Day 10: Dream Catcher B&B to Benson

April 5, 2016

On the road at 9:10 after my final gourmet breakfast. Sunny and warm.

First was 13.5 easy miles backtracking to US 191. Gentle downhill.

Today I saw a wide variety of flowers. More than any other day of the tour.

Strange that a former ranch entry road is now a fence line. No trace of the original road.

Occasional irrigated fields began as I approached US 191, near the bottom of the basin.

US 191 doesn't have much of a shoulder but traffic is light. No stress, but I'm glad to have a bright red flasher on the rear.

I pedaled 18 miles northwest on US 191. Imperceptibly uphill with a gentle tailwind and the sun on my back.

There were occasional irrigated crop circles, but most of the landscape was desert. Many small mesquite trees that were just budding. Not big enough to provide useful shade.

The surrounding mountains weren't spectacular but it was nice to see mountains all around. Visibility was very good. Dragoon mountains to the west. Chiricahua mountains to the east.

I stopped for lunch in the small town of Sunsites in the middle of the desert. Big enough to have several stores. Low budget retirees and farm workers. I'm not sure why retirees would want to live there.

At the cafe in Sunsites I overheard a man talking about a 400 acre fire that happened 2 days ago. It was still smouldering.

Conditions changed dramatically when I turned west on Dragoon road. Suddenly uphill with a brisk headwind. The temperature climbed to the mid 80's (~28C) but it didn't feel hot because of the headwind.

Giant irrigated pecan orchard on Dragoon road.

I could hear this diesel powered irrigation pump a mile away.

This orchard has smaller trees with leaves. Maybe peaches.

On US 191 I passed the turnoff for Cochise Stronghold which is 6 miles west at the foot of the Dragoon mountains. That might be an interesting place to visit. Cochise was an Apache chief who led an 11 year rebellion against American and Mexican encroachment. He burned nearly every American and Mexican settlement in southern Arizona.

Village of Dragoon. Inhabited by farm workers and low budget retirees.

A mile or so before I got to I-10 interesting rocks started to appear. A nice change of scenery. Similar to the rock formations at Joshua Tree National Park in California.

Interesting rocks all around near Dragoon pass.

The rocks remind me of Joshua Tree National Park in California. View from near the I-10 entrance ramp.

I joined I-10 at Dragoon pass. Climbed a steep entrance ramp, then had 12 gentle downhill miles to the Benson exit. Easy and fast, but not so steep that I needed to brake.

The sign is proof that bikes are allowed on this segment of I-10.

I-10 is downhill all the way from Dragoon to the Benson exit.

I-10 crosses the San Pedro river just before the Benson exit. My final time to see the river.

San Pedro river again. Downsteam from where I saw it before. Almost dry now.

In Benson I got a $69 room at Days Inn 1 mile north of the downtown area. Dinner a mile away in town. Benson is a dead town. Not much going on and many empty storefronts. It's an old railroad town and the former train station is a nice museum. But there's not much reason for visitors to stop in Benson. Benson has a population of 5000, slowly shrinking. The elevation is 3586 feet (1090 m), 1000 feet higher than Tucson.

Today was not the scenic highlight of the tour. The first half of the day was the now familiar farm and desert scenes in Spring Valley. Scenery got more interesting near the end of the day.

Today was one of the longest days of the tour but the total climbing was minimal. A relatively easy day.

Distance: 63.8 mi. (102 km)
Climbing: 1151 ft. (349 m)
Average Speed: 10.5 mph (16.8 km/h)

Today's ride: 64 miles (103 km)
Total: 369 miles (594 km)

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