Odometer: 114432
6:15 Marco gets up. 7:00 I get out of bed. It’s raining slightly. 9:00 we take Hwy10 south and then follow Hwy 347 and 238 to Gila Bend. It’s now raining more heavily. We start our journey back to San Diego on Hwy 8. This is some how marking the end of a wonderful trip through the south west of the US.

Odometer: 114185
At 6:30 we get up and slowly get ready to leave at 9:00. The sky is overcast and it looks like rain. We take Hwy 87 south to the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Unfortunately the big building they have is under renovation. We take a short walk around and still take a few pictures then we head on further south on Hwy 79. In Oracle Junction we turn left and after 6 miles right to Biosphere 2. It starts raining. The first Biosphere project was launched in 1991 by a private company and lasted 2 years. Then Columbia University got involved and the started a second project in 1994 which lasted 6 months. Today the facility is used for various research projects. It’s pasquinading and quite big.
On the way back to Chandler we take Hwy 77 and 177. This route is much nicer and leads more through the mountains again. We pass several copper mines on the way to Superior of which the Ray Copper mines 18 miles south of Superior. This mine must be huge judging from what we can see from the road.

On our return to Chandler we treat our Toyota to another oil change. About the forth since we left San Diego.
Back at the hotel, we take a nap and then go for a nice Mexican dinner.

Odometer: 113930
6:20 time to get up. 8:00 on Hwy 260 west driving through highland forest and meadows. It’s cool but sunny on this Monday morning.
We turn left into a 50 miles long gravel road along the Mongolian Rim. Two detours to Bear and Knoll Lakes add another 15 miles. It is beautiful up here but unfortunately we don’t see any animals other than some squirrels. Shortly before the end of the gravel road Marco is driving into a smaller side road, and guess what we see - elks, one huge male and a female with two kids. A wonderful sight. A bit further down the same road we spot another group of four.

The sky is overcast on our way back to Phoenix and the temperatures are rising within about an hour driving from comfortable to very hot.
In Chandler we get a nice suite at the Marriott for USD 38 after showing our receipt from two days ago. Today we have dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. And….. a Frappucino for dessert.

Odometer: 113670
7:15 getting up. 8:00 leaving - driving up to Canyon Lake, Apache Lake, Roosevelt Dam and Lake. In Globe we turn onto Hwy 60 and drive through a beautiful canyon and mountainous landscape to Show Low a small town with a population of 7700. One of very few towns that doesn’t welcome you with a ‘schrottplatz’, it is very nice anyway. We find a room at KC Motel, a privately run cute place. Dinner is at the local Steak House.

Odometer: 113 329
About 6:45 (we are back in Pacific Time Zone) we get up and at 7:30 we leave. Once more we drive through Saguara Park on our way to Hwy 86. As soon as we are on the highway the Seguaras are gone. We see some more later on along the road, but they seem to need very specific condition to grow. All of them we see are on these reddish probably volcanic hills.

We stay on Hwy86 through the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation to “Why” there we turn south into the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. We get a map at the Visitor Center and start the 21 miles gravel road loop. At first we see very view Organ Pipes but again Saguaras in abundance. The further we advance the more frequently we spot them. Most of them are huge. The variety of cactuses here is amazing - the guide states some 26. It takes us nearly 3 hours to complete the loop. Unfortunately, we don’t see any animals at all (well they are probably more intelligent then we and stay in the cool shade).

Early afternoon we take Hwy 85 north trough Ajo (we see the first car crash - with Helicopter Rescue team) to Gila Bend. There we search for Hwy238 and eventually find it.  It is lined with cattle bodies - somehow ‘macabre’ to see all these remains lying along the street, most of them are only bones and skin though. In Maricopa, a small but booming town, we turn north on Hwy 347 to Chandler where we spend the night. The Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites has a coupon rate of USD 38 incl. breakfast which we are happy to get. We cruise around a while to find a steakhouse, but finally we find one with reasonable prices and excellent prime rib with crispy vegetables. For desert we indulge a real Starbucks Frappucino!