YUP, WE GIDDY UPPED TO WIKIEUP….WITH A STOP AT BURROW CREEK

 

SUNRISE FROM MY BEDROOM WINDOW ON LEFT & LIVING ROOM WINDOW AT RIGHT

The Jeeps dusty wheels hit the Ghost Town Road pavement about 8:35 this morning & less than 10 minutes later we swung north on the JOSHUA TREE PARKWAY heading for a funny sounding little place by the name of WIKIEUP Arizona, 65 miles away.

It was only about 3 or 4 miles north of the highway 71 interchange that we spotted our first Joshua Tree.  One here, a couple over there, & soon enough they were everywhere.  My mind races thinking, ‘hmmmm, wonder how could we get about a dozen of those big trees in the Jeep for our yard’.  Illegal of course, plus we had Pheebers in the back, so no room:))

This is a nice stretch of 2 & mainly 4 lane highway winding easily & climbing gently through the Hualapai Mountains and Aquarius Cliffs.  Traffic was light as we enjoyed the 20 & 30 miles vistas from mountain top to mountain top.  We had heard of a campground at Burrow Creek so that was our first stop. 

OUR FIRST VIEW OF THE BURROW CREEK CAMPGROUND

Hard to miss this one if you know where the big bridge is.  And, you have to know where big bridge is because you have to cross it.  The BURROW CREEK CAMPGROUND, visible from atop the bridge, lies at the base of a road on the bridges southwest side.  Easier to see the bridge from the Burrow Creek campground than it is to see the Burrow Creek campground from the bridge. 

 

Nice tucked away campground on the banks of water filled Burrow Creek.  To have water in any kind of river or creek at this time of year in the south-west is definitely not the norm.  I was surprised at how many spacious sites were here.  And, each one with picnic table & shelter.  This is a well maintained, clean, & scenic campground which I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to anyone.  No electricity or water at the sites but the full size modern washrooms are all spic n span.  Outside water taps for refilling buckets & drinking water fountains.  We saw big blue Herons cruising up & down the river among the large Sycamore & Cottonwood trees.  Didn’t see any burros but we saw evidence of them along a nearby walking trail heading to the river.  And, here’s the best part….there were only two RV’s in the whole place.  Now, how nice is that for peace & quiet along with big starry nights:))

ONE OF ONLY 2 RV’S IN THE WHOLE CAMPSITE

   

CLEAN WASHROOMS WITH ANIMAL PROOF TRASH DISPOSAL

Had myself an annoying little camera problem here which I didn’t realize until after we had left.  Third time this has happened but the exposure compensation feature on my Nikon D90 somehow changed itself from my programed –1.0 underexposed setting to - 4.0. underexposed, making my Burrow Creek photos very dark.  I have no idea what is occasionally causing this problem but I was able to salvage & restore them to a usable state using my Picasa photo editing program.

 

FROM THIS……………………… TO……………….THIS

COLORFUL SYCAMORE & COTTONWOOD TREES ALONG BURROW CREEK

Breezed into Wikieup shortly after 10.  Not a lot there & anything & everything is located right along both sides of the highway for about mile.  Made a U turn at a historical marker on the town’s northern edge & worked our way slowly back.

JUST A FEW MORE MILES TO WIKIEUP

 

OUR FIRST GLIMPSE OF WIKIEUP

AN OBVIOUSLY SECRETIVE & DANGEROUS TITAN MISSILE BASE AT WIKIEUP’S NORTH END LEFT OVER FROM THE COLD WAR DAYS IN THE EARLY 60’S

Had a little time to kill so drove through & stopped at the HIDDEN OASIS RV PARK.  It is evident right from the time you drive in that a lot of work is going on here at the office center by some very hard working & landscape knowledgeable people.  Palm trees, small pond complete with real birds, bubbling waters & a big smiley metal mouthed Alligator.  Lots of newly planted shrubs & colorful flowers.  A recently cemented wide pathway leads to the top of a man-made dirt & rock waterfall.  This pathway is lined with flowers, shrubs & a well constructed fence type railing.  Nice to hear water running down the rocks to a small garden where birds are again gathered around a small circulating pond.  A large Quonset looking metal building which Kelly said was really nice inside.  Small restaurant, bake & gift shop.  Sincerely hope this place does well because it looks like a labor of love to me where someone has taken a dream & is in the process of turning it into a successful RV Park venture.  My guess it that it was an older RV Park that someone has bought & is bringing things up to speed with their own creative imagination.

