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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THE OLD TUMCO MINING TOWNSITE

THE HOSPITAL WALLS

Always amazes me how the temperatures can vary so much in just a matter of feet. On the south side of the rig where the sun is shining it's warm enough for short sleeves but if you walk around to the other side of the motorhome, you have to put a sweater or coat on or your gonna be cold. Guess that tells me the daytime desert air is cool but the sun's rays are warming. It's a lot like our early spring days in Ontario.

We headed off for the short drive to the old abandoned gold mining town of Tumco about 4 miles up Ogilby road. It's a short half mile bumpity drive along a gravely stone road to the trailhead & just a few minutes walk to the townsite. There are no buildings left here, only some stone foundations, a cellar, some stucco & stone walls, a cemetery, a few concrete pieces & thousands & thousands of rusting cans & various pieces of metal. Tumco was a mining boom town in the 1890's with about 500 people & the only thing that stirs here now is the wind coming in off the dry California desert. http://www.desertusa.com/colorado/hedges_tumco/du_hedged.html

THE TOWN'S CEMETERY

We spent the best part of 3 hours walking the mile or so around where the townsite had been. The mine itself was further back at the base of the Cargo Muchacho Mountains. Tried to imagine what it would have been like here over a hundred years ago on a typical Saturday morning in the month of December just before Christmas. Men probably worked the mine 7 days a week & the townsfolk would have been busy with their company stores, social clubs, local saloon, many houses & hospital. Hard to imagine all the hustle & bustle as I stood at the cemetery site overlooking where the town used to be. We noticed there didn't seem to be any kind of life here at all now. No birds, no animals, few trees, & no sounds. Only the wayward wind. And 28 stony grave sites. 4 LARGE CYANIDE VATS

It was particularly interesting standing at the site & walking down into the cellar of the place called, The Miner's Club. This was a saloon complete with billiard & pool tables where miners played, drank, roughhoused, & spent time with the ladies. As I stood in the basement with all it's old rusting tin cans & bits of forgotten memories I tried to imagine the carryings on of the all the characters just above me in the wild saloon on a rollicking Saturday night. The drinking, the fights, the guns, the laughter, the girls, the carousing & the shenanigans. This was probably quite a place in it's day. IN THE BASEMENT OF THE MINER'S CLUB SALOON

The largest man made structures still remaining are the 4 huge metal cyanide tanks up on a hillside. Weak solutions of cyanide were used in the mining process to separate the ore from the gold. Those tanks are slowly disintegrating now & have been filled with clay but we were able to walk through them & marvel at the heavy timbers the tanks were sitting on. I always find it difficult to understand how people did things years ago without all the wonders of modern technology & machinery. If only we could enter a time capsule & travel back to those times to see how they lived. I always find historical things fascinating, so to-day was not only a good learning experience, it was also a good day for getting some much needed exercise. OUR CHIEF SCROUNGER

From the Tumco site we headed further up Ogilby Road looking for another road we heard led back into a canyon. We didn't find the canyon but we found another curious site in the desert. I'll save that for to-morrow's blog.

We were back to the rig by 3 & I kicked back in the lounge chair for a little solar delight. Kelly built a campfire later & we had some steaks on the barbie until the sun began to set & then it was quickly inside as the desert air temperatures plunged rapidly. It was the end of another fine day.....................

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YUMA.....WE'RE KINDA GETTING TO LIKE THIS PLACE

THIS WAS ONCE A PERSON'S HOME

We are only a half mile from a busy mainline double tracked railroad, but the heavy freight train whistles have never bothered us. Something about their mournful sound far off in the night seems re-assuring. Something about trains in a lot of us I guess.

Our morning walk brought us across a scene that was familiar to us. Scattered clothes, boots, suitcases, toothbrush, books, old cans, a rumpled sleeping bag, collapsed tent, etc. The remnants of a once living & breathing human being, scattered about on the desert floor. I find it always sad to think that what I'm looking at is the end of a person's way of life........ or perhaps their very life itself. Who the person was or where they have gone we'll never know, but what they left behind will remain in my mind for a long time. And the photos I took as well. THE SCATTERED REMAINS OF SOMEBODY'S LIFE

Decided to do the old mining town hike on Saturday morning instead of to-day. We were out of bananas, low on milk, & getting low on dog food so it was off to Yuma this morning. Seems odd to be way out here in the dusty wind swept desert & then a short 20 minutes later we're in the Yuma Palms Mega shopping Mall with huge palm trees, pansies & snap dragons in manicured flowerbeds. It's a crazy world I tell ya. I refused to go back to that IGA grocery store with the horribly loud Mexican music so we managed to find us a Wal-Mart Super Center not far from the Yuma Palms Mall.

