Feb 27th - Saturday

Petroglyphs

BLM camping  outside of Yuma, on edge of Ca and Az.- Border wall in background

 

Sunset at Petroglyph camp site

 

Great white Snowy Egret over irrigated  hay field

Sunset in Dateland, Az

We have covered quite a bit of territory since last I wrote.  I left off in the Recreation Area just west of Buckeye, Az.  We traveled west from there to the Petroglyphs Monument.  We stayed one night in their dry camping area and walked among the ancient petroglyphs left by the indigenous people anywhere between 700 BC to 500 AD.  It is strange to drive through the desert and suddenly come upon this huge pile of boulders with drawings etched on them.  It is difficult to ascertain their meanings as it could be directions, story telling,  but most likely have spiritual significance for the people of that time.  As time has passed new symbols have been added, i.e. the cross which means those petroglyphs were etched after the Spanish came which may place it around 1200AD.  The rock face in that area of the desert is covered with "desert varnish" or patina which makes them appear black.  The people etched or scraped the designs through the patina on the rock face to make the designs. 

The next day found us trying to stay off the major highway and stay on the back roads.  Unfortunately my little Garmin failed to mention that one of the roads we were taking on the scenic route came to a dead end because of a dam that had been placed in that area and so the roads were closed off.  Of course, there was no sign indicating this when we started up that route either.  We were able to see more desert before we had to turn around and take the highway after all.  We traveled west from there and stayed in a hickup of a intersection that boasted 3 RV parks.  We chose one off the highway back once again into the desert.  This area is called Dateland because the people in the area have planted a plantation of dates!  We learned that the dates need 10 feet of water a year to produce and also have to be hand pollinated!  It seemed like coming to a little oasis in the desert - oh wait, it was an oasis!!!!  Didn't see any mirage just date trees.  We stayed in a little RV park which we discovered in the night was about 1/2 mile from the railroad track.  There must have been at least, AT LEAST 40 trains going through that night.  It was like Grand Central Station out in the middle of the desert.  Makes for interesting dreams.
Yesterday we continued on west into Yuma.  Richard will begin his bike ride for the Iron County Cancer Unit next Tuesday, March 2nd.  Please tune in to WIKB at 10:00 AM CST and pledge any amount that you can for this worthy cause.  It has helped so many people in our home area., my family  included.  Any money donated to the unit stays in Iron County to help those at home in countless ways. The web site for the cancer unit is:  www.tcoinc.com/iccu .

I have added some pictures from the last few days in this blog.  Hope you enjoy.  We did!

Feb 22nd - Monday

President's Day - We turned off from Highway 85, south of Buckeye, AZ., onto a washboard rough gravel road to nowhere into the desert.   No one else is here but us in this cactus crowded, rock and mountain landscape.  It is so beautiful,  no words other than graveyard quiet and peaceful describe where this evening finds us.  It feels like a thousand miles into solitude, but by the crow, the crowded metropolis of Phoenix  is a mere 50 miles to the north west.

  This evening's front yard -

Saturday - Feb 20th

Resident Raven

Catus after the storm

Organ Pipe and other cactus

Tall Saguaro & Mountains

Saguaro at sunset

Chain-Fruit Cholla (close up)

Chain-Fruit Cholla before storm

                                          The majestic Saguaro before storm

                                  Ocotillo Cactua with baby Saguaro on the left



Wow!  We are in one of the most beautiful places in this country - I know there are so many but this one ranks right up there.  We arrived in Organ Pipe Cactus National Park in southern Arizona on Wednesday with intentions of staying for just 3 nights.  We decided to extend for a couple more because of the weather, the awesome beauty that is in this particular part of the desert.  As we drove down into the park from the north the scenery changed from stark dry desert to many varieties of cactus all on a velvet green carpet!  We feel protected and surrounded by the majestic cactus and forever mountains.  No matter which way you turn here there is not beauty.  Whoever designed this park had nature in mind in the placement of the campsites which hide each camper, trailer or tent so that when you look out you see the land not the people.
Not many words this evening. Hopefully the pictures will fill in the spaces I left blank.

Feb 16th ( Two days in a row!!)

First Saguaro cactus with copper mine in background.

Hilside of soldiers Saguaro cactus

US or Mexico??  Highway distance signs in Kilometers instead of miles.

Two days in a row!!!  Don't fall over, I just felt inspired to write again today ( with a little push from Richard).  Really, there is not much to report today as we traveled only about 100 miles from Patagonia Lake State Park to just southwest of Tucson, AZ. to an RV park in their "dry camping" area.  They had no sites with water and  electric available so we were put in their parking lot until tomorrow when we are assured of a spot within the safe confines complete with amenities. ( Parking lot is free!)  Arizona is the first state where we have encountered full RV parks and State Parks.  This state is the most popular area to come for the winter.  The weather is definitely warmer during the day, up to 89 degrees with a beautiful dry heat and it cools down to the 40's in the night.  Perfect - and, of course,  this is where all the people come! Snow birds!!!!