 

  

Main reason we had come to Wikieup other than a change of pace from working on our house, was Joe’s place.  Kelly had heard about & read on line about an eatery that has become known far & wide not only for it’s uniqueness but it’s BBQ food as well. The outside is not exactly your well manicured & pristine looking Cracker Barrel, but these dusty little out of the way southwest towns & places are why we like it here so much.  If we hadn’t heard of Joe’s BBQ reputation though, we might just have breezed right on by.  But, we had heard, so in we went.

 

HAD A FEELING THIS WAS A MUSICALLY ORIENTED PLACE

EAT AT JOE'S BBQ is a ‘no frills’ kind of place & has made TRIP ADVISOR & the ARIZONA HIGHWAYS magazine.  It’s not glitzy, it’s not fitzy, & it’s not foo foo.  Just one moderately sized room with picnic type tables & sound equipment set up for live music in one corner.  No baked Lobster tails in marinated Louisiana shrimp sauce sautéed over simmering Columbia Clams & Oregon Oyster broth in the half shell here.  No Sireeeee!!  Joe himself was at one end of the room busy with his laptop while Rose, Joe’s friendly wife, looked after our BBQ needs.  Minutes after sitting down we were knee deep in BBQ delights.

THAT’S JOE HIMSELF OVER THERE BEHIND THE COMPUTER

 

SMILING ROSE CHECKS US OUT

Kelly had a baby back rib sandwich while I had a pulled pork & brisquet sandwich.  Sides of beans, cole slaw, & fries.  And yup, I did it again!!!!!!  Enough good food their for my teenage stomach alright….if I still had a teenage stomach.  My Senior tummy struggled to clean up my plate & I nearly had to be lifted into the Jeep.  Oh, forgot to mention the big chocolate ice cream cone I got before leaving……………Sure didn’t have any room for any supper tonight but I sure did have room for a big glass of the best tasting stuff in the whole world….. ‘Pumpkin Spice Eggnog.  Ohhhhhh, woe is me:((

CHECK OUT THE MENU’S SOUP OF THE DAY >>>

When we entered Joe’s BBQ, Jimi Hendrix was filling the air with, ‘All Along The Watchtower’ & when we left, Joe Walsh ushered us out the door with his great mesmerizing ‘Rocky Mountain Way’ guitar licks.  BBQ Joe is a big Joe Walsh fan.  Both those tunes have always been on my all time old memory lane favorites list.  Now, how groovy is that for a lot of us older hippy types eh.

THAT WHITE BODIED GUITAR IS A FENDER STRATOCASTER & THE BASS AT FAR RIGHT IS A RARE FENDER K SERIES

Uneventful drive back to Congress.  Just sat back & enjoyed all the marvelous Arizona scenery going by.  A quick stop at the Post Office & we rolled through our gates at 12:40.  Just in time to get into my recliner for a few much needed zzzzzzz’s:))

ONE OF PHEEBS FAVORITE SPOTS IN THE HOUSE…FROM HERE ON KELLY’S BED, SHE CAN KEEP AN EYE ON ME IN THE LIVING ROOM & KELLY TO HER LEFT IN KELLY’S OFFICE…TOOK THE 300mm PHOTO FROM MY RECLINER

Thought I had made it through the day without transplanting any Cactus…..until I saw some Cactus I had planted Wednesday, laying on top of the ground looking a bit nibbled.  Awwww Nuts….Rabbits!!!!  For sure, Pheebs is going to have to spend more time on Bunny patrol.

WHAT??

Thanks to long time reader Phil in Phoenix for his tip on what might be our next day trip, ROBSON'S RANCH & MINING CAMP.  That’s not too far from us at all.

THIS MORNINGS HALF MOON TAKEN FROM OUR FRONT YARD >>>

GROANER’S CORNER:)) The new Ensign was assigned to subs, where he'd dreamed of working since a young boy. He was trying to impress the Master Chief with his expertise learned in Submarine School.
The Master Chief cut him off quickly and said, "Listen, it's real simple. Add the number of times we dive to the number of times we surface. Divide that number by two. If the result doesn't come out even, don't open the hatch."

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