The State Line between Arizona & California runs right through the west end of Yuma along the Colorado River. On the Arizona side the time might be 10 a.m. & a few inches away on the California side, the same time is 11 a.m. By the same token, we got gas in Arizona to-day for $1.59 a gallon & if we had crossed the state line into California, that same amount gas would have cost us $2.19 a gallon. Also, upon entering California, every vehicle is required to stop at an Agricultural check point & could be searched for citrus, fruits or vegetables because of potential bugs or something coming into the State. At least that's what we think it's for. And they wonder where all the Government money goes!! Yep, crazy world alright!!

We were back to the rig by 2 & unloaded the 650 bags of groceries. Ok, well at least it seemed like that many. Had an unexpected little visitor this afternoon. We always leave our door wide open & sure enough, a tiny hummingbird flew into the motorhome this afternoon. Poor little fellow couldn't figure out why he couldn't just keep on going through the big windshield, so I quietly explained things to him & not to worry. He placed his trust in me, sat in my hand while I carefully cupped him with my other hand & then gently moved him to the open window, wished him well & he was free once again. He was a happy little guy because I could here him humming contentedly to himself as he winged his way off in the direction of the distant mountains.

OUR LITTLE VISITOR

Stretched out later on the lounge chair & soaked up some sun shine. Watched 3 border patrol vehicles whiz by & head off into the desert. Yep, life goes on...........ME & MY LITTLE SUPER PAL, MOTORMOUSE......... CATCHING SOME RAYS

I've uploaded a few photos to an album to-night.

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SOOOOOO NICE TO SEE THE BIG OLD CALIFORNIA SUN

AN OLD MINING DUMP TRUCK

Well, lucky for me the rains had stopped, the big bad gray clouds had blown away, & the temperatures were on the rise first thing this morning. No need for the shovel!!

The past 2 & a half days here at the Ogilby Road site had been cold, cloudy, & rainy so I kind of had it in my head to move on this morning & put this gloomy area behind us. Figured we'd head up into the Slab City area. However, that was not the same plan Kelly had in her head. "Why leave now when the weather has turned nice," she said. Well, I guess she had a point so I had to get to work re-arranging my thought process for the day.

Up until now we hadn't used our solar panels, so once it was determined that we were going to remain here for a bit I scooted up on the roof & set about putting the panels up. Last time I had put those panels up we were over in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico near Elephant Butte State Park. That would have been back around the beginning of March. The panels went up fine without any problems. I THINK THIS IS A PETRIFIED ALIEN'S HEAD

The sun felt so good after the past few days that we just kicked back in our lounger chairs & soaked up some serious solar until about 11. GOLD CREEK RANCH MINING MEMORABELIA

This area is ripe with old gold, copper, & ore mines so we took a drive back up into the foothills on some of the old mining roads. About 4 miles north of here is the site of an old gold mining town by the name of Tumco so we hope to slip up there maybe to-morrow & have us a look around. In the same area we did see a sign pointing down a dusty gravel road saying, Gold Rock Ranch, so we headed off in search of it. Turned out to be an RV & Mobile Home Park complete with a small museum. Many old rusty mining artifacts, WW2 memorabilia from the area & a few old trucks which I took some photos of. They even have a website...http://www.goldrockranch.us One of those quaint little places out in the middle of nowhere. THIS TRUCK PROBABLY HAULED A LOT OF ROCKS IN IT'S DAY

Back to the rig around 2 & spent the rest of the day just soaking up some more good old California sunshine & doing some domestic chores around the rig. We're kinda getting to like this area so will probably stay for a bit & do some day trips, but first we'll have to dump some tanks & take on fresh water at a Shell Station over at Pilot Knob about 5 or 6 miles from here. Probably going to have to do that to-morrow.

