Pumpkins & Shells

Between playing golf on Wednesday and today, we went driving in the desert on Thursday.  The route took us through some pretty amazing desert scenery.  Before we started we looked out over the terrain we were going to travel over and it appeared flat and boring but as we traveled along the sandy road that flat land became more varied and fascinating.  We crossed several washes, some named like San Felipe and Rat Pack and others were unnamed. Sand dunes, hills and gullies and moonscapes appeared and were obvious fun runs for ATV’s and motorcycles.  

We turned on East Bank Wash (that’s an original name, huh?) that led to Pumpkin Patch Trail and followed its many tight turns, hills and washes to the Pumpkin Patch.  We were introduced to Whoop-ti-dos all along here and for the remainder of the trip! Think of a washboard road on steroids - up and down, up and down, whoop-ti-dooooo!

The Pumpkin Patch is an area of the desert where round concretions have been exposed and lay on top of the sand.  The round balls are formed somewhat like pearls when a small piece of matter like a seed or leaf is surround by sand and dirt that gets wet and hardens like concrete, then another layer and another, etc.  Eventually the loose sand is eroded away from the concretion leaving these large ‘pumpkins’ exposed.

Back down Pumpkin Patch trail, we drive back to the main road, called Shell Reef Trail.  John tried some of the steep hills that ATV’s have climbed before us.  Lots of fun and a bit nerve wracking when you can’t see over the top!  Shell Reef Trail is named for an area that billions of years ago was under the sea and left behind fossils of shells layered in the sand and are now exposed.

In places we could not see a defined road, only tracks of other vehicles. The ride was about 25 miles long but it took us over 4 hours with a stop for lunch.  Since it was still mid-afternoon, we drove out to Font’s Point to see the desert Badlands.  Most people like to come out here to watch the sunset over the mountains, but the day was really overcast so there was no sunset to be seen.  Just lots of canyons, washes, arroyos, cuts and gulches making for pretty spectacular scenery.

Smoketree Tinajas

The rain predicted for Monday started at noon and didn’t stop until sometime in the middle of the night.  We got a 40 minute walk in during the morning and then we sat in the RV all afternoon.  I worked on my photo albums and completed two of them from 2014 but still have one more to do.  Because we were getting antsy, John took me out to dinner.

Nope not gonna belly crawl under the rock.

Tuesday dawned bright and partly cloudy so we headed out to hike a canyon.  The Smoketree Tinajas trail was suppose to lead us to an area where water gathers in depressions in the rock (called tinajas) but we either walked up the wrong wash into the wrong canyon or took a wrong turn into the canyon or didn’t turn when we were supposed to.  Either way, we did not find any tinajas but we did have an interesting hike.

The entrance to the canyon was very, very wide with what looked to us to be several washes, so when the directions said to stay left where two major washes come together we weren’t sure where that point happened.  And that’s the reason for the confusion. The canyon we walked into narrowed fairly gradually but the floor was strewn with more and more boulders that we walked around and then climbed around and then climbed over!  Until we got to the one boulder that totally blocked the canyon unless we wanted to crawl under it!  John and I were not willing to take the chance that a famous California earthquake would happen just at the moment we were under the rock! So we had lunch and then walked out, logging 5 miles on the pedometer.

Today should warm us nicely in time for our golf tee time.

Glorious Glorieta

It has been a really nice day today.  I went to church this morning and enjoyed the music, sermon and visiting with other Methodists.  I quickly changed into hiking clothes when I got home and off we went to the glorious Glorieta Canyon!  This has to be one of my favorite hikes ever, not because it was easy or difficult but because we were in a narrow slot canyon with walls that surrounded us with desert plants and boulders as we walked along sandy path.

I forgot to bring the hike directions with us so we just followed the footsteps of previous hikers which, of course, led us down the wrong path!  According to the hiking book, we should have gone 1/2 mile and then turned right so that we could loop around the hill and end up back at the parking lot.  But when we got to the intersection, I chose to go left because that seemed to be where all the tracks were going!  We hiked a mile before we realized that the trail would take us down a steep hill and then we couldn’t see where it was heading due to all the boulders and shrubs.  We were afraid that it would not loop around but head on into the mountains so we turned around and returned the way we had come.  That was not as easy as it sounds either!

