessary to drink lots of water during the day. Sarah and I took a gallon of water. We finished the water just as we came off the steep part of the trail. Still, I drank a couple pints more when we got back before I even thought about having a beer.

The town of Carefree, just north of Scottsdale, hosts an annual arts and wine festival. Sarah knew about one of the artists showing work there, so it was must do for us. A website promoting the event advised those attending to arrive early to avoid the traffic that inevitably occurs. We took that advice and were rewarded with a very convenient parking space. As we wandered around looking for a place to have breakfast, a gate attendant pointed us to a nearby cafe. The cafe has an outdoor patio looking out onto the event. The cafe was not busy, only 5 or 6 tables were occupied, but the service was excruciatingly slow and the two wait persons bordered on rude. Fortunately, we had plenty of time and accepted the service for what it was.  Sarah and I both had the breakfast burrito. They were very well made but they were huge. One would have been enough for both of us to share. That is one downside to eating in unfamiliar restaurants, especially when you can't observe what other diners had on their tables.

Shortly after finishing our breakfast, the gates opened and we strolled through the grounds to see the works of all the different artists. We were both unimpressed with the majority of the art that was for sale. I would classify most of it as garish, awkward and unoriginal. Of course, there were some outstanding exceptions; pottery from Nicaragua, Native American woven rugs, jewelry by Kit Carson, and beautiful alabaster vessels.  Sarah bought a beautiful pendant from Kit.

Beautiful pottery from Nicaragua by Santiago Guitierrez
( http:\\www.nicaceramicart.com )

High quality woven rugs by Mendez rugs
( http:\\www.mendezrugs.com )

The Musical Instrument Museum was not very far from our route back to Apache Junction. I had seen advertising for it, but had not made it a priority until a friend of Sarah's who had been there told us it was not to be missed. She was correct. The MIM is impressive for the size, scope and engineering of the display of its immense collection. Despite the ache and pains from the previous day's hike and having been on our feet all morning, we could not stop until we had seen the entire museum and were told that it was finally closing time. An outstanding feature of this museum was the use of LCD screens and portable personal audio devices that automatically linked to the screen that one stands in front of. There is an LCD and short videos for each country whose musical instruments are on display. The videos show the instruments being played by the people of that country in typical settings. In addition, there is a section of the museum dedicated to musicians who had a major influence in American music.

The personal audio device automatically tuned to the video that you are watching. 

Steel Drums, invented in Domincan Republic. Nice explanation of how the drums are made.

Colorful drums and masks from Bahamas

Native American Loon flute

'57 Fender Amplifier and Stratocaster

Many exhibits dedicated to musicians that made major contributions to their art.

Beautiful collections of many types of instruments.

Janis Joplin's "hummingbird" made by Gibson. she played this when she recorded "Me and Bobby McGee"

Many individual instruments that represent their genre, here is a classic Cajun accordian  

Many instruments played by famous musicians. Here is John Denver's grandmother's guitar that he began playing when he was nine years old. The guitar was lost for five years and when he found it, he wrote the song "This Old Guitar"

Elvis' last performance guitar. Martin D-28 made around 1974. My D-28 is only a couple years younger. Proof that the guitar is only the instrument. It takes talent to make real music.

Do we really need a caption?

The very first Steinway. Made in Germany in his kitchen.

George Benson's "johnny Smith" by Gibson

John Lennon's Steinway Upright at which he composed "Imagine" 

One would think, that after such a busy two days we would sit back and relax for the rest of the evening. Not so. We had one more destination on our agenda, dinner at Filly's Roadhouse. Just four miles from the park, we had stopped there when my mom was with us. But, Filly's would have been too long a wait that night. When Sarah and I arrived this evening we were told there would be a 30 minute wait for a table in the dining room. But, I spotted an empty table in the bar area and was told we could take that if we wished. Of course, we would take it.