Nice night with lots of stars & I can see the glow of Yuma on the other side of the Cargo Muchachos Mountains. On the distant horizon to the southwest are the miles & miles of shimmering lights which I assume are between Yuma & the Mexican border crossing point of Algodones. The desert nights of the American southwest have a clarity all their own & for a fellow like myself with an interest in Astronomy, it's a very special place.......................

CONFINED TO THE BOX:((

MOUNTAIN RAINS IN THE DESERT

Traveling east & west across the continent always involves time changes. If it's done slow enough, the mind & body adjust accordingly.....sort of!! About 15 miles east of us is the Arizona/California State line & that marks our third time change since leaving home. We finally remembered to adjust our clocks ahead one more hour yesterday, so early this morning our slow adjusting body clocks told us it was the usual 5:30 a.m. getting up time. One glance at our recently adjusted time pieces slammed us with the reality that it was, in effect....4:30 A.M. !!!!!!! To add insult to misery, rain was beating against the windows & the rig was being rocked by heavy wind gusts. Awwwwww nuts...........it was going to be a loooooooooooooooooooooong day confined to the box:(((((((

Two tired adults & 3 bored dogs in an 8x33 foot motorhome on a cold, windy, & rainy day somewhere out in the sandy & rock strewn Sonoran desert in the month of December has been quite a test of tolerance to-day..........for Kelly & the dogs of course!! Temps only got up into the low 50's & the wind chill factor drove them back down into the 40's. However, all we had to do was click on to our laptop's Canadian weathermap to put things into perspective & make us realize how truly fortunate we really were to be where we are. They are having an absolutely dreadful winter back home.

ARE WE GOING HOME SOON DAD??

The Yuma weather station called this cold wet weather here a very rare weather disturbance. I think the weather Gods somehow knew the Bayfield Bunch was in the area.

Several things got us through the day. We are soooooo glad we went with the Verizon Air Card in Silver City NM when we did. We have had an internet connection ever since arriving in this area Monday afternoon & being on-line to-day was a real lifesaver. With this heavy cloud cover our previous satellite system may not have worked at all & the gusting winds would have been playing havoc with the dish. We are very happy campers with our Verizon set up as we both alternated on the computer all day. I spent a couple hours on the website making some changes. Took me about 5 minutes to totally screw things up & the next hour & fifty five minutes having to re-do the whole thing again.

The clarity of our flat screen television has been another positive thing. We are picking up 10 clear stations with just our antennae. Too bad 7 of those channels are in Spanish!! Our Sirius/XM satellite radio was another good decision a few years ago. We can pick up news channels as well as non stop favorite music channels & all of the above make a tough & cooped up day in the motorhome much more bearable. However, Kelly just informed me that if it's raining in the morning when we get up she is going to need the shovel to dig a 3x6 foot hole about 6 feet deep. Hmmmmm, wonder what my wonderful dear wife has in mind for me.................. I'm sure it will be something nice:)))) I just uploaded the past 3 days photos to a new album.

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LOTSA CHOPPERS, SOME RAIN, & A SHORT BLOG

A COBRA ATTACK HELICOPTER

The heavy cloud cover & periodic light rain showers made for a milder morning than is usually the case in the desert. No wind so it didn't feel too bad as we took the guys for a walk between drizzles. MAYBE A BLACKHAWK, BUT A READER THINKS IT COULD BE A HUEY 205 OR 212

Headed the 15 miles or so back down I-8 to Yuma looking for a large mall we had seen from the Interstate a couple days ago. The Yuma Palms is at the city's west end has just about every kind of store there. We popped into a Pet Smart, Verizon, Best Buy, Circuit City, & Cracker Barrel. I liked the Cracker Barrel one best:)) Slipped further into town & checked out a Radio Shack & an Alltel antennae store. Needed some groceries so headed into an IGA. Sure was glad to get out of that store though. Really LOUD Mexican music with accordions & stuff. Arrrrrggghhh!!!!! Fingernails on a chalkboard would have sounded better than that!! DON'T KNOW WHAT THESE CHOPPERS ARE

