936 March 28-29, 2023 Itty Bitty Bouse

Laps around the campground to begin the day.  We packed food and bedding.  Then, we went into town for firewood and gas.

We traveled on Swansea Road to Midway.

We took Powerline Road and then when the landscape got interesting, we took one of the many little roads up into the hills.  The BLM road map to this area looks like a bunch of spaghetti.  There is no way to know until you get there what condition the road is in or how passable it might be.  We had fun exploring and then backtracking when roads became too narrow or harrowing!

We found a nice flat spot nestled among hills.  

We both took turns walking through the desert.  There was evidence of burros but we didn’t hear or see any.

Tim brought me posies.

Shale.

Tuff.

Petrified wood.

A little lizard.

We had perfect camping weather with temperatures in the mid-seventies and NO WIND!

Last night there was a rare occurrence in the night sky, a planetary parade.  We waited for sunset and then watched as the sky turned dark blue. 

The moon was half full and cast lots of light.  Venus popped out first, the brightest of the planets.  We could see Mars which appeared red.  Uranus should have been close to Venus but we couldn’t see it without a telescope.  Mercury and Jupiter were close to the horizon so our view was blocked by the rise of a hill and feathery clouds.  It was fun to look!

This morning, we wangled our way back out of the desert. 

We stopped at the Bouse Museum.  The indoor exhibits were closed but we wandered the grounds.

This mining cabin was moved from the Swansea Mine for this exhibit.

We also went to look at the Bouse Community Historic Display at the Bouse Rest Stop.  Bouse was the hub of this entire region in the 1800 and 1900’s.  You wouldn’t guess that now!

Tim saw a drag line bucket.  His father was an equipment operator in a quarry in North Carolina. He was proficient at using a drag line. It is not easy to do and he was proud of his mastery.

Bouse is a tiny town.  We have enjoyed our stay in a very nice RV park and we have found plenty to do.  Tomorrow we are moving on to Alamo Lake State Park.  We aren’t sure if we will have service there or not.  We are looking forward to seeing something new!