Taking a Brake in the Desert

Silver City, New Mexico to Blythe, California, 27-29 May, 2009

We packed up in Silver City and looked forward to driving back into warmer climes in the deserts of Arizona. Strong headwinds made for exciting driving in the wind vane that is our rolling home, especially on the narrow two lane highways that we drove. We crossed into Arizona and pointed ourselves toward Phoenix.

Much as we had anticipated, as our elevation fell, so did the temperature climb. It topped out at about 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees C) as we drove through the wasteland that is the Sonoran Desert.  We now know the exact temperature at all times as Liz has purchased a handy thermometer that she checks endlessly. She became obsessed with the temperatures in Mexico but was unable to know exactly how HOT is was because we couldn't find a thermometer. Mexican don't appear to care that much- It's HOT, what more do you need to know? 

We picnicked at the birthplace of the founder of the Lions Club. We saw much mining. We drove and we drove.-11 hours in total.

The passage through the Phoenix area took forever, as we passed from one suburb to the next on the 12 lane freeway. We had elected to try to camp somewhere west of Phoenix, and so were glad when we finally passed beyond the city's limits into the desert beyond. Unfortunately, we discovered that there are not a lot of camping options on this stretch of Highway 10. There are no National or State parks, which tells you something about the desolation of this area. There are a lot of private RV campgrounds, some of which number nearly 1000 sites. That tells you what sort of camping it is- nice in a Walmart parking lot kind of way. These places are designed to warehouse old people from harsher climates in a type of preservative environment. They are also somewhat expensive, so we elected not to stay at one of these. We did consider trying to park overnight at a rest stop, but Remy does not sleep well when he is worried that he is breaking the rules.

What finally made the decision for us was the brakes on the van. They had stopped making the strange honking noises that they had been through the Gila Mountains, but that had coincided with the beginning of quieter but more disturbing grating noises and an accompanying diminishment of braking performance. Remy had removed the front wheels and done a visual check of those brakes in Silver City, but it was now apparent that we no longer had any rear brakes. While they only account for 25% of braking, that is a significant amount when the vehicle is as heavily loaded as our gypsy caravan!

We pushed on to Quartzite, Arizona, which we have since learned swells to about 100 times its size during the winter, when thousands of snowbirds descend on the town and it becomes one of the largest solar-powered communities in the world. It is known as a gemological centre, with many rockhounds trading their wares, and its flea market is one of the largest in the world. Unfortunately, in the off-season it is depressing dive with no mechanics, so we had to continue on to Blythe, California, thereby having crossed Arizona completely in one hot day.

Blythe is a depressed, hot, agricultural town, but at least it had mechanics. We set up at a motel with a pool and air-conditioned rooms and had to spend two nights while parts were shipped from Phoenix to repair the scorched rear brakes. Another holiday within a holiday as we dealt with the extreme heat in the middle of nowhere.

-Remy