Hanging a Left: Catalina State Park, AZ 5/26/08

After graduation our plans were always to “hang a left” and head East. Well, the day finally arrived. We pulled out of the Lake Jennings County Park at 10ish and headed on I-8 toward Arizona. We drove thru long stretches of desert, sand dunes and over a couple of mountain passes. Ned and I love to get off the beaten path whenever possible and if we encounter some cheesy tourist attraction all the better. Well lo and behold the town of Felicity, CA. Population 4. It claims the title of “Center of the World.” From our road book: “Local resident Jacques-Andes Istel, author of a children’s fairy tale…convinced France, China and Imperial County that Felicity is, legally and officially, the center of the world. A 25 ft. high pink terrazzo pyramid stands above the exact spot.” The above photo is the mighty Ned literally being not only the center of my world, but the center of THE world. We finally arrived in Arizona, which had miles and miles of Saguaro cacti. Plan A was to camp at Picacho Peak State Park near the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Farm. It was about 4:00 when we pulled in. We took a quick spin around the campground (we were the only ones there) and decided to stay, if and only if, we could get an Ostrich Burger. There were ostrich feather dusters, ostrich eggs, ostrich beasts and other ostrich by-products but no ostrich to eat. There was a huge monster tractor truck in the parking lot giving tours of Picacho Peak. Needless to say, we opted for Plan B, which was Catalina State Park about 15 miles north of Tucson. Good choice, as we were not disappointed. It’s a beautiful desert campground at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains with roadrunners scurrying all around (beep-beep). The campground is nearly empty, we have water & elec hook-up and the showers are brand new! (Yes!!) Nancy gave us the book “Road Food” (It’s our 2nd Bible, next to “Road Trip USA, Cross-country Adventures on America’s Two-Lane Highways”). We looked for diners, shacks or dive joints in Tucson. Of the 700 restaurants reviewed by the book, we found their favorite Mexican restaurant in the whole USof A – Pico de Gallo. It was about a 30 or 40 minute drive from the campsite, but hey – we traveled this far how do you not try this place out?! It’s a very colorful tacqueria in South Tucscon. The sweet girl behind the counter didn’t speak any English, and I couldn’t really recognize the food, so I ordered by pointing at a photo. I had a bowl of beef soup, Ned had carna asada tacos washed down with horchata, and we split a Pico de Gallo. This is spears of fresh fruit (coconut, pineapple, mango, watermelon & jicama) served in a large red plastic cup sprinkled with a salty chile powder mix & lemon juice. I’ve never eaten anything like it – both the fruit spears and the soup. We walked next door to a Mexican ice cream shop, but we couldn’t understand any of the selections so once again pointed - to a chocolate ice cream bar. It was more like a frozen custard/popsicle dipped in chocolate. Very different. After dinner we drove around Tucson. The University of Arizona is really beautiful and the area around it appeared similar to a typical college town. The adobe homes in this area are stunning and blend in nicely with the landscape. Time to get some shut-eye, tomorrow we are exploring the old west in Arizona.