Last Leg

Today was the last leg of this particular journey as we arrived in Quartzsite, Arizona.  I think I mentioned at the outset at the beginning of the month, this was to be our destination for two months or so starting December 1.  With the weather we diverted around we made arrangements and ended up arriving a few days early.

The trip was fairly uneventful, although it contained the worst traffic jam we experienced on the entire trip and the absolute roughest section of highway for about ten miles or so.  The traffic jam was a long slow one, it just happened to be where three lanes reduced to two and about another four miles on from that two lonely maintenance workers were setting out signs at a snails pace to warn of impending construction.  Why on earth these guys cant put these signs out at night is beyond me, but as soon as we were past them it picked right back up.

The road condition was something else.  I think it was about ten, but seemed like fifty miles as the potholes and rough patches were in the just the wrong places and you could not avoid them placing left or right in the lane.  They reduced the speed to 65 from 75 to stop everything from jarring too severely, but I think they should just repair the darn thing.  I don't go faster than 65 anyway so that did not make a difference for me.  The left lane was better than the right but I could not get into it with the amount of traffic.

The scenery along this three hour stretch is fairly similar to that which we travelled through from West Texas to Phoenix, but is decidedly more desert.  Smaller trees, smaller cacti and more scrub.  The last five miles were a climb up about 500 feet or so on the interstate before dropping down into a valley, called La Paz Valley that extends north-south.  I am not sure if the screen grab does it justice or not, but it is quite evident when you see it in person.

We ended the trip driving 4,398 kilometres and burning 1,226 litres of fuel for a consumption of just under 28 litres per 100 kilometres.  That is just over 10 mpg (Imperial) so I am pleased about that.  The most expensive fuel I purchased throughout the trip was CA$1.60 in London, Ontario and the cheapest was CA$1.01 in Las Cruces, NM.  The average I paid in the US was CA$1.06 so significantly cheaper than the Canadian fuel.  Given the range and capacity of the coach I will certainly top right off before crossing the border next spring and try to purchase fuel at native run stations once I get to Canada.  They tend to be twenty cents per litre cheaper than other stations, at least in Ontario.

I dont want to mislead you into thinking fuel is super cheap in the US.  It is cheaper in general, but not 0.60 cheaper.   I signed up for a fuel discount card back in the spring which allows us to go to the truck lanes at about six or so different fuel suppliers.  The company is a large purchaser for trucking fleets and therefore gets significant discounts.  The savings they get are passed along to card holders in exchange for the card holder paying them 10% of the discount they receive, plus a small handling fee.  Also, when you use the card you are agreeing to pay from a US bank account within two days.  So, as an example, at the last fuel stop we paid US$2.83 versus a pump price of US$3.08.

We arrived to Quartzite mid afternoon and got set up with no issues.  We will be here for at least two months exploring the area, so stay tuned.  I hope to post fairly regularly but wont do it daily.

Thanks for reading so far.