It had been 2 hours since we departed Chatsworth (with our box of Earl’s Donuts) and we were ready for a real meal. Just as our stomachs began to grumble, we caught sight of the giant Cabazon dinosaurs…
This is a particularly interesting place to stop, in light of the anti-evolution “museum”/gift shop that exists inside the belly of one of the giant beasts. After learning about how dinosaurs were only 2,000 years old (?), we decided it was time for some grub at the Wheel Inn right next door. Although we read that the biscuits and gravy were particularly good, our first bite told us otherwise. However, the homemade homefries were quite tasty and we enjoyed the plate-sized pancake…
It was back on the road, heading east through the desert, where we passed many huge windmill fields…
Less than an hour later we had arrived at an old favorite: Shield’s Date Farms
The last time we went to Shield’s it was virtually empty (we were definitely the only ones watching “The Sex Life of the Date!”) But this time the store was packed and there was a long line for their famous date shakes. We split up—Chris waiting at the ice cream counter while Amy went to buy a box of fresh dates and some hot pistachios. If you have not tried a date shake, you’re missing out. Thick, creamy, and flavorful, we slurped this one down in no time!
Finally, it was time to beeline for Joshua Tree National Park. Our plan was to camp there that night, but we arrived to find out that all of the campsites were full (and we’re talking hundreds of sites)! So instead we found a small hotel near the park entrance and decided that tonight was the night to finally have the Little Caesar’s pizza that we had been joking about for a few years (we have often discussed how far our pizza taste buds have come since we were young). You certainly can't beat $8 for a large pizza, crazy bread, and a 2 liter bottle of soda:
The next morning we got up before the sun to get in a bit of exploring in Joshua Tree. We basically had the place to ourselves!
From Joshua Tree, we drove straight to Phoenix, where we had planned to meet “DesertDog” Dean for lunch. Dean had recommended Joe’s BBQ in Chandler, and we could not have been more pleased. Here’s a picture of the BBQ plate:
And because Dean hadn’t tried it yet, we had to sample the root beer cake!
Not knowing who it was, we asked a patron at a neighboring table if he would snap a quick picture of us. It turned out that this shot was taken by none other than John Salley of "Best Damn Sports Show Period" fame (Dean told us this later)! We guessed that this was one of the few times that he was asked to take someone else's picture!
Although we could have stayed and chatted all afternoon, it was getting late and we had to make it to Tucson by dinner. We made it to town before the sun set and set up our tent at Catalina State Park just north of Tucson. Once our sleeping pads had been inflated, we took off for downtown. After finding a couple of smaller RF restaurants closed for New Year’s, we decided to go to El Charro. Although the carne seca plate was good (check out the Sterns’ review for a full explanation:
http://roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=288http://roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=288), we much preferred the cheese crisp. Simple, but delicious.
January 1st and what better way to start the New Year than with a hike in Saguaro National Park. We decided to tackle the east section of the park first since we had plans later in the day in Bisbee. The weather was perfect and the cacti remarkable!
We had attempted a stop at Millie’s Pancake Haus for fruhstuck, only to find it closed for the holiday, so we were pretty hungry by the time we set out for Bisbee. Although there wasn’t much open, we were excited to see the lights on at Nico’s Taco Shop in the small town of Benson. Nico’s is a small chain with stores around Tucson that serves up traditional Mexican fare. We ordered a breakfast burrito with chorizo and egg (that must have weighed a couple of pounds!) and this carne asada torta (which was unbelievably flavorful and filling!):
The drive down Route 80 is beautiful but desolate, and it comes as a surprise when you crest a hill to find the town of Bisbee. Once a major center for copper mining, the Queen Mine now gives underground tours to visitors.
A retired miner leads each group 1,500 feet down into the mine on a small train and teaches visitors about what it would be like to work in the mines (turn your head 90 degrees for optimal viewing):
After taking off our hard hats, slickers, and mining lanterns, we drove to the Shady Dell RV Park (http://www.theshadydell.com) to check in for the night. Although you can bring your own RV to park at the Shady Dell, the other option is to rent one of their restored, vintage trailers. Lodging ranges from a 10-foot 1952 travel trailer to a 38-foot docked yacht.
We chose something in-between: a 1957 El Rey.
Our pickings were slim for dinner, and we were about to give up hope, when we spotted Subway Street Subs. What are the chances that we would show up on 2-for-1 Rhode Island hot dog night? “RI hot dogs in Arizona?,” we asked ourselves, but decided they had to be tried. We figured that it was a good sign when we were told that we just needed to wait 10 minutes until the homemade sauce would be done! Once the dogs were ready to go, we had them wrapped (along with an avocado and cheese sandwich), and took them back to the trailer.
