Driving Day … El Paso to Tucson

Wednesday, 25 April 2018
Agave Gulch FamCamp — Davis-Monthan AFB / Tucson, Arizona
Temps: 95F (35C) / 64F (18C)

We were both up shortly after 4:30a.  Why?  Who knows!  Certainly I had no plans to get up that early even with a planned 7:30a departure from Fort Bliss.  No going back to sleep, so we dallied over our morning reading and breakfast, and took care of the few remaining camp-departure chores at a more relaxed pace.  By 7:15a, we were on the road … the temp a cool 59F (15C).

With the slides pulled in and our loose furniture secured, we’re ready to drive.

The RV Trip Wizard’s preferred route was over the Franklin Mountains.  We drove that road with the CR-V when we were here in 2016.  It’s probably doable with the Phaeton since Mui’s truckers’ GPS agreed with the RVTW directions.  We decided to give the Phaeton a break, however, since we will be climbing some steep grades in the weeks ahead.  Instead, a 6-mile (10 km) detour took us around the base of the mountains and put us on I-10W easily enough.  Thirty-minutes later we were in New Mexico, which we needed to cross to complete our 324-mile (518 km) drive to reach Tucson, Arizona for our two-night stop.

[I’ll write about the RV Trip Wizard in another blog post.  Short story … I like it.]

Soon after we got on I-10 we had some winds that made the motorhome weave a bit.  The gusts weren’t too bad, but more than what we prefer when driving our high-profile vehicle.  Luckily, the winds only lasted about 10-15 minutes.  The forecast didn’t show any serious winds ahead of us, so we pressed on.

Speaking of the winds … saw an alert on the freeway digital board today that is a first for us.   It warned of dust storms — which we knew to be fairly common in the area.  Below the alert, the board displayed instructions on what to do in the event we ran into a dust storm: pull off the road … turn off the engine … feet off the breaks … stay buckled … wait ’til clear.  Good to know!

Driving close to the US-Mexican border means there will be security checkpoints along the way.  We’re familiar with them from our 2016 road trip.  We had no problems then.  Nor did we have problems at the only checkpoint in the vicinity of Las Cruces, NM today.  We approached … Mui showed his ID … we were waived on.  Infrared scanners check vehicles as they roll towards the booth where the border agent is located, so the queues tend to move at a steady pace without delays … no lines at all for us today.

Approaching the only border patrol checkpoint on our route today.

We made a couple of quick stretch-our-legs stops as we drove through New Mexico.  At just before 11:00a, we crossed into Arizona.  This state does not switch to Daylight Saving Time, so technically we gained an hour and it was suddenly only 10:00a.  By the time we reached the San Simon Rest Area for a longer break, our smart devices had auto-calibrated to the new time.  It was a very comfortable 85F (29C) — even in the sun, but especially in the shade.  It would have made a nice place for lunch, but we decided to press on to the stop I had pre-planned for that purpose.

Another great rest area gives us a chance to take a break.

Mui checks out the Arizona panels at the San Simeon information kiosk.

Our lunch spot at the Texas Canyon Rest Area was right around the highest point of today’s road trip — at just over 5,000 feet (1,525 m).  The good news  — no more than 1-3% grades to get to this spot … and even better news: the temp dropped a bit with the elevation gain.  It’s quite scenic at this rest area, so it turned out to be a great spot for lunch.  We again carried our food out to one of the picnic shelters for an al fresco lunch.  By 12:30p we were on the road again.

The Texas Canyon Rest Area has an interesting and …

… scenic setting for today’s lunch break.

Shortly after leaving the rest area we had two downhill grades of 6% … easily accomplished.  By the time we were leveled off, the temp was a hot 92F (33F) … rising steadily as we continued west.  Our last stop before the famcamp was at the Pilot truck stop on Craycroft Road … less than 10 miles from Davis-Monthan AFB.  This was our most expensive diesel of the trip yet.  With our Pilot/Flying J RV Plus Card we get 14¢ off the credit card price.  Even still, the fuel top off ended up costing us $3.21/gallon.

Getting from Pilot to Davis-Monthan (D-M) was easy-peasy.   By 1:45p we were pulling into site 207 at Agave Gulch FamCamp … considered to be one of the best in the military campground system.  No reservations accepted here.  It is very popular with snowbirds and the 197 sites are always full during the ‘season’ … but not this time of the year.  The famcamp manager proudly told Mui they don’t turn anyone away — even during the season — rotating campers through the overflow/boondocking area as necessary.

The landscaping is Arizona desert dryscaping.  In the distance are mountains with jagged peaks … I used my Peak Finder App to identify them.  There are saguaros and a few other kinds of cacti … some of which are blooming.  Palm trees and some trees that I am unqualified to identify are also planted … but nothing that would provide a great deal of shade.

I take a screenshot of the peaks the app identifies for me … neato.

The sites are widely spaced; fairly level gravel; 50A-FHU … all situated so that the shade is on the patio in the afternoons … at least in this section.  We have three-bar LTE on our smart devices, and there is free, speedy wi-fi available … accessed after setting up an account. All this for $22/night.  Since D-M participates in the USAF Frequent Camper Program, we not only got one night free … but we also got a signature in the logbook to count towards our next 10 free-night-vouchers.  That’s a good deal in my book.

Site 207 has a spacious desert garden next to it.

The campsites at Agave Gulch are nicely spaced.

Finished setting up camp, we hopped in the car and headed to the Commissary/BX complex to buy a few necessities.  Technically, we could have walked, but not when it’s 101F (38C) under the blazing sun.  We were going to take a walk after it cools down, but it will be awhile before we can do so.  Any other day, that would not be a problem.  But we’ve been up since 4:30a and our batteries are draining fast.  Off to bed soon.

T-Mobile Status: good for the first two hours leaving El Paso … mostly 3-4 bars; some 2 bar sections (approaching Deming), but had data /hot-spotting throughout.  Around San Simon right over the NM-AZ Stateline, we dropped to 1 bar very briefly, but then back up to 4 bar LTE all the way to Davis-Monthan.

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