Thursday, January 30, 2014

WARM WINDS A BLOWIN IN THE KOFA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE:))))))

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BOONDOCKED JUST SOUTH OF THE KOFA MOUNTAIN RANGE

With Arizona’s milder temperatures this year I had been keeping an eye on the thermometer up around Sedona the past few weeks & with daytime highs in the 60’s last week & earlier this week I was hoping we could grab a few days in that area.  However checking the 10 day forecast I saw the temps dropping into the low 50’s with rain forecast for Friday.  Night time temps down at the freezing mark.  We missed our window of opportunity but we’ll have us a look at Sedona again maybe around the end of March or early April on our way North.

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FIRST TIME USING OUR NEW SOUTH GATE & IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM

Kelly surprised me Wednesday afternoon when she returned from Wickenburg with the words, “if we can get the rig loaded up we can leave tomorrow”.  Well that was all I needed to perk up my spirits again.  We talked about Yuma, Borrego Springs, or a return to the Kofa Mountains.  We liked the idea we can be into the Kofa’s in about two & a half hours from our house so that was our destination.  Plus now that all the congestion has cleared out of Quartzsite it just made it more practical for us to head back on down through there.

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ALWAYS GREAT TO BE ON THE ROAD GOING SOMEWHERE

We had Winnie’s wheels rolling by 9:50 & it was the first time through our new south gate.  Worked pretty slick.  Quick stop at the Post Office & we were westward bound on 2 of my favorite lite traffic highways.  Number 71 from Congress to Aguila & number 60 from there to Interstate 10.  Just put er on ‘Cruise Control’, sit back & enjoy Arizona’s mighty fine scenery rolling by.  From I-10 to Quartzsite is only about 12 miles.  A customary stop at McDonald’s for coffee & we were on our way again.  Winds had really picked up throwing a lot of dust into the air in Quartzsite.  No traffic jams, no crowds, no problems.  Now that’s how we prefer to do Quartzsite. 

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YEP WE’RE IN QUARTZSITE ALRIGHT

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Q’S MAIN INTERSECTION MAY LOOK BUSY BUT NOTHING LIKE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A WEEK AGO

Knew exactly where we were going so headed about 30 miles or so south of the Q & hung a left into the desert across from Stone Cabin & made our way along a dusty desert road back into the mountains.  An area familiar to us between the Kofa & Castle Dome mountains.  Kofa’s to our North & Castle Domes to our South.  ‘How sweet it is’ as Jackie Gleason would say.

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SO NICE TO CATCH SIGHT OF THE KOFA MOUNTAINS AGAIN

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CHECKED OUT FIRST ONE CAMPSITE THEN ANOTHER

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DECIDED ON THE THIRD ONE

We headed back in far enough this time to a spot where the only sound in the air was the wind rustling the hair around under my Cowboy hat.  Not another RV in site for as far as the eye can see.  No telephone wires, power poles, light pollution, buildings, noisy traffic, nothing.  Finally a spot that totally suits our much preferred style of boondocking.  No television signal with our antennae but we do have internet.  We really gotta get on the ball & get ourselves a ‘Dish’ receiver & activate the TracVision dome we already have on the rig.  It is already set-up & programmed for Dish TV.  Sometimes we just drag our feet too darn much.

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PRETTY NICE FRONT YARD I WOULD SAY

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I’D SAY THE LOOK ON KELLY’S FACE PRETTY WELL SAYS IT ALL:))

We are in the KOFA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE not far from where we were back in 2010.  We especially like it here because of it’s remoteness & the fact nobody else is here.  It’s like we have this whole mountain playground to ourselves.  Not everybody’s fancy of course but it sure fits us to a T.  Oh how we love listening to the silence of the wind in the Saguaros:))  We are totally ringed by mountains.  Some near, some far.  We’ll be on the desert Jeep roads in the morning in search of something.  Not sure what yet but I bet we’ll find it:))

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 RETIRED ROD left a Rattlesnake vaccine link in my Wednesday post.  Click on RATTLESNAKE VACCINE to read about how this works & what it does.

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Sometimes the difficulties of finding a place can stretch into a lengthy day resulting in an unexpected sighting.  In this case it was Bighorn Mountain Sheep in the Yacqui Pass over in California & it happened to Doug & Dolly at MISS ADVENTURE TRAVELS.  Their elusive destination Wednesday had been Ghost Mountain in the Blair Valley.  A Police car followed them back to Borrego Springs.  ‘Oh-Oh’. .

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And Awwwwww Nuts!!!!!!  Our loveseat couch broke.  We were both on the couch, Kelly went to get up & the bolts pulled out of the floor at the back of the couch & we both suddenly tipped forward.  Luckily I caught my laptop with my feet.  Right now we have yellow plastic tire levelers under the front of the couch to keep it from tipping forward.  Bruce back home had made a special block of wood to fit under the front bar of the couch but of course I forgot to bring it.  We’ll pull the cushions off tomorrow & have us a look at what happened.  I’m not optimistic we will be able to fix it the way it was though.  I remember how much trouble Ron & Scotty had installing it last summer……….

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FOR KELLY & I IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT THE SCENERY, THE PEACE & THE QUIET………

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Ethan walks into a barn with a farmer to buy a horse.  The horse is laid down in some straw. After giving the horse the once-over Ethan says, "This here horse ain’t got no shoes on."  The farmer replies "Well he ain’t got up yet.

16 comments:

  1. In a peaceful spot like you are in I would think you won't miss TV very much.

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  2. Got yourself a great spot. I just love the header picture. Enjoy your new home. We have wind tonight.

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  3. What a beauty of a spot you have there! I do love the peace and quiet and oh the scenery you can enjoy! Can't wait to see what you find on that Jeep ride tomorrow!

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  4. Just beautiful...you're right, the look on Kelly's face says it all. I think the look on Pheebs' face says she agrees!

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  5. Oh, that looks perfect, so scenic and peaceful. Definitely our kind of place! The winds are howling out here in Borrego, though not as bad as year's past. It's about time we moved to a site with saguaros in our yard.

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  6. You got it made my friend!!!! Enjoy!!

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  7. We love that area of AZ. Your site is so lovely. You may not want to turn a TV on with all that beauty around you.

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  8. I kinda thought I saw heading on down I-95 yesterday.
    Enjoy your quiet spot by the refuge.
    Winds is mostly gone now.

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  9. I knew it! Once I saw the photo of your RV, I knew you were heading back to the Kofa Mountains! We have GOT to explore them sometime! How much can we see with a Nissan XTerra 2 wheel drive (high clearance)?

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  10. I don't mean to rain on your "Dish parade," but you might want to check out Nick Russell's post dated 1/31/14:

    http://gypsyjournalrv.com/category/nicksblog/

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  11. Peace and quiet... and oh, I love the scenery!

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  12. Love both photos of Kelly. Glad you are the road for a bit and love the area you have chosen. I sure hope that you can get the sofa fixed, if only temporarily until you get home in Ontario.

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  13. You complain about what is available on TV but you want it while your boondocking?
    You don't need no stinking TV while your boondocking! You can get your fill of that during the long periods that you sit in a sticks-n-bricks in Bayfield or Congress.

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  14. Nice to see your smiling faces out in the beautiful boonies.

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  15. Lovely spot....stop and stay awhile. We need to get back out West someday.

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  16. Your boondock spot: PERFECTION!

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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