IN SEARCH OF THE SAGUARO FOREST

SOMEWHERE EAST OF BURROWS GAP TODAY
Oh how we wait for that welcoming sun to slip up over Black Mountain each morning and cast it’s warming rays through the frosty windows of our coach.  And, before I forget, if you look up at the moon these nights and see a bright object close to it, you are looking at the Planet, Jupiter.  The bright one low in the west is Venus.

MILES UPON MILES OF PEACEFUL TRANQUILITY
Bye 9:45 this morning we were out the door and into the Jeep heading northeast out of Ajo on the desert road called Pipeline.  Again, road is a generous term for the trails and paths that criss cross the desert’s in these parts.  Mike from MEANDERINGS OF WANDERWOLF had told us of a scenic Canyon and Saguaro Forest some 10 miles across the dry valley floor northeast of Burro Gap.   And that’s where we went.

IT’S GOING TO BE A ROCKY DRIVE ACROSS THE VALLEY FLOOR
Until we reached Burro Gap the scenery was nothing to write home about.  A lot of Mesquite scrub and a few Saguaro’s scattered about.  Very dusty, brown looking and dry.  Road was rough in places but what desert road isn’t rough.  Two mountain ranges loomed higher the further we went and we soon became aware of the increasing Saguaro Cacti.  We have seen this before in the Sonoran Desert.

The closer you get to a mountains base, the greener the desert gets.  Generally there is a slight rise in altitude but the main factor for all the green is the increase in moisture.  And that moisture comes down the mountainsides in the form of water.  Any kind of rain or snow in the mountains eventually makes it’s way to the valley floor close to the mountains base and that’s where the abundant desert growth is.

Simply speaking, the further we went, the greener it got.  I had just navigated through a large mud puddle when Kelly excitedly spotted something not often seen in the desert.  In fact it is a much sought after rarity in the Saguaro Cactus world.  Hawkeye had spotted a ‘Crested Saguaro Cactus’ about a hundred yards off the road to our right.  Only other one we have ever seen is near the front entrance of Tucson's Living Desert Museum.  The Crested Saguaro is 11 miles in on Pipeline road once you turn off #85 highway just south of Ajo at the stone cairn on the hill.  When you get in about 11 miles start watching the right shoulder of the road for an old tire laying around a small Mesquite shrub.  This is the marker for the Crested Saguaro which you will see about a hundred yards in off the road.

Noticed another curious Saguaro near the crested Saguaro so took some pics of that feller too.

  
We continued our journey until we saw the soil texture change to a lighter sandy color on a hill.  A couple of very rocky sections of road brought us up to the crest of a small rise.  We had already been driving through many Saguaros, but over this rise the terrain changed slightly and we saw a forest of Saguaros marching onward towards Coffee Pot Mountain.

 
THE SAGUARO FOREST GOES FOR MILES AND MILE
We pulled off on a small road and took a short walk marveling at the beauty of the surrounding mountains and the beauty of all the desert greenery surrounding us.  I couldn’t help but think of all the folks who will never see the beauty of these lands as we see it.

Each year we come to the southwest I am increasingly enthralled and entranced with this desert landscape.  The beauty just never ends if one opens their eyes and minds to see it.  You just never know what is over the next hill or around the next curve in the road.  A scrubby flat rocky landscape can suddenly turn into a forest of Pinion Pines, Arizona Sycamores, Fremont Cottonwood or Quaking Aspen trees.  Seemingly barren rocky outcrops can spring forth with Desert Spoons, Beaver Tail Prickly Pear Cactus, tall flowering Ocotillos, giant Saguaro and Organ Pipe Cactus or Buckhorn and Teddy Bear Cholla.  Today Kelly found a bunch of Desert Christmas Cactus as well.  Unfortunately not in bloom.

