April 10, 2014: Farewell to the state of Arizona – the land of beautiful sunsets.
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| Sunset at Plomosa BLM north of Quartzsite. |
Last year on November 2nd
we enthusiastically journeyed from Utah into the far northwest corner of
Arizona ready to take on new adventures in the Grand Canyon state. Looking back through my pictures, I realize
the most magnificent sunsets we’ve enjoyed while in Arizona were when we were boondocking
out away from the crowds. We are going
to miss these sunsets. But, five months
later, we are anxious for a new state and new explorations.
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| Another lovely sunset at Plomosa BLM north of Quartzsite. |
Even though we’ve
determined neither of us are really “desert people”, we have certainly enjoyed
the warm climate, a multitude of new adventures, new friends, and quality time
with family.
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| The sun rises over the Plomosa Mountains north of Quartzsite. |
So here we are nearing the
middle of April, climbing into the Moose and heading eastward, making our way
out of Arizona and crossing into New Mexico – the Land of Enchantment. We’ve got some new sites to see, and a little
more warm weather to enjoy before heading north for a bit of cool summer in the
Colorado High Country.
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| A beautiful sunset enjoyed at Snyder Hill BLM near Tucson. |
But, before we leave Benson: “I hear the train a comin’ / It’s rollin’ round the bend / And I ain’t had a quiet day since I don’t know when.”
By one RV park resident’s
estimation, 47 trains pass through Benson during any given 24 hour period. All day, all night. Let’s see: That’s 24 hours x 60 minutes =
1,440 minutes. Divide that by 47 trains
and you get a train blowing its whistle about every 30 minutes. Now, I know there are trains cranking through
town more often than every half hour all day long. So, either there are more than 47 trains
every day, or there are fewer through the night and I actually sleep through a
few of them.
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| A rainbow over Benson. You can't hear the trains in the picture! |
Rumor has it around the RV
park that the conductor on the 4:20 AM train has an ex-wife in Benson. He delights in waking her up every morning as
he roars through town, blowing his whistle incessantly long before and long
after any reasonable train engineer would do.
Alas, we all suffer the same early awakening as the conductor’s
ex-wife.
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| Trains! We're happy to see them in our rearview mirror. |
BUT, we’re outta here –
bound for Las Cruces! Enough of the
clanking trains and screeching whistles!
As we drive east on I-10 we meet a train travelling westward, eagerly preparing
to blast out the eardrums of those left behind in Benson.
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| And a final Arizona sky. A wicked-looking storm rolling in from the southwest at Snyder Hill BLM - again at sunset. |
Adios to Arizona! Hola to New Mexico - the Land of Enchantment! Be safe.
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