Benson, Arizona

4/21 – 4/25

It took us three days to travel 488 miles to Benson, Arizona. The first day was relaxing following I-25 and US60 with an overnight stop in a free city campground in Pie Town, New Mexico. The second day was a beautiful drive – but not relaxing. We traveled from Pie Town to a Wal-Mart parking lot in Safford, Arizona. US60 was fine, but US191 kept us awake. The highway drops from 8,000 feet in Alpine to about 3,500 feet in Clifton. The highway is nothing but switchbacks; 2nd gear with the Jake brake on high. Alpine is attractive town set in huge pine forests. The further we went down-hill the more arid the terrain. At the bottom of the mountain was the Morenci Mines. This is a huge, open pit copper mine which just recently re-opened. The third day we got off US191 and took I-10 to Benson.

Why Benson? Well, it was time for the Benson Bluegrass Festival, three days of uninterrupted music. We met up with our friends David and Dianne and also some of our Casa Grande neighbors Ken and Flo and Ed and Mary. It was a great festival, some of our favorite performers included: Goldwing Express, Hey Boyz and Palmer Divide.

Apr 21, 2009

Show all 5 photos