Some of the reviews I found about Filly's on the internet painted a bleak picture. Honestly, anyone that walks into Filly's with any power of observation, and believes they are going to get five star service needs to reassess their reasoning ability. This is a roadhouse, it is rough around the edges. Our waitress took a while to find us and take our order for drinks. I had to ask for a glass of water. When she brought the water, it was one for me, not one for Sarah also. Clearly, she thought that if Sarah wanted one, Sarah would have asked. But, when that water glass was empty, as soon as our waitress spotted it, the glass was refilled. I ordered the "special", a buffalo burger and Sarah ordered the spicy catfish.

Filly's Roadhouse

Our seats near the bar gave us a good view of the stage upon which a country/western band was playing some decent music. Sarah and I both thought the lead singer to be the weakest part of the band. I thought he seemed out of place. Just as we mentioned this to each other, he left the stage and was replaced by another singer who had been seated at a table near us in the bar. We realized that this was a form of live karaoke. Singers could just come up and sing with the band. Unlike karaoke, there was no teleprompter for the lyrics and the band could adjust tempo and key for the singers. As with any karaoke, some performers were very good and enthusiastically welcomed by the crowd, others were only politely applauded. There were no really bad performers.

Despite our sore muscles Sarah and I joined the many other happy couples on the crowded dance floor for a few numbers. From our vantage point, we could see people coming and going through the front door. New arrivals immediately greeted or were greeted by those already here. Clearly, this roadhouse was populated by a lot of "regulars", many wearing Filly's t-shirts or sweatshirts.  At one point, we observed two young women entering. The were dancing as they passed through the door into the bar. The joy that the people experienced here was on display everywhere, even by the broad smiles on their faces as they left.

Reluctantly, we left the revelry of Filly's by 9 PM for a softer and quieter seat in front of a campfire by the Mary Joan. We burned small pieces of bone dry Palo Verde that would be consumed quickly because we knew we would soon be ready for sleep.

So ended another day. Tomorrow is a day of important errands. Mary Joan will get her bearings re-greased and her breaks inspected. The truck has a minor leak in the power steering system that needs to be addressed. Stay tuned.

Discovering Arizona

We enjoyed our time in Tucson, especially the Tucson Mountain Park. The city of Tucson set aside about 20,000 acres for the park and the National Park Service added about the same when it created the Saguaro National Park adjacent to it. Early the first morning, we joined a guided walk hosted by a park volunteer. He taught us the names of the different plants we were seeing and how they have adapted to this harsh environment. It really opened our minds to understand this beautiful forest we were experiencing. The next day, we hiked the six mile Brown Mountain Trail. It gave us great views of the Sonoran desert. I was surprised to find lichen growing in the desert. I have always thought of lichen as an alpine plant, yet here was a species thriving in the desert.

Colorful lichen on the rocks of Brown Mountain, Tucson Mountain Park

Our campsite at Tucson Mountain Park

Next up on our itinerary was Mesa, Arizona. We have an aunt and cousin who live in the Phoenix metropolitan area and we wanted to spend some time with our family. Also, my mother was joining us for a couple weeks of fun in the sun, a way to make her New England winter a little shorter. We made our home at Monte Vista Resort in Mesa. The resort is mostly double wide mobile homes permanently located in the park with a few locations available for transients like us. There are many similar resorts in the area, but this one stands out for a number of reasons. For Sarah, the overwhelming benefits were the metalworking and lapidary studios. She was in her element. Sarah quickly made friends and even taught a workshop in bezel making.

Sarah, Mom and Aunt Arlene at Fountain of the Sun

Harley and Sarah in the lapidary studio

Well designed and equipped woodworking shop

Sarah and I made the trip into downtown Phoenix to visit the Heard Museum. This is a must stop for anyone visiting Phoenix. The Heard family have assembled a wonderful collection of Native American art and displays it in an informative exhibition. Some of the exhibits are very poignant. They tell the story of Native American children being take from their homes and sent to boarding schools in the eastern U.S. where they were "civilized". 

