280 miles via I-10. Cumulative distance: 3,626 miles.
GTW Hop 21: Las Cruces NM to Tucson AZ
This was another hop that was easy to navigate: get on I-10 west and keep going until you get there. The only difficulty was that the ramp closest to the RV park was closed (which we were told when making reservations), so we had to get off a little farther away and travel a few more local streets. No big deal. The hardest part of the trip was turning into the RV park. More on that later.
Arizona is beautiful in a stark, dusty kind of way. We thought that west Texas had a lot of nothing, but southern Arizona has even more of nothing. We stopped at two rest areas – one to eat and to walk the dogs and another to check out a cut on Grace’s paw that she apparently got at the first one. The first rest area had several prominent signs warning that “poisonous snakes and insects inhabit this area,” so we had a few moments when we wondered if she had gotten bitten. But I think it was just a sharp rock.
Dog walk area
Cactus, railroad and mountains
The second rest area had some incredible rock formations.
Split rocks at rest area
Rest area 2
Lots of rocks
Shortly after leaving Las Cruces we encountered a border patrol checkpoint. Jett was hoping that they would pull us aside and check for Mexicans traveling with us, but they just waved us through.
Border patrol checkpoint
Our destination in Tucson was the Whispering Palms RV Park. We picked it on short notice because our planned destination rejected us because Cha-Cha was a “dangerous breed.” Anyone who knows Cha-Cha will find the thought of him being dangerous hilarious. But it meant that I had to pick a park quickly and this one looked… ok.
Mistake.
The first problem was the driveway. It was a very tight turn just getting into the park. I made it, but it wasn’t easy. Then we noticed that many of the RVs were older. This is obviously a park inhabited mostly by long-term residents who are living on the cheap. The word “shabby” came to mind – the first park that I would describe that way. Another first: there was no working public bathroom. The registration person was “hopeful” that it would be fixed by Saturday – 5 days hence. We didn’t need it, fortunately. The site itself, though a pull-through, was very tight and had no picnic table or any other kind of amenity.
Whispering Palms entrance
Whispering Palms
But wait… it gets worse! We have concluded that the palms here are not really whispering; you just can’t hear them over the road traffic, the train traffic or the jet planes. It was noisy, noisy, noisy. Impossible. We are leaving today. It was cheap ($16.50) but not worth it. I wouldn’t stay here again at any price.
Patience next to the noisy street