Glorieta Canyon has a very narrow sandy path of about 5-8 feet in width most of the time with walls that slanted up on either side and were covered with the same desert plants and rocks that blocked our path. It is not a straight nor obvious trail as we had to negotiate the many large rocks and boulders as well as the desert plants that blocked the path. We walked around and through cholla cacti, century plants, and the very vicious catclaw acacia bushes which are covered with claw-like spines ready to grab your shirt or skin and hold on. The fishhook barrel cactus was the most colorful plant with its pink spines, but the ocotillo were starting to green up and one of the bushes sported red blooms.

Back to the hike, we thought we were being smart and tried a short cut which found us both slipping and falling on our asses.  Luckily I fell in a non-sticky bush and John just slipped down the gravel hill. Along the way both of us collected numerous scratches and scrapes. When we  got back to the intersection we went right but by that time we were tiring of the hike so we again turned around and walked back to the Jeep.  It was a truly Glorious Glorieta hike of only three miles in 3 1/2 hours.

Bike Ride

Today and tomorrow the temperature is supposed to be in the upper 70’s so we are going to take advantage of the warmth and get active!  That meant getting the bikes out and riding into town.  It was about a 22 mile ride round trip but it was the perfect day for the ride with a slight breeze to keep us from getting too hot.  We rode on some back roads into town and went by some of the metal statues in Galleta Meadows.  As you can see, I was having a lot of fun with the velociraptors!  

We did divide the ride into two parts with a stop for lunch but by the time we got home we were pooped!  And then the water pump wasn’t working correctly, again.  But this time John thinks he has it figured out so maybe this will be the last we have to worry with it.  Tonights sunset was clear and bright and, as predicted, the air cooled way down the minute the sun went behind the mountains.  I bet we go to be early tonight!

Back to Anza-Borrego

Thursday morning we got a late start for a three hour drive to Anza-Borrego State Park.  Of course, it took us longer as we had to stop for gas, stop for lunch and stop to buy groceries! We found a nice spot about 6 miles east of Borrego Springs.  We are a little perplexed that there aren’t as many desert campers as we have seen in the past.  We can’t figure out why.  

The desert is one place you will change clothes at least 3 times during the day, if not more often.  Its pretty cool when we get up so we put on long pants and a long sleeved shirt, then by late morning it gets really warm so we change into t-shirts and shorts, but as the sun sets at 4:45 pm we have to change back into the long pants and shirt and while sitting around the campfire we pull on our fleece jackets! We may start leaving the pajamas on until late morning just to eliminate one change of clothes!

Last night and this morning John worked some more on the water pump.  It will work for a while and then stop working correctly, won't shut off, alternating on and off, fast flow, slow flow.  After so many adjustments, he’s not sure what is correct and what is wrong.  He has been very frustrated by it all!

This afternoon we walked down the road to Clark Dry Lake, which is the name of the area where we are camped.  It seemed closer on the map but it was a little over 2 miles to the lakebed.  From a distance there appears to be a runway thru the middle of the dry lake but upon closer inspection it is an old roadbed.  The park service has tried to limit motorized vehicles driving on the lakebed to preserve its beauty. 

To Leave or To Stay

Tuesday morning John braved the Big Tent again and purchased a new water pump for the RV, one that is supposed to be a continuous running pump without regard to water flow.  Our current pump pulses off and on when we have a low water flow through the faucet or the water filter.  He then spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon installing the pump.

Tuesday  evening we joined a group of RVers who belong to a online group called RVillage.  They have a website one can sign on and find out who else is camped in the same campground as you or visa versa, another way of connecting with other RVers.  We have not met anyone, yet, who uses this website, but we are not real faithful in posting when we arrive or depart a campground.  We arrived late so did not meet too many folks.

