The old Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote a poem he titled "To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with a Plough." In it he stated, "The best laid schemes of mice and men go often awry." I guess I can claim that fate. I took along this little netbook with the intention of blogging frequently on the road. Then I came down with bronchitis and didn't have much energy to do anything. The weather was cold and windy in Arizona, especially, and I believe it was there I caught the bug. When we got to Las Vegas I succumbed and made up my mind to find a doctor and get some medication. Because of that I missed going to Hoover Dam one afternoon and Disneyland one day.
Here is a scanty outline of the trip. Day 1 - travel until we pulled in for the night at Lusk, WY. Day 2 - drove in strong wind until we arrived in Las Vegas, NM for the night. I've encountered strong winds like that before in the Cheyenne area. Day 3 - Roswell, NM. We toured the museum of the reported alien crash landing. It could have happened, I don't know for sure. This is for sure: Roswell has made lots of money from tourists. From here we drove to White's City and entered Carlsbad Caverns. This is quite a site. It's one big hole in the ground! I left a few bucks in a gift shop after buying a fancy bolo tie. I blew my spending money for the trip on that one.
Day 4 - Drove past El Paso, TX and then across the dry Rio Grande River, just a few puddles here.
Tombstone, AZ and a terrible motel experience awaited us. Day 5 - A tour of Tombstone took us through Boothill Theater, the Birdcage Theater, and the OK Corral. Spent the night in Tucson. Day 6 - An interesting old mission church - Mission San Xavier Del Bac - took a couple of hours. We headed for the AZ Sonora Desert Museum, 40 or so acres of desert plants. Then to Old Tucson, a movie set where John Wayne and some of the other western stars made movies. Day 7 - Biosphere, a couple acre site under glass where all kinds of experiments have take place, including a few people who lived inside its confines for two years in self-sustaining conditions. Apparently, at the end of two years, they all went their separate ways, couldn't stand to look at each other anymore. Day 8 - Mesa, AZ city tour for the day in and around the area, then supper at Organ Stop Pizza. This organ can play one mess of sound effects, only one of its type in the world.
Day 9 - Sedona, Red Rock State Park and the Grand Canyon. Mary's first time to see it. Day 10 - Las Vegas, NV. Here's where I found a doctor; the group toured Hoover Dam. I don't think I left a dime in that town. Hey, big spender! Day 11 - Hollywood, CA and Universal Studio tour. Arrived Anaheim. Day 12 - Disneyland. Here's where I was a party pooper and stayed in the motel. Day 13 - Drove all day and arrived at San Francisco. Day 14 - City tour and ferry ride over to Alcatraz. What a hilly city! What a dreary hell the prison was! Stayed in Sacramento that night.
Day 15 - Crossed Donner Pass, drove all day to a smelly casino at Wendover, NV. Gawd, the cigarette smoke reeked in everything, even the so-called no smoking rooms. Day 16 - Drove all day to Casper, WY. Day 17 - Toured a planetarium in Casper run by the school district. I guess I slept part of the time. Those chairs were sure comfortable. Drove to Deadwood. Day 18 - Arrived in Bismarck about 4:00.
The bus driver said we drove over 5,000 miles. The most interesting part for me was watching the landscape change. Cactus country is interesting; some of them really get big. The bus was full - 54 paying passengers plus a driver and an escort. With that trip we have taken all the big 18 day trips that the Farmers Union offers and consequently have travelled all the continental states except Delaware. Last year we even went to Hawaii with them. So that's about all I've got to say about the Southwest Tour of 2013.
