TUCSON ARIZONA TO DARBY WELLS ROAD…AJO

HEADING WEST THIS MORNING ON HIGHWAY 86 WITH KITT PEAK AHEAD
How nice to not only step outside Thursday night under starry skies but to step outside in a warmer desert sky was a real treat.  The sky was alive with stars and constellations.  Spotted winter’s dominant constellation Orion rising in the East just above the large rock face behind our rig.  Orion will travel high across the southern sky for the entire winter.

KITT PEAK NATIONAL OBSERVATORY AS SEEN THROUGH MY CAMERA LENS EARLY THIS MORNING
Parked just across from us was a fellow and his dog camped in their Class A Motorhome.  His name was Mike and his little dog was Corky.  Corky and the Pheebs got along famously and ran, jumped and played together this morning while we talked to Mike.  Boon docking sites and information were exchanged and we now have a few more ideas.

MIKE AND CORKY’S HOUSE
 
CORKY, MIKE AND PHEEBS….CORKY
Almost 10 a.m. before got the big wheels rolling west along a familiar stretch of road.  The Ajo Way highway heading west out of southern Tucson is a scenic drive. It’s a quiet mainly straight road running across the floor of the Sonoran desert ending at a T intersection in Why Arizona nearly a hundred miles away. The KITT PEAK NATIONAL OBSERVATORY is accessed from this highway.

CORKY PLANTS A SMOOCH ON PHEEBE’S NOSE
The highway slowly picks it’s way through Saguaro Cactus, Mesquite and Palo Verde trees, Cholla, Sotol, Desert Spoons, Prickly and Beaver Tail Cactus to mention just a few of the abundant green growing desert plant life. I particularly enjoy the mountain scenery ringing the horizon all way round.  Highway 86 is a fairly straight and flat road for about two thirds of it’s way and is a nice quiet alternative heading west if your not in a big hurry and want to avoid going through Tucson along busy I-10.

EVEN LITTLE CORA GOT INTO THE ACTION THIS MORNING 
But, a few cautions about this highway. It is a narrow ‘no mistakes’ road with no shoulders as you travel further west. If you drop a wheel off the pavement you are in some very big serious trouble. But, the challenge and excitement are there and the scenery is great.  The road is guaranteed to keep you on your toes. At the western end maybe 20 miles east of Why Arizona the road also has enough tricky curves, dips and hollows in it for you to keep both hands on the steering wheel:)) 

HIGHWAY 86 HEADING WEST
Nice memories as we rolled past the road leading up to Kitt Peak.  We were driving a truck and fifth wheel the day we pulled of the road at the base of the mountain that time.  Unhooked the fifth wheel and I drove the truck up to see the Observatories.  Great scenic and winding drive up and down that mountain.  Kelly stayed with the 5th wheel digging up some cactus and gathering some rocks.

Our continuing drive west to Why today under cloudy skies was uneventful and it was nice to relive some more old memories as we passed by the Hickiwan Trails RV Park.  Kelly and I did their blogsite for them about 3 years ago.  I will always remember Hickiwan Trails for the many great morning desert walks we used to take.  It was our first Snow Bird year on the road and Hickiwan Trails was the first RV Park we really stopped at and spent any time.  Max, Checkers and the Motormouse were a little younger then and the two big guys really liked fanning out on either side of us exploring the flat desert floor ahead.  I miss those two big guys.

We will slip back to Hickiwan Trails in the next few days and visit with Hickiwan Ray who looks after the Park.  Nice personable fellow and easy to get along with.  He has made this Park what it is today.

Highway 86 will also land you just a few short miles from Organ Pipe National Monument where you can take a very scenic 25 mile loop drive through the Ajo Mountain range. We have done that loop 3 times.

Eleven miles past Hickiwan Trails on the highway leading from Gila Bend to Lukeville on the Mexican border is the once booming town of Ajo Arizona.  Not too much booming there anymore but it’s a quiet little place and home to a fair few Snow Birders.  West of Ajo is a loop road called Darby Wells.  This is a great scenic boon docking area that we stayed at for about week back in February of 2008.  We knew it would be quiet here and easy for us to find a good spot this time of year.   Gets busier after Christmas when the boon docking Snow Birds land in this area.

The Sonoran desert is thought of as the ‘green desert’ because of it’s wide diversity of vegetation and plant life. It is the greenest of all desert types and for that reason it is our favorite. This whole area is just another great scenic part of big beautiful Arizona.

