Monday, October 27, 2014

GALLUP NEW MEXICO to YUMA, ARIZONA - in One Day

After a fairly sleepless night in the Walmart parking lot in Gallup, New Mexico, we set out. It was 6:30 am and we intended to make Quartzsite, Arizona. We gained an hour crossing the border into Arizona.





We were surprised that we were in Flagstaff, Arizona by 10:00 am. We were also surprised that there were mountains, lots of mountains between Flagstaff and Phoenix. Up huge hills, and down the other side, over and over again cut into our good time.




Doug and I found the signs going up and down these high hills quite humorous. The person making the signs must have been quite a chatty person. 








We had mapped out a route that would avoid Phoenix completely and boy did that ever help. Route 303 skirts just the edge of Phoenix and takes you around to Surprize, and then Buckeye and then Route 85 drops you down to Gila Bend in no time. Quick lunch at McDonald’s in Gila Bend and on to Yuma. 


Doug was so tired. We’d been on the road 10 hours with just two little breaks. We made our usual spot at the Bureau of Land Management grounds at Pilot Knob in time for our first Arizona sunset. We are all alone out here but that’s fine. We need the rest.




8 comments:

Rick and Kathy Rousseau said...

That is quite a long haul but the reward was at the end of the day.
Be Safe and Enjoy!

It's about time.

Wanderin' said...

There definitely are mountains around Flagstaff. They actually get a lot of snow during the winter. It's where the folks from Phoenix run to get away from summer heat. I hope it's not too hot for you in Yuma. Sometimes in November it can be.

Linda Sand said...

Wow you guy really made a long haul there! That trip would have taken me three days. I hope you slept well at the end of it.

billandjanrvingtheusa.blogspot.com said...

How long are you going to be there? Bill and I want to get some dental work done. We enjoyed our time with you two so much last year.

Paul and Marsha Weaver OCT. 17, 2009 said...

That is just crazy driving. I remember we did that our first year. We vowed never to drive that much again unless it was an emergency. We see why Doug was so tired.

Gorgeous BLM. Love the view.

Sue and Doug said...

Just one question?..why oh why would you do such a long travel day?..
Enjoy the peace and quiet !

Dianne and Steve said...

Wow, that was a long day! Enjoy the desert!

Peter said...

Greetings to Yuma and the area.