Monday, February 09, 2015

THIS POST IS COMING TO YOU FROM THE CIBOLA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SOUTH OF BLYTH CALIFORNIA:))

DSC_3293
OUR MOJAVE SUNRISE THIS MORNING
Stretching across our desert night sky I am always enthralled with how brilliantly clear earth’s Milky Way appears with it’s myriad of stars & star clusters.  Earth & we Earthlings are located on the Orion Arm of an immense 2 armed spiral galaxy & it is through this one very arm we peer outward & beyond into our Universe.  Here in Mojave’s cool steady night air it is that beyond which seems to appear ever closer.
DSC_0008
HAD TO GET UP ON THE ROOF TO TAKE OUR WILSON SLEEK ANTENNAE DOWN
DSC_0005 DSC_0003
FINALLY FOUND A USE FOR THIS CLAMP I BOUGHT AT QUARTZSITE YEARS AGO
 DSC_0006
With body clocks still on Arizona time we were again up before 5.  How nice to turn on our laptops & have internet right there waiting for us.  Great connection out here….if your in the exact right spot that is.
DSC_0012
KELLY TAKES A BLACKBERRY PHOTO OF OUR BEAUTIFUL MOJAVE MORNING
DSC_0013
THIS COW WAVED GOOD-BYE TO US AS WE ROLLED BY HEADING SOUTH DOWN ESSEX ROAD
Didn’t take us long to get things stowed away & grab a quick morning walk.  Felt a little sad leaving this spot in the Mojave but by 6:50 we had the big wheels rolling on another beautiful morning.  Only a short half mile up to ‘Hole In The Wall’ where we dumped our tanks & took on fresh water.  It was 7:30 when we pointed Big EEE’s nose south on Essex Road & rolled on out of California’s Mojave National Preserve.  Picked up Interstate-40 & headed east.  Very light traffic as we lumbered our way up to & over Mountain Springs summit tumbling our way back down the other side all the way to Needles.  Hung a right turn onto highway 95 heading straight south for Blyth.
DSC_0017
DSC_0020
GOTTA LOVE THESE GENTLE ROLLER COASTER WHOOP-DE-DOOS
DSC_0024
FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE COLORADO RIVER
DSC_0026
OH & I JUST WANT TO GO OUT THERE & ROLL AROUND IN ALL THAT GREEN GRASS
Highway 95 running from Needles to Blyth is a nice stretch of road running very straight for long distances on smooth pavement.  Mountain ranges on either side with lots of easy rolling & fun ‘whoop-de-doos’ along the way.   I’m thinking this is the road we took from Parker to Blyth several years ago when we picked up our Class C Sunseeker in Parker.  Closer to Blyth the Colorado River begins making appearances on the left side of the highway.  Rolled into Blyth around 10 stopping for some groceries at ‘Smart & Final Extra.  Weird name for a grocery store but we liked it anyway.
DSC_0023
KELLY CHECKS HER BLACKBERRY MAIL
Usually we are on I-10 passing through Blyth on trips to Borrego Springs or Niland & it had been a few years since we had actually been in downtown Blyth itself.  When we stopped at the grocery store it was nice to see palm trees & hear birds singing.  There ‘s some nice southwest architecture here as well.
DSC_0027
DSC_0028
DSC_0030
HAD THIS PLANE NOT PULLED UP WHEN HE DID I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO LAND RIGHT ON I-10 IN FRONT OF US…TURNS OUT IT WAS A CROP DUSTER
We remembered where McDonald’s was so it was a quick stop for a travel coffee & we were on our way again.  West out of Blyth for a short few miles & we exited onto highway 78 south.  This is an old familiar route for us  heading for Brawley, Niland, & Borrego Springs.  We knew right where the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge turn off from highway 78 was…..but we didn’t know exactly where to go from there.  A few dusty gravel roads, a stop at the Oxbow Recreation Area for some directions, a narrow one lane wooden bridge over the Colorado River & a drive through the sleepily dusty little community of Cibola with a right turn at a stop sign & down a paved road a bit where sure enough we found ourselves at the Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center it’s very self.  Wow that was quite a sentence to get through.
DSC_0038
CROSSING THE  MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI??  NOPE, JUST THE COLORADO RIVER TODAY
DSC_0039
Lady inside was very friendly with lots of information for us.  Explained the area on a map showing us where BLM lands were. (across the road from the refuge)  Said a lot of this area’s birds have already left on their migratory routes north.  She’s thinking this unusually warm weather has prematurely triggered their flight plans.  Oh, & mentioning weather…..how does 86F today sound.  In fact our wall thermometer in the rig said 91F at 5 this afternoon Arizona time.  Hotter than the hobbs of Hades in the sun but oh how refreshingly cool in the shade.  Matter of fact that is where I am typing this from right now sitting on the north side of our RV with a wonderful cooling breeze fanning over me.  We did find us a nice boondocking spot & looks like we are the only one’s here unless we missed the spot where all or most Dockers go.  If we did that’s perfectly OK with us:))
