I hadn't really bothered reading the signs at first, but I slowly realized that they were repeated every 5-10 miles or so. When I finally took the time to read them, I saw that they were instructions on what to do in a dust storm. We so don't have these in Tennessee. Culture shock!
It was unnerving to think that there was the possibility of dust storms. I was worried for my kids. I did not want to lead them into danger. We drove on. El Paso was soon behind us and we entered into New Mexico. I pointed to the left of our car. "See those hills and stuff?" I asked my wife. "That's Mexico!" She was awestruck. She'd never seen the border before. It was pretty neat seeing another country so close, but we pressed on.
Our plan of having the boys eat and then sleep on the way to our next stop, Deming, New Mexico did not come to fruition. No, they remained awake the entire way. Every time a rest area came up, they had to stop. It made for a slightly longer trip, but we made it to a hotel (this time a Hampton Inn, our favorite while traveling) well before dark. I made a quick supply and gas run to Walmart and then headed to our room for some food. We brought with us, in addition to all the snacks and lunch foods, a healthy supply of camp food. We figured it would save money, which it did. I had lasagna. It was surprisingly good. After our bags of dinner, we swam a little and then tucked the boys into bed. Mama and I weren't too far behind them.
Sunday, day 4 of our adventure. We packed the car and ate the always awesome Hampton Inn breakfast buffet. Instead of continuing west, we took a detour to the southeast to a state park called Rock Hound State Park. One of the unique things about this place is that they encourage visitors to collect things. The only thing is is that you have to go off the train a ways to find the good stuff. We found a couple shiny rocks, but nothing too notable. We wandered up a path a bit and enjoyed the lizards and cacti. I was hoping to see a snake so I could get a picture, but that didn't happen. After about an hour or so of roaming around and an awkward conversation with what seemed to be an arguing couple, we headed back to Deming and the interstate.
The next leg was slightly more grueling that the previous ones had been. We were deep in the desert. The threat of dust storms keeping me in reality as I drove us towards Tuscon. My mind kept going back to what if one hit. I guess we'd just pull over and wait it out. Or at least that's what the signs made it sound like we were supposed to do.
Tuscon crept ever closer. The boys either watched videos on their blessed DVD players or played with the few toys that they had brought or read. My wife and I bantered about trivial things like what we'd do once in San Diego and stuff like that. I think the conversation of "what would you do if we won the lottery?" came up a couple times. I wanted to go to Saguaro National Park, but for some reason I hesitated. I think I was tired and wanted to make it to our next hotel. We passed the exit for Saguaro National Park East. No worries I thought, we'll just go to the western one. Well, that turned out to be for naught as it would take us at least half an hour off the interstate to get to the park. I decided that we needed to just get to our next spot. We couldn't risk being too far from San Diego on our last night before our hotel reservation started. So on we pushed.
The evening was spent with camp food and TV but this time I felt weird. I think the excess of salt was messing with me. I didn't finish my meal. The boys delighted in about 30 minutes of swimming and then it was bed for all of us so we'd be ready to make our final push toward our destination.
Upon waking up, we went about our routine for the trip: get dressed, eat breakfast, pack the car, have the kids empty their tanks, get in the car, head out. I made a quick trip to Walmart to get new sunglasses as my "nice, expensive" ones broke in my pocket (I still have no idea how they broke, they just did).
The desert was beginning to get old. Just shades of browns, blacks and other earthy tones. I was also anxious as I did not want to miss check in at our hotel. Shortly before lunchtime we arrived in Yuma. Yuma was an old west town and a place I had been once before way back in 1997. One of its main draws was the old territorial prison. Again, I had been there once before and thought it was cool so I thought the boys would like it. They were slightly too young, but they enjoyed it anyways. In the last decade or so I've become fascinated with the old west so being able to once again see this place and actually appreciate it was welcomed. It's a cool museum and has exhibits outside where they have recordings of "inmates". Pretty cool and a little creepy. If you're roadtripping through the Southwest, I recommend it. It's a pleasant little spot and has lots of cool history and old west things. Go here to check it out.
We ate lunch in the parking lot and continued on. I forgot how beautiful the eastern edge of Southern California was. The boulder encrusted mountains were breathtaking and amazing. It was like driving through another world. It had been some time since I had last driven through mountains so I was taking my time and letting all the maniacs fly by me. The oldest boy began complaining about his ears so we taught him the old trick of pinching your nose and blowing. As we climbed higher and higher I kept my eyes peeled for something I ran across on Google Maps, a tower. I was beginning to think that we had passed it, but nope, I caught sight of it up on a ridge. Signs soon pointed the way and within 5 minutes we were climbing out of the car.
The Desert Tower is a bit campy and a lot interesting. I can't remember how much we paid, but there is a small charge to go up. It's worth the expense. The views are gorgeous and it provides a nice reprieve from the road. The boys loved it so much that they didn't want to go back down. Finally we did and took the chance to explore the caves (just passages between giant boulders). I hiked around a bit alone because there was a beehive nearby and the boys don't like bees (bad experience).
The Desert Tower now behind us we headed further and further west, the miles on the signs getting smaller and smaller. Finally the GPS chirped with instructions to get to our hotel. It led us through interstates and highways and around curves and loops. I had a bit of trouble following it. I was not very familiar with the area since I had left it nearly 28 years ago.
We pulled into the Best Western Marina Gateway. We had made it. After five days of driving we had made it. We spent the evening resting. We found a little park nearby for the boys and had dinner at the next door restaurant. I was amazed at how chilly it was there. Though I had not called that place home for nearly 30 years, something felt familiar and right about it.
We all pooped out early. Not a problem as we wanted to be rested for exploring.
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