Arizona Again

Andy and Terry have been invited back to Tucson, Arizona. It has been six weeks since they were last there. Cousin Jennifer is in the Tucson Regional High School Finals for Women's Golf. So they return to Crooked Tree Golf Course in Tucson for the 5 - A Regional Tournament.

Jennifer places first in the tournament and her school also places first. The whole team will be invited to the State Finals in Phoenix next week.

The Tucson Regionals First Place Trophy.




On Saturday, Terry and Andy go for a drive and end up in the large Saguaro Rincon National Park. It is southeast of the park they visited in September.

Sunday is spent resting and visiting with relatives.

Terry and Andy decide to stay for the first day of the State High School Championship matches held in Phoenix. The best teams in the state are there. The results: Only three girls finish ahead of Jennifer. Her school takes second place in the state, not a bad showing in Phoenix.

It is time to start home. Terry wants to drive through Yuma, Arizona, so she starts out on I - 8, headed west, toward San Diego. They pass through Yuma and along the Mexican Border, past the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, toward El Centro.

-

-

Border Patrol Agents are everywhere down here. Terry and Andy are stopped three different times at Border Patrol Checkpoints. Each time a Border Patrol Agent looks into the car, especially at the empty back seat and says, "Have a nice day!"

-

-

They turn north on Highway 111, through the farming areas of Brawley and Calipatria, headed for the east shore of the Salton Sea. They pass Niland, and then see a sign for Bombay Beach. Bombay Beach is like a Ghost town on the edge of the sea. Lots of empty houses and businesses. Only a few trailers and houses look occupied.

-

-

Further north there are a number of nice clean campgrounds on the beach.

Pelicans on the Salton Sea at Bombay Beach.


Terry and Andy nearly reach home before dark, but Terry insists on celebrating their safe arrival by stopping for dinner at Vince's, her favorite spaghetti restaurant in Ontario.

No, this is not their truck.

.

End of story.

.

Another Successful Adventure.

Nevada and Utah

Today, Andy and Terry will hit the road again. Andy wants to visit some more National Parks. He's never been to Great Basin National Park near the Nevada - Utah border. It's located a few hundred miles north of Las Vegas; it lies between Reno and Salt Lake City, in the middle of nowhere. Andy likes to go places he's never been to before. It's time to visit Nature!

They head their car toward I -15 and climb up Cajon Pass which puts them in Victorville, in the High Desert.

Their first stop is Barstow, where Terry likes to visit the Outlet Malls.

The next part of the road trip will take them to Terrible's Resorts in Primm Valley at the Nevada Stateline. Terry wants to visit the casinos there.








They also have a large indoor Fashion Outlet mall next to one of the hotels.




The next day, Terry and Andy drive through Las Vegas, then, 28 miles past Las Vegas they get off of
I -15 and travel north on Highway 93, The Great Basin Highway, to see places they've never seen before.

They drive for a hundred miles, gaining elevation the whole time. They stop for lunch in Caliente, Nevada, miles from nowhere. Several pairs of hunters stop by at the restaurant wearing camouflage suits. They talk about "the deer that got away."




The old Caliente train depot.





By late afternoon they arrive in Ely, Nevada, where they spend the night. There is snow on the mountains nearby. The elevation is around 7,000 feet.




Ely's mountains.






Andy and Terry finally reach Great Basin National Park, near tiny Baker, Nevada. There is a lot of scenery to enjoy up here.









Now it's time to make their way over to Utah, taking the back roads. Eventually they reach I - 15 again, at Cedar City, Utah, home of Southern Utah State College.



The following day, Andy insists on visiting his favorite park, Zion National Park, down near Saint George, Utah. The morning air is very cool here. They decide to take a hike up along the Virgin River.






Andy, at the Zion Visitor's Center.






The Virgin River is beautiful today, and pretty cold.



























End of the Trail.


After the hike, Terry and Andy take another drive. They fit in one more stop to Pipe Springs National Monument, an old Morman fortified settlement, just across the border in Arizona. This place is in a pretty isolated location, on Indian land.



They finally stop for the night in Saint George, Utah. They rest up for the four hundred mile drive home the next day. Their Great Basin, Nevada & Utah Adventure has lasted for five days.