We went through a Border Patrol inspection site today, which is not unusual, but  they were definitely looking for something because they waved us through with hardly a nod and nary a sniff from their dogs!  I hope to get a picture of their dogs someday but as yet haven't had the courage to ask if I could snap a pic of their dogs.  They usually ask where we're going and if we are US citizens but today, just the wave and a salute and we were on our way north to Tucson.  I was almost disappointed!

Today wasn't much of a picture day but I included my first Saguaro Cactus of the trip.  These are the majestic ones that stand tall with one or two arms out to their sides.  We also passed a massive copper mining site in Green Valley, AZ. called the Duval Mine.  It goes on for miles ( 1/4 mile deep X 5 miles long) with "tailings" from the mine that  are stacked a quarter mile high.  I Googled it and it is a Copper mine and is the largest in the southwest.  Interesting to see different parts of this huge wonderful country.  The other picture is not much to look at but it is included because  distance is measured in kilometers instead of miles!  The only state so far that I have noticed this.  I wondered for a bit if we were in Mexico instead of the USA.

That's it for today - hopefully tomorrow we will be able to ride our bikes and see some off road areas. Also, we passed one of the ubiquitous Border Patrol vehicles on a hilltop overlooking the highway - ever vigilant for illegals.

                                                                           Border Patrol - watching over us

Feb 15th

One of those days.  We are in beautiful Pagtagonia Lake State Park and I just felt like being a slug today.  Caught a couple of little ground squirrels looking for a handout so we put out a few crackers for them.  The park was full to overflowing yesterday but pretty much emptied out today.  Forgot it was President's Day so all the locals were out for a three day weekend. Despite the dole-drums today, it was 84 degrees with awesome sunshine.  Just one of those lazy days.  We will be moving on tomorrow - west as always and should be in Yuma soon.  March 2nd Richard begins his Iron County Cancer Bike Ride so we need to be in that area a bit before. 

Last night we were serenaded by a couple of guys from Austin, Tx and they REALLY could play and sing.  I got up enough courage to go over to their camp site to take their picture.  They were playing their hearts out!

Saturday, Feb 13th

After staying only a couple of nights near the Rodeo area RV park we moved on to Bisbee/Naco, Az.  On our way to our present location we stopped at a memorial erected in 1934 to acknowledge the last stand of Geronimo.  It is located just a few miles south of Apache, Az.  It is difficult to miss in a landscape of nothing but cactus and rocks.  It is an obelisk made from stones.  It stands out not only because of its shape and size that rises out of the stark desert but the stones that make it up.  Within the column are large stone mortars that the people once  used to grind grain and corn.  Those individual  rocks are concave and worn smooth by much use.  There is a plaque on one side of the obelisk that tells the story of Geronimo's last stand.  What it doesn't tell is what caused him to fight and leave the "reservation" that the white man had relegated and restricted he and his people to.  If anyone is interested, Google Geronimo and there are many sites that tell his story; of course, it depends on the source what kind of story is told. 
We stopped there briefly to read and photograph the memorial.  I have yet to find who the artist was that designed and built the memorial.  It would be interesting to know why field stones and mortars were worked into the column. 
It was a relatively short drive on to Bisbee/Naco, Az where we pulled into an RV park next to the first green piece of ground I have seen since Michigan.  We are next to the first golf course ever made in Arizona.  I use the color green with generosity.  It has "spots" of green but is mostly brown/yellow.  Even that must take huge amounts of water to keep it that way.  I was hoping for warmer weather as we moved further south but each morning it has been 27 degrees!  It has warmed up during the day and we have been able to ride our bikes. We rode down to the border yesterday.  The huge fence that we saw in Del Rio is here too.  The sights on the other side of the fence are nothing you would see in a vacation brochure for Mexico.  It is a very poor and depressed area.  We are moving on tomorrow to  hopefully a warmer clime with a stop in Tombstone to see what there is to see.
When we were in the Rodeo, Az area we had storms so didn't do much outside.  However, there is a bright side to storms - they afford beautiful pictures!! A couple of sunset and storm pictures included for today's entry. 

Feb 7th

I don't have many words today but the pictures should speak for themselves. We are in Deming, New Mexico just about 49 miles north of Pancho Villa State park in Columbus. We traveled to Rock Hound State Park in Deming because I have always loved rocks. It is a gem hunting paradise. It is located right into the mountain side of the Florida Mountains in this area. We were unable to get a site with electric and water so we are "dry camping" for the first time. It is amazing here. Beautiful is a trite description of what it feels like to be here. I went for a hike this afternoon, rock bag over my shoulder and walked for a long while. I was able to find some beautiful rocks and stones. Whether they are valuable or not is irrelevant. They are beautiful. This area used to be an active gem stone mine so we are allowed to take 15 lbs of rocks out each day. I am looking forward to the morning when I can take off up into the mountain side to find what I can find. This is the most unusual State Park that we have found so far on our travels. The sites are scattered all over the mountain side, not set up like a parking lot as so many have been. I think we will stay a couple of nights here and then move on west as planned.