The interior of our El Rey was decorated with a Polynesian theme and a vintage radio playing Chet Baker tunes completed the retro ambience for our casual dinner.
Wandering Jew--eat your heart out with these RI red hots!
One of the greatest things about the Shady Dell is that there is a diner on the premises!
This small 10-seater originally sat in the San Fernando Valley in the 1950s, but was transplanted to Bisbee to be fixed up 10 years ago. The place was already packed before sunrise with locals, but had cleared out by the time we entered the scene. Chris ordered the corned beef hash whereas Amy went for her stand-by: the huevos rancheros. We were both pleasantly surprised to watch the cook exit the building only to return with a handful of fresh green chiles. We watched with our mouths salivating as she diced the chiles and cut up the potatoes to make home fries. The huevos rancheros were spicy, flavorful, and worthy of a photograph!
Hunger temporarily satiated, we headed north back to Tucson after a quick stop at Bisbee Coffee Roasters to pick up a pound for the road. After all, we had a lunch date before noon!
Due to construction in Tucson that brought back bad memories of Boston’s Big Dig, we arrived at BK’s Hot Dogs and Carne Asada just in time. We met friends Jacque and Janice, who had recommended BK’s so that we could try the new-to-us Sonoran hot dog. Look for a RF review forthcoming, but here is a sneak peek of this regional hot dog:
Our meal at BK’s ranked among our most filling eating experiences ever, with so many items to try. We knew that if we didn’t keep moving we might fall into a food coma, so we headed to the Western section of Saguaro National Park. Whereas in the Eastern section the largest elevation gain was about 70 feet, on the Hugh Norris trail we made a quick ascent of just over 2,000 feet! Although our legs were aching a bit the next day, the views were definitely worth it!
If we hadn’t hiked all afternoon, we probably wouldn’t have been able to stomach a meal at the Guadalajara Grill that evening. Another gem recommended to us by Jacque and Janice, the highlight of the meal was when we were asked if we wanted any salsa. We are told that this only occurs at dinner, but there is a woman who comes around with a cart of fresh ingredients and makes the salsa for you tableside! We had seen such a thing with guacamole before, but this was our first salsa experience of the sort. The salsa was chunky, garlic-y, and devoured as we waited for our meal.
Although everything was good, the chile relleno was on par with our favorites in New Mexico (e.g., Dave’s Not Here, Chope’s), and we were sad that we had ordered just one! When we laid down in our tent that night (at Catalina State Park once again), we were confident that we could never eat another bite of food in our lives. But we didn’t know what was in store for us the next morning…
For breakfast, we stopped at another Jacque and Janice recommendation: Teresa’s Mosaic Café. Somewhat nondescript on the outside, and hidden behind a McDonald’s, this was arguably the best meal of our trip. To accompany our glasses of horchata and homemade lemonade, we ordered the huevos rancheros and a combination plate made up of eggs, a cheese enchilada, and a green corn tamale. At this meal, two superlative claims were made: Amy dubbed the huevos rancheros the best ever, while Chris made the same claim for the cheese enchilada.
One thing that we could both agree on, however, was that the best part of the meal was watching this woman make hundreds of corn and flour tortillas from across the room!
Before leaving Tucson, we made a quick stop at Le Cave’s Bakery for some of their RF-reviewed donuts. Although good, we didn’t feel that they would be worth going out of your way for. Perhaps, of course, this was because we had just had a box of Earl’s donuts a couple of days before (tough competition!).
With 8 hours left until our flight back home, we decided to squeeze in one more National Park site by visiting the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. The prehistoric ruins were quite impressive, but we had to admit that it was somewhat depressing to look out over some of the ruins and see WalMart in the distance.
We took a break from eating for a bit and visited with family in Chandler. Afterwards, we had just enough time for a quick stop in Scottsdale. After reading Bruce and Sue’s review of Grimaldi’s, we decided that it was a must-stop. Check out our review to learn about Chris’ last meal request:
http://roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=4429. 
We could have died and gone to heaven after the Grimaldi’s pie, but with the pink of the Sugar Bowl glowing across the street, we couldn’t resist. We ordered the 23 Skiddoo, a parfait layered with coffee syrup, Turkish coffee ice cream, chocolate syrup, almonds, Dutch chocolate ice cream, whipped cream (delivered by a pressurized hose, which we have never seen before), and a cherry.
Stuffed, achy, and smiling, we boarded our red-eye flight back to Hartford
