Back to Arizona

In the tradition of trying to stay off the interstates as much as possible we ended up in Ajo, Arizona after leaving Slab City. The great thing about Arizona is that we would know we're here even if we hadn't seen the welcome signs. The first clue are the giant billboards denouncing President Obama in one way or another; this is without a doubt a very red state. The other clues include the absolutely straight endless roads, Saguaro cacti, border patrol stations everywhere, 100 mile views and endless sunshine. Though we've never been to western Arizona it feels like home to us just the same. We expected Ajo to be just another dusty desert whistle stop but it turned out to be lushly green and beautiful. The Ajo town square is especially nice with its southwestern architecture and mature palm trees.

What a great downtown mural with wonderful Saguaro characters.

When we told our son, Greg, we were in Ajo he said it didn't look very appealing. Yes, on Google earth all you can see are the ugly copper mines and piles of tailings. There's a huge pit mine here like the one in Bisbee, but it was closed due to road construction, otherwise there would be photos here.

It's obvious now that this is a winter destination for many a snowbird. If you like a small town, southwestern atmosphere this place is perfect. For groceries there's even an outstanding IGA grocery store stocked with everything you could want, plus fresh gulf seafood.