Travis & Tara's Trip
Through Southern Arizona & New Mexico
March 16 - 25, 2001

Date: Saturday, March 17, 2001
Route: Yuma, AZ - Tucson, AZ - Las Cruces, NM
Approximate mileage: 513 + side trips

After an amazingly uncomfortable night in a Motel 8, we embarked on our quest to reach Las Cruces.

Gila Bend

By the time we reached Gila Bend (only 117.5 miles down the road), the roadside signs were looking mighty interesting.
If we had known about this space age lodge, we might have stayed here the night before.

cactus

Saqqoro cactus... and mountains... and desert. This is what most of our day looked like.

pretty

If you ever contemplate driving across AZ "just because", let us send you more pictures. Even the Zonies
know how sanity is threatened, and so have increased the speed limit.

airplanes

Before reaching Tucson, we passed this huge airfield where all the old planes come for the good weather.
(Like Florida, but different.) You can imagine how long this subject was discussed.

Big excitement happened after Tucson - We got to see The Thing! It was the most exciting $1 we ever spent on entertainment.

TheThing1 Thing2

They had all sorts of exhibits in several corrugated metal buildings... with mysterious footprints leading one closer and closer to THE THING!!!

what is it?

Don't you want to know??? You'll just have to see it for yourself. Even Travis had to admit that he had never seen anything like it before.

giftshop

Almost as exciting and unique as the "museum" was the gift shop. I wanted to buy these cute rabbit-fur-flocked howling coyotes with pink
felt mouths, but Travis didn't want them in the car. "What about the puppy instead?" I asked.

We made it finally to Las Cruces, and had great bbq at Cattleman's Steakhouse.


The next day: Old town Las Cruces to Carlsbad Caverns via Texas
or
Take me back to Photo-album central