20071113 Put Away the Chapstick and Break Out the Bug Spray

20071113 Put Away the Chapstick and Break Out the Bug Spray

With the Arizona land bubble deflated if not burst, the afternoon of the 10th became the time to move east. The work season in the Everglades begins on the 18th, so I’d have the time to drive slowly and take several breaks over the next two thousand miles or so. I almost always do the first and rarely the second.

What I seem to be able to do is time these long journeys with record oil prices. Crude is approaching $100 at this writing, the highest it has ever been. Gas prices are up about 80 cents per gallon over last year and go up daily. I wonder how long I can afford to make these twice yearly cross-country drives? But I digress.

As I drove toward New Mexico in the late afternoon, enough moisture moved in to produce clouds and a lovely sunset. Rain fell, but evaporated before ever reaching the ground, a phenomenon they call virga.

Nighttimes on these trips are spent in the back of the truck. My bed is warm and comfy despite the conditions outside. In fact, when rain falls I can execute a forward roll from the cab through the sliding window to the campershell and be in bed without ever stepping outside. Returning to the cab can be a bit of a trick, but is doable. For the quiet I prefer parking along country roads but for convenience often sleep in truck stops.

I remember when I first came across the concept of an infinite universe. I couldn’t conceive of it. Something must be on the other side. In numbers can’t I have infinity plus one? I have recently discovered what lies beyond infinity—it is Louisiana.

Texas seems to go on forever. You wake up in Texas, drive all day, and go to sleep in Texas. You drive and drive the second day and you are still in Texas. Still, I like driving across the Lone Star state in the daytime so that I can watch the transition.

After being in desert from the east side of the Sierra Nevada in California, all across Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas, the hill country of central Texas provides some eye relief in the form of greenery. I love the desert, so much so that I am trying to buy land there. I must admit, though, that green is easier to look at than tan and brown. Beyond the hill country to east Texas begin the bayous.

Boy was it dry in Arizona. In the more than a week I visited the humidity never rose above 20% and was often much less. During the day I was always drinking. Reaching for chapstick became reflex. My hands cracked and bled. Now, as I sit mindlessly scratching my bare legs ouside the Mississippi Welcome Center on I-10, I reallize it’s time to put away the chapstick and break out the bug spray.

20071107 Warm and Dry

20071107 Warm and Dry

Arivaca, Arizona, sits on high desert between Tucson and Nogales and west of Interstate 19. Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, a ranch until 1985, occupies much of the land to the east and south of town. The town site, less than 20 miles from Mexico, is just a few square blocks. Arivaca Mercantile--a well stocked little market, a feed store, a cantina, the post office and a library are the places people meet.

Most of the 1700 Arivacans do not live in town but rather within 5 miles of it on parcels 5 acres and up. Land is still relatively inexpensive here compared to Patagonia on the east side of the Interstate and well water is drinkable and plentiful. Over the course of a year the sun shines in this part of the country more than just about any place else, making Arivaca prime for solar power. Since late 2003 I have been interested in land here.

Specifically I have been looking at a remote ranch, situated almost three miles down a rough rocky road leading north of town into the Las Guijas Mountains. No one else lives within two miles. BLM manages most of the adjoining land. A ranch house built piecemeal beginning in the 1930s sits in a basin at about 3800 feet, surrounded by ocotillo and mesquite-covered hills.
From the house one can see no power lines, no antennas, in fact no structures other than those that belong to the ranch. City power? Dream on…remember, no power lines. When I first became aware of the place on a realtor’s website, solar energy provided the juice. A classic windmill stands in a saddle between hills. It still turns in the breeze and in the past drew water from the well at its base, but today solar panels power a submersible pump.

In the spring of 2004 I looked seriously at the property, for sale at that time, but did not offer. The long rough road concerned me, as did a well-worn footpath across one corner. Being so close to Mexico you can guess who uses it. Also, Pima County charges extracts exorbitant property taxes.

Despite passing on the place, I still wanted it and dreamed about it. I dreamed of a place where I could live on renewable energy for the most part and raise some if not much of my food. I wanted a place where friends could visit and stay for extended periods.

Well, I’m back and seriously looking. The place is not listed for sale but the owner is willing. We are in negotiations. I don’t think we’ll agree on terms but hey, I’ve gotta try. And what the heck, with daytime temps in the mid-eighties and almost no chance of rain, Arivaca is a warm and dry place to spend some time at this time of year.