After visiting the museum, we stopped for a glass of wine and a snack at Durant's, a venerable establishment in downtown Phoenix. We enjoyed the Dungeness Crab salad very much.

At Durant's

Another bonus for us in the Phoenix area was the ability to visit with my old friend, Bob. Bob's son Christopher, with his wife Stacy and their three adorable sons, live in Scottsdale. It happened that Bob and his wife, Christine, were in town to visit the kids and grand kids. Sarah and I spent an enjoyable afternoon with our old friends.

Grandpa, Bob, giving drum lessons.

We spent some time in Phoenix when my mom arrived so we could visit with my aunt and cousin. We also visited the Arizona Wing Commemorative Air Force Museum http://azcaf.org/
The planes and exhibits were well worth the effort to see. I enjoyed having the opportunity to see two of the most important planes in history, the B17, Flying Fortress and to see a fully restored P-47B. These two planes rang the death bell for Germany's Luftwaffe.

B-17

Mom wandering around the Air Museum

Together with my aunt, we visited the Japanese Friendship Garden in downtown Phoenix. The garden is compact, but it is beautifully designed to create a sense of peace and tranquility in a busy urban environment.

At the Japanese Friendship Garden.

Next, we headed south for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Just a few mile from the US/Mexican border, we had reservations about traveling here. But, we had information from other Airstreamers that the area was safe and that Border Patrol was keeping the area secure. We have learned that any place designated as a National Monument is, by definition, a beautiful place to be. Organ Pipe National Monument proved to be no exception. We hoped to take one of the guided tours that is run by the National Park Service. But, we had not made reservations. The tours are so popular that they fill up a week before the trip. However, we drove the alternative 22 mile loop road into the Ajo mountain area. We did this on the day of the Phoenix Blizzard. We had mostly cloudy skies accompanied by some sleet/freezing rain. It was a perfect day and the dramatic light on the mountains could not have been better.

The morning of the Phoenix "blizzard' at Organ Pipe National Monument

Organ Pipe National Monument

Double Stone Arches at Organ Pipe National Monument

Organ Pipe National Monument near Diablo Canyon

The next morning, Sarah and I hiked the Victoria Mine Trail http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/organ_pipe/victoria-mine-trail.html
This 4.4 mile round trip hike is over gently rolling hills that give great vistas to the south and the town of Sonoyta, Mexico which is just a few miles away.


From Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument we headed for Yuma. I wanted to visit Yuma, but thought it was just a bit "out of the way" for this trip. But, Sarah found out that some colleagues/friends were attending a conference there. So, we made the detour. I was astounded at the number of RV resorts in the Yuma area. We arrived at the Mesa Verde RV park after the office closed, but there was a list of available transient sites posted in the office lobby. We took one that was on a corner lot to give us a little more room (like most RV resorts, there is very little space between the permanent mobile homes). We learned the next morning, that we would have to move because the space we were in was reserved for the coming week.

 While Sarah attended the conference my mom and I toured the Territorial Prison at Yuma. We arrived just as a guided tour was starting. We learned about advanced attitudes of incarceration that were developed here, such as a prison library and hospital. There were no cells to hold the first prisoners sent to the Yuma Territorial Prison, they had to dig into the hillside to make the cells that would incarcerate them. We got a taste of what conditions must have been like for the prisoners. While the day was cool and breezy, the bright sun made the temperature within the enclosed compound very warm. The heat on a hot desert day must have been unbearable.

