Tucson/Sahaurita, Tombstone, Kartchner Caverns, AZ and Deming, NM

Well hello there...

Our journey continues and many exciting things have occurred. We head east into lands we have never trekked.

Jonah and I at the park!

After spending time with Lyle in Tempe we spent the night in Gilbert. We started the day nice and slow and eventually jumped on the road to Tucson. We were going to meet my old Pastor Dusty and his wife Jamie! As we drove, Maander seemed to keep at a nice temperature at about 60 mphs. This is OK just the only problem is that in Arizona the trucks can drive just as fast as the rest of the traffic and the speed limit was 75. So we got whizzed by all day long by big trucks. The cactus began to become more and more common and the scenery became more and more redundant. Soon I grew weary of the desert. The desert is a new experience for myself but I believe I have achieved the point of now knowing what the desert is like and so some of the appeal has worn off.

Seriouz

Dusty's Church
My Church- that's the name

Dusty lives in a suburb of Tucson a few miles south of Tucson called Sahaurita. I would liken it to the Laguna area of Elk Grove because it is mostly large home developments. We rolled up to Dusty's house with the kids playing in the cauldesack and Dusty making sure they were all safe. He hasn't changed much. We parked and we greeted each other with a hug. We got our bags and made our way into the house. Soon Jamie got home from the store with supplies for the weekend. We talked and caught up. We got to know the kids. The last time I saw them were when they were babies. The oldest was Josiah then Jonah and lastly Sophia. All the kids have tons of energy and it was fun to see the trouble they got into ;P. Dusty cooked up some amazing shish kabobs and we just got settled in. The next day was Sunday and I would get to see if Dusty still had it. We ended the night just chilling playing the guitar. I am quite a bit out of practice :(

Sunday was nice I got to see what Dusty is like as a Senior Pastor and see how his congregation was. It looked like Dusty knew what was up and that he truly had a heart for the people of Sahaurita. When starting the church they met outside for 2 years! Now you know that takes heart. After church we went to the park and threw Frisbees and Dusty had one of those cool kites where you can make it do all kinds of maneuvers. Just before heading to bed Dusty got a call from a friend inviting him to go dirt bike/quad riding the next day. He said I could come too and Dusty said he was so excited he didn't think he would be able to go to sleep that night. I thought to myself that it sounded fun but I was nowhere near being too excited.

Our view while Quadding and Dirt Biking

I look so beautiful

We woke up early and made our way out to where we would ride. Dusty got a dirt bike I got a quad. His friend was on a quad and his friend's friend was on a dirt bike.... you follow? We took off down these trails and as soon as I gunned the throttle I was like, "OOOhhhhhh Daaammnnnn this is awesome!!" Way way way better than I expected. They warned me not to try and keep up and I wasn't pushing myself too hard but I was happy that I wasn't left way behind. The first little stint was difficult and I was just getting used to it but soon I was willing to get a little crazy. As we rode the trails we saw some evidence, some clothing and a blanket, of an illegal alien making his crossing into the US. We were riding somewhat close to the border and in some rural hills. I loved every minute of riding and I found myself yelling things like, "Get on it!!"

I don't like this pic but one of a few of Dusty and I

Taking a short break between shredding

I felt like I did a good job riding but near the tail end I started to fatigue and the part that just started pooping out was actually my thumb that controlled the throttle. Going up the rocky steep hills you have to feather the gas just right and with my thumb exhausted it made for some difficult travels there. Atop some of the hills had some amazing views. Once we got down and were near the tail end of our 3 hour adventure we hit the main dirt road. This one wasn't difficult to navigate at all and it was just pedal to the metal. The quad had a speedometer and I topped out at 65 mph!! It was so amazing to ride these things. I realized why all those bros that are super into dirt bikes are into them. Dang it now I can't hate on those bros anymore either :P

Farmer Fam with us minus Josiah :(

We ended the night at Chuck E. Cheese's, you know for the kids. Pizza was OK, I drank soda and tried to make some ticket dough. Wasn't too successful in making the tickets but it was whatevs. Making our way to Cheese's we saw some cool planes as we drove by the Air Force Base. Apparently, it was in the movie Transformers.

Mission de Xavier

Mission de Xavier was super beautiful. It looked to be kept up as well as if not more so than the Mission in Carmel. We went through the museum portion quickly then saw the sanctuary. Wow. It was awe inspiring. As we walked around I heard a person challenge all of this decadence with what they could have accomplished for the poor if they did not spend so much money and time in making these elaborate missions and sanctuaries. It is nice to make something that will last that will inspire, that is beautiful. But it is true there is a point where you are neglecting something so that you continue building this thing that when reduced down is merely a building. I certainly don't disagree with a congregation wanting a nice building or wanting some stained glass or what have you. How does one determine when certain moneys should be spent on aesthetics or charity?

The Three Altars?
Not sure what they are called

Narrow Hallways

We went through the town of Tucson but it didn't seem to have free parking nor that much appeal to walk around. We stopped at an In-N-Out for fear that it would be the last one we would see and then left to go visit Tombstone. Tombstone has turned into a tourist town as its major revenue generator. It was cool to see the old graveyard then walk down the main street where everything was happening. There were tons of cowboys there. I think they were paid just to walk around the town with their six shooters and give it a more western feel. We stopped in the Big Nose Kate's Saloon and had a beverage. The band was playing a bunch of Johnny Cash which is never a bad a thing. We meandered some more then wen to Benson and spent the night in a Walmart.

Rocking out with a Whiskey Sour

Mean streets of Tombstone

Near the edge of town some buildings
that aren't restored and look
really old

When we were hanging we read reviews of Kartchner caverns which were less than 10 miles where we were at. It was named in the top ten most beautiful caverns in the world. We decided that was too good to skip so in the morning we headed there. The tour cost a lot and we weren't allowed to take pictures in the caverns. Inside the caverns it was 72 degrees with 99% humidity. We were quite toasty and the different formations were amazing to see. The guys who found the cavern found a sink hole then followed it more than 1000 feet under ground where it was insanely tight fitting to get through. You would not catch me doing that in a million years. They then got to the cavern portion and it opened up into this huge room where all these different formations have occurred. They discovered it in 1975 and it took from then to 2003 to get funding and to build the various pathways and what not to experience the caverns. Basically this is a recent cavern a regular person could experience.

That's a sloth they found in the caverns

The entrance into the caverns 

This is what they had to squeeze through for 1000 ft
to get to the caverns, they are crazy
(this is a model btw)

Just models of stuff we saw in the cavern

Since then we have just been on the road going east. We are trying to avoid the cold and it looks like Thursday will be quite chilly. We decided that if it ever gets too cold we will get a hotel room. I think we want to try and get to the Houston area pretty quick to try and avoid any snow or very cold temperatures. We have made it to New Mexico and basically just stopping in towns to rest and then keep on keepin on. It seems that New Mexico is more yellow in color than Arizona though quite flat and desert like still. There are many Firework stores along the freeway and I am tempted to get some serious fireworks for some good times. Peace out y'all

What will we experience here???!!??