TURNING WEST ONTO THE SOUTHERN END OF DARBY WELLS ROAD…THE MOUNTAIN AT TOP LEFT WAS MADE BY NATURE AND THE ONE ON RIGHT WAS MADE BY MAN.
Parked the rig at the side of dusty Darby Wells road and unhooked the Jeep.  With laptop on board we Jeeped ourselves around the area looking at different spots among the tall cactus.  Some roads are not much different than a couple wide hard packed tire tacks and we had to keep in mind the size and ease with which we could get the big rig down some of these little tire track roads.  Every time we found a possible site Kelly checked the laptop for a Verizon connection.  Only saw 4 other rigs scattered about and I should add that we did later get an acceptable Verizon connection and half a dozen clear TV channels.  No cell phone.

JEEPING AROUND LOOKING FOR A SUITABLE BOON DOCKING SITE
Finally picked a spot not far from where we had parked the rig.  Managed to get me some fresh desert pin stripping on the coach as I wiggled and squiggled it in and around some scratchy Mesquite shrubs and prickly Cholla cactus.   Leveled it up near some towering Saguaro Cactus and that was it.   Ocotillo’s, Organ Pipe Cactus and a variety of other desert shrubs are now back dropped by yet another new set of surrounding mountains.  Love it when we can just change our surroundings any time we want.  Our weather is a bit on the cold side with a slight breeze under cloudy skies but I am sure the big Arizona sun will find us shortly once it knows we are here:))

THAT’S AN ORGAN PIPE CACTUS IN OUR SIDE YARD:))
A Shout out to Renee and Dave up there in that Datil place in New Mexico.  We plan to be in your area on our return journey in late winter or early Spring.  It has been on our list for the past 3 years.  Interested in the lay of the land and property values in your neighborhood:))
RV TRAVELS IN SEARCH OF ADVENTURE joined our Blog Followers list a few days ago and we say welcome folks and thanks for climbing aboard.

HOPE THAT HEAVY OVERCAST BLOWS AWAY OVERNIGHT
GROANER’S CORNER:((  After spending nearly half a day enduring the long lines, surly clerks and insane regulations at the department of motor vehicles, a lady stops at a toy store to pick up a baseball bat as a gift for her son.  Cash or charge, the clerk asks.  Cash, she snaps. Then, apologizing for her rudeness, she explains I’ve spent the afternoon at the motor-vehicle bureau. I am way past sane.  Shall I gift-wrap the bat the clerk asks sweetly, or are you going back there?
---------------------------------------------------------------Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
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The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

BOONDOCKING IN THE AJO HIGHLANDS.....2008

DOESN'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS:))

A bit late sitting down at the old keyboard to-night but I did manage to throw a few photos to-gether of a favorite boondocking spot we camped at back in late February of 08. It's just west of Ajo, Arizona in the AJO HIGHLANDS in a place commonly referred to as the Darby Wells Road area.

HOME IS WHEREVER THE RIG IS PARKED:))

Anybody who follows our blog knows we are boondocking folks who avoid RV Parks wherever possible. I've blathered on quite a bit about our dislike of crowded parks in the past so won't re-hash myself here & get all the RV Park folks chasing me around with big sticks again. MY IDEA OF BOONDOCKING

To-day's boondocking photos show what we consider to be just about the perfect setting for people like us who prefer the peace & tranquility of Mother Nature. Only sounds are the coyotes, Gila woodpeckers, a few ravens, & the desert wind. No security lights, trailer lights, or headlights, only the beautiful light of the moon in a clear star studded night sky. Nothing moving past your rig except for the odd rabbit or roadrunner. No big flat sided fiberglass RV's 10 feet away, just endless miles of Saguaro cactus, Cholas, Ocotillos, majestic rock formations, & mountain ranges on all sides for as far as the eye can see. I'll bet this is all sounding pretty boring to a lot of folks out there & the question arises, "what do you do all day?" My answer to that is, "why do we have to do anything!!" We are totally immersed in domestic stuff for 6 months of the year when we are at home in Canada & we consider it a great privilege to step right out of that world once we get down to our desert home in the southwest. And that home is wherever our rig is parked & the quieter the place we can park it the better!! EVERY DAY A CAMPFIRE, EVERY NIGHT A DAY'S MEMORIES

We don't do the same thing day after day though. We do day trips with the car, pop into the nearest town for groceries, & spend large amounts of time relaxing around our rig. If you give it a chance, that relaxing stuff really grows on you. Always a morning hike though. I'm not a television person so couldn't care less if we had a TV or not, except for the news. Nightime is when I enjoy putting the day's blog to-gether. It's a favorite time of mine. Another favorite time is reading. While in Canada I never read a thing but the boondocking lifestyle for me totally lends itself to settling down in a comfy reclining lawn chair in the shade of the rigs awning with a good book. No interruptions, no honking horns, no blaring television, no neighbor's stereos or screaming kids, dirt bikes, ATV's, no social stress & no pesky neighbors. JUST THE WIND, THE THOUGHTS, THE PLANS, THE DREAMS, & THE MEMORIES WAITING FOR THE DESERT MOONRISE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you will look forward to the trip.

