Mexico 2012 – un viaje mas grande – Day 1 (Dec. 27, 2011) Scottsdale, AZ to Marfa, TX

After a busy week in the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix area) with our families, we are once again on the road – without our dog. We decided to leave Penny with our moms rather than subject her to the 7600 mile journey on which we are embarking (not including our drive from Colorado to Arizona!).

Over the last couple of days we had some work to do on the RV. Tobey had the tires checked again and found they were not inflated properly and got that corrected. We filled with gas, got propane, reloaded the scooter, and installed a locking gas cap. We are opting to wait to add water as the forecasted temperatures for our first couple of nights are below freezing. Guess that means no showers tomorrow! Tobey and Tyler also installed new carpet on the steps with the assistance of my sister’s handy grommet tool. Thanks, Bette.

We got on the road at 6:15 and promptly took off on the wrong route. We neglected to look at our Streets and Trips map and headed out on I-10 through Tucson instead of following Hwy. 60 to Hwy. 70 through Superior, Arizona. After a 29 mile addition to our trip, we reconnected to our intended route near Lordsburg, NM.

Just east of Bowie, AZ we were surprised to see patches of snow along the road – not like our Colorado snow, but scattered patches nestled in the shadows of the Joshua trees and scrub cactus. We hoped it will be the last snow that we see this year, but there was scattered snow all across southern New Mexico. We spotted several hawks in the trees along the road, which was fun. We also passed pecan and walnut groves. Near Lordsburg, NM we saw wild javelins along the road.

Driving through El Paso was an experience. Tobey said he could see the fence between the U.S. and Mexico. There was a lot of traffic but we managed to sail on through. Between Valentine and Marfa we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

We camped at the Marfa Lights Viewing Area just outside of Marfa, TX. (GPS 30.27539N 103.88400W) As early as 1883 a cowboy reported seeing strange lights in the sky in this area. There are several theories about what causes it,  but the “atmospheric conditions” must not have been right, because we didn’t see anything.

We drove 643 miles today and averaged 10 miles per gallon.