Day 31 - Globe, AZ

Last evening was one of the best of the trip......unless in a motel. Very cool evening, a nice, quiet campsite, and slept all night. But, my wake up call comes at 5am, so I'm up and ready to start walking around 6. I dreaded today, because I understood one of the highway guys to say I had an eight mile uphill climb into Globe. But, nothing to do except do it.

I started out, passed through a little community named "Top of The World" at an altitude of about 4,700', and then the road started down. And it kept going down until I reached Miami, AZ....the self proclaimed "Copper Center of The World." Lots of copper mining out the way, in fact probably the largest industry. Then, I walked a little farther, and saw a sign, Globe City Limits. I was here by 1pm, and no uphill walk. Sometimes things just work out.

I was ready for lunch, and craving a Wendy's Taco salad. Wendy's was about 4 miles more, but I could just taste that salad, so set out. When I finally reached it, guess what? They didn't sell that salad any longer! Is this something local, or have they all quit selling it? Anyhow, opted for something else, plus a cup of chili, and a medium drink with refills.

Talked to some guys who were doing a motorcycle trip around the western states, and they were interested in my walk. One of them handed me a $5 and said he wanted to pay for my lunch......how 'bout that? We talked more, and then I set out to find a camping site. Stopped by the Chamber of Commerce, and they told me the Gila County RV Park allowed tents, so I stopped there and rented a spot. Settled down for another nice, cool evening.

Day 30 - Continuing To Globe

Up early and packed up camp. Chatted with Dianna for a few minutes, and asked her why so many RV resorts out this way. She explained that the population of the whole Phoenix area almost doubles during the winter, and many of them use the RV parks. Being an "east coaster", I guess we think about snowbirds going to FL, and not so much out west.

I was on the road by 6am, heading for Superior, AZ. The first miles were nice, then it started uphill. Most of the way to Superior was uphill, but I managed to get to the top. I could see Superior in the distance, but was still a couple of hours away. Interesting thing I saw along the way.....many of the cacti appeared to have been transplanted into the desert. Many had tags on them, some of the larger ones (with the arms) had platforms built around them for support. Not sure what that was all about.

Finally reached Superior around 1pm or so, and looked for a place to get lunch. Happened by some guys who work for the AZ highway department, and they asked about the trip. They advised me against going up Hyw. 60 out of Superior because of the traffic and tunnel. Almost no shoulders to walk on. They suggested I take the "old" road which would allow me to avoid the tunnel, and about 3-4 miles of the traffic. I went on a little farther and stopped for lunch in Porter's Cafe.

Met Dustin there, a nice young man who server me a great hamburger and salad, and kept those lemonade refills coming. Dustin told me: "you know what I think of your walk? I think you're crazy, but I like it!" I assured Dustin he wasn't the first person to tell me I'm crazy. Dustin also suggested the old road out of Superior, and called a friend of his to verify it was ok. So, I decided to take the old road.

The old road is just that: old. But the surface was good enough that I could push the cart reasonably well. It also seemed to be less steep, which I appreciated. It ran out several miles up the mountain, and dumped me back on Hwy 60. It also wound between some of the most beautiful canyons I have ever seen. Let me tell you about Hwy 60.....it is every bit as bad as the Ortega Hwy in CA. It's a steep climb between two mountains, with almost no shoulder, and has a very narrow tunnel along the way. Definitely not a place to be walking.

When I finally got back on Hwy 60, hadn't gone far when I spotted a AZ highway patrol office......he was waiting for me. Said there had been reports of an old man (right), pushing a grocery cart (wrong), with a Circle K cooler on the front (right), walking down the middle of the highway (wrong). I explained what I was doing, he told me to be careful, and sent me on my way. Also told me about a campground about a mile away, and that's where I headed.

Got to the campground, and it was nice. The altitude was now about 4,000', and it was so cool I had to stay in the sleeping bag most of the night. Slept the best I have the entire trip. Overall it turned out to be a good day.

Mentally, today was a big day for me.......the climb out of Superior was awful, but it worked out ok. Gave me lots of confidence going forward. Also, the students posted some very encouraging comments on the blog, and that perked me up a great deal.......thanks for your encouragement and support, students. On to Globe tomorrow......

