A. G. Services in Alpine Texas

This should stand for “A Good Services” because that’s what I got from Daniel, his wife Danielle and their 2-year old Danny. (Apologize if I spelt any names wrong.)

A.G. Services is where I was towed to by another nice couple, Rose and Luis, from Affordable Towing. Daniel replaced the burnt battery cable and fixed the electrical short on my truck this afternoon. And if the job couldn’t have been finished today they would have let me stay in my camper for the night, with an extension cord.

This marvelous young couple recently bought this motor repair business. I couldn’t even find them online or in the yellow pages. Sure glad Good Sam found them.

Danielle wants to paint some old mowers they bought in flashy colors with flames, and racing stripes and such.

So tonight I’m back at the Lost Alaskan RV Park and tomorrow I’m visiting with friends in town. Then back on the road again.

MWT - Colossal Cave Mountain Park

Morning view from camp

Pulled into the Colossal Cave entrance just as they were closing at 5pm. But the lady at the gate took my $10 camping fee and radioed the guy at the campground gate not to close it as I was on my way.

Campground to left in valley

A beautiful and primitive campground, I believe I was the only person there except for a few employees.

Visitor Center

The gate was reopened at 9am and I drove out of there and around a few miles to get to the cave opening and visitor center by 9:30. Only waited 30 minuets for a tour along with nine other people.

Our guide, Adam, knew his stuff and talked about the geologic formation of the cave and the local history.

Colossal is currently dormant, a dry cave with no new formations growing. After exceedingly heavy rain there is dripping in the cave.

Scientists believe the Colossal Cave was formed about 10-15 million years ago as hot water filled with sulphuric acid welled up from below the ground dissolving the rock. Later, surface water seeped through cracks in the rock and left the formations like stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone.

Over two miles have cave have been explored and mapped extending 600 feet (182.88 m) into the mountain and 40 feet (12.19 m) below the main entrance.

Archeological evidence of early native use by the Hohokam indicates the cave openings were used for shelter about 1100 years ago and there is still black soot on the entrance area ceiling from fires.

The cave was rediscovered in 1879 by Solomon Lick and was opened briefly for tours in 1917.

In 1905 a 75-foot (22.86 m) tunnel was excavated into the cave in order to mine bat guano.

In 1922, Frank Schmidt filed mining claims on land occupied by the cave. He is responsible for the first extensive survey of the cave and traveled in it for six days before using up the food and water. Although Frank relinquished his lease to the State of Arizona in 1934, he continued to lead tours for many years.

Then from 1934-36 the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built trails, handrails and lighting in the cave and built the visitor center.

Several movies have been made here, but the most notable is a Walt Disney Production The Outlaw Cats of Colossal Cave filmed in 1975.

In 1992, Colossal Cave Mountain Park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Today, over 2,000 acres include the cave and the working La Posta Quemanda Ranch, which I didn’t explore.

The cave is a balmy 70 degrees F (~20 C) and the tour lasted about an hour. Well worth it.

View back out of park

To tour more of the world, or share some of your own, go to My World Tuesday by clicking here.

Road trip to Texas, or hell

Every thing has been wonderful, until Saturday. Before getting ready to roll in the morning from Little Vineyard RV Park in Deming, New Mexico I checked the oil. Full. Then started the truck and it made an unusual noise. I opened the hood to look around, not that it would do much good, and no parts flew out so I closed the hood and put her in gear.

Leaving Deming, New Mexico on I10 east

Good thing I was barely rolling. NO brakes. OK, I exaggerate a little. More like when your power brakes have no power. So I coasted to the park’s office, went in and asked if they knew a mechanic open on Saturdays. The lady behind the desk made a couple phone calls and, surprise, the local Ford dealer’s service department was open. (I won’t divulge the dealer’s name yet.) I described what happened and the mechanic said “it’s the vacuum pump, bring it in.” I carefully drove about 3 blocks to the dealer, they ordered the part, put it on and I was back on the road within 1.5 hours. Not bad, except for the huge hole left in my pocket. (No, I don’t need a bail out, but of course donations are always gladly accepted.)

About an hour down the road every bump, and there were many, would cause some gauge(s) to bounce or idiot light(s) to blink. Hmmm…. I said to myself, what does a vacuum pump for brakes have to do with dashboard electronics? I continued on down the road.

Just out of El Paso the oil pressure gauge started bouncing on L(ow) erratically which made the engine light blink on and off. Now that could be a problem. So I pulled over and let the engine cool (no it was not running hot) to check the oil. Still full. Hmmmm….. Called Mike for a second opinion about screwed up dashboard and he concurred. So off I went again.