We were back to the rig by 1:30 & that was just about it for the day. Didn't do much of anything for the rest of the afternoon. The cloud cover hung in there with bits of rain now & again. We had a lot of helicopters coming & going from the Marine base in Yuma. Saw 4 different types of helicopters traveling in various groups. Cobra Attack choppers, Blackhawks, & Sea Knights I think. Don't know what the 4th kind was. Anyway, gave me something to do...........run outside when I heard the choppers coming, snap a few pics & run back inside again. Pretty exciting day huh............and maybe the shortest blog of ever for AL:)) A COBRA & A BLACKHAWK TRAVELING TO-GETHER

No photos for the album to-day

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WORRIED ABOUT THE CAR WHEELS ALL NIGHT

CALIFORNIA SUNRISE WEST OF YUMA

I worried all night about the car's front wheels. When we rolled into the Pilot Knob area on Sunday we were aware that we had to be careful about where to drive on the hard packed sand. RV tracks were visible where rigs stuck to main roads & we could also see ruts where people had become stuck. Picked an area that looked solid & made a wide sweeping left turn with car in tow. I could feel the sand getting a little soft & as I checked my driver's mirror I was shocked to see the car's wheels were not tracking straight like they usually do. Instead, the front wheels were being pulled sideways through the soft sand. I quickly straightened out the motorhome & noticed the car's front wheels then came into line & appeared ok. Shut everything down & that's where we stayed for the night. Wheels looked ok but decided not to unhook the car until this morning. Why have a good night's sleep when I can lay awake & worry about the wheels all night eh!!

Windy this morning & cold. We stayed inside doing a bunch of computer stuff & free Verizon/Skype phone calls. Had to leave our blue flame heater running until we were ready to pull out. Un-hooked the car, started it up, put it into gear & eased out the clutch expecting nasty metal grinding sounds from the wheels, but it was ok. Moved the car around to the front of the motorhome waiting for the steering wheel to start jerking or a wheel to come off, but nothing happened. Could it be we had dodged another bullet. Kelly then hopped into the car as I followed her out of the desert sand to the small paved road & away we went. Kept waiting for her to pull over with wheel problems but we made it to the Interstate & away we went to our next camping location about 8 miles away. She said it drove perfectly, with no problems. Only thing I can figure is that the shallow ruts the motorhome's wheels made in the sand were enough to somehow cause the front wheels on the car to become dis-oriented in the ruts & get themselves out of line. In retrospect, we should probably have un-hooked the car before motoring through that sandy area. Lesson learned!!

Our new location is on Ogilby Road just a short 8 miles or so from Pilot's Knob. It's another free area & much better than where we were. It's a hard packed rocky gravel surface so no problems with tricky sand. We have trees & shrubs here with mountains close by. Only about 5 other rigs visible so we've got lots of room again for the doggy guys. Gathered up some firewood & built a firepit but the wind picked up & we retreated inside to stay warm. Finally saw some sun around 3 but the wind still made going out too cold.

BUILDING A FIRE PIT AT OUR NEW OGILBY ROAD SITE

We have Verizon coverage here with 3 green bars. Not quite as good as the 4 bars we had over at Pilot's Knob. Everything still works pretty good, but slower, except for our Skpe phone which just doesn't have a strong enough Verizon signal to work well. Television signal is really clear & we get about 7 channels with 4 of them being Spanish. As long as we have an internet connection we are happy campers.

Will probably take the car & head back into Yuma to-morrow morning for groceries & a little browsing.....

And a word to fellow RV'ers about RV.NET while I'm thinking about it......We belong to an RV site on the web called, RV.NET http://www.rv.net/forum/ RV.NET is a super great website & has been beneficial for us time & time again. It is made up of countless RV'ers from all over the continent with a wealth of RV information that is priceless. No matter what RV related problem you have there are people out there willing to help. Kelly reads the forum most everyday & whenever we have a problem she posts it on the website & literally within minutes sometimes people are on-line trying to help. These people are the experts, they are the ones living in their rigs, driving the highways, using the campgrounds, visiting the attractions, & living the RV life first hand. Prime example of people not only talking the talk, but walking the walk. We highly recommend other RV'ers get themselves onto these forums, not only to receive help when they need it, but to give help as well.CLICK ON THE PICS TO MAKE THEM BIGGER

No photo album to-day but the few pics I did take I will add to the next photo upload maybe to-morrow.

