TSMC
I got on the road about 8:30 this morning. Since I was heading east, I had to wait until the sun was high enough that it wouldn't blind me. I stopped in town to get some water and refill a propane tank before heading to Phoenix.
I pulled into the Arizona State Trust Lands, where I always stay. There must be hundreds of acres of trust lands on both sides of Highway 74, so I try to stay in different spots to get a new view, even though I'm in the same area.
There's not much of anything out here in this area except empty desert and the Ben Avery gun range. However, the Ben Avery gun range is approximately a mile or two from I-17, and when you cross I-17, it suddenly becomes densely populated with houses and businesses in every direction.
That could change now that TSMC is just down the road from the Ben Avery gun range, building a massive semiconductor plant that provides chips for Apple, Intel, and Nvidia. Part of the plant is already operational, while other parts are still under construction. The president of TSMC appeared on television alongside Trump, stating that he plans to build more plants in Arizona and the United States, totaling $100 billion. So it sounds like Arizona is becoming a new Silicon Valley.
None of that will affect me, except to make the roads more crowded. However, if you're young and employable, those jobs will likely be high-paying, and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce estimates that they will result in tens of thousands of new jobs. And those individuals will purchase homes, rent apartments, and dine at restaurants, which will stimulate the entire Arizona economy as they work in an industry that is growing rapidly.
Today, almost everything in our homes and transportation requires chips of some kind. And since the Taiwanese company TSMC is the world’s largest chip manufacturer, it appears that Arizona is in a good position right now.
Theboondork
While at the Vulture Mine Outdoor Museum, I heard that the world's best RV was parked on a small hill near the entrance gate. Well, I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to take a picture of the world's best RV, even though it meant walking up a fairly steep hill to get to it.
Fortunately, walking up hills has been a significant part of my life since moving to Colorado. And since there was an easy-to-navigate path leading to the top of the hill, I made short work of reaching the world's best RV.
And I wasn't disappointed. It was no surprise to me that the world's best RV would be a truck camper. Having lived in one for a couple of years now, I can honestly say that anytime you can have everything with you wherever you go qualifies as the world's best RV.
Yes, there are a couple of drawbacks to this particular RV. For instance, there might be some problems finding parts for the truck or finding anyone still alive who knows how to work on it.
The overall height is a smidgen tall for getting under your average interstate overpass.
And hairpin turns must be taken slowly due to its tendency to be somewhat top-heavy.
However, aside from that, I think this picture was well worth the walk up the hill to see the world's best RV.
Mining is a dirty job, so the ability to take a well-deserved bath is on the minds of many meticulous miners. So this heated tub is always available for a Saturday night bath, whether you need it or not.
An old door.
This stone building is the assayer’s office, the gold storage area, and barracks for some of the miners.