DSC_0041
DRIVING THROUGH THE COMMUNITY OF CIBOLA
Our plan is to Jeep around tomorrow morning & scout out this whole place getting a lay of the land for future boondocking travels.  It’s an area we have been by numerous times on our way from point A to point B but had never taken the time to stop in & have a look around.  Wasn’t until we read some of Nina’s posts (Wheeling It) that we decided we had just better come have a look for ourselves.  It is not far off the path on our route home to Congress either.   Anyway, we like what we have seen so far & anywhere out here in the vast deserts of the southwest having bodies of water is always a huge bonus.  And oh how we are loving the acres & acres of green irrigated fields along the Colorado River.  Just makes me want to pull over & go roll around in all that gently waving emerald green grass.  And how nice to see some sizeable trees again.  We Northerners sure do miss our big green trees.  Well I sure do anyway.
DSC_0042
SEEN IN THE DUSTY LITTLE COMMUNITY OF CIBOLA
And while I’m thinking about it I just once again would like to throw out a great big thank-you to all our blog readers.  Whether you have emailed us, Twittered, Shouted, Facebooked or just plain commented on our blog I just want to say how much your thoughts are always appreciated here at the Bayfield Bunch………….
DSC_0043
OUR CIBOLA BOONDOCKING SPOT
Now ‘ED’……a little correction for you.  In your last comment on my post you wrote, “It is too bad that you could not get the gas you needed out of the EEE tanks. It would have saved some money and the extra driving that you had to do so you could buy expensive California gas. Baker, CA prices are always high but nothing like Needles, CA. Then about 20 miles from Needles in Arizona Love's Travel Stop is $1/gallon cheaper”………..  Ed, we did fill up the Motorhome, Jeep & 5 gallon gas can at that very Love’s gas station east of Kingman last Tuesday (I may have mis-identified it as a Pilot station) & we at no time ever purchased any gas in California for the 6 days we were there.  Not a drop!!  We’ll pick up a bit of gas for the rig in Quartzsite on the way home in a couple days & that’s it……….Imagine that, me correcting Ed for a change instead of Ed having to correct me.  Groovy:))
DSC_0044
HAPPILY WORKING AWAY AT PUTTING TONIGHT’S POST TOGETHER:))
Just gotta say again how nice this past week for us has been.  Such a nice break from our Congress routines to get on the road seeing & doing new things.  I so much enjoy going places we have never been & seeing things we have never seen & in a few days we’ll be looking forward to heading back to Congress again where we will probably stay until we begin our long trek back home to Bayfield Ontario later next month.  And yes we’re even looking forward to getting ourselves back home there as well.  It is this great freedom of diversity that works so well for me.  Always having travel plans to look forward to is the key for me in avoiding same old-same old boring routine days, weeks, & months at a time.  Not everybody’s cup of tea of course but with a restless soul like mine I’ll ask you to simply put that old travelling teapot on the stove & just let it steep forever……….:))
DSC_3288
THIS MORNINGS EARLY MOJAVE MOON
GROANER’S CORNER:))  Bill and Sarah were Londoners and were blessed with seven healthy children. After many months of discussion, they finally decided to move to New York. It should have been a simple enough move, but when they arrived, they had great difficulty finding a suitable apartment to live in.  Although many were big enough, the landlords always seemed to object to such a large family living there. If only Bill wasn't so honest about the size of his family!  After several days of unsuccessful searching, Bill had an idea. He told Sarah to take the four younger children to visit the local cemetery while he went with the older three children to find an apartment. After looking for most of the morning, Bill found a place that was ideal.  The landlord asked him, "How many children do you have?"  Bill answered with a deep sigh, "Seven .. but four are with their dear mother in the cemetery."  He got the apartment!

