Working backwards from our arrival date in Indio (New Year's Eve) we figured out a departure date of Christmas Day. Here we were all loaded up and ready to roll out of the driveway at 7:00 am. Everything we need for 3 months + in the desert! Clothing for casual wear, hiking, golf etc.; golf clubs; photography equipment; several computers, iPads etc., hiking gear, drones and a few other things to keep ourselves amused.
Things were going well until the border. We had about a half hour wait as they seemed to be taking forever with each vehicle and erratic queues leading to the inspection booths.
To top it off, we got held up when they shut down the lanes after a vehicle in the lane next to us half blew through the booth. Got to see a takedown firsthand!
Driving on Christmas Day was easy, not much traffic until mid-day and hardly any trucks. The downside was nowhere to eat. We finally found a Subway in a gas station.
Once we got south of Cincinnatti, the temperature climbed to 12C and it started to get a bit foggy/misty. Not too bad but we were glad to get checked into the Marriott. Travel distance 890km. We picked this hotel because it had a restaurant. Unfortunately it was closed for the holidays. The only choice was the Waffle House or a Chinese Bistro so Chinese it was for our 2016 Christmas Dinner.
You can tell we are in hillbilly country when you see a young family of six having Chinese for Xmas and Dad is carrying his pistol in a holster.... I hope Donald Trump can make "America Great Again" for this fellow so he doesn't feel the need to brandish an offensive weapon on Christmas Day.
Day 2 of our trek. We started at Kroger with a full Starbucks and some muffins for the road. It was a very mild morning with a temperature of 16C. A nice drive on Bluegrass Parkway to start, with sun and a light sprinkle resulting in an early morning rainbow.
Traffic was good except a bit busy around Nashville. We gained an hour in a time zone shift and stopped for lunch at the Golden Arches at the new noon hour. Lots of guys in camouflage clothing and older couples holding hands and praying before eating. Maybe they know something about the food?
The temperature continued to climb as we approached Memphis.
The temperature continued to climb as we approached Memphis.
Driving was pretty good with some heavier traffic once we crossed the Mississippi. (A quick window shot of a barge making its way north)
The drive through Arkansas was the most tedious, more traffic and trucks and only 2 lanes each way. We did marvel at the extensive farmlands on each side of I40 which we found out later produce 45% of the rice in the USA.
As we approached Little Rock, the skies darkened and we ended today's 910 km leg in a bit of rain. The bonus was free beer and wine at the Marriott where we were staying for the night!
As we approached Little Rock, the skies darkened and we ended today's 910 km leg in a bit of rain. The bonus was free beer and wine at the Marriott where we were staying for the night!
Day 3, started out a bit cool (8C) but nice and sunny. The drive west fro Little Rock to Texarkana was very good with little traffic. I think I stayed on cruise control for over an hour without having to make any adjustments. The pine forest scenery reminded me of driving in Georgia.
Once we crossed the state border of Texas, both the quality of highway and the scenery started to deteriorate. Lots of run down properties with junk in the yards. Things picked up as we approached Dallas / Ft Worth. Obviously this is where the wealth is. The expressways around the city are phenomenal with many interlaced ramps. Traffic was moving but required attention.
As we left Ft Worth on I20, the landscape changed to bleak. Really poor houses/mobile homes and businesses, enough scrap steel in yards for the US Navy to build a new fleet, lots of oil rigs and businesses that support the oil industry but little evidence that all of this oil has enriched anyone's life that lives along this stretch of highway.
We booked another Marriott in Odessa TX as it appeared to be new. Unfortunately it was newer than the version of maps on my Garmin GPS. After driving around for a while we found it. Another Marriott Bonus night, booked it free on points plus free BBQ Chicken, beer and wine.
Day 4; we got under way continuing west on I20. The first few hundred miles were more of the same landscape, thousands of oil rigs, white pick up trucks and a lingering odour of petroleum in the air. The only bonus was an 80 mph speed limit and no traffic that got us through this area quickly.
After merging with I10 we started seeing the mountains of Mexico in the distance. The oil rigs disappeared and the scenery started to improve.
I10 turned northward at the Rio Grande as we followed to Mexican Border to El Paso. That's Mexico just west of the highway. Doesn't look like they have started construction on the wall yet....
El Paso is a fairly large city (700,000) and from what we could see, a major trucking hub with huge warehousing and trucking depots. Nice highways through the city. Looking across the river to Ciudad Juarez Mexico it was easy to see why people want to leave. Terrible slums.
From here it was on to Las Cruces NM for lunch. On our way to Tuscon, we were directed into an Immigration check point but were quickly waved through once they noticed the Ontario plates.
From here we had a fairly easy drive through Tuscon and on to Phoenix.
We hit Phoenix at around 5:30 pm and had a bit of a slowdown in the central part of the city but managed to arrive at Brian & Linda's by about 6:20 pm. We travelled about 1130 km today. It will be good to have a couple of days break from driving while enjoying the hospitality of old friends.
The next report will be from our destination at Sun City Shadow Hills in Indio California. We will be travelling there tomorrow, a short 4 hour drive. I apologize for the lack of interesting photos but we have not been stopping to explore anywhere along the route. We will be saving that for the return trip.
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