Desert Monsoons to Tombstone

White Sands National Park

Lots of people like to toboggan on the dunes.

It's like another world.

Oh Oh!

Here it comes...

I found one of the only underpasses...

My chicken coop.

The stagecoach arrives in Tombstone.

A 'real' cowboy.

Big Nose Kate's Saloon Bar.

Sunday, July 3rd.

What a difference a day makes! I woke up to a bright sunny morning like you'd expect in the desert. I got organized and rode back the 25km to White Sands National Park by 8. I was there before the crowds and spent a couple of very enjoyable hours riding the loop, climbing the dunes and taking photos. Similar to the dunes of Namibia, but white, actually more like the dunes on the west coast of Australia. Then I headed west through the desert towards Tombstone, Arizona. Today I saw several trains, which were at least a mile long, with each car carrying two of the huge shipping containers. I silently thanked them for each taking at least 100 trucks off the road! For over a hundred miles I was warned repeatedly that the area is prone to dust storms with the potential of zero visibility. The instructions are: pull off the road, turn off the car, foot off the brake and wait... But, as I rode I knew that I didn't have to worry about dust, as I could see banks of clouds forming again to the west. The skies here are huge and you can see forever and I knew that the monsoon was kicking in again. The highway seemed to like me and deftly guided me through the storms. But, eventually my luck ran out and it rained for a bit. I pulled off under an overpass and waited for a bit before putting on some rain gear. When it abated I started out again. I got to Tombstone about 4 (there was another hour time change, so now I am three hours behind). I was worried that since it was the American Independence Day weekend, and this was a very touristy town, that I might have a hard time getting a room. I was surprised that there were none of the usual hotel chains, just a few motels. So, when I asked at the Tombstone Motel if he had a room I was pleased when he said yes. I checked in for $100 and rode my bike around the back to a room that supposedly had a mountain view (not) and onto a loose gravel parking spot (crappy for bikes) and opened my door to a dingy old room. I thought oh well, I can live with it as I was tired. I had a shower and then tried to send some texts, but no wi-fi. I was upset, so I went next door to another motel and asked a lady if she had a room and could I see it. She said since I was by myself she'd give me the honeymoon room (?) or as other people called it the chicken coop! Turned out to be a nice little room with a porch, kind of like a cottage. I told her about the other place and said I was going back to talk to him. Then I saw that his hotel actually said rooms started at $69. I have never complained about a room before but I said to him: you have a lot of nerve to charge $100 for that dump and the last person to sleep in that room was Wyatt Earp. I told him he could refund my money or I'd Trip Adviser him. He refunded. Then I said I'd hate to see a $69 room, and he said, yeah they're pretty scary! I checked into my new abode and then walked the two blocks to the main street of Tombstone. It is still set up as a frontier town and many of the buildings have plaques outlining their history. I saw the stagecoaches, some cowboys and shops. I went to Big Nose Kate's Saloon for dinner. She was probably the first prostitute in town back in the day, and was Doc Haliday's girlfriend. The saloon is the authentic old building that used to be the main hotel and two of the participants in the gunfight at the OK Corral stayed there the night before. I had a nice meal and soaked up the atmosphere. Then I went back to my room to catch up on photos and the blog, as it was raining again... who says this is a desert? After the rain stopped, about 10, I went for a walk to town. The temperature was lovely. When I rounded the corner of the motel, I came face to face with a deer, not 10 feet away. At first i thought it was a statue. We both froze, then she moved her head found an escape around the hedge and left. The main street was very quiet, dark and deserted, except for a few loud drunk 'cowboys' outside one of the only open saloons. Back to my coop. 562 km today.