US Hwy 191: Northbound

Preparing to hit the road heading north this morning, I decided to make a quick stop at Walmart for supplies. I spent more time there than I needed to, just experiencing what's different about a border town Walmart. For one thing, English is definitely the second language. The layout and selection are also different, so it was fun to look around. To be honest, it kinda felt like I was in Mexico.

With that mini-exploration concluded, I hit the road in earnest and motored northbound on US191.



As you can see, the terrain was pretty much the same as it's been: Flat expanses of arid land with mountains on the horizon. I was unable to figure out what could possibly be grown there, but a couple of very large operations were pretty convincing evidence that something is going on.



About 70 miles north of the border, US191 joins I-10 for a 10 mile stint to the northeast, then regains its independence heading almost due north. The mountains were much closer and I started having some hope that I'd end up at a high enough altitude to get a little relief from the heat.



That wasn't to be, sadly, as I arrived at US191's intersection with US70 in the town of Safford, AZ, which I passed through just a few days ago. The heat was as bad as it's been all week, topping out at 107 degrees. Looking at where I'm headed tomorrow, however, I have pretty high confidence that my dog and I will finally get a break from the scorching heat… Stay tuned!

Click here to see exactly where I am posting this from on Google Maps.