BIG WINDS BLEW THE BAYFIELD BUNCH ALL THE WAY TO YUMA

ROLLING THROUGH THE IMPERIAL SAND DUNES
When I'm able to start a blog off without mentioning the word 'wind' several times in the first paragraph you  will know we have progressed from wind blown RV'ers to Happy Campers.
The winds never let up all night so it was cramped quarters again with the slides pulled in & we only put the larger slide out part way when we got up.  The wind chill factor probably had the temps down in the low to mid 40's somewhere as I struggled to disassemble the large oval shaped elliptical satellite dish.  The wind wanted to dump me & the satellite right into the middle of next week somewhere.  Not nice outside!!  As much as we love Borrego Springs we were happy to be on the road this morning as we pulled out onto highway S22 heading east.  This now marks the first leg of our looooong slow journey home.  Or, it may be faster than we expected!!

THE SUN REFLECTS OFF THE SALTON SEA'S SOUTHERN END AS WE HEAD EAST
There was another reason for changing our Joshua Tree plans yesterday.  No internet or cell phone coverage in that park & we weren't sure if there was any on Box Canyon road leading there either.  It's important right now that we have cell phone & internet service because a couple of things have taken place in the past week that require us to be in touch with family.  Kelly's 91 year old Dad was admitted to hospital near Rochester NY late last week & my 93 year old Uncle Harry was taken to the Woodstock Ontario hospital by ambulance a few days ago.  Both guys are holding their own but at that age & stage of life things can turn from bad to worse pretty quick.  We are presently boondocked about 10 or 15 miles northwest of Yuma on Ogilby Road with good internet & cell phone. 
First stop after leaving Borrego this morning was the big new Arco station at the junction of S22 & highway 86.  For any RV'ers in the area this is a great all in one stop.  They have 13  free dump stations, 2 fresh water locations, multiple diesel & gas pumps plus propane, laundry & shower facilities.  Lots of pavement to move the big rigs around & there are some groceries inside Kelly said.  The propane gal came out in a golf cart & gave Kelly a ride back to the cashier's counter.  Stay on the pavement though because the gravel areas are bomb cratered.
 
GAS, PROPANE, & DIESEL
The winds were blowing from the northwest today so we basically had a tailwind all the way.  We have been this quiet route a couple times before & much prefer it to I-8.  Went right through the Imperial Sand Dunes & the desert RV, ATV, & Dirt Bike community of Glammis.  Last time we went through here a little over a year ago these huge sand dunes were alive with dune buggies, etc.  Saw 3 riders today & that was it.
click to enlarge
  
OUR NEW DIGS ON OGILBLY RD NORTHWEST OF YUMA
Last time we were in this area we spent Christmas here.  We didn't go back to the same site we had in December of 08 because recent heavy rains have made a bit of a mess on American Girl Mine Road.  We are about a mile northwest of our old site.  If you type in Ogilby Road or Tumco Mine it might take you to our blogs from that time.

Very few rigs here compared to our last time her so we didn't have a problem finding a spot.  Snuggled ourselves up alongside a row of 30' Mesquite trees & that has offered us a bit of respite from the still howling non stop southwest winds.  In Borrego we had no protection whatsoever but here we've got a wee bit of shelter.  I sat outside for awhile just listening to the wind in the trees.  Music to my ears.  Will still have to pull the living room slide in tonight though because that is the side where the wind is beating on us.  We have 4 out of 4 green Verizon bars & that's without having to use our Wilson antennae too.
Our little Motormouse is not happy with this site because within minutes of setting up, an F/A-18 Hornet streaked over the Motorhome with a loud roar & scared the ba-jeebers out of our little mouse.  I knew right away from it's markings that it was from the flying aerobatic team, THE BLUE ANGELS.  I wonder if they train in this area.  It was only a single plane & I watched it for a bit practicing aerobatics.  Our poor little Motormouse was inside shaking like a leaf under my bed.
                                             
A LONE BLUE ANGEL F/A-18 HORNET (click to enlarge)
No idea how long we'll stay here.  Just playing things by ear right now waiting to see how the fellas in the hospital are going to make out.  Either one or both of them could be back home within days......or maybe not.  We'll stay close to our phones & computers in the meantime.
4 PM temps outside now are 66F with wind chills in the 50's.  Yuma is 10F below normal & the weatherman is calling for mid 80's stuff next week with winds dissipating beginning tomorrow.  Now, how's that for a good old Canadians weather report eh:))