Instead of driving to California today, John had to make a run to Blythe, a 50 mile round trip, to find one foot of hose for the newly installed water pump, which was not working as advertised!  While John is working, I’m taking walks, reading or doing some crocheting while enjoying the sunshine.  If I weren’t outside I might not have spotted the MetLife Blimp floating overhead!  Bet its going to Phoenix for the Super Bowl!  We also explored MORE flea markets!

It is a good thing we did not leave for CA as a couple we met a couple of years ago texted that they were in Quartzite and wanted to get together with us. We ended up having dinner and a great visit with Dwight and Sharon. They had just come from Lake Havasu where they helped haul hot air balloons out of the lake after a failed ‘splash and dash’!  Sounded like fun!

Gray Eagle Mine and a Desert Bar

If you have been reading our blog for a while, you read about The Desert Bar in last winter’s blog. It is such a neat place to visit plus the drive through the mountains is so much fun.  Sunday morning we drove north to Parker where a gravel road is available for those who don’t like off-roading and a couple of miles past that is where we turned off and headed into the mountains that line the Colorado River along with about 8-10 other Jeeps and ATVs.  It is very rugged country with steep, sandy inclines, rocky washes and narrow bumpy ridge trails. We always take the more challenging trails.  One very steep hill dropped off at the top and to the left so fast that John had to stop, back up and then turn! 

As we near The Desert Bar there are remnants of two or three mines, one of which is called the Gray Eagle Mine.  I can’t imagine trying to haul all the gear needed to mine for whatever it is that can be found in these mountains, but miners are hardy souls and maybe a little greedy?

The bar was hopping when we arrived with a live band and wonderful smells emanating from two different kitchens. We shared a huge basket of wonderful onion rings along with our hot dogs and beer.  

Today we braved the Big Tent at the RV Show.  It was so crowded we could barely squeeze past people just to look at the booths and forget about trying to talk with anyone about their product! Later this afternoon we tried again and were able to get around much easier since everyone else had gone home! We get the impression that this is not a good year for the vendors as there were quite a few empty booth spots and two or three of the vendors we expected to see were not in attendance.

Our neighbors were flying their neon planes right at sunset.  They had three different planes doing loops and swoops.  John almost burned our dinner because he was watching the planes and not the grill!

Stuff, Stuff, and More Stuff!

For three days now we have gone ‘shopping’ at the flea markets, vendor stalls and general shops all around the Quartzite area.  The RV Show began today but we have elected to wait until Monday or Tuesday in hopes that the crowds will be thinner before we try entering the Big Tent and looking at more STUFF being sold.

Tyson Wells is the area directly across from the Big Tent and east of the tent where there are semi-permanent stalls selling stuff like rugs, kitchen gadgets, RV gadgets, tool, knives, nails & screws, leather gloves, rags, batteries, rocks, beads, hats, t-shirts, dresses, some art work, some crafty items, flags, carved wood, a food court area, cinnamon rolls, ice cream, nuts, grocery items, and the list goes on.  

On the north side of the interstate, along Main Street, are rows of new and used RV dealers so of course we had to look at the new RVs showing new floor plans and interior design. We also checked out some of the permanent stores here but that didn’t take long.

Today we hit the flea markets some of which are in permanent buildings but most are selling from their motor homes or in tents set up in huge lots along Main Street.  It is amazing what people have collected and then are attempting to sell as ‘antiques’ or ‘collectables’.  So much junk that we can’t even really call in ‘stuff’, its just junk!  There were several stores selling outdated food and over-the-counter supplements.

Yesterday we took a break from shopping and stopped at The Beer Belly/Adult Day Care beer garden and visited with a couple who blog about full time RVing.  They are making money doing this and love to share what they learn by using all the available electronic media such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc.

The last two nights we have been privileged to watch some fellow campers fly their RC airplanes.  Just after sunset they brought out their neon lit plane.  This plane had white lights on its underside, blue on top, green on its nose and the tail was red along with the red and green tips on the wings.  It is a beautiful thing to watch as the colors seem to change as it turns and flips through the air.

