Time in Tucson

The dogs and I took a quick walk in the woods on Sunday morning, October 23, before leaving Williams.  This big, black raven followed us from tree to tree, croaking at us the entire time.

Then we were off, down the road southbound toward Tucson.  And when I say down the road, I mean it.  We kept seeing signs like these.

 

We wondered who could wait 10 miles if their vehicle was truly out of control.  And finally, near the end of the descent was the dreaded (or maybe welcome) Runaway Truck Ramp.

We could tell that it had recently been used, and were glad it wasn’t by us.

As we neared Phoenix, saguaro began to appear on the hillsides.

And then, around 11:30 we topped a ridge to find a line of vehicles stopped in front of us, stretching as far as we could see.  We were trapped; there were no exits and no place to go.  Our Waze software said there was an eight-mile backup and we wondered if we would be sleeping by the side of the road.  (At least we had our bed with us if that happened.)

The dogs didn't care; they were snoozing happily in their favorite places in the truck.

After almost an hour sitting there wondering about the delay, the cars ahead finally began to move, and we were on our way, never knowing what had caused the problem.  We assume it was an accident, but all traces had been removed by the time we got there.

Our campsite in Tucson was on the outskirts of town at the Pima County Fairgrounds.  We had lots of room for the dogs to explore, and the stars were brilliant.  We spent two nights so we could visit with my former mother-in-law, Audrey Wann, and sister-in-law, Trisha Wann.  We were glad to find them well.  Here is a photo of the four of us with the scarecrow Audrey assembled for the competition at her apartment complex.  I don’t know if she won, but she should have.

I spent the afternoon with Trish and her best friend, Dash, who was a little unsure of me.  (After all, I smelled a lot like other dogs he didn’t know!)  But he was nice enough to pose for a portrait.  

Later, John and I picked up the truck, which had been at the Volvo dealer's for repair to the driver's door handle mechanism, and got ready for next morning's departure.