Wednesday Mar 1, 2023 - Auckland to Christchurch to Arthurs Pass

 

Shuttle was ready at 4:45 am and our flight left at 6 am. We were both nervous about another missed plane but it all worked out. We saw the old gang at check in, which went pretty smoothly. Quick flight with a half full plane. Landing last night my ear started aching and this morning it was worse with cabin pressure changes. Yup, perfect time for a cold to set in.

Nice weather on both ends and Deb called the car rental place. Moto Cars was as confused as we were between the emails and voicemails Deb had left cancelling a day on the rental and then resuming the car rental. But after a half hour or so, they found a Toyota Yaris (I love small cars! As close to a motorcycle as I am going to get) and they sent the shuttle over and next thing we know, we are driving an almost brand new Toyota on the wrong side of the road, the wrong way around rotaries, yippee!!

Believe it or not there was a McDonald's on the way so we stopped and got an education on ordering coffee. Wow, it makes your head spin trying to order a cup of coffee. Deb even found a tasty McDonald's Chai Latte. Who knew?!

So today we have a couple of hours drive to where we are staying tonight, Arthur's Pass Village, a tiny tourist town in Arthur's Pass National Park up in the mountains. It did not take long to get out of Christchurch and into the countryside. A lot like Scotland or Ireland with lots of sheep, lots of grass being grown, a few veggie fields, but mostly pastures surrounded by hedgerows, nicely trimmed. We passed through the town of Sheffield and the "Famous" Sheffield Pie Shop, so of course we had to stop and pick up a meat pie and a custard tart to split for our lunch later. As we climbed up into the mountains the scenery changed to something like Washington state with big smooth mountains hiding in the clouds and huge glacier looking gravel river beds (but not glacial). The water is crystal clear.

They have a one lane bridge thing here. When you approach a bridge there is a large black arrow and an opposing small red arrow. If the big black arrow is pointed your way then you have the right away. If the little red arrow is pointing your way, you have to wait for anyone driving across the bridge. Works great once you get the hang of it.

The roads here are in great shape. They are not as narrow as the rural UK roads but decent width, well marked and maintained. Damn socialists!

We saw a lot of logging trucks so the timber industry must play a big part here, along with us tourists.

We stopped and hiked at Castle Hill Conservation Area, also called Kura Tawhiti. There is a large appreciation of the Maori culture and history here. And when you see peoples' faces, it is obvious the Maori are still a big part of this island, even with all the pasty Englishmen here. Very nice vibe.

We stopped for a mid-afternoon drink at pretty much the only store/coffee shop/cafe in Arthur's Pass Village (aptly named the Arthur's Pass Store and Cafe) and then found our Air BnB just up the street.

By now my cold was full on so I slept for 2-3 hours and Deb got me up to go the only restaurant in town open tonight, the Bealey Hotel. I ordered a goat burger (have to check that box) and Deb got fish and chips. A cold local IPA to wash it down and then a little stroll to see the sun disappear.

Tonight I have to sleep and kill this cold off.

Tuesday Feb 28, 2023 - Where did Tuesday go??

Not much to write because when you travel 20 hours in the future you are likely to lose a day. Hurts my head.. 

Monday Feb 27, 2023 Dallas to Auckland NZ

So 3 hours of sleep and a shuttle back to the airport, we re-boarded the big 787. These are the latest greatest planes and they are big guys with all the electronic bells and whistles. We were already acquainted ourselves with the folks we had spent time with the night before, the young newlyweds, the young nurse from Boston, the retired Civil Engineer, etc. Good bonding last night.

So over 15 hours with New Zealand 20 hours ahead of us (hurts my head) you have no idea what time it is or if it’s breakfast time or dinner time. American Airlines serves two meals over that time plus some snacks and lots of drinks. And lots and lots of movies, TV series, and video games. I watched a few movies and read my book. So 787 bathroom tip ( I report the important stuff), the one in the front right side, up near first class, is big and roomy.

So we thought we had plenty of time to get our final and rescheduled connection from Auckland (North Island) to Christchurch (South Island), but baggage claim took forever and it’s a 10 minute walk from the main international terminal to the domestic terminal. We got to the gate at 8 pm and the flight left at 8:10, so we just missed it. There were a lot of other folks in the same boat. We found out that just before the Dallas plane landed, they sent Deb a text saying they were changing us from the 8:10 JetStar flight to an 8:30 Air NZ flight, but she had no cell plan yet and we never got it.

Speaking of mobile plans, I switched to a Google Fi Flexible service which is international and Deb is going to get a SIM card for her phone so we can compare. Stay tuned.

