Bet you thought you were going to see a post from Tucson, didn't you! We were on the outskirts of Phoenix in the middle of their traffic rush (which I think is every day at any time) and we checked the map to see exactly where we were. The end result is that we cancelled our reservations in Tucson at Davis-Monthan and headed east out of Phoenix over to Globe and Safford - which is where we are tonight. It kind of fit in with our plans to travel on blue roads rather than the Interstates (although Ik-10 is the road of choice going over to Florida, but we'll deviate as it suits our purpose. Would have been a really scenic drive except the last two hours were in the dark. A lot of the territory around here is mining related - huge open copper pits in Globe, AZ. Guess they started looking for silver and then turned to copper.
It was funny because it was a day of extremes. When we left Laughlin (elevation 558' - one of the lowest spots in Nevada), we headed to Kingman - straight up hill for a little less than an hour to an elevation of 3558'. The other extreme was in Phoenix when we went from a six lane highway (one way) to a one lane highway (scenic road). Also quite a bit of difference in the amount of traffic, as you can imagine.
As we driving down US 93 from Kingman (whose main claim to fame is as the start of the longest stretch of the old Route 66) toward Phoenix, we passed through Wickenburg. We stopped at the Hassayampa River rest area. Hassayampa is an old Indian word which means Upside Down River because the Hassayampa River runs underground through the town. Neat riparian area with lots of explanatory signs. Passed through the Sonoran desert on the way to Phoenix - a real contrast to the mountains we had been travelling through.
Safford looks like a neat town - we'll let you know more when we get to see it in daylight :-). Tomorrow we're heading over to El Paso but will probably get further than that unless we find a golf course we want to play.
Take care.
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