Yes! We know the way to Santa Fe!

If you've been following this blog for any length of time you have heard me bemoan the fact that El Gato tends to sway all over the road when there's any sort of side wind. Same when the big trucks zoom by... it feels like they're sucking our 16,000 pounds right into them. Makes driving a white knuckle experience not just for me but for Jill who is my shadow driver. The woman never sleeps and is constantly pressing on her faux brake pedal when she perceives trouble and yelps frequently. Fortunately I can't hear squat in my right ear so I miss most of her verbal agony, but it's hard to ignore the tension.

This is a long way around to say that we finally decided to bite the $3,000 bullet and buy a Hensley Arrow Hitch. We had the unit shipped by express from Michigan to Tucson and Wednesday morning had a local technician install it. I watched the entire 3 hour installation and pestered the guy constantly to explain how it works. The upshot is, I have no clue how it actually works...  I didn't understand the physics or the technology... but am pleased to say it does.

We pulled out of Tucson  around 11am following the installation, and headed for New Mexico on I-10. There was a major wind blowing with side gusts up to 40 mph. Dust was flying, tumbleweeds tumbling, Jill was ready to start pumping her imaginary brake pedal and I was smiling. Of course with that powerful wind I could feel it hammering against the side of the trailer but the Denali stayed steady as a rock. At one point I took both hands off the wheel and the 55 foot rig stayed right in line. Same with the big rigs (we call them blow-jobs because they tend to suck us into their lane as they whiz past... "get ready for a BJ" I would shout so Jill could tense up in anticipation of sudden and violent death). As with the side wind you could feel them as they passed but everything stayed in place.

So, hats off to my high school friend and fellow trailer-trasher, Jim Stoll, who recommended the Hensley hitch... best advice we ever received!!!!

While we spent several extra days in Tucson waiting for the hitch to arrive it was very pleasant. Mid 80's most days with cool nights. Played several new golf courses. Here's Jill rating of each course. (5 stars the best). Arizona National ***, Forty-Niner *, Tucson National ****, the Lodge at Ventana Canyon-Mountain Course ****, the Lodge at Ventana Canyon-Canyon Course ***


We also climbed around Colossal Cave, a 3 mile long cavern that's been inhabited for about 5,000 years. It's located about 20 miles outside of Tucson. We explored Green Valley, a small community west of Tucson, where several friends from Bend winter over. We visited and toured the San Xavier de Bac Mission on the Tohono O'odaham Indian Reservation. The church was built in 1783-97. Very impressive. Perhaps the most interesting and surprizing outing was the 30 minute, almost straight up drive in elevation to the top of Mt Lemmon. It was 90 degrees F on the valley floor and 47F at the ski resort at the summit... yes Virginia, a ski resort! Snow was still on the ground although skiing was over for the season. Talk about climate shock!

Speaking of climate shock... we drove from Tucson to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico the first day with the new hitch. Windy and warm. We spent the night in a park overlooking the Lake at Elephant Butte. The next day we drove on to Santa Fe. Wind still blowing and the temperature dropping like a stone. Woke up this morning to several inches of snow and frozen water line. Rectified the problem with a hairdryer and a bit of work. Welcome to Sante Fe... altitude 7,000 ft.