And Quartzsite is not without its idiots.  As we returned from riding our bikes we noticed a 40 foot motorhome was stuck in a ditch near us.  Why he thought he could cross that ditch without dragging his rear end is beyond comprehension.  They had to call a tow truck from Parker (40 miles north of here) to come down and lift up the tail so he could back out.  They just parked it where they were!

The only photo we have taken was of sunset last night but every night is just as pretty.

Ahhh! Quartzsite!

John has been looking forward to this leg of our journey for several days.  We hired a crew to wash and wax the RV this morning and then took off for one of our favorite places to stay - Quartzsite, AZ. 

There is an area just south of the town on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) where we like to park.  We just drive around, pick an out-of-the-way spot and set up camp.  I make sure we have a campfire ring and John makes sure the neighbors aren’t too close.  We then jumped on our bikes and rode into town and up and down the strip to see if anything had changed and it hadn’t.  That’s not much of a surprise as nothing much changes around here anyway.  We are a little disappointed that not very many RVers are camped in the desert.  This should be the biggest weekend of the year and the desert should be covered with RVs but it seems to be a bit empty this year.  Maybe more people will show up over the weekend.

Buckeye AZ

We pulled out of the White Tank Mountains Monday after waiting all morning for the rain to stop so the RV wouldn’t be “ruined” by driving on wet pavement.  It finally stopped about noon and as we drove the 30 miles to Buckeye the pavement dried up because they didn’t get any of the rain we experienced!

It was time to find a commercial campground so that I could do the laundry and grocery shopping and play some golf. The weather forecast for Tuesday was about 50% chance for rain and we got to play golf in that 50%!  It only lasted about 30 minutes but it was enough to stop our game for that time.  The course we chose to play was in really bad shape!  The rough was just that - rough! And the fairways had recently been reseeded so we couldn’t drive on them with with the cart.

To make up for the bad golf day, we had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant in Buckeye. The oven fired pizza was delicious and the wine went with it perfectly!

Waterfall - In the Desert?

Even though we are retired and a Sunday is basically no different than a Wednesday, we had a very relaxed Sunday kind of day by sleeping in late, eating a large breakfast and limiting our exercise to short bursts of easy bike rides and a short hike.

I told John that riding our bikes in this area would not be a good idea and if he insisted he would be riding alone!  That said, we stuck to the park roads.  We rode about 7 miles and checked out the Waterfall Picnic area and the Competitive area where there are trails for really serious mountain bikers.  Lunch and naps and then another bike ride to the Waterfall area where we hiked the easy mile long trail up to the end of the canyon where, if it were to rain a lot, a waterfall could be seen.  Right now, the only evidence of a waterfall is a very small pool of water below slick canyon walls.  And, although it is raining tonight,  I doubt it will be enough to form a waterfall tomorrow!

The White Tanks

Yesterday we packed up camp and drove to the west side of Phoenix where we set up camp in the White Tank Mountains Regional Park.  We are about 22 miles west of Phoenix and 16 miles from the nearest hospital near Goodyear with the White Tank Mountains just a walk away from us in the west.  When we look east we can see almost the whole of the Phoenix environs nestled in the valley with the haze of smog and smoke masking the lights and the view of the distant Superstition Mountains.

We took a short 3 mile walk through the desert shortly after we got here but today we decided to tackle a canyon trail.  The Ford Canyon trail starts just a mile from our campsite and is fairly flat and easy for the next mile and then it gets HARD!  We climbed up almost 2000 feet scrambling over large rocks and boulders while staying on the narrow trail that climbs up into the mountains.  Just as we got to the ‘dam’ it started raining lightly but we found a great overhang to protect us while we ate lunch.  The dam is really just boulders and huge rocks that have blocked the upper end of the canyon, forming depressions where water can pool.  After a  short walk pass the dam area we had a choice to either continue on the canyon trail and add 6.5 miles to our hike or turn around and take the 3.5 mile walk back to camp. Even though we felt it was going to be a treacherous walk back down due to the slightly wet conditions we didn’t really want to walk 9 miles.