MAX & CHECKERS ON PATROL
GROANER'S CORNER:((  And remember this because it is important......... 'Never, under any circumstances, combine a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.'
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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

MOVING DAY.......BUT NOT TOO FAR

MOVED TO OUR NEW SITE TO-DAY

The site we were camped at just off Ogilby Road was ok, but since taking a liking to the area over this past week we decided to look for a better spot & stay longer. It's a big area with lots of wide open spaces to park so we drove around in the car this morning looking for our next newest campsite. Spent about an hour & put on about 20 dusty miles driving up & down rough gravel roads through gulley washes, up dry creek beds, around tight turns & through thickets of creosote shrubs. Finally, we found ourselves a nice quiet spot.........about 500 yards from where we started out!! We had actually walked through this area last week but had forgotten about it. Oh well, it was a nice way to spend an hour & see other parts of the desert we wouldn't normally have seen. TAKING ON A LOAD OF PROPANE AT PILOT KNOB

We are into our 11th boondocking day & figured we'd better get some tanks dumped, take on some fresh water & pick up some propane. Packed up the motorhome, took down the solar panels, loaded up the doggy guys & headed back towards Yuma to a place called Pilot Knob where a Shell Service Station alongside Interstate-8 had dump facilities, water & propane. Didn't take us long to get our business taken care of & we were on the road again heading back to Ogilby Road & our new campsite. Picked up the car on the way by our old campsite. Our new site has a few trees nearby & is more private than our other site where we had a 5th wheel parked about a quarter mile to the south of us. This spot just felt more like home & already had a big firepit in place. Took the bicycles off the motorhome for the first time & had us a short ride around the rig. Yep, feels like home alright. Nearest visible neighbors are about three quarters of mile north of us. That is an acceptable distance for boondockers:)) We'll keep our fingers crossed that no one moves in between us & causes an overcrowding situation!! STRANGE PLACE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT

Yesterday after leaving the Tumco mining town site we drove north on Ogilby road about 10 miles & hung a right turn onto a gravel road leading off into the desert. We had heard there was petrified wood up this road plus a narrow canyon. The area was called, Indian Pass. Drove for quite awhile but the mountains just seemed to be getting further away so decided to turn back. Just as we did we noticed another short road leading to some kind of open air structure. It was odd to see something man made out here in the middle of nowhere. We cautiously drove in to what almost looked like a lemonade stand. Very odd. Then we spotted what looked like some kind of tent & large open wooden structure built in a wide circle around a single tree. The only tree we had seen out here for miles & miles. Shut the car down & got ourselves out for a look see. Bags of garbage had been torn apart by some animals, full water bottles laying on the ground, tables set up & a small sheltered cooking area complete with two pots on a grill. One pot was empty & the other one had a lid on it. Carefully lifted the lid & peered in. Looked to me like it might have been some kind of stew at one time but it was covered in mold. Very strange I thought. Everything was set up as if people had just been there minutes before, but mold in the large pot suggested no one had been here for a long time. We hollered a couple "hellos" at the tent across a gravely wash, but no response. Slowly approached the tent area & noticed a low semi-circle stone wall around a large deep firepit. Just beyond that was some kind of tent affair made out of tarps, old blankets, & just about whatever else could be thrown over the frame. Some of the blankets & pieces of material had slipped down & we could see inside as we approached. Nobody there. Stuck my camera in an opening & snapped a picture. Just a pile of stones in the middle. We walked around the site trying to figure out what this was all about. Valuable tools, like axes & picks were scattered about on the ground. Some tools were stood up against the shallow stone wall. Another tent like structure had been under construction with all the wooden branches carefully lashed to-gether with binder twine & rope. A very large circular structure made out of trees & limbs completely ringed the single tree. This was a large area & reminded me of a smaller version of Stonehenge, only in wood. Best way to describe all this is for you to have a look at the pictures I took while we were there.... http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
Maybe an alien spaceship came down & beamed everybody up..................................................A STRANGE CIRCULAR WOOD STRUCTURE

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