Day 2 Week 1

I met up with David this morning for a look around Sierra Vista and do the whole tourist thing. Before we got going, we popped into a huge store, not a Walmart but very similar to it, to buy a coffee from Starbucks inside.  On the way, David had been telling me about the firearms laws in Arizona. Overt and covert carrying of firearms by civilians is totally legal.  No concealed carry permit required or anything.  Whilst standing at the counter getting our coffee, David gives me the ‘eye flick’ as if to say look at that bloke, and sure enough, this old bloke with a pony tail goes walking by, pushing his shopping trolley wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and sandals and carrying a semi automatic pistol on his hip with two spare mags on the other side.  Nobody even batted an eye, except for me of course.  This place is so cool!

After we got our coffee, I asked Dave to take me somewhere to buy some new runners. The cheap $14 disposable ones I got from Target at home were starting to hurt my feet.  We drove over to a sporting goods store similar to Rebel sport except when you enter this one, the wall on the left is covered in rifles and shotguns and the pistols are in the display case.  This place is so cool!

Anyway, I bought a pair of New Balance runners for $43. The same shoes at home are $169. I may have to get some more before I leave.

Feeling like I was walking on air compared to my old pieces of rubbish, we went for a drive out to the Mexican border to see some illegal’s running through the desert. Unfortunately, it must have been too hot because we didn’t see any. I was assured that they were there, just waiting for the cover of darkness.  In the picture below, the mountains in the distance are actually in Mexico. The border runs along this side of them.

I took over the driving to get use to the right side of the road. I don’t care what anyone says, it is hard and very confusing. I kept forgetting and ending up on the wrong side of the road. (Well, two or three times).  Usually after turning a corner and the road not marked with lines. No problems when you’re following other vehicles but when left to my own devices, sheesh! Luckily Dave kept correcting me.

After that, we headed over to Tombstone, the scene of the shootout at the OK Corral.  That is a great little town. Very touristy of course but you expect that.  A lot of people in yeoldy clothes and carrying six guns etc.  Absolutely no reason for them to be fake so they probably weren’t.  This place is so cool!

They have walled off the actual OK Corral so if you want to see the actual scene of the shootout it costs $6.00 or $10.00 if you watch the re-enactment. David thought I was mad paying the 6 bucks but I hadn’t travelled for 26 hours and 15,000k’s to not go in for the sake of the cost of a good cup of coffee.

We headed back to Dave’s for dinner and had a lovely meal, followed by freshly baked banana bread.

Tomorrow I am heading out on my own to have a drive around and do some shopping before I head over to Dave’s for lunch. That is going to be an adventure.

Oh, I need to mention that I ended up flying direct from LAX to Tucson to start my trip here.  Dave insisted, and I am glad he did, that I Do Not, I say again, Do Not start off driving on the right side of the road in LA if I have never done it before. He shouted me an airline ticket to Tucson and is teaching me to drive all over again in the quieter parts of America. It is still busier than anything I would usually encounter around Canberra.  It just means I am going to back track up to the Grand Canyon, then on to Las Vegas, up to Aspen CO, on down to Alburqurqe and across from there.