Yuma
We arrived, got our rental car, and immediately headed west on the freeway (to San Diego) to Yuma, which sits on a very old crossing of the Colorado River on the present AZ-CA border. By the time the Colorado arrives in Yuma, it is a shadow of its former self. A lot of the produce we eat comes from the Yuma area, irrigated by Colorado River water. KR's Aunt & Uncle Brown live in Yuma in the winter and visiting them was our main reason for heading that way. We also got to check out the old Yuma Territorial Prison where, interestingly enough, many Mormon polygamists were held for a time.
Why
After spending the night in Yuma, we backtracked to Gila Bend and 1) made the obligatory stop to check out the giant cement rattlesnake at the roadside gas station and 2) ate lunch at the restaurant adjoining the Space Age Motel. Its claim to fame is the giant replica space ship on its roof - who can resist that? After passing through Ajo, AZ (Spanish for garlic) and Why, AZ (I stopped to ponder a few of life's great questions under the Why sign), we visited the Organ Cactus NMT, hard by the border with Mexico. We were expecting drug shootouts or buzzing helicopters but, fortunately, found no excitement after our long drive. It is a good time to visit the desert. It is cool, alive, and green.
TucsonWe stayed in Tucson for a couple of days and enjoyed a few new things there - the Sonoran Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park (the cactus is pronounces suwaro). The Museum is an interesting mix of garden, zoo, museum, and park. We could have spent more time there. It is a quick drive into the mountains from Tucson and a definite "must see" if you are in the area. We could have spent more time there. KR got some great pics with her new camera of the birds in the raptor show - the one below is an owl just before it alighted on the branch you can see in the foreground. Such a beautiful bird.
Surprise (Phoenix)Our next stop was Surprise (near Phoenix) for several days to take in some Mariner games. We got to try out our new telephoto lens and were pleased with how it functioned (see the picture of the Mariner batter below). It will come in handy at grandchild soccer and baseball games! One of the games was at the new Dodger-White Sox complex in Glendale (the Dodgers used to train in Florida). Wow - what a place! It seems they all are trying to outdo each other (cities and teams) for the biggest sports palace. The place was packed with around 15K fans for the game. We spent Sunday with the Michaud clan in Mesa - thanks for the hospitality!
Eastern ArizonaAfter dropping KR and her folks at the airport, I headed for Las Vegas and the Mountain West BB Tournament. Naturally, I headed east (the opposite direction) so I could go the long way! I drove the Apache Trail ( quite a bit of dirt road) east from Phoenix along the Salt River, skirting the Superstition Mountains (to the south). It is quite the road and it took me about four hours to go the 90 miles. The road ends at the Roosevelt Dam and the Tonto Basin, where you encounter the Roosevelt Bridge (see picture).
On the rim of the Tonto Basin is Tonto NMT, some cliff dwellings you can see from miles away - they had quite the view! After checking that out, I drove through Globe, San Carlos, Safford, and on to Clifton, where I spent the night.
Near Clifton is the Morenci copper mine, one of the largest copper mines in the world. The giant trucks hauling the ore seemed like ants in the huge mine. With the rise in copper prices between 2003 and 2008, the mine production was doubled, at its peak employing 4,000 people. Not sure what they are doing now that the price of copper has plummeted.
I drove north over the White Mountains east of the Apache Indian Reservation, at one time rising to 7500 feet and hitting some snow. The 123 miles between Morenci and Springerville is curvy and mountainous, and they call it the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway. I wasn't quite prepared for how slow I had to go and it took me the better part of a day to get to Holbrook and the freeway to Flagstaff, so I spent the night in Flagstaff.Route 66
The east-west freeway along the Holbrook-Flagstaff corrider is, of course, the old Route 66. As I headed to Las Vegas, my plan was to get off the freeway and explore the sections of Route 66 that were still extant. One area near Flagstaff caught my eye. Route 66 seemed to have a lot of Americana to lure people off the highway to eat, spend the night, or just spend some money on trinkets. One gas stop (now abandoned) is called Twin Arrows (the arrows are still there, but the prosperity is long gone). Then, just down the road, is Two Guns (also abandoned). Dueling gas stations, if you will. Two Guns even sported a 1) "zoo" with mountain lion cages (the cages are still there, the mountain lions long gone) and a glorious four-seater......hey, can you hand me a few squares of that paper over there?.....gee, thanks. Hey Jon, Two Guns is for sale! Maybe we ought bring it back to life - I will go trap the mountain lions for you......
A few miles from Two Guns rested one of the goals of my detour east. Alongside the freeway sits the largest intact meteor crater in the world. One large hole in the ground, to say the least! It is privately-owned and you have to fork over some cash to peer into it, but I thought it was worth it. They have even fenced the whole thing with barbed wire so you can't sneak up to the edge without paying the fee! Maybe if i disguised myself as a large meteor and just kind of rolled up to the rim....... 
Off Road AdventureI was getting a little anxious to get to Las Vegas. Near Kingman, I saw on the map a road that might save me some time...... looked promising..... shorter..... well, 50 miles later and two hours longer than if I had taken the freeway.....not to mention the dust filling the car, I rattled my way back onto the road I should have stayed with through Kingman. But I did get to see some very nice Arizona land for sale.....with water.
Hoover Dam
When you get to Hoover Dam and the Colorado, you know you are close to Las Vegas. Oh, by the way, they are building the most interesting bridge just downstream from the Dam that will take all the traffic off the top of the Dam when completed. You might call it a Dam Relief Bridge.... or maybe just a Dam Bridge for short.
Las VegasI had a great time with Rod and his buddies getting a basketball overdose at the Mountain West BB Tournament. Something we will have to do in the future together Jon, Mark, Mike, Matt & _______. They even taught me some buffet techniques I was not aware of - and I thought I knew them all.
What do you do when you are a BYU fan, and your team just lost a close game and is out of the tournament! Why you choke someone - preferably a Ute or UNLV fan.
Running on EmptyI was ready to go home. But first I had to drive back to Phoenix (the short way), drop the rental car, and catch my plane there. I went via Searchlight (NV), Needles (CA), and Lake Havasu City (AZ). Yes folks, the London Bridge is in Lake Havasu City and I am not sure why even after seeing it! But there is some surprisingly pretty country along the Colorado River above and below Lake Havasu.
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