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FROM THE SHORELINE TO THE DUST BOWL

SUNRISE ON MITRY LAKE, ARIZONA

The early bird gets the worm probably means the same thing as the early fisherman gets the fish. And so it was about 5 o'clock this morning as pick-up trucks towing clanking old boat trailers started rolling in to Mitry Lake on the bump infested & dusty road right beside us 20 feet away from our motorhome!!

Beautiful sunrise over the peaceful lake as the squawking sounds of the duck like coots rippled through the air. The splash of solitary fish & the flocks of snowy egrets across the lake reminded me I was standing out there on the shoreline.......... in my pajamas. In my rush to get some snowy egret photos I had rushed out the door & hadn't bothered to get dressed. To add insult to embarrassment, I didn't get any snowy egret photos either:((

Took the dogs for a walk around the area & climbed a nearby rocky hill for a few overlook photos. It's a very scenic area but I wonder what it will look like after they kill the vegetation along the shoreline road. EARLY MORNING FISHERMEN ON MITRY LAKE

Because of the car & people traffic going by on the road we decided to head out of the area & find us a new site west of Yuma. Checked our maps & boondocking books plus some boondocking info on the computer & headed off for a place called, Pilot Knob. Sunday morning meant light traffic going through Yuma & before long we were about 15 miles west of the city & exiting the Interstate as Sidewinder Road for a look at Pilot Knob. A paved road ran parallel to the interstate on the south side & a number of RV's were scattered about on the south side of the road. We headed west down that road until we saw a few more RV's & pulled off onto the sandy & hopefully hard packed desert floor. Found us an ok spot with nobody close by. Lots of room for the furry guys to run around & not bother anybody. It's kind of an unwritten rule amongst boondockers that you don't bother or crowd other people by pulling in close to them & we always respect that. Boondockers are a different breed of people from other RV'ers who prefer the more crowded RV Parks. We just prefer to go our own way, do our own thing, & not bother anyone else along the way.

There is a large U.S. Marines Airborne base in Yuma & we can see Marine helicopters heading back & forth to their gunnery range in the Chocolate Mountains over to-wards Niland, California. It was last year around this time when we were in Slab City that I saw gunfire coming out of the night sky on that gunnery range. It was quite a light show.

IT'S THE CACTUS SHADOW MAN AT THE DUST BOWL

To-morrow we'll head west again & probably up into the Salton Sea area. Supposed to be lots of free BLM areas around there so we'll see what we can find. Would be nice to find a spot we like & just stay for awhile. We'll see.................................

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WEST TO YUMA & NORTH TO MITRY LAKE

SOME DESERT CATTLE FENCING

Based on the weather reports last night & this morning we decided to pull up stakes & head for Yuma. Weatherman had wind warnings for northern Arizona so we knew that would filter down to our area for sure. Don't want to be out on the Interstate on big windy days. Chance of possible rain plus an unsettled weather week ahead too. Figured if bad weather was coming in we would be better off closer to Yuma where we could at least slip into town on boring rainy days & mix it up with the local shoppers if we had to. A GREAT BOONDOCKING SITE NEAR PAINTED ROCK, ARIZONA

We were on the road by 10 & climbed aboard Interstate 8 heading west about 15 minutes later. We immediately ran into some heavy wind gusts & some blowing dust so figured we were going to be in for it, but 20 minutes later the winds & dust were gone. Don't know where they went.....they just went!! OUR NUMBER ONE DESERT DOG BOY

Rolled into the eastern end of Yuma around 11:45 & headed for a mall on the south side that had a Fry's Grocery Store. Kelly slipped in for some stuff & I headed for a Subway Shop next door to do a little stuffing myself. We really noticed how much warmer it was in Yuma & I could feel a lot of humidity in the air compared to the desert we had just left on the other side of the Castle Dome Mountains to the east.

A fellow RV'er we had met at City of Rocks State Park awhile back had drawn us up a detailed map of where to find some free camping on BLM lands called Mitry Lake north of Yuma so we headed up that way & immediately got ourselves turned around heading for Quartzite. Finally figured out our mistake when we got to the road with the big military guns. Big U-turn & back to Yuma looking for the corner with two gas stations. Found it & got some gas while there. $1.53 a gallon. Most we had to pay so far was $2.03 a gallon back west of Deming, New Mexico.