Day 29: On the road to Globe, AZ

Well the big news from today is that Alan has decided that he will not continue on the walk. His feet and legs have been bothering him and he did not want to risk any further damage. He is planning on taking a flight out of Phoenix back home to London. I'm sorry that Alan can't continue.It is comforting to have someone with you, but I understand. I wish him the best in the future.

My next destination is Globe, AZ. My goal for today was to get in as many miles as I could. I was up early , got packed, went by the convenience store to pick up water and ice ,then set out on the road. Before I had gone many miles , I had the opportunity to repay some of the kindness that had been shown to me. Two women had blown out a tire on their car, so me and another person stopped and helped them get off the road. It was nice to be able to be the "helper" again.

Most of the day was spent just walking. As I was walking east leaving Mesa,the whole of my vision was filled with this mountain called Superstition Mountain. It is a really big deal out here with lots of history around it. The weather was pleasant, although I did see one thermometer that said 107, I don't think it was that hot. It seemed pretty comfortable to me today.

I did get an unexpected call today from two friends from Rock Hill, NC Everett and Lillie Auten. It is always nice to get calls. Sometimes it gets lonesome out here, so it is always nice to hear from friends.

The route I am taking to Globe is Highway 60. It is a four lane divided road but it has really wide shoulders, which makes for nice walking. Around 5:30, I started looking for a place to stay. I happened on the Arizonian RV Resort. I stopped in to see if they would allow me to put a tent up. I met a nice woman named Dianna, who manages the resort. She said I could put my tent up, help myself to water, ice, and showers. All at no charge to me. Thank you Dianna for your kindness and generosity.

I also want to thank Manny, the manager at the Best Buy at Fiesta Mall in Mesa, AZ. When I was shopping on Saturday, I made a purchase but realized the salesperson had sold me the wrong item. I called and spoke with Manny and he brought the correct item to the Hampton Inn the next evening for me.

Hello From Walkingman

Dear friends, family, followers, and other interested people:

Greetings from Mesa, AZ. I hope everyone is doing well. Tomorrow we set out for Globe, AZ, and beyond. Alan is still having some issues with his feet, so not sure what's ahead for that. Overall we are doing well and making better progress than anticipated.

I spent lots of time on the blog this weekend, so it's up-to-date. I hope you will read the latest, and also go back to the post for days 11-13 and read about the time we spent with Larry and Dana Bowden. They were wonderful hosts to 2 weary wanderers.

My cell phone has worked most of the way, so call if you'd like. It's always good to hear from you. Take care and keep in touch.........Jeff.

Days 27, 28: Rest and Relaxation in Mesa

Two days of nothing but chillin', soft beds, and good food. Also an opportunity to update the blog and plan for the next leg of the journey. Kim Petty Bramlett, a former neighbor from VA, her husband Jason, daughter Taylor, and Taylor's friend Jesse, came Saturday to take us for a little shopping. Alan still isn't feeling well and decided to stay in the room. I had a few things to pick up before the next leg of the trip.

We shopped, ate lunch at Cheesecake Factory, shopped some more, and they dropped me off back at the motel. As you can see from the picture above, I bought the bandaids that Jason is holding, but Kim picked up a few things since we were out! (No, that's not all Kim's stuff.) Thanks Kim, Jason, Taylor, and Jesse, for giving up part of your Saturday to help out.

Alan and I had planned to attend a Diamondback's baseball game, but decided to not go. He's still recovering, and I also need rest. So, the rest of Saturday was spent resting, watching TV, updating blog, and eating. Sunday was much the same as Saturday.......watch TV, work on blog, plan for the trip tomorrow. Get packed, plan route, get supplies, etc. Walkingmen don't want to get too comfortable.

See you on the road.........

Day 26: To Phoenix and Beyond

Today is the day I have been waiting for..........reaching Phoenix (actually Mesa), and a couple of days' rest. From Tolleson all the way to Mesa (26 miles), it is almost all industrial.....the farms have been left behind. Today I passed thru Tolleson, Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, and it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. The good part of this is, sidewalks almost the entire route, which allows me to get out of traffic. The bad news is, very little scenery.

When entering Phoenix, I stopped to ask directions at a business named "Forklift Exchange, Inc." Met 3 nice guys who were interested in our walk. They gave me water, printed a map to get me to Mesa, and wished me well. Bob Cannady, VP of Sales, gave me his card and said if there's anything we need while in AZ (not Phoenix, but the whole rest of the state), to give him a call. How 'bout that?

