Cutting our Stay Short in Gila Bend, Arizona

We are on a bit of a schedule, as we had to make reservations for one of our future stops so we could have a package delivered. Getting packages complicates the free-wheeling life of a full-timer who makes travel plans on the fly. So we had to head on west down I-10 at a pretty fast pace. As we passed Picacho Peak State Park, we looked longily at those craggily peaks. We read a review entitled, "The Hike from Hell" that described the vertical spans that could only be climbed with the help of cables lashed to the mountain. That hike will be on our list for next time!

Our destination is Gila Bend, Arizona, so we made a turn south to Highway 8. Denisa is still confused about the "G" and "H" sounds in Spanish. But she now knows that you pronounce this town "Heela Bend" just like you would say this monstrous metal sculpture of a Gila monster is a "Heela monster."

We are parked at another Passport America campground, situated behind the Shell gas station, with the Sonoran Desert surrounding both. The owners obviously like large metal statuary, as this dinosaur was really big enough to eat the top leaves from the trees.

Mark is really brave to be smiling with all these venomous creatures around him in the picture below. Those snakes and the gila monster look at home in the desert. This is part of the Sonoran Desert National Monument, and is one of the reasons we are camping here. We went by the travel information office in town, asking for suggestions for the best hikes. We were surprised that instead we got the advice that it was too risky to hike around here. When we asked more questions, her best advice was to hike only if we took a fire arm. The poisonous reptiles of the desert are not the problem, but drug trafficking is.

When the second local person we talked to gave us advice not to go outside after dark, we decided this might be a pretty tough town. When the sun was setting behind a stately saguaro cactus, Denisa hustled out to take a picture. Then she hustled back inside with her camera before dark.

So we are cutting our stay shorter than we expected. Maybe we should have stopped in at Picacho Peak after all! But we will stay long enough to check out the other national monument in the area--in the next blog.