Drove the 9 or 10 miles up to the Mitry Lake area & had us a look at some free boondocking sites. The nicer sites were up along a canal but the road going in was a bit rough & the drop into the canal was steep & we worried about the doggy guys falling into the water so we found a spot down along the water's edge of Mitry Lake itself. Nice area but there was a lot of garbage lying around from the many local fishermen who frequent the shore along the water's edge. Doesn't look like any attempt has ever been made to clean things up so we were disappointed. A sign near the boat launch stated that sometime in November or December the whole shoreline was going to be sprayed with some kind of poisonous chemicals to kill the heavy vegetation & make the lake more accessible to fishermen. Something is very, very, wrong here!! Can't imagine what this area will look like by next year at this time when more party animals & fisherman flock into the area leaving their litter behind. One site we stopped at had a large carp lying on the ground that they had hauled out of the water & just left there to die. I took my shovel, scooped it up & put it back into the lake but I think it was already dead. This was the kind of thing we noticed last year at a lot of our boondocking sites. Wherever Mother Nature is present, there is beauty & wherever man is present, there is generally a hell of a mess!!!! I am constantly appalled at how people have no regard for the environment. Smashed liquor bottles, garbage thrown on the ground, etc. etc. etc.

MITRY LAKE, NORTHEAST OF YUMA, ARIZONA

Finally found a sort of ok site but it was right beside a dusty dirt road with people roaring up & down so we'll only stay one night & head further west in the morning. There were a couple of older fellows here fishing when we got here but they were good enough to move their truck & we pulled the rig into the spot for the night.

OUR SITE AT MITRY LAKE

Checked the weather & they have scaled it back a bit so it doesn't look too bad now. Will probably just slip over to the west side of Yuma in the morning & see if we can find a better spot. And yes, our Verizon air card works great here at Mitry Lake & we have four reasonably clear TV channels too .................................

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PROBABLY OUR SHORTEST TRAVEL DAY EVER

BLOG POSTED FRIDAY NIGHT

We had decided the day before to leave the Painted Rock area & head over to-wards Yuma & hopefully find us a Verizon coverage spot out around Mitry Lake somewhere. Short doggy walk & then slipped over & had us a look at all the petroglyphs on a large pile of rocks just north of us. I included the pictures I took this morning of the glyphs in yesterday's album.

We rolled out of the Painted Rock campground about 10:15 heading for Yuma. Decided to check for a Verizon signal about a mile down the road & sure enough, there it was. Drove another couple of miles & decided to pull over, have a coffee, & upload the blog & photo album. Had spotted a large flat spot on the desert floor by the east side of the road so pulled in there. Surface was hardpacked with stone just like Quartzite. Kelly checked one of our BLM Lands books to see if by chance we were on BLM lands & sure enough, we were. Figured we might just as well stay here for the rest of the day & overnight so drove the rig about a quarter mile further in off the road & set up camp. Probably the shortest travel day we've ever had. A grand total of about 3 miles. Not another human being or structure visible for as far as the eye could see. We could leave our door open finally & the doggy guys could come & go as they pleased. Very little traffic out on the road. Maybe a couple of vehicles every couple of hours or so. And it's a free spot too:)) STEAKS & BAKED POTATOES ON THE BARBIE

Spent the rest of the day catching up on computer stuff & just relaxing. Gathered up some firewood & built us a firepit. I think I had a siesta in there somewhere too. We have 5 or 6 television channels but they are all on the fuzzy side, but who cares, we have the whole Sonoran Desert to ourselves right outside our door. Despite it being heavily overcast, the scenery is just beautiful...........as usual here in the southwest.

Kelly did up some steaks on the barbie & just as they were done, the clouds to the west parted allowing the setting sun to spray the entire desert floor & surrounding mountains with awesome splendor. Grabbed my camera & managed to bang off some nice sunset shots. By the time I was finished, my steak was almost stone cold, but it didn't matter. The sunset had priority. We got us a nice campfire going as the desert night closed in around us. Wasn't long & we could see the distant lights of Gila Bend about 30 miles to the southeast across the desert floor. Over the mountains to the east we could see the large & spread out light orange glow of Phoenix on the low clouds. To add to all this, the cloud cover thinned out allowing the full moon to emerge & cast it's far flung moonbeams across the desert floor. We eased back in our comfy lawn chairs & marveled at the spectacle around us. Sat outside for a couple of hours, burning embers in the campfire, binoculars in hand, & just soaked up the whole wondrous canvas of Mother Nature's masterpiece in front of us. The clouds skudding across the moon made for one of the most memorable nights we've had in a very, very, long time............ OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

