Tucson, AZ

Well, there was a border checkpoint on the freeway out of El Paso - but it was so far out of town that there must have been all sorts of ways to avoid it, if we had been so inclined.  With our honest faces, they just waved us through, which was a relief to Maria, Corazon, and Rosalita hiding in back.

We stayed that night in Deming, New Mexico, partly because of a billboard advertising St. Clair winery as the producer of the best white wine in America, according to somebody or other.  The campground we stayed in turned out to be, we learned, the national headquarters for Loners on Wheels, an RV singles club.  Nancy said that the people she talked with at the bunkhouse - the general meeting room - were extremely sweet and invited us to a potluck supper.  Luckily, none of the gentlemen singles there won her away from me.

After our experiences in Texas, we weren't expecting much from the St. Clair tasting room, but we learned that the winemaker is French and that most of the grapes are indeed grown in the area.  Surprisingly, the wines were good, and reasonably priced.

The weather reports on the internet the next morning were not encouraging.  Heavy snow was falling in Flagstaff and Albuquerque, which were at higher elevations, so safety dictated that we head to Tucson, Arizona, instead.  Still, our driving weather was bad, and when we climbed over a summit near the Arizona border, the rain turned to snow. 

Our campground in Tucson was a big one, with lots of palm trees.  Over a thousand sites, most of them mobile homes.  With all the rain, the gravel base was a little soft, but we got settled in a nice big space in the RV section. 

Just after five o'clock we noticed some commotion in the next row.  A motorhome that had just pulled into their site had sunk about a foot into the gravel.  We later learned that some digging had been done there recently, without compacting, and the heavy rain had resulted in a quicksand effect.  A tow truck was called, and the RV park had to foot the bill.

We awoke the next morning to clear skies, with beautiful snow-covered mountains in the distance.  We visited the Desert Museum, where you walk outdoors among the flora and fauna of the Sonoran desert.  The highlight of the day was when the handlers brought out five magnificent raptors - Harris Hawks - which flew from Saguaro cactus to tree branch to plucking prey out of the air.  Often they passed within what seemed like inches over our heads.  We also toured the International Wildlife Museum, which features the taxidermist's art, plus an astonishing display of trays of butterflies, moths, beetles, and other insects.  The primary lesson of both museums was the absolutely incredible diversity of animal and plant life that evolution has given us.

Our dogs had gotten a little dirty and stinky, so we had a personal grooming day for them.  At a self service dog washing salon, Nancy washed and blow dried Tammy Faye, and I did Sophia.  Nice job, humans.