Knowing these desert trails meander forever through the desert we decided it was time to turn around and head back to Ajo.  Hadn’t gone far when we noticed a vehicle approaching us.  Soon became evident as it drew closer we were being approached by a Border Patrol vehicle.  We had kind of expected that because we knew we were on one of the main drug and people smuggling routes from Mexico up into the Phoenix area.  There are cameras and hidden ground sensors in the desert to alert the Border Patrol of any activity.  Today, we were that activity.  According to one forum we read Pipeline road is described as a hotbed of human smuggling and drug running.  The Border Patrol vehicle rolled to a stop at the side of the road.  I slowed and stopped as a uniformed young Border Patrol officer stepped out of the vehicle and approached us.  Nice fellow just checking us out and asking us a few questions like where we came from and where we were going.  He could see we were not a couple of Banditos or Desperados so the conversation was relaxed but both Kelly and I noticed the whole time he talked to us his right hand was on the butt of his gun at his hip.

BORDER PATROL WAITS FOR US TO APPROACH
We were soon on our way again bumping and jostling our way towards Ajo.  Kelly spotted two very low flying Army helicopters off to our right but they didn’t approach and flew right on by.

A FEW SLIGHT WATER HAZARDS TO TRAVERSE
By 1:30 we were in Olsen’s grocery story and I had my face buried in a hot roast been sandwich at the store’s deli Café counter while Kelly scooped some groceries.  We were home by 2 and nearly knocked silly by a couple fury wagging doggy tails.

Noticed we have 376 blog followers on the counter now but the display at the top our blog is not showing the newest ones so until that problem resolves itself I have no idea who the new folks are.  And, clicking on the ‘more’ buttons doesn’t seem to help:((

As much as we love this area on Darby Wells road west of Ajo Arizona there are a few cautions and considerations I should mention to anyone planning to boon dock in the area.  If you have pets that are frightened by loud noises this might not be the best spot.  During the week there are a lot of low and high flying jet aircraft twisting and turning in the skies above.  Occasionally the sound barrier is broken causing a loud sonic boom and the roar of jet aircraft at times is like a never ending distant thunder. 

There are a few mine pits around and it’s important to scout out your surrounding boon docking area to make sure you know where they are and keep your pets away from them.  Most are shallow and not a problem but I saw one last week that I couldn’t see the bottom.

My number one pet peeve every year though is not one that only applies to the Darby Wells area, but to just about every boon docking site or area we have ever been.  And, just not boon docking areas but general roadways as well.  It’s something that just fires my anger practically every day when I see it.  Broken glass!!!!  The closer a boon docking spot is to a local town, the more smashed beer bottles one will find.  Darby Wells is no exception.  The young locals have driven the Darby Wells loop road for years throwing their beer bottles out car windows to smash on the rocky ground and some campsites have been used as ‘party central with fire pits littered with smashed bottles, beer cans, shotgun shells, etc.  Broken glass is never picked up in the desert and it is everywhere.  It’s just a fact of life here in the beautiful southwest and it is our biggest worry for doggy paws.  We find this problem just about wherever we go and it just makes me so dam mad!!!!

Anyway, just wanted to throw out a few cautions to be aware of.  Don’t let any of them stop you from coming out to the desert though because the few negatives do not come anywhere close to all the great positives you will find out here in the natural great outdoors.

Neighbor Rick and Pheebs best Pal lady dropped by this afternoon and Rick gave us directions to a Mica Mine in the area complete with an abandoned house still standing. Said last time he was there the house still had furniture in it, so you know where we will be off to sometime in the next few days.

I just love these days of exploring and seeking out new things. What an adventure and what a great lifestyle this RVing is. We are so fortunate to have and to have had these past 5 Snow Bird years on the road. Now if we could just figure out a way to stretch the usual 5 months into maybe 10 months……or more:))

THE DISTANT AJO MOUNTAINS AS SEEN FROM EAST OF BURRO GAP TODAY (NIKON D40 AT 300mm-1/800TH OF A SECOND AT F36)
Sorry for the long post……some days my enthusiasm just carries me away……10-4:))

TONIGHT’S MOON (NIKON D40 AT 300mm-1600 ISO 1/250TH OF A SECOND AT F20 HAND HELD)
GROANER’S CORNER:((  "I'm sorry," said the clerk in flower shop, "we don't have potted geraniums. Could you use African violets instead?"
Replied the customer sadly, "No, it was geraniums my wife told me to water while she was gone."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL

THE BAYFIELD BUNCH MEETS TIOGA GEORGE:))

When I stepped out of the rig this morning with Pheebs and Motor I could see stars from horizon to horizon and that could only mean one thing.  Our previous day’s heavy cloud cover had dissipated.  With sunrise only an hour or so away I knew we were going to be in for a sunny start to the day.  The weather people had been calling for clouds and rain.

