Arizona - Based on the Basque word aritz onak meaning "good oak" or the Spanish word Arizonac meaning "having a little spring"

The 13 rays of red and gold on the top half of the flag represent both the 13 original colonies of the Union, and the rays of the Western setting sun. Red and gold were also the colors carried by Coronado's Spanish expedition in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola in 1540. The bottom half of the flag has the same Liberty blue as the United States flag. Since Arizona was the largest producer of copper in the nation, a copper star was placed in the flag's center. Flag adopted 1917.

Arizona Facts and Trivia

• The Arizona trout is found only in the Arizona.

• The saguaro cactus blossom is the official state flower. The white flower blooms on the tips of the saguaro cactus during May and June. The saguaro is the largest American cactus.

• Arizona leads the nation in copper production.

• Petrified wood is the official state fossil. Most petrified wood comes from the Petrified Forest in northeastern Arizona.

• The bola tie is the official state neckwear.

• The Palo verde is the official state tree. Its name means green stick and it blooms a brilliant yellow-gold in April or May.

• The cactus wren is the official state bird. It grows seven to eight inches long and likes to build nests in the protection of thorny desert plants like the arms of the giant saguaro cactus.

• Turquoise is the official state gemstone. The blue-green stone has a somewhat waxy surface and can be found throughout the state. 

• The amount of copper on the roof of the Capitol building is equivalent to 4,800,000 pennies.

• Arizona observes Mountain Standard Time on a year round basis. The one exception is the Navajo Nation, located in the northeast corner of the state, which observes the daylight savings time change.

• The battleship USS Arizona was named in honor of the state. It was commissioned in 1913 and launched in 1915 from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. 

• The geographic center of Arizona is 55 miles (89 kilometers) southeast of Prescott.  

• Located in Fountain Hills is a fountain believed to be the tallest in the world.

• Four Corners is noted as the spot in the United States where a person can stand in four states at the same time.

• The age of a saguaro cactus is determined by its height. 

• The world's largest solar telescope is located at Kitts Peak National Observatory in the city of Sells.

• At one time camels were used to transport goods across Arizona.

 

Casa Grande, AZ

The first half of the drive to Arizona on I-10 was just me and truckers, a lot of trucks, on the road; almost no passenger cars.  It could have been because it was Sunday or Mother's Day, but it was different.  Monday brought a lot of fellow RVers out, mostly heading East.  Around El Paso there was backed up traffic heading East due to an overturned 18-wheeler laying on its side in the median.  A few hundred miles down the road I had the same situation heading West. 

My m.p.g. was even worse that my last move.  I hope this doesn't continue.  I did have high winds this time, and wind gusts, so I'm holding out that that was the issue.

El Paso seemed really nice.  I'll have to stop and explore the city the next time through.  There was a lot of decorative detail on the overpasses and retaining walls; nice to look at.  Tucson is pretty to drive through as well because of the decorative detail, but not one of my favorite cities.

I expected it to be 100 degrees today but it never got over 90.  That was nice.  I opted to stay the night at the Flying J as I needed to run my generator all night for air and that was the one place I knew it wouldn't bother anyone.  I had to fill my tank anyway, and they had a Denny's for dinner.  Surprisingly, the Tilapia was delicious.  The apple crisp, not so much; the apples weren't cooked enough.

I was actually going to stay at a campground in Deming, NM for the night, as two of my camping groups each have a campground there, but it seemed too much trouble to unhook the Jeep and I wasn't ready to stop for the night when I was driving through.

I'm enjoying my short stay in Casa Grande, AZ.  The weather has been great and it seems like a nice area to stay, so I put my name on the waiting list to purchase a site at the campground.  They said it was about a 2 year wait, but I have a friend who just got her site, and in talking with others new to the campground, it seems to be a year or less for the wait.  Casa Grande is a nice, easy stopping point with access to the airport in Phoenix.  I was going to checkout some of the other campgrounds that have been recommended, but this seemed like the best choice, and was the least expensive on the short list.