TO-DAY WE MET THE WANDERWOLF & LITTLE BIT

DESERT MOONRISE AT PAINTED ROCK, ARIZONA

Neither Kelly or I are very good at good-byes & this morning (Thursday) was no exception as we quietly slipped out of the Hickiwan Trails RV Park & headed west. Good-byes always seem so final or something. I have always tried to avoid that good-bye syndrome simply by kind of vanishing into the woodwork, disappearing around a corner, or just quietly slipping on down the road, so for the friends we left behind at Hickiwan Trails this morning, let me just say........see ya later guys, & thanks for your hospitality:)) IT'S AL UPLOADING THE BLOG THURSDAY MORNING AT HICKIWAN TRAILS

We spend a fair amount of time with our computer both at home & here, keeping in touch with fellow travelers & reading RV forums & blogs. Every once & awhile we are actually able to meet some of the people we have been in contact with over the past months or years. And so, as we rolled into Ajo Arizona this morning on our way to Gila Bend we were able to hook-up with & meet a fellow RV'er & blogger who goes by the name of Wanderwolf. Wanderwolf's name is Mike & Mike's rig is called, Wanderwolf. And Mike's tiny dog is called, Little Bit. Mike & Little Bit live in Wanderwolf. Mike is a superb artist working in oils & acrylics. His beautiful works hang in an Artist's Studio Gallery in downtown Ajo & he has just lucked into a great little studio deal of his own & is busy renovating & re-doing an older building on Racolla Street. Mike took some time out of his day to proudly show us his Wanderwolf rig which is also a complete work of art in itself. Nice fellow & I will put some more photos in the next photo album of Little Bit, Mike, & the Wanderwolf. Mike's website....http://wanderwolfandi.blogspot.com/2008/12/original-virsus-copies.html THIS IS THE WANDERWOLF

INSIDE THE WANDERWOLF IS WHERE MIKE LIVES & DOES HIS PAINTINGS

Some fellow RV'ers at Hickiwan Trails had told us of a place northwest of Gila Bend called, Painted Rock. No electricity or water so we knew that also meant, basically no people. Our kind of spot for sure & as we rolled west of Gila Bend & then 12 miles north up to Painted Rock, we weren't disappointed. Probably 30 or 40 sites here but only about 8 rigs scattered over a wide area. No problem for us to find a nice level spot with our nearest neighbor about a quarter mile away. It was about 2 in the afternoon & the temperature was sitting at 80F with a light breeze. Didn't take us long to get the lawn chairs out & for the first time since leaving home in Bayfield, we both felt at ease & comfortable with our surroundings. Didn't have to worry about the dogs bothering or upsetting people or people bothering or upsetting us. Not a human sound anywhere, just the breeze in the creosote shrubs. The dogs were free to run & play. And, so were we.....at last. MIKE IS HOLDING HIS DOG....LITTLE BIT

We had picked up a Verizon internet signal about 20 miles north of Ajo to-day & had the computer logged on almost all the way to our destination of Painted Rock. But, just about a mile short of the campsite we lost the signal. So near, yet so far. Had that signal hung on for us we would probably have stayed here for another 2 or 3 days but we'll be leaving to-morrow & heading for some more BLM lands just north of Yuma that we have heard about & hopefully we'll find us a Verizon signal there. When we leave in the morning & re-gain our Verizon internet signal we'll pull over somewhere & I'll update the blog with this post. I have another photo album ready to go as well but that will depend on how good a connection we can get before I try the photo upload. CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AJO, ARIZONA

Anyway, it was a good day, ending with a nice moonrise, a campfire, & a nice sunset........................ And the doggy guys loved it too:))

OUR FIRST DESERT CAMPFIRE

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

UPDATE...FRIDAY MORNING DEC. 12

About 4 miles south of painted rock where we have regained our Verizon signal so have pulled over & are checking email, updating the blog & putting up another photo album. It's a cloudy cool morning. Will include this mornings petroglyph photos to to-day's album later to-day if we find a Verizon connection somewhere northeast of Yuma around Mitry Lake.