Prison cells and courtyard at Yuma Territorial Prison

Close by to the prison is the bridge across the Colorado River that, when completed in 1915, it provided the shortest Coast to Coast route by automobile. During the Great Depression it was a place that California State Police stopped people trying to enter California if they could not provide proof of employment or means of support. I call it the DoReMi bridge after the song by Woody Guthrie. Here is Woody's original:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46mO7jx3JEw
But John Mellenkamp did a fine job with his cover: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=john+mellencamp+doremi&oq=joh&gs_l=youtube-reduced.1.0.35i39l2j0l2.45617.46040.0.47993.3.3.0.0.0.0.74.202.3.3.0...0.0...1ac.1.Ar1VW9ElZQ4

Coast to Coast Bridge is behind the darker railroad bridge in the foreground

 We hoped to boondock in the Sonoran Desert National Monument on our way back to Phoenix. But, all the side roads were closed. This forced us to return to the Phoenix metro area. A call to Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction, just outside Phoenix, informed us that there were a few spots left in the "over flow" area and they were first come, first served. Fortunately, we arrived early enough to secure site no.94. It was perfect. Our backyard had an unobstructed view of the Superstition Mountains. From our camp site, we drove east into the mountains and canyons. We were amazed by the geological formations as well as the lichen that covered the rocks. Sarah and I have decided that we must study geology to gain an appreciation for what we are seeing.

Our campsite at Lost Dutchman State Park, AZ

Moonrise at Lost Dutchman State Park

Hoping to find a site to boondock, we drove east on Arizona 88, Apache Trail, past Roosevelt lake to Fish Creek Canyon. While we failed to find any place we would like to boondock, we found amazing vistas at Fish Creek Canyon. This canyon, while not as immense as the Grand Canyon, rivals the Grand Canyon with its color and beauty.

Fish Creek Canyon

Sarah on the edge of Fish Creek Canyon

 We returned to Monte Vista where I left Sarah while my mother and I flew back to Massachusetts.

 Stay tuned, more to come.

First time in Tucson

After Carlsbad, we set our sites on Tucson, Arizona. We were apprehensive about finding a place to stay because the Gem Show was in full swing. We thought we would be lucky to find a place to put the Mary Joan anywhere close to the city. As has happened so many times, we found that not to be a problem at all. We rolled into the Tucson Mountain Park's Gilbert Ray Campground shortly after 2 PM and found that there were many camping sites available.

Gilbert Ray Campground, Tucson Mountain Park

The Tucson Mountain Park occupies roughly 20,000 acres of the Sonoran Desert adjacent to another 20,000 acres of the Saguaro National Park. Needless to say, this vast expanse of protected desert is spectacularly beautiful. The campsites are large and well separated from one another. Since this is the desert, the only utility available at the campsites was electricity. Water was available from a few hydrants throughout the campground.

The morning after our arrival, we joined a ranger guided walk through the desert and learned a great deal about the ecology of the Sonoran desert. We found that the fragrance of the desert during the rain came from the Creosote bush. When the leaves of the bush become wet, they release a pungent aroma that is the signature fragrance of the desert in the rain.

Fruit of the Fish Hook Barrel Cactus. Quite tart, otherwise, a nice flavor.

Our ranger showed us what an important role “nurse” plants play in the growth of the majestic saguaro. It happens that the Saguaro sets thousand of seeds each season, but germination only occurs when and where many conditions of moisture and temperature are met. When these conditions occur, the place is usually under a Palo Verde tree. The tree acts as a 'nurse' or shelter for the young and fragile cactus. The nurse plant protects the young Saguaro from the sun until it is large enough to stand on its own. Eventually, the Saguaro outlives its nurse plant and stands on its own. Another interesting observation was the Saguaro's need for a particular set of circumstances to germinate. Once our guide pointed it out, it should have been obvious. Because conditions for successful germination and growth only happen every several years, the size of the Saguaro is not a smooth continuum, reflecting an annual succession of older plants. Rather, it was apparent that there were gaps in that continuum, years when no Saguaro were propagated. Our ranger called the Saguaro of similar age, cohorts.

A juvenile saguaro growing beneath its nurse tree, a palo verde. 

