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The Un-Arizona Part of Arizona

Every year at this time of year I feel relief at having escaped the cholla of southwestern Arizona and moved into southeastern Arizona, a land of dry grass, mesquite trees, and oaks.  A local person told me how, in a good monsoonal summer, the grass grows green and reaches up to the belly of a cow.  It would be fun to see that  --  you would only have to tolerate a lot of 95 F heat.  Even that is too much for me. 

This part of Arizona is not all that popular with standard snowbirds, looking for iconic Arizona desert scenery.  It won't be all that colorful here like it will be in southwestern Arizona when the cacti bloom.  It is surprising that I have learned to appreciate the austere tawny beauty of a spring morning in southeastern Arizona.


Of course a person can also learn to appreciate the opening of Brahms Piano Concerto #2.

Today I will drive with my friend to the semi-metropolis of the area.  It is only a month from the solstice, so I suppose the sun already has enough strength to kill my dog in a parked car.  I am ahead of the game in my spring chores, so it is time to fantasize an early escape from Arizona, perhaps via a new escape route.

Comments

Ed said…
I'm 10 days from arriving in that Un-Arizona part of Arizona. I'm not sure what your 'new escape route' might be; there are only a couple ways out of southeastern Arizona.
What is your rush? The months of March and April are about the best part of the year there. Slow up a little and I'll catch up with you; maybe in New Mexico.
My brain goes red with horror in thinking about the solstice sun in AZ.

Tucson-Phoenix-US93 to Boulder Dam-Vegas will probably be torture. I might opt for the sneaky flanking movement of western NM.

There is also a western flanking movement, staying just west of Las Vegas.
Ed, ever taken NV 164 west from Searchlight NV? You can get to Baker, CA that way. And then head north to US95.
Ed said…
I drove NV164 from the west to Searchlight on 15 November 2015; ended up that day in Quartzsite. From Pahrump it was a 338 mile day but without the usual winds. This is the link to the map:
https://site.edwardfrey.com/camp/12-11-15.html
Ed, so NV164 was not terrible?
Ed said…
The 35 miles from Baker to Kelso was the worst road but this was 8-9 years ago. What the roads are like now; I don't know.
Anonymous said…
NV 164 is no problem. Just your usual two lane highway in the desert with very few pull offs and generally limited shoulders. We just did it with a 22 foot trailer. Easy.
Thanks, Anonymous, that is exactly what I needed to know about NV164. It should be a successful "flanking movement" around Las Vegas.