Arizona!

Today marked the start of our final week and our leaving Palm Springs and the State of California, but we'll be back! It was already warming-up as we pulled onto I10 East at the start of our 240-mile drive to Phoenix, across the Mojave Desert. The drive is a straightforward affair, mostly, with the scenery becoming ever-more what one expects of a desert: big cacti, high temperatures, scrub, wind-devils etc.

We stopped at Services area half-way through the journey (to eat a Wallmarts wrap!) and were greeted with a sign warning the unwary of poisonous insects and snakes in the area.

It always seems odd to see the occasional small town along the way, usually with populations of less than one-hundred. (Who lives there and why?!) Our attention was also grabbed momentarily by catching a glimpse of the Arizona Desert Project, a concrete canal running across the desert, tapping (more!) water from the Colorado River. After four hours of fairly monotonous driving, Phoenix City sprung out at us! I10 intersects with the City somewhere near 101st Street and then its every man for himself along the seven-lane traffic flow.

The GPS struggled to get the commands out quickly enough and I struggled to keep up; then all became a good deal more tranquil as we pulled into Scottsdale Old Town, a very swanky place to live (and where the car dealerships prove it!). We found our hotel 'The Holiday Inn Express' and it was just as we remembered, a very friendly gaff with comfortable rooms and lots of nice touches ..... free beer and wine tasting, cookies etc. (And our first chance of the trip to eat at an Olive Garden!).

Finally, today's musical accompaniment is provided by the Duprees (You belong to me), which is apparently appropriate for listening to when driving out of Palm Springs: