TWO DIFFERENT SETS OF SURPRISE RV VISITORS FROM YEARS GONE BY ARRIVE WITHIN MINUTES OF EACH OTHER

REMEMBER ME TELLING YOU LAST WEEK I WANTED TO GIVE A SAGUARO CACTUS A BIG HUG….YEP, TODAY WAS THE DAY I HAD A CHANCE TO DO JUST THAT:))

After a brief fiery sunrise we slid into a cloudy morning with an east wind ruffling up the Creosote shrubs.  Kelly took Pheebs for a walk while I waited for Old Sol to make an appearance which he did about mid morning as skies slowly began to partially clear.

IT WAS A BRIEF BUT FIERY SUNRISE

Soon as I saw sunshine on the desert floor later Pheebs and I were out the door and making our way towards a tall Saguaro cactus I had noticed about half a mile away.  I really like walking in the desert in this area.  Ground is an easy walking flat hard packed mixture of sand, clay, and fine gravel mixed with plant like grass and a number of green ground cover plants .  It is the only time I ever wish I had my bicycle.  Biking on a hard packed desert floor dodging along among the Creosote shrubs Palo Verde trees, Saguaro, Prickly Pear and Barrel Cactus is a fun and exciting thing for me and I really enjoyed doing that over at the Hickiwan Trails RV Park years ago.

A DESERT CHOLLA PLANT

IN THE CACTUS WORLD THIS IS WHAT DEAD CHOLLO BRANCHES LOOK LIKE

THE DESERT FLOOR IS COVERED IN A VARIETY OF HARDY LITTLE GREEN PLANTS

THERE ARE LOTS OF PRICKLY THINGS IN THE DESERT JUST WAITING TO SNAG THE UNWARY

We had seen a white pick-up truck with a camper on the back cruising around slowly through Gunsight Wash where we are.  Pretty soon it headed our way and pulled in.  Didn’t recognize the folks right away but soon realized it was long time readers and friends Cathie and Bob who we first met while we were in Elfrida Arizona during the 2010/11 season.  You can read of our first meeting here at, From The Cochise Stronghold To The Dragoon Springs....Jeeping All The Way.  We met Cathy and Bob at the end of this Jeeping day and it’s interesting how Bob tracked us down using Google Earth and backgrounds from my photos.  Hadn’t seen or heard from them since that time (over 8 years ago) I had wondered a few times over the years whatever became of them.  And then this morning there they were with their two terriers, Foxy and Susie Q.  Really glad they stopped by and we really enjoyed seeing and talking with them again.  A very laid back couple easy to get along with.

SOME DESERT CHATTING GOING ON HERE

 

BOB AND CATHY

SUSIE Q AND FOXY

SITTING PRETTY FOR A SNACK

PHEEBS TRYS OUT FOXY AND SUSIE Q’S TRUCK RIDING SEAT MUCH TO THE CONCERN OF THE TERRIERS

Shortly after Cathie and Bob pulled in a truck and travel trailer stopped on the road and out popped Ann and Bill whom we had first met on Darby Well Road years ago then again in the Kofa Mountains at Christmas time a few years ago where they were Park hosts.  Ann quickly pointed out something in the nearby mountains I hadn’t noticed.  The ‘Sleeping Indian Princess’ and the ‘Wagon Train’.  They were on their way to California’s Mojave National Preserve so didn’t stay long because they had a long drive ahead of them.

DO YOU SEE THE RECLINING INDIAN PRINCESS….HER HEAD IS AT THE LEFT

AND THOSE THREE NUBS ARE CALLED ‘THE WAGON TRAIN’

BILL, ANN, AND MR. GRUMBLES

ANN AND BILL’S RIG

OFF THEY GO THROUGH THE CREOSOTES HEADING FOR CALIFORNIA

Cathie and Bob stayed awhile longer and we were able to get caught up on things.  Truly nice folks and Bobs one of those fellas I could easily hang out with. 

BYE FOLKS AND THANKS FOR DROPPING BY

HOPE OUR TRAILS CROSS AGAIN

Our afternoon turned into a nice mixture of sun and cloud so Pheebs and I took off on another desert walk.  So nice to simply step out the door and head off out into the open desert.  Sixty eight degrees today with a nice breeze bringing it down into the lower 60’s.  El Perfecto:))

YES ,THOSE SAGUARO SPIINES ARE AS SHARP AS NEEDLES 

SAGUAROS

 

Reader Karen in a comment asks, “We are not long distance RV people so I'm not familiar with how things work there. Do you pay a fee to camp there in the desert? What do you do about dumping your tanks?”….. We are on BLM (Bureau Of Land Management) lands where some times fees and 14 day limits apply.  Neither one of those things are strongly enforced and in our 13 Snow Bird years we have never had to pay anything anywhere nor move within a 14 day limit.  Here in the great Southwest rules and regulations are not what they might be in the eastern States and it’s one of the things we enjoy so much out here where large chunks of freedom still remain.  No dump facilities in the desert  of course but a few miles away is the Coyote Howls East campground where tanks can be dumped and water taken on.  As a rule wherever you are camped there is an RV Park, community dump station, or a gas station somewhere in the area with dumping facilities.   Gas stations (3 gas stations with two of them being Shell) in Gila Bend) are often free as well as community dumps but RV Parks generally charge about ten dollars to dump your tanks.

HAVE ALWAYS LIKED THESE GREEN BARKED PALO VERDE TREES

THIS IS A 300mm VIEW OF OUR RIG FROM MY HUGGABLE SAGUARO AND BELOW IS A 55mm PHOTO WHICH SHOWS THE TRUE DISTANCE WE WALKED TO OUR SAGUARO

 

DESSERT OCOTILLOS WILL SOON BE TURNING GREEN AND BURST FORTH WITH BRIGHTLY RED FLOWERS

A commenter asked if Kelly takes the photos while we’re driving.  No, I take the photos and I know this causes some concerns with a few readers.  I have written about this before and will do so again here.  Never do I ever look through a viewfinder or at the back of the camera’s live view to compose a photo.  Let me emphasize the word ‘never’ and if anyone ever does that they are in grave danger of an accident.  My camera is pre-set on ‘Auto Focus’ and my lens is set to take18mm wide angle photos.  I use the full automatic setting so that I do not ever have to fiddle with any camera settings.  Also, my eyes never come off the road even for photos taken out the side window.  The camera can never be the focus of attention while driving like attention grabbers such as a radio or heater dials, GPS, smart phones, or indash computer screens.  Because I use a quality camera (Nikon D7200) I am able to later crop my photos into a usable photo.  Horizons always have to straightened and color corrected for the tinted windshield.  My 18mm lens takes a wide picture and in the editing process I am able to crop in close to the actual subject matter I had originally seen.  The photo you see may be only a small part of the overall wide angle photo I see in my editing program.  When you see a nice mountain scene for example I first have to straighten out the most often very tilted horizon and go from there to pull a reasonable photo out of a very wide angled shot.  When I see something of interest coming up I simply point my camera in the general subject direction then quickly fire off a single wide angle shot.  The time it takes to take the photo is no different than the time it takes to pick up a cup of coffee for a sip.   In a nutshell, my eyes never have to come off the road, and my attention never has to be diverted to my camera.  Let me also add something else, there is definitely a knack to doing this that takes practice and I have been doing it for years.  To sum up I will again say, never do I ever look through a viewfinder or at the back of the camera’s live view to compose a photo.  if anyone ever does that they are in very grave danger of an accident just the same as texting while driving’ where one’s attention is taken off the road ahead and totally centered onto their texting device both mentally and physically.  

GROANER’S CORNER:((  "Do you think I shall live until I'm ninety, doctor?"  "How old are you now?"  "Forty."  "Do you drink, gamble, smoke, or have you any vices of any kind?"  "No. I don't drink, I never gamble, I loathe smoking; in fact, I don't have any vices."  "Well, good heavens, what do you want to live another fifty years for?"

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- “How would you characterize really awful chicken rhymes? Paltry poultry poetry.”

- Computers are like air conditioners. They work fine until you start opening windows.

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Q: What do you call a blonde with 90% of her intelligence gone?  A: Divorced.

Q: How did the blonde try to kill the bird?  A: She threw it off a cliff.

Q: How did the blonde break her leg raking leaves?  A: She fell out of the tree.

Q: How did the blonde die drinking milk?  A: The cow fell on her.

Q: How did the blonde burn her nose?  A: Bobbing for french fries.

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