I'm pretty close! I'm driving around 200-250 miles a day and stopping to see things on the way. I am having good weather and it's much easier to drive. My first greeting of New Mexico was the stark beauty of cactus and the jagged mountains rising steeply but with little vegetation, or at least without the forests and trees I am used to. Not enough rain in southern New Mexico for many trees!
I was warned of rattlesnakes, scorpions and tarantulas!
There is a pink glow at sunset and sunrise this time of year. I camped at Deming, New Mexico.
Next stop was outside of Tucson. The Saguaro cactus are awesome! I stayed at the Tucson Mountain County Park.
I was fascinated with the different types of cactus. I explored the Saguaro National Park. I drove the RV on a very bumpy dirt road that the ranger said was not to be missed! I couldn't turn around so I kept going ! It was beautiful, but I wouldn't drive it again!
I was up to see the desert sunrise and took a walk in morning light. I heard the coyote and saw their scat and saw the hoof print of the pig-like Javelina.
Beautiful mountains!
I spent several hours at the Desert Museum of Tucson. I am fascinated how plants and animals adapt to Tucson's 12 inches of yearly rainfall. I admired the beauty of the many varieties of cactus.
I next drove to a county park just north of Phoenix. I saw the sunrise over the mountains just east of the city.
I stopped in Quartzsite, Arizona, for a look at Hi Jolly's memorial. He was a camel driver for a herd of camels brought over by Jefferson Davis for army communication in the 1850s. The camel experiment failed and the camels ran loose in the desert for years.
Soon I crossed into California! I went to Joshua Trees National Park for a couple of days. I camped among the rocks and Joshua Trees.
The Joshua Trees are not actual trees with growth rings but the trunk consists of small fibers. It only grows about 1.5 inches per year. The largest joshua trees are estimated to be around a thousand years old!
I am have been getting up early and enjoyed another gorgeous sunrise! I have not adjusted to the changing time zones.
Joshua Trees were plentiful.
My last camping experience was at Taft CA at a county park by a lake. I was one of 4 campers and it was peaceful. Rain was coming and it was breezy and cool.
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