IT WAS JUST KIND OF A FEELING SAD DAY

MORNING WALK AT HICKIWAN TRAILS

Just didn't seem right waking up this morning without the internet waiting for us & a few television channels to bring us up to speed on the world's news. The Park's Wifi signal isn't strong enough to reach us & our one fuzzy television channel just reminds us of a snow storm in Alaska.

Nice to be out in the desert for a morning walk again. We have had a lot of nice walks & memories here at Hickiwan Trails the last couple winters & I noticed that one of the Inukshuks I had built atop a rocky ridge last winter, is still standing. Kind of gave me a warm fuzzy. I took my cameras along but didn't take many pictures this time because I would only be repeating many of the photos I've taken here previous times. You can see a lot of those photos on the Hickiwan Trails RV Park website. http://hickiwantrailsrvpark.com/ or looking back a year to one of our days here http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2008/02/look-at-hickiwan-trails-rv-park.html

Our favorite boondocking site last year was just west of Ajo, Arizona just off Darby Wells Road. It's only about 10 miles up the road from Hickiwan Trails & we were really looking forward to going there again this year after we leave here. A major concern of ours is cell phone & internet service because Kelly needs both for here work related Deerpark Lodge reservations, etc. We were really hoping by some outside miracle that we might be able to get on-line with our new Verizon card over there, but had already heard that Verizon didn't cover that area yet. We took the car & the laptop & headed over to Darby Wells to find out for ourselves, but alas, no coverage. Oh well, we thought, we'll boondock here anyway & just drive into Ajo for our internet connection. But, as we headed up the old dusty road with it's bumps & grinds we sadly came to the conclusion that the road this year is just too bad to bring a motorhome in on. Just too many bumpity wash-outs. No problem for the car but it would just shake the heck out of the motorhome. We drove to the beautifully peaceful & serene campsite we parked at last year & just stood there listening to the golden silence of the surrounding mountains & saguaros. As I stood by the old campfire stones staring out over the desert valley before me with the mighty Ajo mountain range on the far horizon I was filled with an overwhelming sadness. We had been looking forward so much to returning to this spot ever since the day we left it back in February, nearly 10 months earlier. Just as we had been looking forward to returning to Hickiwan Trails. And I knew as I stood there that it was unlikely we will ever pass this way again.

I said good-bye to the old campsite near Darby Wells road and we drove the short distance into the town of Ajo. Another familiar place for us. Stopped at the library & Kelly went in to use a computer & check our emails. I took a walk around the beautiful town's square with it's distinctive Spanish flare. It was the middle of the week & no one was around. Few cars & fewer people. Ajo was a booming mining town years ago but since the closing up the large open pit mine the town has fallen on hard times. It's almost a living ghost town now. I had taken some photos here last year & took a few more to-day. It's quietness only added to my sadness.

We were back at Hickiwan Trails by 2. Met another couple we had first met here last year & have been in email contact with ever since. Pat & John are from New Mexico. Had a little chin wag & of course learned about some more great RVing areas. While talking to them, Hickiwan Ray, the Parks manager walked over with something hanging on a stick. It was a rattlesnake. But, it was a baby rattlesnake & it was obvious that it was very dead. That is the first real rattlesnake I've ever seen. It was apparently near one of the RV's to-day. And here I thought they were all underground!! Ray figured it got separated from it's Mother somehow. I'm not a big snake person but couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor little thing. As I said before, it was just a sad kind of day for me.

Kelly & I had set up a website for HickiwanTrails last year so Ray had a few technical questions about the site & I was able to help him out with understanding a few things on the computer. Always nice to be able to help out.

After supper when it got dark, Kelly & I walked around the park to look at people's Christmas lights. Met another couple we had known from last year & it was nice talking with them for a bit. They are from British Columbia. He was the fellow who was instrumental in helping us get our Star Choice up & running last year.

I took Max out for a short walk later as the large moon overhead bathed the desert landscape around us in a soft hue. It was a fitting time to say good-bye to Hickiwan Trails. It was a fine time to feel sad...............

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

UPDATE.....Thursday morning. Feeling better & we're off to-day for an area northwest of Gila Bend that we heard about. It's out in the middle of nowhere & sounds like our kind of place. Should be cell phone & internet coverage up there & hopefully some television channels either from Yuma or Phoenix:)) Toodles