So, off to Mesa. One thing I see here and also saw in CA is date palms. Large bunches of dates, hanging much like bananas from the tops of the palms. A few had fallen on the ground and I searched for one that looked ripe, and took a bite. It was soooo good and sweet. Unfortunately, there were very few I could find in the same state of ripeness. Someone in CA told me that dates from the palms are hard to harvest because the whole bunch does not ripen at one time.

Around lunchtime I found a laundry and decided to wash some clothes and grab a burger. So, loaded up the washing machine and crossed to road to McDonalds for lunch. It's always nice to wear clean clothes, but that doesn't happen too often on the road. Then headed out for the final few miles to Mesa. Along the way, I stopped at a convenience store for a soda. The guy working in the store started asking questions about the walk, and told me: "you need to be drinking water, not soda!" Can you believe that? Even the convenience store guys won't leave me alone.

After a long walk, finally reached the Hampton Inn in Mesa......what a wonderful sight. Just up the street from the motel, I noticed the Mesa high school football field, and there was a game this evening. Alan has never seen high school football, so we decided to walk there and watch the game. Mesa Jackrabbits vs. Red Mountain Lions......Red Mountain won. The stands were packed, and loads of enthusiasm. Alan could not believe so many people would come out to watch kids play a game.

On the walk back to the motel after the game, we stopped at a convenience store to pick up a few things. While there, a young couple came in, the woman dressed in what appeared to be a prom or wedding dress. I asked what was the occasion, and they had just been married and leaving on their honeymoon. Nothing like a 52oz. Big Gulp to get a honeymoon off on the right track! Only in America...........

Sweet dreams tonight, and no walking for 2 days.......it's not all bad out here.



About our schedule: based on walking 15 miles per day, we had planned to be in Phoenix around Oct 1. So, we're about 1 week ahead of schedule. Barring unforeseen problems, I expect our daily average to be between 18-20 miles for the remainder of the trip. With the weather starting to cool over the next few weeks, the walking should take less of a toll on our bodies.

Day 25, Closing in on Phoenix

We had a good rest last night in Buckeye. Up early, and back on the road. Stopped by a convenience store for ice and supplies and headed out. Alan is still having foot and leg problems and not able to walk as fast as normal. The land is still mostly agriculture, but as we near Phoenix, all that is going to change.



I saw another roadrunner crossing the road this morning, seems they are just teasing me, wanting me to try to catch them. But, I won't fall for that. We passed thru Goodyear, AZ, and that is a nice place with lots of history. Named after the Goodyear tire company who came here to research using cotton fibers in tires. There are also several major league baseball team spring training facilities in this area.



As we moved closer to Avondale, industry started replacing farming. We saw a very large Amazon distribution center. So, if you wonder where local jobs are going when we order on-line to save a buck, I found them in AZ. I also saw a large bread company with Holsum Bread on the trucks. I mention this only because Holsum was THE bread in my hometown of Gastonia, NC, many years ago, even had a bakery on Airline Ave. We would go there and buy a whole loaf of hot bread as it came out of the ovens. The bakery closed many years ago, and I assumed Holsum no longer exists.......but it lives on.



Alan's foot and leg problems are bothering him so much he decided to get a taxi and go ahead to our motel in Mesa. I finally reached a small town named Tolleson, and decided to quit for the day. There was a large, 24 hour convenience store on the road, and a big field right behind the store where I could camp for the night. I hung out at the store until almost dark, and then moved to the field and put up the tent. Even though the store stayed busy most of the night, I were still able to get a good rest. Tomorrow night, if all goes as planned, I'll be joining Alan at the Hampton Inn in Mesa, AZ, for 2 days of R&R.



One interesting side note about people's interactions with us: while many are friendly, kind, and generous, there are some who view us with suspicion, and probably for good reason. Here are 2 guys, usually unshaven and "wrinkled" looking, pushing a cart loaded with lots of stuff. We usually have a trash bag hanging off the cart, which makes the picture worse. So, some people will avoid us altogether, or walk another way to keep from getting close to us. Or pull their children away from us. I understand completely, and not offended, but it does give us the other side of the picture on how we treat some of the poor and homeless.

