Day 9: Tucson to Willcox, 90ish miles.

Day 9: Monday, Oct. 4

Before I begin, I should admit that I am very very excited right now. We treated ourselves to a hotel tonight and found out that this crazy looking trailer outside our room holds two giraffes (or is the plural for giraffe also giraffe?). It's almost as if we've joined the Barnum and Bailey Circus train, but we actually are just in a cheap hotel in the middle of Arizona. Good times.

Today, we left Tucson at 5am, knowing we had a pretty long day ahead. I can say that I really enjoyed the ride today. It was cool and cloudy today; the rain fell on us throughout the morning. We welcomed the cooler temperatures compared to last week's unbearable heat. The adjustments we made to our seat post height and seats themselves were very helpful.

By 11am, we had reached our halfway point in Benson, AZ and stopped to eat some lunch. Benson overlooks one of the most scenic valleys I have seen in a while, with the sun lighting up the surrounding mountain peaks.

We headed east, and just as a storm was about to catch us, pulled off the highway on the exit marked "the Thing?" We had seen multiple billboards along the route advertising "the Thing," so we felt fortunate for the chance at discovery. After a quick discussion with a friendly employee who let us forgo the $1 entrance fee, we took the tour of "the Thing." The Thing ended up being a bunch of completely random antiques surrounded by old wooden alien looking figures (the Things) in about 3 different buildings. There was no theme aside from the hundreds of Things in front of old cars, chinese gongs, and covered wagons.

The trek to Willcox seemed short because it was about an eight mile downhill. Perhaps the Thing had something to do with the terrain in these parts. I now have dreams of hills such as theses, where I can use my weight to my advantage and coast for days. We took some time touring around Willcox (read: got lost) and finally ended up at Subway for dinner. As the rain had made the ground rather muddy and because we are sissies, we jumped on the $36 hotel nearby. Did I already tell you there are two giraffes outside my window? Well worth the money.

Tomorrow, we head to Lordsburg. I think God lives there.

Good night.