4. THE MEXICAN BORDER - NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA, CALIFORNIA

Day 14: Saturday, March 24

When I woke up my body clock, still on CST, said 6 AM. But since it was only 5 AM I crawled back into the sleeping bag and dozed for another hour. Observed a beautiful sunrise, enjoyed a shower in the spotless bathhouse, had breakfast and was on the road by 8:15 AM. Temperature was 58F, up from the night's low of 47F.

Took SR 9 going west. Drove through the little villages of Hachita and Animas and shortly before Rodeo took SR 533 into the Coronado National Forest. The drive was outstandingly beautiful, even 'though the paved road ended. A narrow dirt road (Forest Road 42) switchbacked up from 4,000' to the crest at Onion Saddles, altitude 7,600'. A difficult drive, definitely not doable with a trailer in tow or a vehicle longer than a van. But the vistas were spectacular, especially of the snow covered mountain tops.

Dropping down from the Saddle back to an altitude of 4,500' the road becomes the Pinery Canyon Road and connects with SR 181 at the Chiricahua National Monument. 181/186 is pleasant and easy to drive. I took it going north to Willcox, and then drove a short stretch of I-10 past Benson to SR 83 - the very scenic road to Snoita, an artsy-crafty little town. SR 82 took me to Patagonia and past the Patagonia State Park. No campsites available, just like on my previous try during the 1999-1 trip.

Continued to Nogales, then a quick drive north on I-19 to Tucson. Treated the Westy to a thorough wash to get all the dust off, and then made my way to the Catalina State Park, a lovely place overshadowed by the Catalina Mountain range.

$10 bought me the last available site - no hook-ups but a level and paved pull-through with grille and picnic table. While the thermometer was still hovering around the 90F degree mark, the extremely low humidity made it quite bearable. Grilled a couple of hot dogs and sat outside, enjoying the cooling off as the sun set.

Drove 355 miles and was en route for 8 hours. Bought gasoline in Willcox for $1.599/gal. Averaged 17.5 mpg on the last tank.

Day 15: Sunday, March 25

Woke up to a morning temperature of 41F but beautiful sunshine raised the thermometer to 74F by 10:00 AM. Watched the Sunday talk shows and chatted with a couple from Minnesota that is traveling in a VW Eurovan, on its maiden voyage. They were surprised by the relatively more spacious cabin of the Westy, and envied me the microwave oven and the porta-potty. Then enjoyed a very pleasant visit by Jerry C. -- a long-time internet acquaintance and fellow Westy owner. He lives in Fargo, ND and we had planned to meet in Tucson during his vacation. Was amazed how much we have in common, not just Westy ownership. He hasn't done much traveling in the Westy yet -- I'm sure he'll enjoy it once warmer weather returns to North Dakota.

Got underway around 11 AM and stopped at Kinko's to upload and download e-mails. Like during my stop there a year ago, they didn't charge me a nickel.

Drove through Tucson and then took the Ajo road (AZ 86) west, past Kitt's Peak observatory. Wildflowers along the road were in full bloom. Drove through the Tohono O'Odham Indian Reservation and had spectacularly clear views of the Sierra Blanca Mountains on my right and the Mesquite Mountains on my left. For miles the road was flanked by Segura cactus trees - a beautiful sight.

Again drove through the little town of Why -- two years ago I had wondered about the name and whether there also was a town called "Why Not." Well, this time I knew the answers: there is no Why Not, and Why was originally called Y (it's a fork in the road) but it was decided that a one letter town name was not acceptable.

Took AZ 85 northbound through the sorta-scenic little town of Ajo and connected with I-8 at Gila Bend.

Had originally planned to find a campground for the night somewhere between Gila Bend and Yuma, but it was still early in the day and the temperature was in the high nineties. I thought I'd drive until just about sunset and the usual evening drop in temperature.

The drive to Yuma, by the way, is pretty boring, except for the last few miles when I-10 snakes through the Gila Mountains.

Entered California and passed the perfunctory border inspection. Then a long stretch through the Imperial Valley - no campgrounds and the sun was setting in a hurry. Altitude in the valley -- sea level, temperature -- 96F.

Saw a camping icon at the Jacumba exit sign and got a good site at the De Anza Springs Resort. Enjoyed the whirlpool before turning in for the night.

Was en route for 10 hours, drove 515 miles. Bought gasoline in Yuma at $1.599/gal and averaged 17.7 mpg on the last tank.

Day 16: Monday, March 26

My body clock was still on Mountain time, if not on Central -- so woke up at 4:00 AM Pacific time. Drowsed some more, but gave up trying at 6:00 AM. It had cooled off to 46F during the nightand it stayed quite cool even after the sun had come up.

Since I am a day ahead of schedule and had made arrangements to revisit my friend DrDan in Coronado tomorrow evening, decided to spend the day here at the resort. Did two weeks worth of laundry, connected to the internet a couple of times, enjoyed the whirlpool and the heated pool, did some van cleaning, and just generally relaxed. The view from the van is quite lovely.

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