WE FIND TIOGA AND GEORGE TUCKED QUIETLY AWAY NEAR DOWNTOWN AJO
We were on a mission this morning because Kelly had noticed someone well known and well respected to the RV Blogging community had rolled quietly into Ajo the night before on his way to Mexico.

I BORROWED THIS PHOTO FROM GEORGE’S BLOG
I think Kelly’s words in Facebook today sum up our meeting with TIOGA GEORGE.  She said, “He is just what I expected. A quiet, gentle, genuine nice person.”  I couldn’t agree more with Kelly as we sat in Miss Tioga chatting with George for about half an hour this morning.  A very personable fellow indeed and if you look carefully he is one of those fellas with a quiet twinkle in his eye and a warming smile to make you feel welcome:))

A REAL GENUINE PERSONABLE FELLOW
With over 6 million hits on his Sitemeter you can see George has been around for awhile and a very popular RV Blogger.  We probably started following his site as far back as 2005.  Tioga George is a true pioneer here in Blog Land and has been the inspiration for countless Bloggers who have followed in his footsteps.  George was blogging about his RVing adventures when many of us were still wondering what RV meant.  We considered it a true honor this morning to meet the fellow who may well be considered the Granddaddy of the RV Blog world.

I WAS SO BUSY TAKING PICTURES I FORGOT TO HAVE MY OWN PICTURE TAKEN WITH GEORGE
Better get to my almost daily now, ‘corrections segment’.  In Thursday’s post I said the A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthogs) pilots were based out of Yuma but Emjay quickly corrected me saying no, those Warthogs are based at the Davis Monthan Air Base in Tucson.  I have been to the Museum section of that air base.  Second correction comes when I said Kelly was on Skype talking to Verizon.  Yes, it was Skype she was using but it was the TV satellite people at Shaw Direct she was talking too.  I have since corrected those two things.

There is a bit of confusion about my posts publishing dates.  I normally publish my blogs on the day I write them but due to our weak Verizon connection my posts can sometimes take hours to publish and that puts them into the next day.  So a post I write on the 12th may take a couple hours and publish and show up as the 13th.  I do not type in the dates….they go in automatically.

OUR RIG SITS COZILY AMONG THE TALL GREEN OCOTILLOS
Had some questions about Coyotes and Snakes while boondocking.  Coyotes are always a main concern and we are ever vigilante for them.  When choosing a boondocking spot we try to have an area of clearance and unrestrictive viewing around us so it is harder for something to sneak up close without being seen.  We never let the dogs out by themselves and if they have to go out in the night I go right out with them carrying a powerful flashlight.  While they are doing their business I am scanning the area with the light looking for any sign of two bright green eyes staring back.  We have never encountered an active snake in the 5 years here in the Southwest.  Most of them are underground in a hibernation state at this time of year but they are never far from my mind while hiking.

AFTERNOON WALK ON ONE OF THE JEEP ROADS
Wandering Willy sent us a link for a device called a Wilson Sleek.  This antennae oriented device is used for boosting a Verizon Mifi signal.  We will look into that.

PHEEBS ASLEEP ON KELLY’S LAP BESIDE THE CAMPFIRE THIS AFTERNOON
Had a comment question last night about the Border Patrol and security in this area.  Anywhere in the Southwestern States of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona or California there are a lot of Border Patrol personnel and vehicles and seeing them is commonplace.  The Border Patrol is everywhere.  You may encounter them at checkpoints on the highway, at the local grocery store, parked along lonely stretches of desert highway, having lunch at a popular restaurant or heading out into the desert on horseback, ATV, or pickup trucks.  We have been buzzed by Border Patrol helicopters while walking out in the desert near Hickiwan Trails.  The Border Patrol is a part of the community with a job to do and in many cases an integral part of a communities economy.

PARKING LOT OF OLSEN’S IGA IN AJO, ARIZONA
As far as safety goes we have never felt or been threatened at any time in our travels by any illegals moving through the area.  The last thing people coming up from Mexico want, is attention.  They will go out of their way to avoid you spotting them.  Likewise, the drug smugglers do not want to draw attention to themselves either.  I feel much safer out here in the seemingly middle of nowhere than I would in the downtown of any large city.

