Alamogordo NM to Tucson AZ
What a long and eventful day we have had today – brushes with the law, a gunfight …… but back to the start.
It was a short drive south to our first stop at White Sands National Monument. It is an area of gypsum that has been caught in a natural basin and when it broke down thousands of years ago it has formed a massive area of white sand dunes. It is like being in a snowfield it is so white but in 35 degree temperatures !
So much sand .. where’s the car ? It’s this way Liam, no this way Mum
There is a drive which loops through the dunes however you are able to get out and wander the dunes as you like. Once you get away from the road and behind a dune it would not be hard to get lost !
We were lucky with our first stop. We drove past a small parking area which seemed to have people camped. We stopped a bit further on near another car and noticed its occupants heading off. We then noticed the tops of a couple of balloons and you could hear the gas flame used to inflate them.
Hot Air Balloons at White Sands
So we hurried up the closed dune and found 2 balloons already inflated and a 3rd just about finished.We stopped to watch for a while as well as take some photos of the dunes nearby but eventually gave up waiting for them to actually take off.
Plants and wind blown sand
We headed further around the drive and we got out again to walk into the dunes to take some more photos. We managed to get some nice photos of the wind ripples in the sand as well as some small animal footprints in the sand.
The whole area is such a strange and unusual landscape !
We then headed off further south, past the White Sands Missile Base – where the US Army test there missiles on a regular basis as the interstate can be closed for up to 2 hours a couple of times a week and also where they did the Trinity atomic bomb tests in 1945.
As we were getting toward Mexico again, we passed another Border Patrol point just south of White Sands but heading the other way (they generally only stop you when you are heading away from the border). However on interstate I 10 past Las Cruces we got stopped again – this time only briefly as being the interstate it would be traffic chaos to thoroughly check each car. They seemed to be pulling some over to do more detailed checks.
I think the long, straight highways must have become a bit too familiar as not long before our lunch stop at Lordsburg – not far from the Arizona border we had our next brush with the law – well I did. The road was busy with trucks and we were passing many with the speed limit 75. As we approached an overpass, I noticed a familiar looking black Dodge heading across the overpass and thought “that looks like an unmarked police car”. I glanced at the speedo and thought I was doing about 80mph. We went under the overpass and I glanced in the rearview mirror to see the police car coming down the access to the interstate. He pulled onto the interstate behind a car that had been following us. Then he moved out to the outside lane and past the other car and then his lights lit up and he pulled in behind me. “There is a police car behind us” I said to Adrienne who thought I was just passing comment. Then as I pulled off the road her face changed a little.
We stopped and he stopped behind us, got out and came up to the car. Officer Rodriguz of Hidalgo County Police said “Good afternoon. I was on the overpass and recorded your vehicle doing 85 in a 75 zone. Is there any reason why ?” “Well no, I just hadn’t noticed my speed had crept up” I replied. “Can I see your licence please” he said. I had this ready and passed it to him saying “I’m from Australia” as I handed it to him. I don’t think he has seen many Australia Drivers Licences which I think saved me as he said “Oh wow” as he looked at the licence. He then asked “Is this a rental car” and I said “Yes”. After a brief pause he said “On this occasion I am issuing you with a warning. I just need to make a couple of checks and I will be back in a moment”. He went back to his car with my licence – don’t know what he actually checked – then returned shortly after, handing back my licence with a friendly “Enjoy the rest of your trip”. We headed off again doing 70 in a 75 zone.
Old copper mine in Bisbee
We stopped at a truck stop shortly after for lunch – fascinated by the goodies truckers can buy – even authentic “torn off sleeve” shirts ! Not long after Lordsburg we headed off the interstate, south to do a loop down toward the border again to drive through some old mining boom towns. On this section we passed from New Mexico into Arizona. One of these towns, called Douglas, had a pretty bad reputation as a border town – we drove quickly through here – and the other, Bisbee, a bit north was a major copper mining town. The mine closed in 1975 and it is a town of contrasts. At one end it is a huge hole in the ground and looked much like Queenstown in Tasmania used to after its mining. At the other end of town, after the mining ceased the “trendy” set took over and it is full of restored buildings, cafes, hotels, restaurants etc. – “the”place to be !
Stagecoach outside OK Corral
From here we headed to the wild west town of Tombstone. After its mining stopped, the town has kept up – and plays up to – its “wild west” reputation. The main street is closed to cars and the buildings are beautifully maintained in period – complete with timber sidewalk, stagecoaches roaming the streets, costumed “characters” wandering around etc.
Gunfight at OK Corral
We were lucky to find that there was a “shootout at the OK Corral” scheduled for 4pm as we had thought they were only at 2pm. So we watched an entertaining re-enactment of the Earps and Doc Holliday do in the McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton.
Just down the road is the famous Boothill Cemetery where those boys lie, along with various other Tombstone residents – hanged, murdered and so on in the 1880’s. It was a bit spooky – when I signed the visitors book the name 4 above mine was Neil Anderson ! (but from the UK). Whether they are original or added later, some headstones have or had a sense of humor as the picture below shows.
Boothill Cemetery
It was after 5pm at this stage and we still had over an hour to get to Tucson. It was really an hour later for us as we had gained another hour getting into Arizona.
Not long on from Tombstone we again met our friends from the US Border Protection service at another checkpoint. As we have the system worked out now and explained to the officer we had been driving all across the south and had stopped at a few, he chuckled and sent us on our way. Mind you, Adrienne is a bit worried with all the contact with the law we might be on the FBI’s watch list !
We finally arrived at our hotel about 6.45pm. Luckily they were putting on dinner – like we had found at Fort Myers – so we relaxed with an easy dinner before settling in to our evening “blogging” routine. After our busy day, we will all sleep very well !