This morning, Kyle and
Allison hiked up into Palm Canyon.
When they got back, we were packed and ready for our off-road adventure. We rode into Kofa Queen Canyon. Doors off and top off!
We watched a group of 6 male
bighorn sheep on the mountainside. It is
lambing time and so the females usually go higher up into the mountains where
they are more isolated and protected from predators.
The California desert poppies
were in full bloom. They are such happy
little flowers.
The whole mountainside was
painted yellow.
The kids went rock climbing.
Lunch spot.
Our campsite.
Kite flying.
Kyle and Allison set up the
tent for a night of sleeping in the desert.
We enjoyed tortellini in a
lemon garlic butter sauce with sweet peas, grilled asparagus, scallops, and
shrimp…and wine!
This morning, I enjoyed my
coffee while sitting outside.
Tim left to drive the RV to
Kofa and get set up while I drive east to the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to
collect Kyle and Allison. Because the
was a delay on their arrival, I suddenly had lots of time to kill. I decided to stop and get a pedicure! I had a nice relaxing afternoon. By 2:30 I had the kids and we were off to
Kofa.
By the time we arrived at the campsite it was almost sunset.
We ate some guacamole and chips and watched the sun go down over the desert.
Mileage: 58,395 White Tank Mountain Regional Park Phoenix, Arizona
This morning we were on our way to Phoenix on 10 east.
The desert floor was covered in a thick carpet of yellow flowers.
We camped at White Tank Mountain. This is a beautiful park and I wish we had more time to enjoy it! As we sat outside we saw all kinds of birds including hummingbirds, mourning doves, and a pair of Gila woodpeckers. We also watched a pair of chipmunks chasing one another and we saw a black lizard.
We had several things to accomplish in Phoenix. On our way out of the campground we saw this guy.
Our first stop was ISM Raceway. We needed to get our NASCAR tickets for next weekend’s race from will-call.
After getting a few last minute supplies. We drove to the Goodyear Ballpark. We watched preseason baseball Indians vs. Dodgers. The smell of popcorn and hot dogs, the green infield, and the rich red clay diamond…it all made you believe it was spring! This is a great facility and we really enjoyed watching the game. We love baseball! Tim was talking to one of the ushers. They all volunteer. This guy remembers his first baseball game at Yankee stadium. He got to watch Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris play. How cool is that!!!
We were serenaded by the coyotes during the night. Tomorrow Kyle and Allison will be here. We cannot wait to share our adventure with them!
Mileage: 58,245 Hidden Beaches Campground Blythe, California
This morning we said goodbye to Bonnie and Davis.
2 old bricklayers!
We went to Blythe to begin to prepare for our company. We did laundry, bought firewood, got groceries and beer. Tim got a haircut and we headed to the campground. We were fortunate to get another site right on the Colorado River.
Tim went for a bike ride while I put away groceries and put sheets on the bed. He saw a coyote in one of the farm fields.
We both biked out later this afternoon.
The evening was pleasant and we watched the sun change the colors of the mountains in the distance.
We enjoyed chatting with our neighbors. They are from Calgary and they are here to be warm! Such nice people!
We decided to stay one more day. This site along the river is just so lovely! We hate to leave. I was up to see the sun come up through the clouds.
This morning we took Cibola Road out into the mountains.
It is warm and sunny and the wildflowers are really beginning to pop!
Lunch spot.
We took the road to its end and then back along the Colorado River through the Cibola Wildlife Refuge.
The refuge is home to badgers, coyotes, bobcats, feral burros, and all kinds of birds. We saw lots of roadrunners, several hummingbirds, a few jackrabbits, and lots of lizards. We saw lots of evidence of feral burros but no burros. These burros are relatives of burros left behind or lost during the California Gold Rush.
Burro trails everywhere!
The top off and loving the sunshine!
