On January 26, 2002, I was finally ready to leave Tucson. It seemed strange to be heading out on the road again after a month off from riding. My first destination was Benson about 45 miles away. As the afternoon wore on, my knees became very sore and I developed abdominal pains. After a restless sleep in a motel in Benson, I started out again but my knees were getting worse and the next part of the trip was a 2000 foot climb. Physically and mentally, I did not feel like carrying on and entering Mexico was a concern. I decided to stay in Tombstone for two days to let my knees have a rest. While there, it started to get colder and a steady rain was falling.

         On January 29, I found a short cut to Douglas, which was on the Arizona Mexican border. This was supposed to be flatter terrain, but as usual, that was not true. The area was very desolate with nothing for miles. Fortunately, the wind was behind me. My knees were so painful that I realized that I could not make it to Douglas so I set my sights on McNeal. On arriving there, I found nothing but a post office. I was told that the nearest motel was six miles down the road at Elfrida, which was in the wrong direction.

         After spending the night in a motel in Elfrida, my knees were still in great pain. Then I was told a winter storm was moving across the south so I decided to stay there another day. The "winter storm" turned out to be rather wimpy but it was strange to see snow in the desert! When I left Elfrida, I made it into Douglas in record time covering 25 miles in two hours. I decided to stay in Douglas for the night before crossing the border.

Mexico - Sonora State