A HIKE TO THE LITTLE CAVE

THURSDAY JANUARY 31/08
Didn't seem quite as cold this morning & we didn't notice frost on things like the morning before. We walked for about half & hour before Checkers & Cora decided they would rather be home snoozing on the couch so Kelly headed back to the rig with them. Max & I continued on because I wanted to climb up & have a look at a shallow little cave we had come across last year. As we approached the large rock outcropping, the desert flora became more abundant as is generally the case in the desert where there is water run off from mountains or large rock formations. Nice to see the organ pipe cactus around the base of the big rock. It's a relatively easy climb over the rocks to reach the little cave opening & Max the mountain goat dog was up there long before I was. Nothing had changed from last year. The old folded up & deteriorated lawn chair was still in the same spot. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy The Saguaro ribs that someone had put there a long time ago were still leaned against the rocky opening. An old rusty salmon can lay a few feet in front of the entrance. Max & I sat there for awhile taking in the panoramic view of the valley floor laid out before us. No human sounds here, just the winds playing in the rock formations. Set the camera up & took a few self timer pictures of myself. Tried to get Max to pose with me but he was far more interested in exploring & clambering around the rocks looking for those elusive jack-a-lopes:)) Paused beside a large Saguaro on the way back to the rig & listened to the wind whispering through it's large arms. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy The morning desert is such a beautiful place & the serenity here is like nowhere else.

We continued with our work on the Hickiwan computer to-day & I took a bunch of photos around the park to begin a stock of photographs for the new Hickiwan RV Park photo files. Downloaded the Picasa photo program for Ray because it's an easy program to use & it's the same program I use for my photos. It's a free download on the internet & is connected with Google. Kelly registered the Hickiwan Trails webname to-day & to-morrow I'll start setting up a beginning website for Ray. Will use Blogger for now & at some point they can set up a more professional webpage as they progress along. Kelly is also working with Ray on some advertising, signage, & business card ideas. Ray has to get the router set-up yet to make Wifi possible, so hopefully sometime next week Hickiwan Trails will be offering wireless internet service. Until then, we are letting people use our signal & we were able to help a few more folks to-day with laptops & by answering some computer questions. Nice to feel useful:)) Also noticed the park is filling up fast as quite a few rigs came in to-day again. There are a total of 94 sites here & I would say the park is about 80% filled up.

Hickiwan Trails has full hook-ups, a spacious laundry room, well maintained washrooms & cement pads. There is a Casino here but it doesn't interfere with the campground & it's close enough to walk to. There is also a convenience store in the Casino building so it's handy for the RV people. Gas & diesel pumps as well. Why, is just up the road about a mile with gas stations, some groceries, & a little restaurant. Ajo is 10 miles north & has a supermarket, radio shack, etc. Organ Pipe Cactus National Park is a scenic 28 miles south of here & another 6 miles beyond that puts you into Lukeville at the Mexican border. There is a beautiful drive through the Ajo mountain range in Organ Pipe. Check out my pictures on December 8th & 13th in our Picasa Web Albums....http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy This is where we will do some hiking shortly.

We were going to go hiking to-morrow in Organ Pipe but we've decided to do that Saturday now. To-morrow will be kind of a repeat of to-day again. Still a few things to do with Ray's Hickiwan Trails computer & we'd like to get that finished up & get Ray on-line with his website..................................................

In the meantime........ we are just sooooooo happy to be here in the American southwest:)))))))