OK, enough talk.  The only sightseeing I've done this week was a visit to the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.  As you may, or may not, know, Casa Grande means Great House (or Big House).  Four stories high and 60 feet long, with a platform mound filing the first floor, it is the largest known structure of the Ancestral People of the Sonoran Desert.  It was named by the early Spanish explorers.

The Casa Grande Ruins NM preserves remains of an ancient Hohokam-era farming village as well as he enigmatic Great House.

I'll do more sightseeing the next time I'm back to the area.

Tomorrow, Thursday, I head to SoCal to spend time with family and friends. For 3 weeks in June I will be out of the country - Seoul, South Korea and London, England.  I'll try to post some pictures of my adventures.  I'll be visiting family there as well.

Fort Davis and McDonald Observatory

Another beautiful day, weather-wise.  Not so, for my Jeep GPS.  It "froze" about half way through the day and I had to use Google to get me back home.  So much for the Service Bulletin and my $72.00.  Unfortunately, I depend on it totally everyday because I'm always someplace I have never been, so it's really annoying.  They have been "working" on it for the better part of a year and keep telling me it needs to be swapped out, but no one is willing to make the call and bare the expense I guess.  Oh well, I'll deal with it when I get back to Cali.

I drove though part of this area I went to today on my way to Big Bend National Park last year, but didn't stop.  Now I had the opportunity ...

Link to website https://mcdonaldobservatory.org

If you want to do the program they offer at the McDonald Observatory, plan about 3 -4 hours with the movie, the tour and the sightings.  There are lots of interactive exhibits in the visitors center as well.  I don't know what the elevation is, but it was 20 degrees cooler at the observatory than on I-20, so plan that into your stop as well.  Although to eat there was not too outrageous, I had the most expensive Diet Coke I've ever had ... $2.25 for a 20oz bottle.

Fort Davis National Historic Site - I begin my visit at the visitor center and museum for the 15-minute video on the history of the fort and then took a self-quided tour of the five buildings that are restored and refurnished to the 1880s and the other 100 ruins and foundations. Interpreters dressed in period clothing are stationed at some of these buildings during the summer months and spring-break (mid-March) and it was fun to talk with them.  https://www.nps.gov/foda/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

Commissary

I don't know why, maybe I was a scorpion or a javelin in a prior life, but I find the high desert to be the most relaxing and peaceful place I can be; just a feeling of being "home."

And once again I was close to the Marfa Mystery Lights Viewing Center, but, alas, not in the evening to view the lights.  One day I'm going to park my coach close for the night and see what all the hub bub is about.

Welcome to Pecos ... and an afternoon in Odessa, TX

It took about 7 hours to drive the almost 400 miles from Dallas to Pecos, TX.  I had really bad m.p.g. on this drive .... about 6.8 was my average and not much more, down from my normal solid 8mpg.  I assume it was the wind, because I kept my RPMs in the "zone" and my gearshift on economy, but still ....

I have a new winner for the dirtiest my Jeep has ever been!  It sprinkled/rained for part of the drive, and then the wind .... OMG my car is disgusting.

My first trip to see the surrounding area was to Odessa.  A beautiful day - sunshine, 83 degrees with a slight wind .. unfortunately, I spend the first half in the Jeep dealer while they worked on my GPS.  Jeep Customer Care called to make the appointment when I complained about how bad it was getting and they discovered there was a "Service Bulletin" out on it .... I still had to pay the $72 labor.  Does that seem fair?

Now I do understand why no one at the campgrounds where I stay recycles.  I drove about 12 miles with 4 garbage bags full of soda cans and I was rewarded with $3.18.  It truly was not worth my time to wash them out and collect them for recycle.

