Trip Report: Return to Laughlin, Day #2 (11/28/2011)

Tired from our long drive of the day before, we were in no hurry to leave Tucson Tuesday morning, November 28, so we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. We had fewer than 400 miles to Laughlin, and we did not need to arrive before standard check-in time of 3:00 or so. We opted to leave after rush hour had subsided in Tucson.

The drive from Tucson to Phoenix takes about 1½ hours, and provides more of the same scenery we had seen the day before: scattered desert mountains in all directions, desert landscape, and mostly cloud free skies. As we approached Phoenix, we hopped onto Loop 101 and circled around Phoenix, which is a sprawling monster of a town of 1,445,632 people and growing (2010 Census data). The areas we saw of Phoenix were lovely: beautiful landscaping along roadways, individual businesses and strip centers located among various desert plants and trees, neat and tidy residential sections. I’m sure there are areas that are not so desirable, as all cities have, but I saw very little of this.

We stopped for gas in north Phoenix and paid $3.25 per gallon. We wanted a full tank for the next stretch of the trip. From Phoenix, we took Highway 60 northwest to Wickenburg, then picked up Highway 93 to continue on to Kingman. This stretch requires about 3 hours and was a bit of a challenge for a flat-lander like me. About half of the stretch was divided 4 lane highway, but the other half was only 2 lanes, and there was lots of traffic and a bit of construction where they are adding more 4-lane roadway. Still, everyone should venture on this highway at least once, and we were glad we did so, though we will probably never go this way again.

As we neared Wickenburg, a canyon began paralleling us on the west. Although I never had a good view into the canyon, it was filled with trees, most turning a golden yellow in the autumn sun. Then we entered Wickenburg. I was not expecting anything here, but we were pleasantly surprised. This is a quaint little town, and I wish we had more time to enjoy it. I will definitely put it on my list of places to consider visiting if we pass this way again.

As we continued north along now Highway 93, we soon entered a stretch of Joshua trees. Although Joshua trees belong to the yucca family, they also resemble trees in many ways, thus their name.

Joshua Tree

Farther on, we encountered more saguaro trees. The saguaro is a large, tree-like cactus that has become synonymous with images of the Sonoran desert. 

Saguaro cactus

The highway began a series of ups and downs as it crept down into and out of canyons. In a land of few trees, you can always spot creeks, especially in autumn, as trees become thick along these precious natural water sources.

Besides Wickenburg, the only other town along this 3 hour stretch was Wikieup, a nondescript village of only 300 people or so.

We picked up Interstate 40 just over 20 miles east of Kingman, and that freeway was a welcome site. Kingman is an important and historic city in the western part of Arizona. It is located in a north/south valley. We mostly bypassed the town, but it is another place I’d like to tour when time allows.

It is only about 40 miles from Kingman to Laughlin. The first 20 or so miles is arrow straight and stretches due west. First, it goes down a slight decline as you leave Kingman, then it begins a gradual, then a sharper, ascent as it climbs to the top of a mountain ridge. From the top of the ridge, you can catch occasional glimpses of the Colorado River as it winds through the distant expanse like a silver ribbon reflecting in the late afternoon sun. The descent takes just about all of the 20 remaining miles, as the elevation at Laughlin is very low for this part of the country. As you approach, you can catch occasional glimpses of the hotels lining the river.

The descent continues until you reach the traffic light at the east end of the Laughlin bridge over the Colorado River. After 1086 miles, our journey to Laughlin was over. Now it was time to play.

Trip Report: Return to Laughlin, Day #1

Donna and I had a lot of fun in Laughlin, Nevada, back in September (see "Trip Report: Laughlin, Nevada, September 18 - 22, 2011"). After our visit there, the 2 casinos we visited began sending us offers that we simply couldn't refuse, so we decided we needed to return, this time by car.

The Riverside Resort sent us an offer for 3 free nights while the Aquarius offered us 4 free nights. Since we were driving this time, we cashed in some credit card points for a $200 gift card for Hyatt hotels. This would help us pay for hotel rooms on the way to and from Laughlin. Since the casinos in Laughlin have a nice comp system in place, we figured we could also eat most of our meals using comps. We would, of course, have to pay for meals on the trip to and from Laughlin, though. So, our major expense would be gas and, of course, time.

With the 7 nights of comped rooms in Laughlin and 2 nights traveling to and from Nevada, we planned to be gone 9 nights and 10 days. We planned to go through El Paso, Tucson, and Phoenix on the way to Laughlin, then return by way of Flagstaff and Albuquerque. That would allow us to see a great deal of country. Both ways are over 1000 miles, so it takes 2 days to drive each way -- at least, it takes us that long. We did not take pictures this trip simply because we were trying to make time and did not want to stop.

We left San Angelo Sunday, November 27, at 3:50 AM and headed north on US 87 to Sterling City where we picked up Texas 158 to Midland. At Midland, we hopped on Interstate 20. After almost 3 hours of driving in the dark, we reached Pecos, Texas, where we paid $3.33 a gallon for gas; the current price in San Angelo was $3.18.

Just west of Pecos, we began passing mountains, and we would be among mountains for the remainder of our trip. About 50 miles west of Pecos, Interstate 20 merges with Interstate 10, and this would be our highway home all the way to Phoenix, Arizona. The next leg of our journey took us through Van Horn, a small town that depends almost entirely on the interstate for revenue. To really see the dependence of the town on through traffic, exit and pass through town on the old highway. You’ll see motel after motel and cafe after cafe.  After leaving Van Horn, you almost immediately pass from Central Standard Time to Mountain Standard Time, and border patrol encounters become more frequent. From the Sierra Blanca area onward, we saw numerous vehicle inspection stations and ports of entry. At one point, all east-bound traffic was directed through a vehicle inspection station. Fortunately, we were heading west at the time.

After Sierra Blanca, we began our approach to El Paso, that sprawling, sunny, smoggy city nestled along the eastern bank of the trickling Rio Grande. El Paso is big and growing bigger. We were happy to put it behind us. At a gas station in Canutillo, near the New Mexico border, we paid $3.05 per gallon for gas.

We stopped for lunch in Demming, New Mexico, then jumped back on Interstate 10 and soon left New Mexico behind us. I like New Mexico, but the scenery on this part of the trip wasn’t interesting, and most of the communities we passed through seemed a bit dirty, a bit undeveloped. Side streets were in bad repair or were not paved at all. Parking lots were often dirt. Vegetation in the undeveloped landscape was sparse, but there were many areas of orchards and other crops.

Arizona was different. Although there was no tourist center at the state line to greet us, we noticed the towns were more developed (curbing, pavement, etc.) and upscale. We stopped in Wilcox for gas, and paid $3.37 per gallon. It might seem that we stop too often for gas, but when traveling in the West where distances can be great, we always stop when our tank gets to about half empty.

We had reserved a room at the Hyatt Place in Tucson. It was exactly 726 miles from our home in San Angelo to the hotel. We arrived at 5:30 Central Time. We were really impressed with the area of Tucson where our hotel was located, just north of the airport in the southern part of the city. The residential sections were lovely. Saguaro and other desert loving plants graced the roadways, and the homes were mostly stucco and adobe, and very neat and attractive. The entire area was neat and clean and very progressive.

Tucson is a large town, at least by our standards, and it is located in a valley between mountains to the east and west. Houses can be seen slowly creeping up the mountains, especially those on the west. 

After a long day on the road, we were ready for some rest. While Donna organized the room, I went out and picked up a couple of salads for our supper. After our showers, we relaxed with our salads while watching a bit of TV. It was nice to be off the highway.

Day #2 will be published in a few days.