Tuesday, January 31
The Last Leg of our Trip
We broke camp this morning and were ready to move out at 7:30 a.m. (what a sacrifice Joe made). We only went a few hundred yards though, because there was a restaurant within walking distance of the campground and we decided to just stop and eat there (our original plan was that we were stopping when we got to I-10, Dave thought there was a convenience store with breakfast burritos there). The cook at this restaurant was a little slow, so it was 8:30 before we were back on the road, but it was good that we stopped because the place Dave was thinking of must have been on west of where we intersected I-10 -- we never did see it.
When we got to the exit for Hwy 85, Dave and Mazie took that bypass to miss Phoenix and headed toward Gila Bend. We drove on home, stopping to fuel just before we parked it, so we were home shortly after 11:00 a.m. Dave and Mazie had another 3 hours to go, but after their Costco stop in Tucson for fuel and a few groceries, they got home around 3:00.
We had things to do yet today -- our first stop was Taco Tuesday, then off to Walgreens to get Joe's prescription filled for his colonoscopy prep. But it was good to be home, and get through the mail, and start planning our next trip.
This trip was 16 days, 1075 miles, and 156.5 gallons of gas in the RV, not to mention the gas for the Explorer. The RV averaged 6.86 mpg, and the prices we paid for gas averaged out to $3.43. We figured we also drove about 100 miles a day in the cars in Death Valley, but Joe and Dave split that about in half because they took turns with the vehicles and the driving.
We can't say enough about how interesting and beautiful Death Valley National Park turned out to be. I would encourage anyone who enjoys that kind of beauty to spend a week there. Just don't do it in the summertime!
Final Blog
That's the end of the blog for this trip. I hope you enjoyed the pictures.