I did a lot of butt slides down large rocks as we descended!  But it was not nearly as difficult as my imagination led me to think it would be.  An interesting phenomenon happened as we made a turn and the Phoenix valley came into view. Both of us noticed a low, thrumming sound coming up the canyon.  We determined that it was the noise of the city.  Having been where it was totally silent, the sound was very noticeable.

Tonights campfire did a lot to ease the stiff and sore muscles in my legs as did a nice glass of water ( you thought I was going to say wine, didn’t you?)!

GR to DL to PB to LR to GR and Home

An observation I want to pass on:  The desert is NOT flat!  As we look out over the land surrounding the campground it appears to be relatively flat while covered with lots of scrub and cacti but as we ride our bikes across this land we discovered that it is anything but flat with lots of rolling hills, dips down to a wash and then back up onto a ledge and around low hills and into a valley green with grass and trees.

View from our patio the last 3 days.

Yesterday and today we chose to ride our bikes in the desert in McDowell Mountain Park.  According to the trail map we rode on Granite, Delsie, Pemberton, Lariat and Granite Trails (as indicated by the initials in the title).  This route took us about 9 miles on fairly level trails with a slight rise at the beginning and downhill going home.  But today’s 8 mile route on Granite, Tonto Tank, Pemberton, and Bluff Trails was much rougher with steep, narrow, rocky rises circling up and around a tall hill then back down, across a wide wash and along a bluff overlooking a deep depression and then steeply down to the campground.  

John did great! He loves this kind of bike riding and is strong enough to master some of the most difficult sections while I was jumping off of my bike, before I could fall off of it, and walked both up and down the hills and over the rocks and sand.  I did it, did not give up, but it is not something I want to do very often!

McDowell Mountain Regional Park

Monday, January 5 found us flying back to AZ where we picked up the RV and headed just a short drive up to McDowell Mountain Regional Park outside of Fountain Hills, AZ.  We did stop to see John’s mom one more time and to pick up some packages, then we had to get a new battery for the coach since it almost didn’t start after sitting for only 8 days.

But we made it to the campground right at dusk as the setting sun changed the McDowell Mountains from brown and gray to a dazzling rose and amethyst color.  As John was cooking the steak, we watched a full moon creep up over those same mountains, lighting the whole desert in a warm lunar glow.  We are so happy to be back in the adventure mobile we celebrated the occasion with a really nice bottle of wine that complimented the grilled steak.

Even though it gets fairly cold at night, the day warmed up quickly.  We were on our bikes only an hour before we started stripping off the jacket, gloves and extra layers of clothes. This park is very large and has over 65 miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails.  We rode the bikes on the paved roads this morning just to get a feel for the place.   This afternoon, I got bored so I made John hike almost 4 miles through the desert with me.  I spotted this huge jackrabbit and several cottontail rabbits but that was all the wildlife.  As we were resting after the hike, a covey of Gambel's Quail surrounded our campsite. They have this very soothing coo and bubbly warble that calms me down.

Busy Holiday Season

We left the Big Bend Area on December 21 and drove to Los Cruces where we spent the night and then drove to Roper State Park near Safford, AZ.  We have stayed in this park a couple of other times as it is a nice way point between New Mexico and Mesa.  It gets us off the interstate and into some mountains for a scenic drive but it is only about a three hour drive from here to John’s mom’s place in Mesa, AZ.

We spent five days with John’s mom.  I got into the holiday spirit by baking and icing sugar cookies, making some Christmas candy, making cinnamon rolls, helping Marje fix a dish for a Christmas meal and preparing our own Christmas Eve steak dinner. John completed several ‘honey do’ items for his mom as well as fiddling with the RV.

On Sunday, Dec. 28th we parked the RV in a storage facility and flew back to Missouri to spend the remainder of the holidays with our friends and family. New Year’s Eve found us at Katy & Lanny’s new home where we truly enjoyed celebrating with our dear friends.  On New Year’s Day, our son and family picked us up and we drove to Norman, OK to have a late Christmas with our daughter and family in their new home. 

We wish all of our loyal and new blog readers a 2015 filled with fun & adventure, love and peace, joy and blessings.