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

A VISIT FROM SOME FELLOW DESERT TRAVELERS

MIKE & MAUREEN......FELLOW DESERT TRAVELERS

No wonder I feel soooooo tired most every day. I'm always too busy on the night shift & last night was no exception again. My RV dreams seemed centered around me pulling a very large trailer into some very weird situations. I recognized some of the people in the dream but this morning I can't remember who they were. Fellow RVers I think. Sure was busy moving that long trailer around though & I'm probably going to need an afternoon siesta later to-day. CANONVILLE, UTAH....BAYFIELD BUNCH ON LEFT & MnMnM's RIG IN THE CENTER

Kelly had to slip over to London this morning to pick up her permanent residence card. Because she is an American citizen with duel citizenship living in Canada the renewal of that card is required every 5 years. Because I am a Canadian citizen with a duel appetite living in Canada, the renewal of my Cracker Barrel restaurant card is required every 6 months:)) MIKE & MAUREEN AT THE NORTH RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON

It's not often we have visitors but this afternoon we were happy to have an RV couple drop in whom we had met at a KOA Campground in Cannonville, Utah back in November of 2007. Mike & Maureen had just pulled into that campground minutes before we did & aside from one other rig, we were the only ones in the whole park. And, as co-incidences go they were fulltimers who had called London Ontario their home. Bayfield is only a short 1 hours drive from London. We loosely traveled to-gether over to Zion Canyon later & then down to Kanab where we all visited the north rim of the Grand Canyon. They moved on from Kanab to Page & we swung down around & over to the south rim of the Canyon & we didn't see Mike & Maureen again until February of 08 when we visited them in an RV Park in Ajo, Arizona. Shortly after that we were all boondocked just off the Darby Wells road west of Ajo. On the morning of February 23rd 08 we left our boondocking site, stopped by Mike & Maureen's site to say good-bye & began our long trek back to Ontario. That was the last time we saw them until this afternoon. WEST OF AJO, ARIZONA....MnMnM's ON THE LEFT & THE BAYFIELD BUNCH ON THE RIGHT

We noticed right away that neither one of them had aged one bit. Another testament to that fulltiming RV lifestyle I'd say. It was nice to get caught up on things & reminisce about some old times although we didn't spend a whole lot of time to-gether back then. I have always noticed there is a special type of friendship & bond between RV folks even if you don't know them well. Friendships are often like ships passing in the night. There is a wave, a shout of "ahoy there," greetings are exchanged, a few words, a few laughs, & then the ships disappear into the darkness again. I remember those shouts & greetings & I remember the brief passings & there is something very special about that. Whether it is sharing area information with another passing couple on a far off mountain trail or having a 30 second chat with a fellow RVer at Flying J fuel stop, I remember those brief encounters. The meetings may only last minutes but the memories last forever. BYE GUYS......TILL WE MEET AGAIN

Mike & Maureen & Molly their dog (MnMnM) are in an RV Park over in Strathroy & plan to spend this winter in London before resuming there fulltime life on the road next spring again. Nice to see them & I'm sure our ships will soon again pass in the night somewhere. Maybe here, maybe London, or maybe far off in the land of mountains & deserts again. We may meet on a mountain trail, a quiet desert plateau, or we may pass in the night with a wave, shouts of "ahoy there", some greetings, some words & some laughter. Safe travels my friends........................................:)) SAFE JOURNEYS MY FRIENDS

TO-DAYS HUMOR: A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt , and is named 'Ahmal.' The other goes to a family in Spain ; they name him 'Juan.'Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, 'They're twins ! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal.'

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OUR FRIENDS .....THE MnMnM's:))

STILL AT IT

The motorhome clean-up continued this morning & I finished the sides, wheels, & got all the glass cleaned inside & out. I should mention that the photo of the rig's interior a couple days ago was taken with a 28mm wide angle lens. That's a popular lens for photographing small interiors & is commonly used by real estate companies for inside house pictures. Also works well in small RV interiors but it does give the appearance of interiors being larger than they actually are. The human eye sees around 55mm so there is a bit of optical discrepency when using a wide angle lens. Roadtrek had an ad in one of our RV mags a few weeks ago showing the interior of their Class B van. You would have thought you were looking at the inside a Greyhound bus. They must have used an even wider lens than 28mm I think............So, that interior picture of our motorhome actually appears larger than what it really is. Just wanted to clear that up up after Kelly made the comment yesterday, "wow, wouldn't it be nice if our motorhome was really as big as it looks in that picture." DOUBLE PLEASURE......LAP TOP DOG & LAP TOP COMPUTER ALL ON THE SAME LAP:))