21 comments:

  1. Whoo hoooo! You made it to Cibola!! Hope you enjoy the area as much as we did. Lots of BLM to explore south of the refuge. Also the Levee Road that follows to Colorado all the way to Blythe is a wonderful drive (plus I discovered many more boondocking sites there). Can't wait for your next pics!

    Nina

    ReplyDelete
  2. You always have pictures of the SW area to make us all cry with envy, what a great time and beautiful adventure and thanks for sharing again...Just Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh Yes! That sunrise photo with the catus is the money shot...wonderful colors - sunsets & sunrises are in competion with your fabulous bird pics ....wonderful

    ReplyDelete
  4. Between Nina and you I see another great place to check out in the not too distant future.

    ReplyDelete
  5. One of the things I love about going back east every year is seeing the tall trees, as well as the soft green grass.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amazing sunrise!!! The desert is one of our favorite places to visit. Enjoy your adventure.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We tried to make it to Cibola, but we just don't have enough time to see all the areas we want to see this season. Pretty sure it'll still be there the next time we pass through...

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful sunrise to start and great Groaner to end. Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Really lovely pictures. That first one is stunning. Really like the one of Kelly taking the picture and love her jacket. Your happiness just shines through. Looking forward to seeing what you discover in your new spot.

    ReplyDelete
  10. So many great places to explore with amazing scenery in the southwest, enjoy these new places and the heat.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great that you two got out and about in the EEE again! I LOVE Kelly's fringed jacket..I had one once but it was to heavy I couldn't lift my arms!..I need to PM her on Facebook and find out where she got that one!! Man, it's good to have reliable Internet again!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love your photos Al and will look forward to your return to Congress!

    ReplyDelete
  13. You three sure are having fun enjoying the quiet areas. Love your jacket, Kelly!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I stand corrected. I misunderstood what you said "...the nearest affordable gas was in Baker California over a hundred miles away. There was one other place east of the Preserve but they were taking advantage of the areas remoteness & selling gas for $5 a gallon. Dumped in our can of gas which put our gauge up to three quarters & we were off."

    I thought that meant that you drove to Baker and filled the tank. That is what I get for thinking!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Been out of the blog loop for a while, so what a pleasure to start with yours and get a glimpse of your lovely Congress homestead. And, back to Bayfield so early! Brrr.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I will be interested to see what the Cibola Refuge is like thru your photos. That area is a crossroad to anywhere out here, so easy place as a stopover for several days.

    Cibola looks like my kind of town. No traffic lights or for that matter traffic.

    Have a great time!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Have a wonderful time at the refuge.. we so enjoyed our stay there last week. So peaceful, great cell signal and the solitude was marvelous!

    ReplyDelete
  18. yes you Kelly and Pheebs have it right, part in Congress, part sight seeing and part at home, best of all worlds

    ReplyDelete
  19. Good old Ed does try to keep us on the straight and narrow, doesn't he? I bet you saw some nice burrowing owls today!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Cibola? Not heard of that place. I guess that means I better get to checking it out. We've never done 95 from Parker down to Blythe but we've done it to Needles. I prefer it over going through Lake Havasu and all the traffic for sure. Again, you've got some great photos.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Blythe grows some of the best alfalfa in the country (it's also the area where the first "killer" bees were imported from Africa :-] ) and that green is always so beautiful! I just getting caught up and have really enjoyed your time in the Mojave Preserve! We drive by every April on our way to Laughlin and I love that huge desert valley around Essex. Nice to see the Kelso Depot has been restored, and I'm sure the lunch counter will open again as well.

    ReplyDelete