With our cargo carrier newly installed, we were once again on our way. The ride was beautiful with the mountain vistas before us. We turned south off the interstate to follow a smaller road to Tombstone. As we drove, the terrain began to look very much like a smaller version of the Badlands in South Dakota. It was fascinating to move through the mounds of earth rising above us.

We arrived in the small but notorious town of Tombstone. We had a much later start to our day than initially planned, and with the time spent on assembling and installing the cargo carrier, it was late afternoon before we arrived at the O.K. Corral. I had hoped to see a live reenactment of the infamous gunfight, but we missed the last one. The advantage to the late hour was the ticket price was only $3, instead of the usual $10.

We were able to tour the O.K. Corral and read plenty of stories. Much more happened in and around the corral than just the 30-second battle for which it is famous. We walked around the stables, enjoying our immersion into the culture of the day. We stepped outside the corral to the exact spot where the gunfight occurred. There is an animatronic recreation of the battle, which we caught part of before exploring Doc Holliday’s room and the Prostitute’s Crib.

After visiting the O.K. Corral, we walked the streets of Tombstone, set up as they were in the 1800s. I would have liked to see Boothill Cemetery as well, but the sun was drifting downward in the sky, and it was time to find where we would stay for the night.

While searching the internet for public lands, I happened upon a website for free campsites. It was a goldmine of information. We picked a spot we thought looked promising.

We went through our second border patrol station, this time stopping and answering a few questions. They asked where we were from, what we were doing in Arizona, and if we had been to Mexico, and sent us on our way.

As we drove, I double-checked the directions from our proposed campsite to the spot where we planned to visit in the morning. Realizing it was much further from the park than what we wanted, we picked a closer place.  I was happy to see that we were headed in the right direction, just needing to turn right instead of left at the next small town.

The scenery was again spectacular, with mountains all around. The sun lowered in a blaze of glorious color on our left as the moon rose over the mountains against a cotton candy-colored sky to our right. As we neared the top of a mountain, Chris pulled off the road to allow me to take a picture of the colorful sky, but the moment had passed.

As we drove down the other side of the mountain, a valley opened before us. We enjoyed the stunning view with the nearly full moon hanging just above the mountains when suddenly a brilliant meteor made its way across the sky directly in front of us. It was almost as if it were moving in slow motion. I have never seen a meteor hang in the sky for such a long time.

As we continued, we were amused to realize we were driving on an open cattle range, with several cattle guards across the road. We didn’t see any cattle, but there were plenty of warning signs.

After a quick stop for dinner, we turned south on the interstate for the last part of our trip.  I was confused when we started to see signs in kilometers. I felt like we had left the US, even though I knew the border was still some distance away.

We turned off the highway, onto the frontage road, and then onto another into the mountains.  We arrived at our campsite, which was a small clearing on the side of the road. There was another camper there, but there was plenty of room for both of us.

I was somewhat nervous about our first off-grid camping experience, but it went well. We slept soundly and woke at dawn. Some months ago, I read that your body rhythms become in tune with nature when you camp for at least two weeks. I was surprised and delighted to see that it is true.

Working in the restaurant industry, we have both always been night owls. We would come home from work and spend our nights unwinding together until the wee hours of the morning. With our schedule, it was a rhythm that worked for us. Who would have ever thought we would be the type of people to be asleep by nine and then up with the sun? It has been a lovely change of pace.

The scenery surrounding our campsite was magnificent. Before we left, we cut Reflectix to fit our windows to have privacy when we stop for the night.

After a short drive, we arrived at Tumacacori National Historical Park, the first Spanish mission in Arizona, founded in 1691. Two later missions were built at the same location, with the ruins of the final mission still there.

It was peaceful to explore the church ruins and cemetery. There was a feeling of awe as we entered the beautiful structure of the church. Chris lit a candle at the altar for people we have lost in the last couple of years.  There were very few other people visiting, so there was a solemn quiet and reverence as we walked the grounds.

The ants were busy.  They seemed to be everywhere, but not in a bothersome way. We did our best to avoid stepping on them as they hurried to and fro, going about their business. It was fascinating to watch them as they worked together to bring food and supplies back to their nests.

My only regret with our visit was that we didn’t realize that we could have scanned a QR code to identify everything on the self-guided tour. Before leaving, we looked at the book, which answered the questions I had about some of what we had seen.

After leaving the mission, we passed what looked like a huge yard sale. We decided to turn around and check it out. After talking to one of the owners, we discovered that everything there had come from storage lockers. It was an eclectic collection of stuff, clothes, toys, dishes, books, knick-knacks, tools, appliances, and just about anything you can think of. Chris found an original PlayStation, which he had to have.
I pointed out that it didn’t even have the cord, but he said that didn’t matter as it was interchangeable with one of the other PlayStations he has. Twelve dollars later, we had the PlayStation, a game, and a socket in the size we needed.

As we drove toward Tuscon, we had our third experience with border patrol. This station was larger than the others we had been through and had a backup approaching it. Again, there were officers with dogs walking around the cars. While we awaited our turn in line, I started snapping pictures.  I was excited by what we were seeing.

The agent must have thought I looked suspicious because he asked us why the dog had alerted on our truck.  Neither one of us had noticed the dog “alerting.” The officer asked us if we had any marijuana in the truck. We did not. He instructed us to pull off to the right. When we did, several officers approached our vehicle and asked us to open the back. They looked inside but did not touch or remove anything.

While they were “searching” our truck, we had a lovely conversation with another officer.  Again, we answered questions about where we were from, what we were doing in Arizona, and if we had been to Mexico.  We told him about our journey. He lamented that he would love to do the same thing but probably wouldn’t have the opportunity until he retires. We talked about how he came to work for border patrol and Nick working on becoming a firefighter. We joked about the use of kilometers in the United States. He agreed that it was strange.

We were having such a great conversation that it lasted longer than the search did. The officer asked for the blog’s website, which we happily shared with him and then continued on our way.