Having stayed in Phoenix for almost three weeks and looking forward to moving on to Tucson, we made the most of our final few days in “The Valley of the Sun.” We finally took the bike and unicycle off the back of Benny and put it onto the newly acquired bike rack on Sparky. Thank you, Amazon and deliveries to the RV park. We found a lovely park in Scottsdale, enjoyed a picnic lunch and took off on an easy (flat) ride. With time to spare, we checked “TripAdvisor” for something else to do in the area. That lead us to the Arizona Boardwalk. Mark thought it would be interesting to go into the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum. They were featuring an exhibit of Abraham Lincoln which intrigued us. There were lots of other interesting things to see and we enjoyed our time.
On January 28 we left Phoenix and drove down to Tucson. We stayed four nights at a KOA resort - what a refreshing change from the trailer park where we had stayed in Phoenix. While in Tucson, we made the best of our three full days. Our first excursion was to Kartchner Caverns State Park. We loved it and for me it is one of the highlights of our trip, so far. After our cavern tour we decided that we were so close to Tombstone that we had to check it out. We both agreed that it is one of the most touristy towns we have ever visited. I’m glad we saw it but once was more than enough. My friend Jody had who had told us about Kartchner Caverns, also told us about Sabino Canyon. So on the following day we made our way to the canyon. We took the shuttle up to the end of the canyon and then walked the 3.7 miles back to the visitor center. A big thank you to Jody for two great recommendations!
No trip to Tucson would be complete without a trip to Saguaro National Park. We are trying to visit as many of the national parks as we can so this was a must see. On our final full day we hopped in our little car and drove to the visitor center in the western part of the park called the Tucson Mountain District. From there we took the 6 mile Bajada Loop Drive and enjoyed viewing some very interesting cacti. Honestly, it only takes a few hours to see this national park unless you are into hiking the trails. Since we only took one small hike through the saguaro we had plenty of time left in the day to experience another Tucson treasure. We made our way to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum where we enjoyed lunch and spent the rest of the day exploring the grounds. It was wonderful!
On February 1, we drove to Gila Bend for a one night stay. We got there early enough to consider seeing whatever the area might have to offer. Once again, TripAdvisor to the rescue! We read about the Painted Rock Petroglygh Site and decided to gamble on the 60 minute round trip. It was so worth it! This just may be one of the very best collections of preserved petroglyphs anywhere. We were completely amazed and so happy that we had made the drive. After viewing the rocks, we were hungry for authentic Mexican food and had a delicious dinner at Humberto’s in Gila Bend ~ YUM!
On the following day, we drove to Lake Havasu City where my cousins, Susie and Jaime had graciously offered for us to stay at their Arizona home. We chose to stay in the RV in their nice level driveway for two nights. Thank you, Susie and Jaime! While we were there we had the pleasure of sharing dinner with cousins Matt and Tammy and lunch the following day with cousin Lynnae. It was wonderful catching up with all of them and learning what they and their kids have been up to. After lunch with Lynnae we drove around “the island” and then spent a little time at London Bridge.
On Friday, February 4th (my birthday) we drove from Lake Havasu City, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the first time in my life that I have ever experienced a 25 hour birthday as the time changed when we crossed state lines.
Sparky toting the unicycle and bike to Camelback Park in Scottsdale
After a nice ride
We rode around this pond and into nearby neighborhoods.
On the Arizona Boardwalk
Mark and a phoenix made from scrap iron
Mark and the world’s tallest man, Robert
The following photos were taken at “The Science of Ripley’s Believe it or Not” in Scottsdale.
Albert Einstein created using 110 slices of bread, toasters, knives and a blowtorch
A camel made from children’s toys
The Silver Ghost, a Rolls Royce automobile made in 1907 was recreated using 63 pints of glue and 1,016,711 matchsticks!
Mark posing with Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln exhibit
Look carefully. Every line in this portrait of Abraham Lincoln is the text of his Emancipation Proclamation. The portrait dates from the 1870s, shortly after Lincoln’s assassination by John Wilkes Booth.
Below is one of two derringers owned by John Wilkes Booth. This was not the gun used to kill the president.
We drove to Tucson on January 28 and checked into a nice RV resort where we spent four nights.
Our site
We had a yummy dinner at BBQ Bash, a restaurant at the RV park.
I saw this in the camp store and thought it was appropriate!
From Tucson we drove east to the wondrous Kartchner Caverns. These are perhaps the most well-preserved and untouched caverns in the USA, if not the world. They were discovered by two amateur cave explorers in 1974. The story is a fascinating one and I encourage anyone who finds themselves in the area to take a tour of the cavern. It is so worth it!