IT’S A SLEEPY CREW WE HAVE HERE SOME DAYS
The American Air Force was busy this morning and we had many unseen fighter jets in the sky high overhead all morning.  At 10:25 a.m. I was outside and Kelly was at the computer.  Suddenly, without warning 2 of the loudest simultaneous explosions occurred somewhere over our heads.  Those explosions were followed milliseconds later by the sounds of the original explosions echoing back from all directions as the sound waves rebounded back into the valley off the surrounding mountains.  I could hear the roar continue down the valley to the south.

OUR SIDE YARD…JUST ONE OF THE MANY GREAT PLEASURABLE ADVANTAGES OF BOONDOCKING
I’ve heard the loud crack of exploding fireworks and this was like that but a whole lot louder.  I immediately looked to the sky expecting to see a couple puffs of smoke but there was nothing.  I then scanned all around us expecting to see some smoke or dust somewhere but nothing.  I was convinced the double bang was explosives but then it occurred to me…could one of those jets high above have broken the sound barrier and what we heard was a double sonic boom.  The sound we heard was more of a crack than a boom though. 

Hearing the distant ‘pa-rump’ of heavy explosives over in the Barry M. Goldwater Range about 10 or 15 north of us is commonplace here but whatever this was, occurred much, much closer than that.  Seemed to be right overhead.  Anyway, I don’t suppose we’ll ever know but 20 minutes later a second loud bang occurred somewhere in the sky nearby.  And then the planes were gone from the sky and all was quiet once again until mid afternoon when 7 A-10 Thunderbolts (Warthogs) flew overhead heading for the Goldwater range.  Oh, and then there was the low and fast flying white helicopter that flew directly over us. 

THAT’S OUR RIG HIDING OUT ON THE LEFT AS THE CHOPPER FLY’S LOW OVERHEAD
Two new Blog Followers to day.  Welcome aboard to BSG and STEVE KEITHLEY.  Thanks for stopping by folks.

MANY SMALL WESTERN TOWNS HAVE A WHITE CROSS ON A NEARBY MOUNTAIN TOP, JUST LIKE AJO
Our black tank is ready to be dumped so we’ll be rolling out of Darby Wells in the morning.  Our intention was to head on down to the Patagonia area south of Tucson….until we checked the weather report.  That area of Tucson is known as the high desert and is over the 4000 foot elevation level.  They are getting rain and SNOW there right now so that put the ky-bosh on our plans real quick!!  We will dump our tanks at Coyote Howls in Why tomorrow & then probably slide a couple miles down the road to the 2 mile marker BLM land for a few days until the weather straightens out in Patagonia.  Well, that’s the plan for now anyway.

IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY YOU CAN SEE THE HALF MOON IN TODAY’S LATE AFTERNOON SKY
Our morning was spent packing up the rig, putting outside mats and tables away, etc.  Turned out to be a quiet afternoon with a couple leisurely walks in the desert.  Soaked up some warming Arizona sunshine and relaxed to the haunting guitar sounds of my favorite guitarist of all time, WILLIAM ACKERMAN. 

And, would you believe we had 1,124 hits on our Sitemeter today.  And why so many?  Tioga George, that’s why:))  Just goes to show what a popular and wide read fellow he is.  A good percentage of those hits on our site are a direct result of George mentioning us in his blog this morning.  Thanks for the boost George….you’re a neat-o guy:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((
A self-righteous man went to the doctor for a check-up. He said, "I feel terrible. Please examine me and tell me what is wrong."
"Let's begin with a few questions," said the doctor, "Do you drink much?"
"Alcohol?" said the man. "I'm a teetotaler. Never touch a drop."
"How about smoking?" asked the doctor. "Never," replied the man. "Tobacco is bad, and I have strong principles against it."
"Well, uh." asked the doctor, "do you have much of a sex life?"
"Oh, no," said the man. "Sex is sin. I'm in bed by 10:30 every night and I always have been."
The doctor paused, looked at the man hard, and asked, "Well, do you have pains in your head?"
"Yes," said the man. "I have terrible pains in my head."
"O.K.," said the doctor. "That's your trouble. Your halo is on too tight!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.