Quartzsite to Tucson. 01-21-15

 

We left the RV park in Quartzsite at 8:00.
Got propane and filled the gas tank in the RV and headed south on 95.
We met up with Suzanne and Roy at mile marker 99 about 6 miles from Q where we hooked up the jeep.
By 9:00 we were on the road heading south.
About 3 miles south of the Yuma Proving Grounds we turned east on Dome Valley Road.

We followed that to old Highway 80 we turned east and drove to Wellton where we got on Interstate 8 and continued east.

We passed under this structure over the highway and it took us a second to realize that it was a closed Border Patrol check point.

  

 

Eventually we got to Gila Bend. By then it was time for lunch so we went to the Space Age Café. It is a Space theme diner and has a varied menu and good food at reasonable prices.

Interstate 8 merges with Interstate 10 east of Gila Bend and goes right through Tucson. We didn’t want to fight the traffic and trucks on I-10 and Tucson so after lunch we got onto Highway 85 heading south toward Ajo.
We passed another Border Patrol check point on the north bound side of 85.

You go through some interesting mountains on this road.

We went through Ajo

and past the big mine there.

We continued south to the town of Why where we turned east onto highway 86.

 

The highway went through a veritable forest of Saguaro’s.

As we drove along we saw two A10 Warthogs playing tag above the desert.

We passed the Kitt Peak National Observatory.

Further down the road we came to another Border Patrol check point. This time it was on our side of the road so we had to stop.

Around 4:30 we arrived at our destination; The Casino Del Sol which is southwest of Tucson. We are now camped in their parking lot and will be here for a couple of days.

Today we are going to the Pima Air Museum.