Day 24: Buckeye, the town that moved

Today's destination is Buckeye, AZ, a distance of approx 25 miles. We don't necessarily want to do this many miles in a day, but sometimes it works out better overall. Plus the coolers are full, the weather is nice, so why not. Along the road, I saw either a fox or a coyote. Considering where we are, most likely it was a coyote. We also passed what appeared to be large observatories (does anyone know if there are any in this area?) We also saw a large pig with long tusks, beside the road. Someone later said it was a Javelina Pig. It appeared able to do some damage with those tusks should it have reason.




We finally turned onto Baseline Rd, the final leg to Buckeye. There are many roads out here called "baseline", so i asked a man why. Seems when all this land was originally surveyed, certain roads were laid out to be the baseline for all other roads. Made sense to me, so I accepted the explanation and moved on. After walking what seemed to be long enough to be in Buckeye, still no evidence of a town. Alan asked a guy how far to Buckeye, and was told a "couple of miles." Well, we walked a couple more miles, plus some, and still no Buckeye.



Another thing we saw along the way, miles and miles of cotton fields. Being from the South, I remember cotton being grown in NC, SC, and other southern states.......but no more. In fact, my grandfather had a farm and grew some cotton for a while. Very labor intensive work at the time. But it's out here in AZ by the mile. All irrigated by big wells drawing from the massive amounts of water under AZ.




A woman in a truck stopped to ask if we needed water or anything. "Nope, but how far is it to Buckeye?" "Another 5 miles," she suggested. So we walked another 5 miles, plus some, and still no Buckeye........is it moving? I saw a big, modern, Budweiser building, and decided to stop there to ask 1 more time. "How far to Buckeye?" And the reply, "another 5-10 miles." I almost dropped to my knees, just couldn't accept that the town could pick up and move faster than we could walk. "Are you sure?" "Yes, just go up here another 5-10 miles, turn on Miller Rd, and it'll take you right into town."




Nothing is more discouraging to a walkingman than to think you are near the destination, when actually you are not.......and we get this every day. No one seems to know how far something is, or how to get there......is this because of GPS in cars? I told her we couldn't chase the town any more, it won, and we were going across the street to the Shell station and drown our sorrows in Gatorade.....which we did. We sat there at least an hour or so, trying to decide what to do for the night.




I finally called my daughter-in-law Michelle, who is our best locator, and told her I would send out a signal on the SPOT device and maybe she could tell us where Buckeye had moved. I did, and she called back and said it was a mile or so down the road with lots of restaurants and stuff. Alan was really suffering with foot problems, but with the promise of a steak waiting a mile or so away, I convinced him to walk to Buckeye. We put all the gear on the cart so he wouldn't have any weight on his feet and moved on.




We finally reached town, rested a while, and wandered into the Wild West Steak House......reported to have the best steaks in town. Alan got his steak, me some ribs, and before long, things were looking better. A young man who had seen the sign about our walk on the cart, came over and offered to be our "weather man" for the entire walk. He would track our progress, and report what weather we could expect. It was hard to turn down, but I declined the offer, choosing to just tough it out.




We still didn't have a place to stay for the night, so wandered around town for a while (it was dark by now), and Alan said he wanted to stay in a motel because of his foot problems. We found an inexpensive one, and soon were in a cool room on a soft bed.




A footnote about the distance/direction problems......I think people sometimes confuse miles with minutes. The last woman we asked, Buckeye was probably 5-10 minutes from her building. So, if you ever encounter a walkingman, decide if he wants miles or minutes before you reply. You might save his sanity.

Day 23: "I smell rain!"

While yesterday was a longer walk, today proved to be tougher. The ice in our coolers had long since melted, and our liquids were getting warm under the hot sun. After Salome Rd passes over I-10, it changes into a dirt/gravel road for about 5 miles, then back to pavement. Dirt/gravel makes pushing the cart much harder. To add to our woes, I missed a turn on the road resulting in us having to travel an extra 1.5 miles. That doesn't sound like a lot, but in 100+ temps, little or no water, and already tired from the 25 mile walk yesterday, it all adds up.

We finally reached Tonopah, tired and thirsty. But, as often happens, things began to look better. Tonopah has a 24 hour truck stop, restaurant, showers, store, etc. Everything needed to heal our wounds from the day. We filled up on water and Gatorade, and showered. We were resting outside the store before going to eat, and a man walked up and gave us a 12-pack of water. Never said much, just that we could use it.

We meandered over to the restaurant for dinner. I was still craving eggs, so ordered that along with hamburger steak, toast, and grits.....yes, grits in AZ! That's enough to make a southern boy well almost immediately. Alan opted for steak, as he does most times when it is available. Something about needing the protein.