At Gilbert Ray Campground we met another Airstream couple, Tim and Amanda Watson. Tim and Amanda are from Vermont and are full timing in their aluminum abode. They have a very nice website here: http://www.watsonswander.com/

The must do hike from the campground is the Brown Mountain trail. It is about a 6 mile loop through the Sonoran desert. The first 2 miles climb about 500 feet with a drop of about 200 feet then back up 150 feet before descending back to the start. Surprisingly, we discovered lichen on rocks at the higher elevations.

I was surprised to find lichen in the desert.

Sarah and I spent some time at a couple venues of the Gem Show that was ongoing in Tucson. It is the largest gem show in the nation. We saw amazing geodes, some as large as a bathtub. Sarah found some rubies for a ring she is designing. After seeing some of the gem show, we sought our El Charro Mexican restaurant. It is the oldest continually operation family restaurant in Tucson. We were told that the tamales were the best anywhere. We agree, the tamales were the best we had ever had.

Phoenix is next down the road. Stay tuned.

Southern Arizona

After exploring Carlsbad caverns, we returned to the town of Carlsbad. Sarah did laundry while I ran some errands and scouted out a place to watch the Super Bowl. We had cable TV at the RV park, but we thought it would be more fun to watch the game with other people. The first place I checked out was the one suggested by our host at the campground. It is a bar connected with a motel. It smelled bad and only had two televisions, one old rear projection big screen monster and a 32” LCD at the end of the bar that only a few people would be able to see.

In the grocery store, the check-out clerk suggested the local Chili's restaurant. However, he looked at his watch and said “you pretty much need to be there now if you want a seat”. It was only 1:30 PM and the game wasn't scheduled to start until 4:30 PM local time (we are in mountain time here). He also suggested Lucy's Mexican restaurant might have the game on. He gave me directions that sounded odd. He said that there were two Lucy's Mexican restaurants, directly opposite each other on the same street. He wasn't sure which one would have the game on. The first Lucy's I went into has a typical restaurant layout, a dining room with tables and chairs on one side and a separate bar on the other. Both the restaurant side and bar side had one small LCD television each. I asked one of the waiters if they were going to have the game on. He wasn't sure, but he would ask his manager. The very friendly manager told me that she believed the Lucy's across the street would be the better place because they were going to have drink and food specials for the game. She also told me that both restaurants were owned by the same person.

The Lucy's across the street wasn't open yet, but as I was pulling out of the parking lot, James Lopes came out to put some cardboard into the dumpster. I asked him what time he was opening and how early he opened and what time my wife and I need to get here to watch the game. He said there would be plenty of room if we got there by 4PM. I thanked him and told him we would see him later.

The Lucy's we returned to in order to watch the Super Bowl is much different than the one on the opposite side of the street. The first Lucy's I went into is an upscale, finely decorated Mexican restaurant. It is brightly lit and nicely decorated. This Lucy's is much darker. The furnishings and décor have seen better days. But what this Lucy's lacks in fine furnishings, it more than makes up for it with the friendly atmosphere. This Lucy's is clearly a local gathering spot, for many of the other diners seemed to know one another and their seemed to be almost equal cheering for both teams on the part of those present. The family seated in front of Sarah and I were wearing the colors and t-shirts for the 49ers, and took our cheering for the Ravens in a very sportsmanlike mannner.

The energetic desire on the part of the entire staff, especially James, to make us feel comfortable and welcomed cannot be overstated. Everyone of the wait staff shared responsibility for each and every table.

In another Tex-Mex restaurant in Texas, we had ordered margaritas that were far too sweet and made with a low grade mix. So, here at Lucy's, Sarah asked the bar tender if she could make a margarita using Sarah's recipe. The bartender gladly stated that she would be happy to make it any way Sarah wanted. It was perfect. Typical of most Mexican restaurants salsa and warm tortilla chips soon arrived. The salsa was good and didn't need any extra hot sauce, coming from me that means it was plenty spicy.

