WELCOME HOME (ALMOST)!

            Welcome home!  Well almost, just another 1800 miles to go.  After more than 6 weeks and 3500 miles in Mexico, we arrived in Nogales, Arizona.  Nature knows no national borders and the terrain did not change dramatically.  We still had broad, empty plains surrounded by bleak peaks.  The Sonoran Desert straddles Mexico and Arizona and it was in full bloom!  We enjoyed plants we had never seen before.  We marveled at the many colors of cactus blossoms. 

 

We were many miles from the nearest sea shore, but the desert has its own version of “driftwood” and it takes the shape of many strange creatures.

            In Tombstone, we had a glimpse into the lives of Wyatt Earp, his brothers and “Doc” Holliday and learned about their famous gunfight at the OK Coral.  

 

We had lunch at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon where the waiters pack six-shooters and waitresses coiffed with feathers in their hair wear corsets à la Miss Kitty.  The gravestones on Boot Hill memorialize the various causes of death for those buried there—“killed,” “murdered,” “hanged” etc.

            As we pushed further east, we entered the “Land of Enchantment.”  We were indeed enchanted by New Mexico.  Our first stop was at Rock Hound State Park, a few miles from Deming.  Our campsite was perched several hundred feet above the surrounding plain. 

The forces of erosion have forced the mountain to give up bits and pieces of its surface.  Among those bits and pieces are semi-precious gemstones.  Hikers are free to collect any that they find.  We know nothing about the appearance of gemstones in the rough, but we picked up rocks that looked interesting to us.  The real attraction was the view.  

After weeks of admiring distant mountains from valleys and plains, we could actually sit and watch sunsets and moon-rises from our perch in the sky.

            The exceptional museum in Deming is filled with fabulous collections of everything from dolls and toys to bells to hatpins to memorabilia of every kind. 

Its displays of Native art and life are extensive and beautifully arranged.  The town itself boasts many buildings from the late 19^th and early 20^th century.