When we were in Alaska we heard that moose poop was good fire-starter. We tried it for ourselves and it really worked well…so all this burro poop…is burro poop a good fire-starter??? Only one way to find out…
We spent more time talking with our neighbors Bonnie and Davis….so many places to see…so much to share!!
As we went to bed last night
there was an owl singing us our evening lullaby. We were awake at 3am. The moon had risen over the river and it was
gorgeous. Not long afterward, I had
drifted off to sleep and Tim heard coyote howling. This morning I was awake early and watched
the sun come up. There is a whole lot
happening in this quiet little place.
Bob and Ryan were packing up and getting ready to put in and float down the Colorado…safe journey gentlemen.
We headed toward Blythe to see the geoglyphs or ingtalios.
In 1932 a pilot was flying over the desert and he saw pictures in the desert. This art is etched into the desert floor and in places the etchings are as deep as six inches. No one knows when these giant drawings were made, or who made them, or even what their significance really might be. Scientists believe that they may be thousands of years old. There are people who believe that because of their size and detail, aliens came from space to assist in the renderings. Neither Tim nor I really buy into the whole alien theory. Tim thinks that if someone outlined it for him, he and Butch could have completed a drawing in a couple of days. The drawings were almost destroyed by people carelessly driving over them.
Now there are chain link fences that surround them. The largest of the figures is 171 feet long and about 90 feet wide. I was awestruck by these ancient messages from the past.
We took the Worthington Trail
through the foothills and into the Maria Mountains.
All at once, we found
ourselves in a wash with no trace of the trail.
We both got out of the Jeep and walked around looking for tire tracks or
a path free of giant boulders…no luck!
We think that recent rains may have washed the trail away! We turned around and went back the way we
came…no matter…it was a beautiful ride!
Lunch spot.
We took the shortcut on the
power line trail to the next trail to the north. It was VERY BUMPY!!! Tim wished he had not chosen to go that
route. We don’t mind riding on a rough
road but “that thing was obnoxious.” It
also seemed to go on forever…but at last we were on a regular rough road! This road also led us along a ridge and up
into the mountains. We are so lucky to
be doing this. I believe that we were
the only two people who got to see what we saw today. We didn’t see anyone else up on the
ridges.
We got back to the RV and our
dinner was still frozen so we had eggs and toast. We met a couple from Wisconsin. Davis was also a bricklayer and so he and Tim
had lots to talk about. I shared a bunch
of literature about this area with his wife.
It is interesting to talk to people from everywhere and find that you
have things in common. Age, children, grandchildren,
occupation, life goals, search for sunshine and warm weather…
Tanks full and empty and
ready to move! We went west on Route 8
and then north onto 34 and 78 toward Blythe, California.
It was a picture-perfect day
with brilliant blue sky and wispy windblown clouds.
We really were not sure where we were going. Tim mentioned that he might like to find a place to camp in the desert. As we approached the town of Palo Verde it became evident that we might have missed our opportunity. Suddenly we were surrounded by canals and farm fields. I tried to look at our Allstays app but I was too late…I had no service. When I did have service, it looked like we had passed our best camping option 10 miles ago…some days are like that! Not everyone was happy…we really hate to backtrack…but we did. Not every story has a happy ending, however, we ended up with a waterfront campsite on the Colorado River for $7.50. So, it worked out in the end!
The river is much bigger here and flowing faster than it does in Yuma. I know that the further south on the Colorado that you travel, the more the water is allocated for farms, residences, and businesses. Also, there has been a lot of rain and snow here. I’m sure that snow melt from the mountains contributes to the water current.
Coots
We were riding around the
campground and a couple in a car stopped to ask us if we knew where the Hippie
Hole was? We didn’t…but we saw a sign as
they drove off. Hippie Hole?!? How did that place get its name? We drove off after them to let them know how
to find it.
We took the Jeep out for a
short ride on the Bradshaw Trail. This
was an old stagecoach road in the 1860’s.
It was a rough gravel road that ran parallel to Highway 10 and the
mountains. The desert was really scruffy
with scraggly creosote bushes and occasional mesquite trees, not many wildflowers
and no cacti.