The waitress came to the table to check on us, paused, looked outside, and said, "I smell rain." I said, "you smell what?", and she said, "rain." With that, she stopped what she was doing, and walked outside. Sure enough, it had started raining and she was outside enjoying it. Like when we have snow in the south and everybody stops to watch it, same with rain out here. It just doesn't rain very often. She finally came back in, with her arms and hair wet from the rain, and her enjoying having it on her skin.

This is the first water from the sky we have seen since the trip started, and it cooled the temps and left a freshness in the air. It only lasted about 20 minutes or so, but very appreciated. We paid our bill, and headed out to find a camping spot. Since it was already dark, the first field we came to, we walked a little way off the road, and put up the tents. It's been a very tiring day, and we wanted to get our shoes off and get inside. I did walk back to the truck stop and convinced the woman working to let me leave my cell phone overnight for charging. Then back to the tent for much needed rest.

Day 22: Heading to Tonopah

Our next destination is Tonopah, AZ. It's 47 miles away, but because of limited supplies, we need to get there in 2 days. After a restful night in Gabriel Palma's house, we headed out early for a long walk. Stopped by the general store to fill the coolers, then started down Salome Rd for a long day.

The desert we have seen in Arizona is much different from our experience in CA. It made me wonder, "what defines a desert?" One is desolate with no life, the other is green with grazing cattle, vegetation, and wildlife. The difference: water. As we were told, AZ sits on a huge aquifer (Students: do you know what that is?" It also has an aqueduct system much the same as CA. So, while hardly any water falls from the sky, AZ has plenty from other places.

Another thing out here is "open range" cattle grazing. That means cattle graze in areas without fences, and sometimes will wander across the road. Lots of signs warning motorist to watch for cows.

We hadn't walked long when a car pulled up and stopped. Two very nice women introduced themselves as Dawn Patterson, and her mother, Ina Cremer. Ina is originally from England, so she and Alan has lots to talk about. Dawn had seen us walking the previous day while out riding her motorcycle, and wanted to know more about these 2 guys pushing a cart thru the desert. She also told us we were welcome to stay in their guest house (with a pool), but walkingmen have to be wary of temptations such as this......interferes with our mission!

Dawn and Ina were on their way to Phoenix for some shopping, so headed out. We continued on our way to Tonopah. Several hours later, a car approached from the opposite direction and pulled off the road ahead of us. It was Dawn and Ina, back from shopping, and bringing us some cold water and grapes. (The way people want to take care of us, we must look pretty worn out and rough!) We talked for a while longer, and then move on.....again resisting the invite of the pool and guest house.

The remainder of the day was just walking......a total of 25 miles, our longest day yet. But we needed that to reach Tonopah in 2 days, and we did find a nice campsite. We rested and refreshed for a while, put up our tents, and soon asleep under the desert stars.

Day 21: Road to Salome

Up early and took down our tents after a long night of tossing and turning and listening to 18 wheelers. We are almost sure we heard either a coyote or a wolf howling , which woke up every dog nearby. It was pretty neat to hear. Our goal for today was to reach Salome, which was about 21 miles away, with a stop for lunch in Vicksburg.

Nothing special about the road to Vicksburg except it is one of the straightest roads I have ever seen. You would see a cars headlights in the distance, but wouldn't see the car for 10 minutes. It just went on and on. When we finally reached Vicksburg about 11 am, the only thing that was there was a sign that said "Vicksburg" and nothing else. We were ready for some nourishment, so I asked a guy that I saw working on his truck if there was anything nearby. He said there was a restaurant in Hope, AZ which was about 3 miles up the road, so we headed there. It was one of our hottest days yet, the temperature in Hope that day was 111. We went in to the restaurant and ordered something, but it was almost too hot to eat. I did get a coke with free refills and managed to suck down about 4 of those.

Sometimes I wonder about the history of why these small places exist. The only things in Hope were a restaurant, a closed gas station, an RV park, and a small church. After lunch, we went outside and rested under a shed, on a picnic table, getting ready for the final push to Salome, still 6 miles away. Around 2:30 we bought some ice from the restaurant for our coolers, and headed out for Salome. To reach Salome, there's a climb of about 2,000 ft. through Granite Pass and we were dreading that. But, as we left Hope, the nicest breeze came up behind us and the climb was nice and gentle.