So we got on Expedia and got the last hotel room with a shuttle service in Auckland. So another extra night in a motel that we'll be asking American Airlines to reimburse. Exhausted....

 

Sunday Feb 26, 2023 - Bisbee to Dallas - Unexpected night in Dallas

 

Deb set us up for a relaxed schedule, but mother nature had other ideas. We had a leisurely morning closing up shop and left Bisbee around 9:30 to head to the airport in Phoenix. Last minute errands downtown and then north to Benson on RT 80. We hit two accidents on I-10 but other than that we had an uneventful trip to an airport Holiday Inn where we stored our car. Shuttle to the airport and a 2 hr flight to Dallas. Long welcome walk to our terminal (no SkyTrain today) and our 10:49 pm Auckland flight was on-time and full. We have Global Entry passes so we made it through security really fast. But then…

We sat on the runway for an hour in our brand new Boeing 787, 9 across, very comfy, scrolling through a long list of movies to watch on our 15 hour flight. There were thunderstorms they tried to get around but in the end, we had to return to the gate and de-plane. Our luggage stayed with the plane and we and the other 2-300 passengers had to figure out what to do next. Deb had the American Airlines app and she got a text saying the airline would comp us a hotel and provide vouchers for dinner and breakfast. The only problem was it was midnight by then (on Sunday) and we had to be back at the airport by 6 for the rescheduled 8 am flight. So long and short of the story was we got an Uber to the hotel, a long line to check in, asleep by 1:30 am, 3 hours sleep, shuttle back to airport, new boarding passes and a tall coffee.

Sunday Jan 29, 2023 - Bisbee to Organ Pipe National Monument

 
Packing up for our group of 5 of us is harder than for just the two of us. Deb has been communicating with Deb N and Carmen about who is bringing what. We use three 27 gallon tubs (Home Depot). One has all of the van stuff (tire jack, leveling blocks, etc), one has camping stuff (propane bottle (5 gal), stove, tablecloth, etc.) and the third is provisions (food & cooking stuff). The provision box lives in the house as we stage everything we want to take. So for the last week we have been adding (and subtracting) stuff to and from the provision box. We will be out for 4 nights with 5 people so quite a bit of food.

We drove the pretty way through Sonoita but stopped at Target in Sierra Vista to get some groceries and some new plastic glasses (the glass ones break), along with a game of Farkel, that we learned while with Erick and  Hannah in the Bahamas.

Traffic was light on I-10 and we turned off on good old exit 263, then Ajo Way with a stop at La Estrella bakery to get some empanadas for the gang and a javelina cookie for Carman. Subway for lunch.

Organ Pipe is a couple of hours down RT 85 and then 86, so we arrived about 3pm, found our spot (152), pulled the table, camp box, chairs, etc. out of the van and set up our outside stuff.

We did a quick walk around the campground and it is packed compared to when we were here last October. The rest of the gang arrived an hour or so later and we were just walking past the entrance when they arrived.

We have three sites next to each other so this is going to be fun. It was kind of windy so there was no outside fire tonight.

Deb and Dave have a good sized camper, so we all piled in there for Deb N’s delicious home made chili and cornbread for dinner. This is a fun gang!

Odometer at Bisbee = 4272, Organ Pipe = 4515, Day 25

Thursday Feb 2, 2023 - Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to Bisbee

 Sadly, today we went home. A beautiful day today, not a cloud in the sky. It was 40 this morning and the sunrise started a deep amber and quickly brightened to a bright orange. Deep sleep last night (and every night this trip). The van is on a slight incline which I was too lazy to fix. We have the leveling blocks but, well, you know..

Carmen, Deb N, and Dave were all packing up as were we. We had a last coffee at Deb and Dave’s Party Palace, hit the dump station and were on our way. Tucson is about 130 miles from Organ Pipe so we bought just enough $3.99 gas to get us to Tucson, where the gas is $3.09. Gas is a bigger deal when you have a 25 gallon tank and get 20 mpg, than it is with our hybrid, which gets 37 mpg.

We stopped at In-N-Out Burger for lunch/breakfast and then took the scenic route home through Sonoita and Tombstone. We have the routine now for getting our gear from house to van and van to house. We stop up on the divide and load everything into a big tub and extra tote bags. Then we pull up to the driveway, shovel everything into the driveway, then park the van. Our house is on a narrow one way street with 3 other houses, so we block the street if we park for a long time. This hasn’t yet been a problem but we like to be polite. The van is parked around the corner in our friend Cooper’s (thank you, thank you, thank you Cooper!!) upper driveway. Fill the washing machine, put everything back where it belongs, then hot showers and clean clothes. Another successful camping trip. Thanks to Carmen, Deb N and Dave for a great time!!