Spent Saturday night at KOA in Van Horn, Texas, which BTW, serves excellent catfish in their Kafe.

Sunday morning I again check the oil which was full.

Then down the road I’m still watching the gauges bounce and lights blink but the truck is running great. This could drive me crazy.

I am heading for Alpine, Texas for the night. Friends from long ago live there but must be gone for the weekend.

I decide to take a little side trip to the Woodward Ranch where plume agate is found. It’s closed because Mr. Woodward died on Saturday. My condolences.

So I’m heading back to town to find an RV Park for the night when Slam and Wink, all the gauges peg somewheres and the brakes give out. I down shift and pull over slowing down with what little bit of brake is left.

The welcoming dog at the ranch 

Everything electric is not working, so I don’t turn off the engine for fear it won’t start again. Look under the hood, nothing changed there, no smoke. Engine is still running strong and I’m only four hilly miles from town. Pumped the brakes and they worked.

Rock shop

Plus two miles to the Lost Alaskan RV Park where I made it safely. When I finally got leveled and ready to turn off the truck it wouldn’t turn off. Disconnected both batteries and she ran on. Then a fellow camper pulled the plug on the alternator and she fell silent. I called Good Sam and they will send out a tow truck in the morning and take me to a mechanic.

Someone commented that my photos are looking dark. If anyone else notices this could you please let me know.

Saguaro National Park West – Tucson Mountain District

I thought I’d seen a lot of saguaros in the Sonoran Desert, but Saguaro National Park is a forest of giant cactus people.

Sunset from camp

I arrived in the late afternoon so stopped first at the visitor center where I watched the orientation film and picked up my Junior Ranger book. Then I went to the recommended Gilbert Ray campground in Tucson Mountain Park for the night.

Great place with lots of private sites in the middle of the desert all with electricity for $20.

Hohokam Road

In the morning I returned to the visitor center to get my Junior Ranger badge and some information.

Ocotillo and Avra Valley from Sus picnic area 

President Franklin D Rosevelt first established Saguaro National Monument in 1933. Then in 1961 President Kennedy expanded the monument to include Tucson Mountain Park. In 1994 congress established Saguaro National Park.

Birds nest

Saguaro National Park is composed of two distinct districts, the Ricon Mountain District east of Tucson and the Tucson Mountain District to the west.

To many these giants symbolize the American West yet saguaros only grown in southern Arizona and northern Mexico.

Saguaros can grow to 50 feet tall and are the largest member of the cactus family in the US. They normally live for 150-200 years.

For a saguaro seedling to survive, it needs the protection of a nurse plant which provides protection from the sun and freezing temperatures.

Fishhook barrel cactus

I saw many of the parks 25 species of cactus along the .5 mile Signal Hill Trail.

Which took me to a rock pile with various petroglyphs left behind by the Hohokam people.

Imagine pecking away at the desert varnish to leave a message behind.

Looks like some modern folks decided to leave their messages as well.

There’s some very crazy cactus out there, but that’s for another post.

In the mean time, I had a Very important lunch date with fellow blogger Susie of Arabia at El Molonito in Tucson. We talked for at least three hours just like old friends. What a treat to meet this amazing woman who moved with her husband to his so culturally different homeland.

Casa Grande Ruins

I’m trying to visit a few National Park sites I haven’t seen before on my way to Texas. Even though I live in Arizona there are So many parks I haven’t been to yet.

I’ve seen a few Southwest native ruins but nothing built like the “Great House” at Casa Grande National Monument. Almost 1000 years ago the Hohokam people constructed this four story 60 foot long building using subsoil called caliche, a concrete-like mix of sand, clay and calcium carbonate.

It took 3,000 tons of caliche mud piled in successive courses to form walls four feet thick at the base and tapering toward the top. Juniper, pine and fir trees used to form ceiling or floors were carried or floated 60 miles down the Gila River.

The walls face the four cardinal points of the compass and a circular hole in the upper west wall aligns with the setting sun at the summer solstice. Other openings also align with specific solar and lunar occurrences.

And the Great House is only part of this 2-acre compound surrounded by what was once a 7 foot high wall that contained houses, work areas, courtyards and storage rooms. Plus this is only one neighborhood in a larger community of compounds that covered nearly a square mile housing possibly 30,000 to 60,000 people. The Hohokam were farmers that built the most extensive irrigation ditches lined with caliche from the Gila River.

When Americans began visiting the area in the late 1800s souvenir hunting threatened to destroy the site. In 1892, Casa Grande became the first archeological reserve and then declared a National Monument in 1918. The Great House has been sheltered since early excavations started in 1903.

How did I learn all this? Well of course, I became a Junior Ranger.