The Chocolate Mountains ran
along the trail to the north and west.
We took the backroads back to
the RV. The road ran along the
river.
We had leftovers for an easy
dinner. It was warm enough to sit
outside.
Tim saw two tent campers
across the circle from us. They had no
vehicle. Bob and Ryan, father and son,
are from Oregon. They started to canoe
the Colorado River from Blythe and will take out near Yuma. They are real adventurers!
The setting sun turned the
sky all shades of pink and lavender.
The fire felt nice. As soon as the sun goes down, the desert gets
cool. The stars are amazing. The Milky Way bright in the night sky. I wish I could take a picture for you…but
since I cannot…come and see!
Today was about getting some chores done….cleaning, laundry shopping.
Today was also about the NASCAR race!
While Tim watched the race, I did errands. When I got back it was actually nice enough to sit outside and read! When the race was over, Tim was ready to get out. We went to a sports bar/grill for dinner.
Today was my mother’s commissioning as a Stephen Minister. She has been working for several months to get all the training she needs to offer comfort, friendship, and healing to people in her community who are experiencing stress or grief or loneliness or difficulties with life transitions. She will do well with this role because I know she is a good listener… kind and supportive. We are all very proud of her!
I have almost lost track of time. It will soon be March! Kyle and Allison will be here in less than a week and we are very excited and now counting the days! We get up each morning, explore and make it the very best day that we can and then we do it again! Tomorrow we are going off in search of more adventure. The weather is a little better and we will see what we can find!
We woke up and it was sunny with NO wind!! It was even supposed to get past 60 degrees today! We packed lunch and headed to the West Wetland Park to go bicycling.
With all the recent rain, the Lower Colorado River was up much higher than it was a couple of weeks ago.
We rode through the park and out to the gravel canal roads where we road among the farm fields. These were organic fields…they smelled organic too!
Lunch spot.
On the bike path we met a couple riding a tandem bike. Ben and Sue were here visiting from Michigan. They were in Tucson but when it began to snow there, they decided to move further south to Yuma…seeking sun and warm weather. We were all so grateful to be out in warm sunshine! Ben and Sue had a story uncannily similar to ours. Ben owned an asphalt construction company. His wife helped with the business even though she really didn’t enjoy it because she was a nurse! They recently retired and bought an RV. This is their second trip. The four of us chatted for a long time. We talked about our children and grandchildren…we had so much in common!
We decided to ride through the Riverfront RV Park. They had some interesting stuff there!
Even though we had ridden our bikes here a couple of times before, we found a whole new section of park along the river to enjoy.
This is what wetlands reclamation looks like. The area has been planted with native trees in an effort to restore the habitat.
This has been successful in other areas of the park. This is a work in progress as they work hard to return the environment to its previous state of health.
This evening we went to downtown Yuma for the BBQ & Brew Festival. We ended up at Prison Hill for dinner.
After dinner we were wandering among the tents and vendors. All at once I could not find Tim…then I saw the ice cream cone…
We wandered around until the live music began at 8. The band played older country music and they were pretty good!
Today was a boring day. It was windy and chilly outside. I had made the only hair appointment I could find at noon. I hadn’t had my hair done since the beginning of December and I was determined to get it done before I left Yuma. There wasn’t much we could do in the morning…just waiting for my appointment. Three hours later I was done and happy! Thanks Alicia!
We were watching the evening news while I was cooking dinner and there was a segment on the local dirt track race for this evening. We ate and headed out to Cocopah Speedway!
It was pretty chilly…down to 40 degrees by the time we got back to the RV…but it was fun to do something different! It was a nice brand new facility. We got to watch the juniors race first…little kids in go-carts….uh no! Then the dwarf cars and stock cars. The competition between drivers was good and it made it entertaining to watch!
Rest in peace Sandy. You were one of our very loyal blog readers! Our hearts and thoughts and prayers are with all of you.