No photos are allowed in the caverns so we had to be content taking photos near the entrance and inside the visitor center.
Posing in front of fake stalagmites
Mark tried out the bat ears and agreed that the large funnel-shaped ears did help him hear better. Maybe an alternative to hearing aids?!?
We drove from the caverns to the town of Tombstone, Arizona, the site of the famous shootout at the OK Corral. We were very disappointed by the pure commercialism of the area.
The Tombstone Courthouse
The Main Street in Tombstone which is only open to foot traffic and horses
We stopped at Boothill but found they charge admission to view the graveyard so we just took a photo of this plaque.
The following day we went to Sabino Canyon and rode the shuttle up the canyon. It was a great experience even though the walk back produced an annoying blister on one of my toes - ouch!
We crossed the river about 8 or 9 times each way.
The view from the end of the canyon
Fun and games with the iPhone!
Of course we took a selfie with the canyon in the background.
Depressions in the rocks left by indigenous people who used them to grind grain
A view along the walk
The cholla (jumping cactus) look so soft from a distance!
We stopped to give my weary feet a little respite
The water looked so refreshing - I bet it is a really nice cooling off place in the heat of the summers here.
This was the one bridge where we had to remove our shoes to cross if we didn’t want to get them wet.
This cactus looked like it was growing right out of the rock.
Our final day in Tucson found us in Saguaro National Park.
We were told by a volunteer that this is likely the place where one finds the saguaros growing denser than anywhere else on earth. This is right outside the visitor center.
The park has some very informative displays.
I thought this was a cool photo.
Once we got on the road, we saw some of the most interesting cacti.
There is a beauty in this place like no other.
Having fun with “portrait mode.”
Mark’s turn
And “pano mode,”
One of my favorite photos from the park
We went next to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum - another Arizona gem!
Petrified wood is so interesting.
The museum had an art exhibit featuring wildlife. I was captivated by many of the pictures by artists from around the world. Here are two of my favorites with information about the artists…
I fell in love with this mountain lion.
The museum has a hummingbird house and I was able to capture two of the little birds with my iPhone.
The following are just a few examples of the lovely displays on the museum grounds.
I found this depiction of evolution so interesting.
The museum also has zoological exhibits of animals found in the Arizona desert
The Mountain Lion is the mascot of the museum
Bighorn Sheep
A River Otter
A Cheetah (?)
Mexican Gray Wolf
A Heron
Prairie Dog (or a big gopher like in the movie “Caddy Shack” as we overheard one visitor exclaim!)
There was beauty all around
Isn’t nature amazing!
Live saguaros and a skeleton of a saguaro
A view of the city in the distance
Mexican Gray Wolf
Mark as a ???
Standing by the leg bone of the Arizona dinosaur called, “Sonorasaurus”
I always enjoy looking at beautiful rocks, minerals and gems
Wolfenite is Arizona’s state gem.
Crested Saguaro
Our one night in Gila Bend turned out to be very interesting. We did a little research to find things to do in and around Gila Bend and it lead us to Painted Rock.
Below are a few of the MANY photos I took of the incredible petroglyphs. Based on clues, archeologists believe that local communities probably began creating the petroglyphs by at least 1,400 years ago.
Mark found this rock with a petroglyph of an ancient unicycle!
We ended our outing with a delicious meal at the colorful Humberto’s Mexican Restaurant on the main drag in Gila Bend. We highly recommend this place if you’re ever in the area,
Leaving Gila Bend
On to Lake Havasu City…
Our home for two nights at Susie & Jaime’s
We had such an enjoyable dinner with cousins Matt and Tammy at Barley Brothers Brewery overlooking the London Bridge. Later we realized we forgot to get a photo for the blog so I grabbed this pic from Matt’s Facebook page.
We saw our first roadrunner in the driveway. I guess this isn’t unusual but it was the only one we saw the entire time we were in Arizona.
We had a wonderful lunch with cousin Lynnae at The Turtle Grill.
It was so windy while we were in Lake Havasu City. Lynnae said she thinks it was the worst wind she has experienced since she moved there. It was pretty crazy driving in the 40-50 mph winds!
After lunch with Lynnae we visited the London Bridge and surrounding shops.
This reminded me of the multitude of locks attached to bridges in Venice!
London Bridge
Classic phone booth by the bridge; not so classic phone
The view from the bridge
London Bridge selfie
A final farewell to Lake Havasu and the great state of Arizona. On our way to Las Vegas, Nevada!
What wonderful images of your adventures.
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