On Thursday, we decided to make an easy start to our day. We ate a leisurely breakfast, and then went geocaching around the park. Alas and alack for Judy, this meant hiking up the trail again. She wasn’t adverse to this course of action, exactly, just doing it later in the morning meant it was considerably hotter. Sunseeker, indeed. More like shade seeker. Of which there is none.
Candy and Rick Geocaching
But, hike we all did. Up the trail, off the trails, up and down the ravines, searching for the elusive caches. Candy and Rick were put in charge of finding the caches and did a great job. Then we went back to camp to soak our tired feet and recharge in the shade of the vehicles for a short time.
Western Tourist Trap down the road from campground
We headed next to the Goldfield Ghost town, which was just down the road from our park. It’s like a huge movie set, with old buildings, wooden sidewalks and dirty, dusty streets. The buildings are almost all occupied by various shops, a couple of museums, and a few eateries. We had some lemonade and enjoyed the atmosphere.
Tonto National Monument cave dwellings
Then we drove toward the town of Globe, hoping to see some ruins nearby. Since we had left our map at the camp, we stopped at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum for some directions. This looked like a great place to come back to, since it was much too large to see in just an hour. While we were chatting with the workers, a man came by and offered us his opinion. He said he lived in Globe, and there were much better ruins in a different place called Tonto National Monument. He also gave us the name of a Mexican restaurant to try in a little town called Miami on the way back. So…..we detoured to Tonto.
It was a long 20 some miles through some scenic hills, but by the time we reached the monument, the trail to the cliff dwellings was closed. We could tour the museum, and see a film, and “see” the dwellings up in the hills, but not get up close and personal. Disappointed, we started back down the highway to Miami and dinner.
The view from the caves down toward Salt River
The restaurant was okay, but we were expecting a lot more based on the recommendation. But we were hungry, so we enjoyed the food. The guys especially enjoyed the “small” pitcher of margaritas. It was supposed to hold 3-4 drinks. It must have held more like 8. No, they didn’t finish it all…
Back in camp, we played “oh hell” again. Rick won this time. Judy teased him by saying he won by doing nothing. In this game, if you bid zero, and take zero tricks, you get 10 points. He did that a lot!
Candy and Rick trying to look sad upon leaving us
Friday, March 18, 2011
We bid a sad farewell to Candy and Rick today. Too bad some people have to work, and aren’t free to just keep traveling! They were a little glad to be going back to their own bed/house/routine, but not glad at all to be leaving 80 degree weather and go back to Montana snow!
Farewell to our lovely camp site #57
We traveled east on highway 60 again, just like yesterday, so this time we decided to stop at the first ruins we had wanted to see. They are called Besh Ba Gowah. It is an archaeological park, with some ruins visible, some still under earth, and some restored. One building has been reconstructed to include 2 stories and a roof you can venture onto. Going into these rooms felt soooo good.
Outside Besh Ba Gowah ruins
Outside, temperature 80+. Inside, at least 15 degrees cooler. Thick stone walls and just a few small opening s for windows make a lot of sense in this climate. And this is only March! Imagine what it would be like in July!
After a quick picnic lunch we drove on to Deming, New Mexico. We took highway 70, and drove for about 6 hours through miles and miles and miles of scrub brush , cactus, and brown earth. Not the most scenic drive, but very different from home. We decided to use the USA Campclub book to find a place to crash.
Inside a reconstructed dwelling
We found a promising one, which didn’t look too far from the highway and tomorrow’s early start. Ha! Just 3 miles out of town……then 5 miles down a dirt road…..then 5 more after a turn. The road was rutted and slow, and we sure wondered where we were going and what we were getting into. We were pleasantly surprised to find lots of people here (Hidden Valley RV). It seems to be a place people come and stay for long periods, lots of activities planned, etc. Good thing, cuz you wouldn’t just pop into town on that road!
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