One of the places I stopped in Odessa was at the University of Texas for see the Stonehenge Replica.  It was cool to see.   Horizontally, it is identical to the original; vertically it is 70 percent of the original. Each limestone slab came from a nearby quarry.

 and then onto the The Odessa Meteor Crater & Museum - Perched on the edge of the 550-foot diameter crater, the museum tells the story of its namesake crater and offers exhibits about meteorites from around the world. Posters line a wall of the one-room museum, showing where meteors come from, where they’ve struck the earth, and the dramatic consequences.  There is a short walk around the meteor site.  http://www.texashighways.com/travel/item/8165-a-meteoric-blast-odessa-meteor-crater-museum

 I needed milk and a few groceries but decided not to shop in Odessa because of the heat; thinking it would be a better choice to stop in Pecos by my campground.  WRONG.  ha.  There are two stores in town, a Mexican market (very, very expensive) and a Walmart ... only the Walmart doesn't sell groceries.  I did get my prescriptions filled, however, before going back to the Mexican market for my milk.  When I say "expensive" ... they wanted $2.49 for one avocado.  I did buy a jicima and a cucumber along with my milk .... but they were out of  Mexican pastry, darn.

An afternoon in Dallas, TX

I had the opportunity to drive into Dallas one more time while I'm here; unfortunately, it was was too hot for a long walk through the Dallas Arboretum, which I'm sure would have been a great treat.  Instead I opted for the more traditional sights ...

The Hall of State was built in 1936, the centennial year of Texas independence. A gold medallion symbolizing the six powers to which Texas has paid allegiance dominates the Hall of Six Flags. The building contains two large oil murals, statuary, and the Museum of Texas History, and Big Tex, were not available due to a Cinco de Mayo Festival at the Fair Grounds (the biggest Ferris Wheel I've ever seen I think) ...  the grounds, which included the Cotton Bowl, were most impressive.

so I went downtown to the John F. Kennedy Memorial, the Old Red Museum, Dealey Plaza and the Dallas World Aquarium.  That walk in the heat was more than enough....the Dallas World Aquarium is a rain forest - what was I thinking?  ha.

The downtown Dallas skyline has some interesting buildings - different shapes and construction.

The John F. Kennedy Memorial was not what I expected.  Dallas chose to honor the memory of President Kennedy by erecting this stately monument. This 30-foot-high, 50-foot-square monument was built in 1970. The open-air structure in the historic West End resembles an ancient tomb. It is the first memorial by famed American architect and Kennedy family friend, Philip Johnson. 

The Dealey Plaza was more interesting.  Here is a picture of the "grassy knoll" and the marked (in the street) spots where President Kennedy was shot, along with a picture of the building from where the shot came.  The sixth floor is a museum; they leave the window that was used open ....

Built in 1892, the beautifully restored Old Red Courthouse contains some of Dallas County’s most fascinating historical artifacts. There is a special exhibit gallery located on the first floor, while the second floor of Old Red is filled with exhibits, 41-touch screen computers, an educational learning center and four mini theaters.

The Pegasus landmark flew high above the Dallas skyline for more than sixty years until the elements finally made it necessary to bring the winged icon back to earth.  It now sits close to the ground in front of the Omni Hotel.

Another super cool bridge to cross ....

         Dallas drivers aren't shy about using their horns without provocation.  ha.    I finished the day with some good Mexican Food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Fort Worth to Waco to Dallas, TX ..... and back

I should have been thankful of the "no weather" last Saturday when the severe thunderstorm passed me by .... the area on the other side of Dallas took a hit with a tornado!  All I ended up with was some wind.  On one of my sightseeing drives I encountered some rain .... huge drops that just pelted my car (I was glad they weren't hitting me!).  I found out later that they also had some hail.

It took me awhile to do some sightseeing .... I spent 3 mornings at the Jeep dealer so I only had a short afternoon each day to explore.  It involved a lot of driving the same roads and covering the same territory to see the next thing on the list ...

I'm going to have to add Texas to my list of "the best" for their state pride.  The Texas flag is everywhere and if it's not physically flying, then there is an outline of the state shape in the concrete or the Texas star.  Even every one of the water towers in the surrounding communities has a mustang, steer, the flag, the star, or some other symbol of Texas clearly and boldly and newly painted on it.  Lots of state pride.