The first 4 miles on the road to Salome , we encountered the most beautiful desert we had ever seen. All the sudden, these giant cacti ( Students: What are those giant cactus with arms called like you see in the picture above?) appeared on the sides of the hill. Hundreds of them growing in the most desolate and dry conditions that you could ever imagine. If you've ever seen an old western movie, you can imagine this is where it might have been filmed. A note about the large cacti, it seems as if there are some invisible boundaries in the desert where they grow. They will be hundreds of them in an area, then you won't see any for awhile and another patch appears.

Another cool thing we saw on the road to Salome was a caravan of Volkswagon buses/vans that had been restored and were in immaculate condition. My first thought when I saw this was of my friend in Gastonia, Larry and his daughter Brooke, who had bought one to restore.

We finally reached Salome about 5:30 in the afternoon. We stopped at a general store to get a drink and inquire about a place to camp for the night. There was a guy in the store named Gabriel Palma and he said he had an RV park where we could set up our tents for no charge. Then he thought a little more and said he had a little house that was not being used that had electricity, air conditioning, and a bathroom, so we took him up on that. We took our stuff over and were getting unpacked. About 30 minutes later up came Gabriel's wife and son with 3 plates of authentic Mexican food for us. Just another act of kindness from people who have never met us before.

We ate our food, took a shower, and had a bed to sleep in, so it was a restful and comfortable night.

Roger Davis

Earlier this week my brother in law, Roger Davis died after a battle with Colon cancer. He was a follower and supporter of my walk. I am sorry that he won't be here to continue on the journey with me.

Roger was like many millions of people who go through life with very little attention and fanfare. He was a good father, good husband, good neighbor and a good worker. He liked nice sporty cars and he never had anything bad to say about anyone. Just one of those people you would like know.

I am sorry that I couldn't be there today for the service for Roger , but he and his family have been on my mind.

Day 20 : Bouse, AZ

We were up and on the road at about 6:15 with about 12 miles to go to get to Bouse. We wanted to get there in time for lunch, and still have some more time to walk in the afternoon. Nothing much about the walk, it was still cool. We arrived in Bouse about 11:00. We didn't know what was there. I saw a building that said Auto Repair, but it also said " Eggs for Sale and other supplies" so I headed over to see if they had any sodas. There were two open doors. I yelled in, but no one responded. So, we just headed out towards Bouse. We had only gone a hundred yards or so when a man came running up the road hollering for us. He asked me what was I doing in his garage and I told him I wasn't in his garage that I thought he sold grocery supplies but when I looked in I saw it was just cars.

So then he said "We can do this the hard way or the easy way, but I am going to find out what ya'll were doing in my garage". So having just walked 12 miles, we selected the easy way because the hard way didn't sound like it was going to be a lot of fun. Then he said he wanted to search all our bags to make sure we didn't steal anything. I told him he wasn't going to do that, but if he wanted to search us he would have to call the police and we would wait for them to settle it. I told he we were going to wait in the shade while he called,but he never did. He continued to insist that we had taken something from his garage though. I told him to call the police, but he said he didn't want to do that he just wanted to see what was in our pockets. We finally convinced him we had nothing of his, and he turned and left.

We walked on up to the General Store and Laundromat to rest and we inquired about a place to eat. The woman in the laundromat said the only place to get a sandwich was a bar up the road called The Occidental. We walked up and sat down to order, I ordered a hot dog plain (nothing was offered on top) and a salad with ranch. The only thing good I can say about the food was, it had calories.

We wandered back down to another General Store and met a really nice woman who had moved there from Montana. I inquired as to why people lived in Bouse. She said a lot of people retired there because it was close to L.A., the Grand Canyon and other places. She said Bouse was the training grounds during the second World War for General George Patton's tank crews. She said they have a lot of mesquite trees there, and they are valuable for both the wood (used in BBQ's) and the beans (which they use for making flour). There is also a lot of minerals out there, so there is a lot of mining and they are getting ready to re-open a large Gold Mine.

We hung around town and rested for awhile longer, then headed back out on the road. We walked another 8 miles and then slipped under a fence to find another campsite. Soon we had our tents up and were ready to settle down for the night. But peace and quiet was short lived. It seemed that about every 18 wheeler in Arizona passed up and down the road next to where we were camping that night. It was so loud and made it very hard to get to sleep.