Tucson to Gila Bend, AZ

So, today we left Tucson.  Sorry, not sorry, y'all, but no tears were shed.  Freedom RV did a great job on our tile floor, and we did get to visit a cozy quilt shop packed with really pretty and unique fabrics (dropped a bundle of cash there, too...just ask Driver.  Better yet, don't ask!)  But, aside from that and the Desert Museum, which was really more of a zoo/aquarium/gardens, and the nice Air Force Base FamCamp, there wasn't much else to hold us there.  Lots of dust and dirt blowing around, and way more Saguaro cactus than we've ever seen, but that's about it.  But, they did have lots of pretty bridge abutments and overpasses.  Even a lot of their bridges were decorative.  I was able to get some (really poor) shots in today, on our way out of town, at 62 mph.  Yes, 62.  Speed limit was often 65 or 75, but 62 is our preferred speed.  Yes, you may call us turtles if you wish.  But, that gives us plenty of reaction time when fools come sliding and spinning across the road and back.  

These are mosaics, leading up to an overpass.

Don't ask me what it represents, about all I could tell was the mountains and the sun.  I'm guessing all together, they represent the petroglyphs found outside of town, way up in the hills.

I took this to represent the sun.

Driver thought these were bats.  I thought they were just chevrons, but I like they idea of them being bats.  Bats are so ugly they're cute.  And definitely necessary.

Yeah for more cotton!  'Cuz, you know, I need more fabric.  HAHAHA...no, no I do not.

Heading back out to Picacho Peak.  Yes, yes you can climb up it.  No, no I am NOT going to do so.  Not in this lifetime, not in next lifetime, not in ANY lifetime.  Thank you for your generous offer, but, no, no thank you.

Often, we camp by railroad tracks.  I think it must be a prerequisite for campgrounds to be located nearby RR tracks.  No big deal, we kinda like hearing the trains go by and we don't mind the whistles tooting at all hours of the day (and night).  No big deal.  The RV dealer we just left had RR tracks about a hundred yards away, just across the street, and everybody warned us about them coming through all night.  Well, we heard only 2, and they went by pretty quick.  Again, no big deal.  This Air Force Base Auxiliary Air Field is about 3 miles from the Interstate.  And RR tracks paralleled the road down to the gate, so we fully expected we'd be hearing some trains during our stay here in Gila Bend, AZ.  HA!  We turned onto the street to enter the gate and had to cross these tracks.  Don't think they will be used anytime soon.  Certainly not tonight, and we'll be leaving in the morning, so I highly doubt we will be hearing trains tonight.

After we parked, though, we did take a short tour of the base.  Short, because there really isn't much to see here.  One 20 room motel they use for visitors, one visiting officers' quarters, a motor pool, a small gym, with an outdoor basketball court, an airstrip & tower, and ummmm...that's about it, except for the FamCamp.  This was the sign down by the airstrip.  We didn't have permission, so we didn't enter.  Thought it prudent to follow the rules, this one time. Like yesterday, no feeding the coyotes.  We followed that rule too.

This little guy was sitting out in the field, and this is one of only two grassy patches we saw on base.

The tour of the base was so much fun, we thought we'd head into town.  Such as it was.  Our intent was to scope out the way to Pilot, which promised to be a little tricky, and maybe even fuel up the RAV4, since gas here was a bit less expensive than up in Surprise.  Key words, there, "our intent."  First, we stopped in at the junk store...

...and found the ice cream counter.  Nooooo, didn't make any purchases here, way too close to dinner.

...and the cafe part of the junk store/ice cream counter promised to be another "cultural experience," but not necessarily one in which we wished to participate this time.  Dinner was to be BBQ and Tater Tots, with homemade cole slaw, and we really were looking forward to it.  Mexican prepared by the cashier just didn't sound so appetizing...