My first stop was George "Machine Gun Kelly" Grave -

Now used as the Cottondale Community Chapel

 I'm not sure why I stopped to see the grave.  I had opportunities in Louisiana to see the death site of Bonnie and Clyde, or in Texas to see the graves, but I didn't bother with them.

I wanted to spend some time at Sundance Square but it was very crowded, and of course no where to park for the short walk.

There was plenty of room at the John F. Kennedy Tribute -

While I was driving down one of the County roads in search for a quilt shop, I came across this graveyard - I thought the entrance sign was fun - "Body Farm" -

The quilt shops here are different; they have very little fabric (I'm talking 20 bolts!), or the fabric is more suitable for clothing than a quilt. Disappointing.  I found a couple that had more of a selection tho ...

The Ft. Worth Water Gardens was especially pleasant - Featuring three pools and a terraced knoll, the Fort Worth Water Gardens offer a relaxing scenic area for locals and visitors alike to enjoy. The main attraction is the active pool which has water cascading almost 40 feet into a pool with steps leading down to the bottom. A fun factoid is that a scene from the movie "Logan's Run" was filmed in the active pool.

Thistle Hill is a Georgian Revival mansion built in 1904 and remodeled in 1910. The restored mansion is furnished in period. 

Ft. Worth has some outstanding old buildings and lovely parks with canals.

And then onto the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame - a lot of focus on Annie Oakley and the Wild West Shows ..  absolutely no photos allowed inside, even without a flash.



Waco had the first In-N-Out Burger I've seen since I left California.

Waco must be the city of bridges, because everywhere you look there is a bridge going over something.  And they were all different ... it was wonderful.



Texas in general has great speed limits - even 75 mph on a country road.  It's great, although the Texans don't seem to take advantage - they consistently drive way under the limit.

Dr Pepper Museum

 

Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum - The first Texas Rangers were hired by Stephen Austin in 1823, and they remain an integral part of the Texas legend. The museum is part of a 35-acre park that was established in 1837. The museum has a number of exhibits, including an impressive gun collection and a research library. The hall honors 30 rangers who are considered exemplary. Only about 118 Texas Rangers are active in the state presently, and Company F of the organization has its headquarters at the Hall of Fame.



 
The Mary Kay Museum was interesting. The lobby of the building was most impressive (pink, of course). I actually just finished reading one of her books ...

I was trapped in the Dallas rush hour traffic and didn't have as much time at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum as I would have enjoyed.   Considering the bad rep he has after leaving office, it was nice to be reminded of all the good he accomplished during his terms in office.  It's a very interesting library.  I did get to tour the temporary exhibit, Portraits of Courage, of his paintings of wounded warriors.  And, of course, I cried through the 911 exhibit ...

The George W. Bush Presidential Museum offers a look into the decisions and events of the Bush Presidency. The Museum features important artifacts; such as a piece of the World Trade Center; an interactive Decision Points Theater where visitors make real-time crisis decisions and a full-scale replica of the Oval Office complete with a Resolute Desk that visitors can sit behind.

When I was camping at the Diamond Jack's casino in Bossier, LA, I met some nice people who recommended eating at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen while I was in the Dallas area, and there was one not too far from the Presidential Library.  Excellent meal.  Interesting, after I ordered my meal, a recommendation for the restaurant popped up on my phone .... for the very same thing I ordered.  The gumbo (even with the okra - ha) was wonderful.  The manager comped me dessert (I chose Sweet Potato Pecan Pie - when in the South), which I had to take home.  As the waiter was going over the dessert cart, I thought of my family and friends - Creme Brulee with fresh fruit (my son), Key Lime pie (Mandy and Tandi - yes, it was yellowish), a highly recommended Bread Pudding (Susi), a multi-layer chocolate cake (Kristi) and Turtle Fudge Brownie (all of you!), and, of course, the ever present Banana Pudding .  I miss you all and will see you soon.