Feb 5th - Friday

Storm moving in.

Beware of Dog

Avenging Angel

The endless road to Marfa, Tx

A rock hunter's dream!

It has been a few days since I visited my blog site.  I have taken hundreds of pictures but just didn't have a lot of words to go with them.  As mentioned on Jan 30th, we were in Marathon, Tx - stayed two nights and were able to do some really nice bike rides around the back roads.  We left Marathon heading south into the Big Bend National Park.  We were not sure if we would stay in the park or just drive through.  As it turned out we drove through and ended up in Presidio, Texas by accident.  We had planned on staying just outside of the national park in a little blip on the road called Lajitas. We must have gone right on by so continued to enjoy the beautiful mountains throughout the area and stopped at a little RV park in Presidio called Loma Paloma.  People there were great.  Not a huge number of campers there but they have formed a comfortable little community and reach out to newcomers.  We rode our bikes to the city of Presidio the day after we arrived.  It was a 12 mile ride but so nice and flat!  I put my panniers (saddle bags) on my bike and we rode in to pick up some groceries.  The next morning we were invited to ride into Mexico with a couple who were driving one of the other campers to a dentist in Mexico.  The border was only 6 miles away from our camp site and reported to be one of the safest crossings all along the border.  We took them up with the offer and rode over and got the experience of going through the inspection at the border.  Oginaga is the border town on the other side of Presidio and, according to Richard, unlike most border towns which usually cater to American tourists.  This one was more like an interior village without the tourist feeling.  In fact I think we were the only  non-Mexicans in the town.  We only stayed an hour or so but now I can say "I have been to Mexico"  I learned later that day that there had been some beheadings only a day or so before that were connected to the ongoing drug wars on the border!  Glad I did not know that ahead of our trip.  That afternoon a huge storm blew in.  It only lasted maybe 15 minutes but it seemed like hours.  Richard was outside taking pictures of the storm coming in and I was in the camper.  When the wind hit it felt like the camper was going to turn over!  I was on my way out of the camper as Richard rushed in soaked to the bone.  Minutes later it was over but it took my heart a bit longer to slow down.  After the storm the air smelled so clean, fresh and green.  We went for a hike up a river bed (wash) as there is no water in the bed at this time.  I went looking for rocks.  I have loved looking for fossils and other minerals for years and I brought back quite a few that day.  The next day we left and headed for Van Horn, Texas.  We stopped on the highway at a "Rock Shop".  No one appeared to be present, but there was a trailer set way back on a little road.  As I walked into the rock display about 9 dogs ran out barking at me.  I was unconcerned simply because I am not afraid of dogs.  That may change.  There were about 6 puppies in the bunch and a few older dogs, one which was the papa of the puppies I think.  He kept barking and nipping at me but I just lowered myself to the ground and the puppies crawled all over me and the older male stopped barking and walked away,  The trouble began when I put some money under a milk crate to pay for a rock I wanted to take with me.  The male attacked and bit me in the calf!  I was more surprised then afraid but realized I had to back away as he would keep biting at me if I turned my back.  Meanwhile, Richard was watching all of this from the safety of the camper.  He has a healthy respect for dogs because of his many cross country bike trips and having dogs run out at him while he was riding.  When the male bit me he did come out and yell at the dog and the dog backed off.  I backed into the camper with my prize and checked out my leg.  The dog broke the skin but I think I will live.   To be fair, there was a small sign that said "Beware of THE dog.  Not sure which dog they meant as there were so many.  I think I could have made off with one of the puppies and they would never have noticed.  I was tempted! 

We continued on to Van Horn and stayed one night in a really nice RV park.  We pushed on further today into New Mexico and are just outside a little town called  Columbus.    We are in a Pancho Villa State Park and will probably stay here a couple of nights so we can check the area out on our bikes tomorrow.  As has been the rule, none of the RV parks or state parks have been crowded.  Not sure if it is the economy or just the time of the season.  We have never been turned away because a park is full. 

At this area we are about half way through the bottom of New Mexico and will head next to Rock Hound State Park where there are areas to pick rocks.  We will have to deviate a bit out of our driving west pattern but we are not on any schedule or time clock which is so great and I am finally getting used to slowing down a bit. As I write, the sun is just going down and the sky is aflame with color.  While listening to NPR today, we heard that there is quite the storm brewing in the DC area.  It seems so bizarre to even think of snow right now.  I thought I would miss snow --- I don't!!!

The mountains, the dessert are so beautiful.  As I have stated before, it is a stark beauty but you simply need to look more deeply and you can see the dessert come alive and what I once thought of as barren is teeming with life.