After all that, we went on to the local museum.  Which was CLOSED, according to the sign on the door.  The posted hours were 9 am to 3 pm, Mon thru Fri, and we were well within those parameters, being Thursday, at 11:30 am.  Yet, still CLOSED.  However, it was adjacent to some Administration Center, whose doors were actually open, so we went inside and inquired about the closure.  Turns out, there was no one to tend the museum, but we were invited to enter through the Administration Center hallway.  Score one for us!  Didn't take much time to view all the artifacts and browse all the brochures.  The biggest deal here was the Oatman Family Tragedy, and the survival of Olive, poor dear, she had it rough, and there doesn't seem to be any photo of her with a smile, and it's no wonder.  Then we started our search for gas.  We went to the Pilot station first.  Too expensive and crowded too.  So used Gas Buddy and found the Circle K, at the other end of town, to be the cheapest gas in town.  We went back (it's all of a mile, about 3 minutes ride, from one end of town to the other) to Circle K, pulled in and entered the credit card.  Yes, I'm using WE, but WE is Driver.  The other half of WE was sitting in the front seat, searching out geocaches on her telephone.  So, the card was accepted, but there was no gas coming out of the nozzle.  Not a drop.  Twice.  OK, so there is a Chevron, just across the street, and up a half a block.  Pulled in to Chevron.  Credit card declined.  And Driver's phone, as it often is, is back at the camper.  So, if USAA had called or texted to put a fraud alert on the card, as they so often do, we didn't know it and couldn't decline it.  So we used MY credit card, 'cuz they never put an alert on MY card.  Except this time, apparently.  NEITHER card was accepted.  Ruh-roh.....that could be an issue....we planned on putting about $150 of fuel in the coach first thing tomorrow morning....we'd better go get back to the camper and check the phone and see about getting this resolved.  We couldn't imagine what could be the problem...after all, we had paid cash for the campsite (a whopping $12!!) and we had used Driver's card yesterday to get admission to the museum, and my card the day before, at the fabric shop.  So, yeah, maybe I did spend over a hundred bucks a lot, but certainly not enough to reach our credit limit...what could possibly be the problem???  Well, a quick call to USAA reveals there was a temporary block put on our account (both cards).  When there was no gas at the Circle K, Dick canceled the transaction and retried it.  Sort of like restarting the computer, ya know?  That fixes everything, right?  Nope, not this time!  That action set off the alarm at USAA and they thought our card had been compromised, so, they suspended it immediately.  And when we tried to use it at Chevron, it was immediately declined.  Tight security bit us in the butt!  But, we got it all sorted out, and we turned right around and went back to town.  To the Chevron.  Unfortunately, they have the buttons backwards, and the one that got pushed was for premium gas.  At almost $4 a gallon.  That was NOT the intended selection.  Geesh.....are we ever gonna get this gas today?  We seemed doomed and destined NOT to get gas here!  Transaction was canceled and we went on down the road to visit the 9/11 Memorial Park we had passed earlier.

And I must have taken the worst possible picture of the Space Age Restaurant signage.  Even the gray paint of the building had sparkles in it.  It's really a Best Western, but for some reason, it's all done up with an outer space/aliens theme.

The alien was draped in cheesecloth for Halloween.

This was the domed lobby of the hotel.

After that, we went BACK to the Chevron and selected the right octane level and pumped a few gallons of gas.  All set for the night, and it's about time to go home and fix dinner.  BBQ and Tater Tots, here we come!  Besides, the laundry here is free and the machines are large enough to do our quilts, so we'd better get on the stick!  There is NO tv here...nada, zip, zilch.  Not a single station, Mexican, shopping or otherwise...but, hey, we should see some stars, don'tcha think?  Maybe some aliens?

This is our view out the front - the setting sun.

Tomorrow morning we head back up to Surprise and settle back in for the next couple of months.  I have lots of sewing to do - our placemats, a charity quilt top I was given to finish, a new purse for myself (fabric was purchased way back in ...Oh Lordy, I can't even remember where or when!), Betty's two garden flags, and I signed up for TWO tables at the craft sale next month, so I better get busy and make some more stuff to sell!!  Honey, you won't mind walking without me, will ya??  And you're welcome to go exploring all you want...maybe go with Lora to the photography club meetings...I have work to do!  In fact, since there is no TV, I think I'll go sit with my seam ripper a while, and get started on that charity quilt!  Yeah, crazy, I know.  I have to take it apart so I can put it back together again right.  Good night & God Bless!!