It’s 2020. Blimey. How did that happen? We end 2019 and kick-off 2020 in the south US desert with some expensive food, a piece of England, a biosphere, a nuclear missile, a war hero, many overlanding snowbirds and two new Mexican crowns. Howsaboutthat for variety?
Extravagant Xmas Vegas
Our Christmas was in desert casino city Las Vegas. Not quite so deserty-hot in December, but we had a fun time wandering casinos, bright lights and fountain shows. Plus, a lovely meet-up with old friends Inga and Keith who just happened to be in town at the same time.
Most visitors to Vegas probably leave with pockets substantially lighter than they arrived. And not just from gambling. We treated the gambling as a spectator-sport and aimed to splurge on some festive hospitality instead. Wandering into one (admittedly very nice) bar/restaurant in an up-market casino, we noticed our attire was not exactly in the Gucci-league of other patrons. Oh well… we only wanted a drink and a bar snack and were warmly welcomed by an immaculate barman with a menu. Scanning down… hmmm pricey… but what the hell, it’s Christmas. Uh-oh! What’s this… surely some mistake with the decimal point… $7.20 would be way too cheap for a steak. $72.0 maybe? But no… no mistake… a 12oz Kobe Wagyu steak on the menu… yours for the bargain price of a mere $720 (£550). Yes friend, you read that right. Veg… that’ll be extra. Plus tax… oh… and add a 20% tip too.
Naturally we ordered two each. NOT. The remainder of the menu whilst not cheap, wasn’t in quite the same league as the Kobe Wagyu. We had truly delicious crab-cakes with a fancy sauce and a glass of bubbly to get Christmas started – tax, tip the lot for… a lot less than a single steak! Bit extravagant for our usual style… but hey-ho… ‘tis the season to be jolly ‘n all that.
A Bridge Too Far
One part of our current plan is to find warmer weather for the winter. Vegas was a bit of a let-down in that respect, so we headed further south to Lake Havasu.
In 1967 a rich American wanted a tourist attraction for his desert development project. ‘London Bridge’ was for sale in UK, so he paid a shed-load of money and schlepped the whole thing Stateside. He rebuilt it brick-by-brick in the back-side of nowhere, then added some water under it to make a lake, because he could.
Some uncharitable souls claim he was duped. Surely he must have been expecting a bit more bang for his bucks. Did he think (as admittedly many people do) that ‘London Bridge’ was the much more fancy landmark bridge with the tower at each end and the flap-up road bits in the middle? Even in the pre-Google days, a small amount of research would have revealed that to be ‘Tower Bridge’ not the ‘London Bridge’ he was forking-out for. Anyway… let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say he knew he was getting the ‘ugly sister’. It’s still an impressive thing to see in the Arizona desert. And a whole new community has grown up around it, so for him it’s ‘mission accomplished’.
Snowbirds and a Milestone
South from Lake Havasu we encountered for the first time, the Arizona overlanding snowbirds. For the uninitiated, these are the baby-boomers of northern USA/Canada who drive their monster-sized motorhomes down south for winter sunshine. Don’t underestimate the sheer scale of this mass-movement. The annual wildebeest migration across the Serengeti has nothing on these guys 😉 Many tens of thousands of overlanding snowbirds descend here. Some head to designated RV parks, some just find random spots in the desert to park up (it’s legal and often free). We drove past miles of them and marvelled at the sheer numbers, but with 4×4 it’s not hard to go beyond their reach and find a nice quiet spot for Marcus to do Cuthbert’s 200,000km service.
Yes, just before Christmas, Cuthbert celebrated a biggie milestone and was rewarded with a bit of TLC – new oils, filters and whatnots (never forget the critical whatnots). He’s also due to have his timing chain replaced, but that’s a big job not best suited for a random dusty desert spot. We’ll find a more suitable place for Marcus to do that down the line… somewhere.
Next it was over to Phoenix see our lovely overlanding friends Jeff and Monica who we last saw by a lake in southern Chile around 4 years ago (so great to have a wonderful overlanding community we can call on as we travel around 😊).
Tucson – Ending 2019
We ended 2019 in Tucson which turned out to be one of those unexpected little gems we come across occasionally. Probably not on the short-list (or even the long list) for ‘Beautiful City of the Year’, but an interesting place, so much to see and do.
First… ‘Biosphere 2’. It may have slipped your mind, but you almost certainly heard of this place in the news back in the early ‘90s. Remember those huge glasshouses, in which eight scientists lived sealed and totally self-contained for two years? A key aim was to investigate how/whether humans could exist in a bubble. If it worked on earth, why not on the moon, or Mars even? Since then it’s been used for further academic research and fascinating tours.
Next… Titan 2 Missile Museum. Remember when all we had to worry about was the Russians? This missile site has a monumental place in Cold War history, but cramming the story into a nutshell, it’s the site of one of the USA’s strategic nuclear missile silos of the 1960s/70s. After the arms limitation agreements under which USA agreed to destroy its Titan 2 sites, it took three more years to persuade the Soviets to allow this one site to remain for education and posterity. As evidence that the site was no longer capable, huge blocks (visible from aerial or satellite imaging) were placed above the missile’s silo, making it impossible for the remaining decommissioned missile to launch.
