Benson AZ

2/11/2019 Elevation 3572

We arrived in Benson around 11:00 with a cold wind blowing. The thermometer read 57 degrees but with the wind ripping, my hands were hurting by the time we got things set up.

After 11 days at 5 different spots off the grid we felt it was time for some electricity and water—– and a nice long shower over the quick water saving showers we have been taking. Get wet, turn off the water, soap up, rinse off all using as little amount as possible.

Oh and did I mention it’s going to get down to 27 tonight?  BURRRR while I’m not a big fan of the heat, I would like it warmer and with a little less wind, I’m not talking slight breeze, I’m talking shake the RV with gust and whipping the plants around.

Even with bright sun, warming up the coach on the inside, one step outside and the cool breeze has you reaching back in for a jacket.

Yesterday we took a drive through Saguaro National Park – Rincon Mountain District which kinda looked like another place out here. I’m not sure if the Jeep was disappointed or happy, the one way scenic drive we took was paved:)

2/12/2019

We woke up to 22 degrees this morning, well at least the wind stopped blowing, over all with the sunshine the day turned out pretty nice. The sunshine felt good and if that got to warn all one needed to do is stand in the shade a couple of minutes and the sunshine felt good again.

Having visited Bisbee and Tombstone last year we went to Kartchner Caverns, it’s a cave just down the road in a state Park by the same name. One of the things I didn’t like was the fact that you couldn’t take in most of the cave in one tour. They offered 2 separate tours but at $23 a peice for each tour we only took one tour.

The cave had lots of formations, maybe the most of any cave I have been and we only toured the Throne Room. It’s interesting, being in the desert in a cave and the temperature was 70 degrees, ok that understandable, we’re in the desert, but the 99% humidity was what I found strange and hard to wrap my head around, it’s hot and dry outside. One reason it’s warm it it’s not a deep cave, basically contained under 2 hills, at no time does the cave dip below the parking lot.

They had a several rules, first no cameras, phones, purses, well you get the idea.  You walk in, through an air tight chamber, close one door before opening the next, you actually go through 2 sets of chambers, some where in the process you pass under a misting device to anchor any loose hair, dust, lint, dead skin cells, to you body, so you don’t loose them in the cave.

Your also walking on a concrete wheelchair friendly path so that any lint that falls off you lands on the pathway, which they hose down and collect the water to water outside plants with. While I thought is was a bit much it’s all to keep the cave a natural as possible for future generations.

One of the things he mentioned is they have collected 450 pounds of lint from Carlsbad Caverns, in their belated effort clean up the cave and slowdown the advert effects of an open to the public to cave.

Since we couldn’t take any pictures there are none from inside the cave.