Road Trip to Phoenix!

This week, I need to be in Phoenix for an Education Trade show on campus at Arizona State University. So instead of flying this time, I opted for driving. 1. I've always wanted to drive to Arizona. 2. Wanted to grab some geocaches on the way out and of course 3. Wanted to take some pictures. I left my house at 7 a.m. this morning and arrived at my hotel at 5 p.m. I think a typical drive at the speed limit is 6 hours. ;) We'll see how long it takes me to get back home on Wednesday.
Below are the photos along with descriptions of my road trip day to Phoenix.

My 1st stop was a geocache at this location. It was cold here. The wind was cold more then anything. Cute location. The Cache was attached to the back of the sign via a magnet.


This was a stop in El Centro for another geocache that I could not find. I hate when that happens. I remember seeing this as a kid when we'd drive through El Centro. Our house in the Salton City is 82 feet below sea level too.


I have read about Plank Road in Imperial County and have always wanted to visit it. Today, I got to do just that! What a cool piece of history in our desert that I am sure not a lot of people are aware of. Plank Road was built in the early 1900's as a way for early era cars to cross through the sand in the desert to get to their destination,whether it was Yuma or San Diego. Today, only fragments of the Plank Road remain. They are protected under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.


The Imperial Sand Dunes are the largest mass of sand dunes in California. Formed by windblown sands of ancient Lake Cahuilla, the dune system extends for more than 40 miles in a band averaging 5 miles wide. These dunes are amazing and are SO big. This is also known as the Buttercup riding area for off-road enthusiasts.



This is actually the largest geocache I have ever found. It is located at a Shell Gas Station in Yuma and requires the combination for the lock in order to access it. The combination is located at Geocaching.com I left a trackable coin there that I had found in a geocache in Escondido.


Dateland, AZ. These are Date Palms. There is a geocache here that I could not find. I hate posting sad faces, meaning I can't find the cache. There is also a store here that sells Date Shakes. Someday I will try a date shake. They sell them in Indio, CA as well.


Aztec, AZ. This was the location of another geocache that I was able to find. Aztec, AZ was established in 1889 and was a stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad between Phoenix and Yuma. Now Aztec, AZ is just a ghost town. This was the only "standing" structure there There are several cement slabs in the area as well.


This is one of the many cement slabs in Aztec, AZ. This looks like it went up to some one's house.


Gila Bend, AZ. I stopped here at the Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone. I had intended to do another geocache here, however, unfortunately the museum where the cache was located, was closed with a sign saying that they took Roy to the hospital. I really hope Roy is okay. Definitely a small town and small town feeling.


The Space Age Lodge and Restaurant in Gila Bend. Built in 1963, The 41 unit motel was one of a number of futuristic themed lodges opened by Al Stovall, a friend of President Eisenhower, a supplier of manganese to the government during World War II, and the owner of copper mines and a plastics factory. Stovall invested heavily in the future with the Fabulous Space Age Lodge at Disneyland, which I remember staying at when I was in middle school.


That's all for now. Thanks for reading my ramblings and viewing my pictures. :)