At the start of the game we ordered our appetizer of fried green chilies. We don't usually eat fried foods, but this was the Super Bowl. They were delicious. When we had half finished with the chilies, Each of us ordered our main course, chicken fajitas, just before half time. Lucy had some items on her menu that I had never tasted before. In most restaurants I usually order dishes that I have never had the opportunity to try before, especially in ethnic restaurants. However, seeing so many other patrons ordering the fajitas, and smelling the aroma of that dish caused me to go with what seemed to be very popular. Both Sarah and I were delighted with the fajitas. The chicken was moist and tender and had clearly been marinated in a perfect blend of spices. The chicken was accompanied by perfectly pan roasted peppers and onions.

Sarah and our gracious hostess, Lucy

When the lights went out at the Super Bowl stadium, I asked the woman whom I heard people call Lucy and who seemed to be the person in charge, if this was her restaurant. She replied that it was. I asked her to tell me why there are two Lucy's. She said that this was the first Lucy's and it was intended to be more of a cantina than a restaurant. When it became successful, she opened the more up-scale Lucy's across the street. She said that she also has another Lucy's restaurant in the town of Ruidoso. Lucy introduced us to her lovely granddaughter, Lean, who was one of the other very personable and hard working wait staff. With food as good as we ate and staff as friendly as we met, it is no wonder she is successful. Lucy's is the real deal in Tucson.

To get to our next stop on our way to Arizona, White Sands National Monument, we had to cross the Mountains. As we ascended into the mountains the temperature slowly began to drop. Approaching Alamo Pass we began to see small patches of snow. In the town of Cloudcroft, 8,600 feet above sea level, the mid-day the temperature was 45 degrees and there was lots of snow everywhere. As we descended into Alamogordo, we caught a glimpse of brilliant white in the far off distance. At first I was panicked. Was the next valley high enough that we were going to encounter snow? I thought I had done my homework, and with the exception of the high passes we had to traverse, I was keeping the Mary Joan away from that stuff. Then I realized we were seeing the dunes of the White Sands National Monument and Missile Site.

Advancing Dunes at White Sands National Monument

When we arrived at the monument, Sarah finally got her lifetime national parks pass. For a one time fee of $10, we now have lifetime admittance to any national park, monument or historic site. There are some benefits to getting older. For us, that will be a great savings because it also gets us a discount of 50% off our camping fees on federal lands.

Sarah and I drove into the White Sands Monument area and hiked the mile long loop trail into the dunes. Formed of pure white gypsum, the dunes were nearly blinding. Certainly, without good sunglasses, we would have been very uncomfortable. Besides being an amazing vista, they are an complex ecosystem, aspects of which were very surprising to learn about. For instance, the dunes are not stationary, they actually move across the desert as if each dune were a formation of soldiers advancing on a battle field, covering anything in its path. We discovered cottonwood trees that send roots deep enough to tap the water that is just three feet below this otherwise waterless desert. Remarkably, these large trees can survive the rising tide of sand as long as enough of its limbs are out of the sand and can bear leaves. We also learned that some of the small mammals that live here do not drink water. Instead, they live off metabolic water. Metabolic water is what is released when food is converted into energy leaving water and carbon dioxide bi-products.

These trees survive as long as some of the branches can bear leaves above the sand.

Frequently, we don't make reservations at campgrounds because we like the flexibility it gives us. The next place we wanted to stay was Rock Hound State Park near the town of Deming, New Mexico. It is 10-15 miles off the route we intended to take on our way to Arizona so we decided to call and make sure there was a campsite available but it was a first come first served site. The attendant told us there was one left but there were RV parks in Deming should someone get there before us. We arrived at 4 PM and was able to get the last spot with electricity. That is important because it does get cold at night here in the desert.

The two days we spent at Rock Hound State Park were very relaxing. The weather was perfect and although we didn't find any geodes, we enjoyed our stay.

This post is being written at Tucson Mountain Park, adjacent to Saguaro National Park. I'll update soon, stay tuned.