On the tour you get to see not only the missile in its silo, but also the launch control room. You hear about the training and the detailed procedures of the personnel who were trusted to ‘push the button’ should the order come from El Presidente. For those of us who remember the era, this place really brings back to life the (‘good’ or ‘bad’?) old Cold War days.
And Tucson has yet more… the Pima Air and Space Museum. Yes, there are aviation museums all over the world, but this one’s a biggie. One of the most comprehensive collections of aircraft and global aviation artefacts. A highlight was listening to 96 year old Colonel Richard Bushong. He stood for 30 minutes in front of a mighty B-17 bomber and regaled visitors with his experience of commanding bombing missions over Germany in 1943 at just 20 years old.
There are precious few remaining survivors of this era and to hear in 2020, first-hand accounts from 1943 is a rare and treasured thing. But also… 20 years old. Did you get that? 20 years old… commanding a bombing mission over enemy territory. How many 20 year olds today could even lead a troop of Scouts out of a paper bag? Well… may if they got a data-signal for Google Maps.
These were highlights of Tucson’s own attractions, but another highlight of our time there was meeting fellow British overlanders, Graham and Jane. They are driving the length of the Americas (starting actually in the Falkland Islands – long story…) in their camper van with a trailer. Why a trailer? Well it’s for Jane’s off-roading motorised wheelchair. We had a great time with them parked outside the Desert Diamond Casino (ha, ha yes, desert casinos can be great overlanding classics in this part of the world) and we have rarely met such a lovely inspirational couple on the road, living the dream regardless of what life throws at them.
2020 – Snowbirds and New Crowns in Mexico
Way back in Panama two years ago I started on what turned out to be a course of extensive dental treatment. Finally now, after the requisite settling time for bone grafts, implants, blah, blah, blah, it’s time for the new crowns!! Due to the USA’s ridiculously high medical pricing, a very successful dental industry has grown in the far north of Mexico. I was lucky to find a great dentist, highly recommended by a Canadian friend who regularly flies all the way from Seattle for treatment (and it’s still cheaper!).
Dr Yasmin’s practice is just 3 mins walk over the border. I’ve seen my fair share of dentists around the world in my time, but the care, attention and integrity here was impressive (click here if you’re curious). So the story here lies not really in the dental work, but in the whole scene.
Picture it… on the US side, tens of thousands of North American snowbirds. On the Mexican side, six hundred dentists and opticians crammed into the tiny town of Los Algodones. The snowbirds traipse daily in their hundreds, on foot, over the border for teeth, spectacles, pharmaceuticals, tequila, tacos and souvenirs. Teeth is my thing at the mo, so I join the snowbirds at the border. As we all walk through the (unstaffed) crossing into Los Algodones, we are immediately bombarded with a barrage of sales touts “Lady, you want dentist?… Optician?”
“Hey! We made it to Mexico” the snowbirds congratulate each other on their intrepid international expedition. Errr… Mexico??? But everyone is speaking English… and prices are in US dollars. Beer and tequila are handed out freely to the shoppers as they wander around souvenir shops. The trending hashtag here is “… almost free”. “Hey lady… poncho… almost free” “Madaaaam… nice tequila… almost free”. All the Mexican classics are here… shawls, sombreros, ceramics… and the snowbirds excitedly lap it all up. It would be futile to point out to them that Los Algodones could not be further from the real Mexico if it were orbiting the moon. Nevertheless, barring the whizz of the dentist’s drill, it’s a fun day out. They drink beer and eat tacos in the sun, barter for a few souvenirs and save a huuuuge amount of money on their medical/pharmaceutical bills. What’s not to like?
Well actually there is something not to like about a day out to Mexico: the return to USA. Although we all left USA and (arguably) entered Mexico without any checks, Trump’s Wall understandably doesn’t let everyone back in quite so easily. Me and the (literally) hundreds of snowbirds who drifted throughout the morning out of USA, all decide to return home at the end of the afternoon.
The queues extend far, far down the street. Our two hour wait to cross back is apparently ‘standard’ at this time of year and up to four hours is not unheard of! Remember, these people are mostly of a ‘certain age’. It’s still quite warm in the sun… they’ve had a few tequilas… and many of them aren’t stable on their feet for long. It’s a little chaotic and another side-effect of the free tequila is the loud but good-natured banter that starts between the queueing snowbirds and the ambulating sales kids “Hey meester… you buy donkey… almost free!”. “Yes… Almost free!!! Almost free!!” the snowbirds shout back. It’s gets a laugh and relieves the boredom of an otherwise veeeery long wait.
North Again
After three day-trips into Mexico I have finally have my new crowns and completed the implant work that started way back in Panama (hurrah!!). In between treatment visits we’ve explored the beautiful desert around Yuma and kayaked on the mighty Colorado River (although not quite so mighty at the moment, it’s so shallow we grounded Boaty McBoatface in the middle). Now we have just seven weeks left on our USA visas and we’re pointing towards Canada.
A belated Happy New Year to all. Next blog should… fingers crossed, come to you from CALIFORN-I-A!
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