January 9, 2007

Ajo, AZ. We drove from Kingman today after stopping in at K-Mart for some supplies. We arrived here in Ajo at 5 pm, marked our spot (#5 in the RV park behind La Siesta Motel - the same place we stayed last year), and drove to the local IGA, where we bought a roasted chicken for dinner. It's now not long after 6 pm, and we've already wolfed half the chicken - plus cole slaw and zucchini and corn. R is outside, trying to figure out how to connect the television cable when there are two male fittings. I'm inside the RV, drinking my green tea with jasmine, grumbling a little because there is no wi-fi here (how soon we become spoiled). Never mind. I'll do what I did in Nevada - post to Word for the next two nights, then copy the postings into my blog. I know there is wi-fi in Bahía Kino, and we will be there on the 11th.

The palette changed again today, growing more golden as we got closer to Phoenix. Then we turned south at Surprise, AZ. The first surprise was that the freeway exit came and went so fast, I missed it and had to turn around at the next intersection. The second surprise was that the pale desert was interrupted by fields of cabbage and maybe spinach- something very green, in any event. It was a bit of a shock. Things went back to normal soon, though, and we noticed that there was a real desert sky - sharp, clear blue with stripes of high cirrus cloud. There was one cloud that was larger than the rest, and it sported a rainbow - not a big arc, just a kind of wash on the cloud itself. Joshua trees by the hundreds appeared beside the highway, then palo verde and cholla, organ pipe cactus and saguaro, and I knew we had finally found our way to the desert. Just south of Gila Bend a new colour appeared. Do you remember the crayon called "burnt sienna"? Whoever decided to put that colour in the Crayola box had been to Gila Bend. There is a short, tough grass that grows in clumps along the roadside there, and it's just that shade. While I was looking at the burnt sienna and smelling crayons, I saw a Marian shrine at the side of the road, decorated with a shining silver garland and red Christmas ornaments.

It was a pleasure to arrive in Ajo and know exactly where we wanted to stay. It was a kind of homecoming, only briefly spoiled by the "No Vacancy" sign taped to the motel's office door. I went in anyway and asked whether there were any vacancies in the RV park, and there were. Two of them, and we only needed one! Phew.

January 10, 2007

Robin found a splitter this morning, so Fox News invaded the RV, announcing disasters and discussing the O'Donnell/Trump feud in excited voices. The weather channel showed pictures of wind damage on Whidbey Island, WA, making me worry about near and dear ones. Look after yourselves, folks.

It would be mean of me to mention the weather here, wouldn't it?

One of our neighbours at the park came over and re-introduced himself. He was here last year, vacationing more or less on the same schedule. He comes from Surrey, B.C. That just added to the sense of homecoming.

R bought the Mexican car insurance this morning, so we're all set to cross the border tomorrow. We have visions of Bahía Kino dancing in our heads. Meanwhile, there's that long bike ride from the library back to the park. I have to get into training for my tortilla runs in Kino.