Day 29

Wednesday Feb 1, 2023 - Organ Pipe - Ajo Mountain Drive

Breakfast at Dave & Deb N’s, chorizo with eggs and tortillas. Dave buys his tortillas from a woman at our farmers market, as well as some delicious refried beans. 

Today we drove the 21 mile loop called Ajo Mountain Loop, which is a one way scenic loop with some hiking opportunities along the way. All 7 of us climbed in Dave’s truck and drove a couple of miles to the start of the loop. This loop shows off really healthy mixes of all the classic desert plants. Saguaro, organ pipe, senitas, brittlebush, creosote, and every other kind of thing you would expect but not identify here. The rain during the last couple of days was certainly welcome to all of these plants and everything looked crisp and green. The other great thing is the mountains that we drove through. Rock wall formations mixed with vivid green desert plants. The dogs got in a few good runs up and down the road, and we got a short hike in on the Arch Canyon trail.

Dave and Bennie rode much of the loop in the back of the truck, taking in the panorama. It was a little sunny this afternoon so we tried the campground’s solar showers since it had been a few days since our last bath. Milo scored some lukewarm water but Deb V got a cold shower.

We had some snacks around the fire ring after sunset and then went back to Dave & Deb N’s trailer for some leftover chili, snickerdoodles, and chocolate chip cookies. Asleep by 9 again.

Day 28

Tuesday Jan 31, 2023 - Organ Pipe to Ajo to Organ Pipe

 

Kind of a rainy day off and on. First order of business of course is breakfast. Deb V’s famous steel cut oatmeal. We have an instapot mini that is perfect for the 2000 watts inverter in our van. We cooked it in our van and then took it to Deb and Dave’s Party Palace. Since it is drippy today, it's the perfect day to go to Ajo. All 7 of us (5 people and 2 dogs) piled into Dave’s truck and drove north on RT 85 to Ajo. Deb V & Milo came here in October for a quick trip but the other guys had not. Ajo is another copper mining town. The town was a from scratch built town, so it is in a fan shape with a nice town square. It was created in 1916 but I think the mining started before that. Nice coffee shop, visitor center and gift shop (Bisbee take notice) and a few art galleries. Like Bisbee, the mine closed and the hippies moved in, but 10 years later than Bisbee (1985).

We found a NAPA store so Dave could get some jumper cables to give the camper a boost. With little sun and our using their camper all the time the batteries were getting a little low. There are no powered sites at Organ Pipe so you are on your own for power.

We then found some lunch on the square, quesadillas after seeing all the other patrons’ yummy quesadillas going by. Good place!

Next stop was the Ajo Pit to see if their pit is bigger than our pit.  Ajo wins hands down for having the bigger pit. We stopped to see the nice woman who runs the pit overlook visitor’s center and gift shop. She is no nonsense in giving her presentation and she and a man from Montana were going head to head on who was going to talk first. She won. Her husband worked at the mine and he used to run the outlook center until his death. So she runs it now and has a script you do not want to interrupt. She also makes and sells her tasty prickly pear jam in the gift shop.

Next stop was the other museum, not far from the overlook center. No charge since it is an entirely volunteer run setup. Looks like they collected anything old laying around town and organized it into themes. Actually very informative.

Ajo’s population peaked in the 1960’s between the mine and the Air Force training base here. They trained fighter pilots during WW2 and there was some activity here after.

So back in the truck (with the dogs) and south back home to Organ pipe.

Carmen made beef stew for us all, Dave jumped the battery, and we all had a fun evening. In bed by 8 or 9. This camping business wears us out.

Day 27

Monday Jan 30, 2023 - Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (Day 1)

 

The wind died down and it was a bit cloudy. Forecast is for rain late tonight but it was dry all day and we were able to hike. 

Breakfast at Deb and Dave’s (eggs, bacon, empanadas, coffee). First hike was to the visitor center (1.5 miles each way). Carmen ran into an old co-worker from her Yuma days (they worked at a college in Yuma). I met a man from Oregon and had a long chat with him. He comes here every year and knows all the roads and places to drive and hike.

I forgot to mention the most important members of our crew, Bennie & Cote, the two dogs Deb N and Dave have. They add a lot of fun to the hikes and meals of course.

For a late lunch we had leftover chili and Deb N made grilled salami & cheese sandwiches, barbecue chips as is tradition (mostly Carmen’s). A little quiet (nap?) time after lunch and then a hike all the way around the campground (1 mile). 

We set up at Carmen’s site and Deb V made a big pot of chicken orzo soup on our propane stove, with salad, rolls, and cookies, and we spent the evening around the propane fire ring. I am guessing everybody was asleep by 8pm. 

Day 26