All the RV snowbirds we met these past few winters are back home now just as we are but our fulltiming friends are still out there enjoying the great RV outdoors life. I am so envious as I read their emails or follow their blogs & pictures. We first met Mike, Maureen, & Molly (MnMnM) in Cannonville Utah back in November 2008. http://adventureswithmnm.blogspot.com/ We had been unsuccesful in finding a boondocking spot that day so decided as a last resort to check into a $KOA$ campground. Another rig had just pulled in ahead of us & we were the only 2 RV's in the whole park. Turns out they were fellow Canadians from London Ontario which is only an hour's drive from Bayfield where we live. They were Mike & Maureen, fulltiming with their sweet dog Molly. Over the next few months we met up with them again near Zion Canyon, Kanab, & the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Also boondocked near each other in the Ajo Heights just west of Ajo, Arizona.

CANNONVILLE UTAH KOA.....WE ARE MIDDLE LEFT & THE MnMnM'S ARE MIDDLE CENTER

BOONDOCKING WEST OF AJO, ARIZONA.....MnMnM'S ON LEFT & WE ARE ON THE RIGHT

MAUREEN & MIKE AT OUR AJO HEIGHTS DARBY WELLS SITE

They spent the winter hunkered down on Vancouver Island with some snowy days & are presently in beautiful southern B.C. heading east. Molly, their beloved dog has not been well lately so our thoughts are with our friends...........MnMnM.

To-morrow I will head over to Deerpark Lodge & work on some of the spring clean-up there again. Been having problems with energy levels so we'll see how it goes. Wonder if that vitamin pills stuff works or is that just another big scam too........................

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OUR LAST NIGHT AT HICKIWAN TRAILS:((

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23/08

The big wind gusts finally subsided about 10 o'clock last night & when I took Max out this morning about 5 a.m. I was happy to see the great summer Scorpion riding high in the sky. In other words, the clouds were gone & the sky was once again full of stars & constellations. Scorpios being one of those summer constellations. The full moon which had been shrouded in clouds the night before had already lost it's perfectly round shape as it slipped over the mountain range to the west.

Our doggy walk was short again because Max still has a bit of a limp. I was sure glad the winds were gone as I climbed atop the rig to put the solar panels down for traveling. As the morning sun cast it's warming rays over the desert & mountains around me I couldn't help but think back over the past 5 years & whisper a quiet.............thank-you.

We had the big wheels rolling by 9:30 & as I wheeled the motorhome slowly out across the narrow & bumpy desert road I was saddened to be leaving a spot that had added so many pleasant memories to the lives of The Bayfield Bunch. I am always melancholy whenever we leave a favorite site because I know we may never pass that way again.
We stopped about a quarter mile down the road to say good-bye to our Canadian friends, Maureen, Mike, & their dog Molly. They are staying on in the area until the first week of March before moving on to Borrego Springs in California. Hope to meet you guys again out here sometime, somewhere. Take care M&M&M:))

When we reached the highway from Darby Wells road I turned right heading for Hickiwan Trails while Kelly, driving the car, turned left into Ajo for groceries, etc. I stopped for gas & propane in Why. Gas came to $185 & that's the first gas stop since leaving Quartzsite one month ago to-day. That tank should take us well over to the other side of New Mexico. Loaded up some propane then went into the little Cafe where the waiter wears a 6 shooter & loaded myself up on a big mess of bacon & eggs.

Rolled into Hickiwan Trails about 11:20 & pulled into the same spot we had been about 3 weeks ago. I had forgot that they were having their 8th anniversary of the park's opening. Ray had things swinging with a live Indian band set up right in front of the office. The Indian ladies were cooking up a storm in the wooden Palapha & RV people were lined up for tamales, burritos, tacos & Indian fry bread. The weather was perfect for a gathering & I'm sure lots of new RV friendships were made to-day. Luckily, I was able to get a bunch of pictures of the festive event for the Hickiwan computer files.......OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

We caught up on our laundry, vacuumed, filled the fresh water tank, etc. Always nice to have electricity & shore water hooked up after being out in the desert for awhile. I didn't bother to set up our satellite dish to-day because I figured we would just use the Wifi here. But, until Ray gets a final part for the bigger antennae, the speeds are slow & the distance is short. I may not get the blog or web album pictures uploaded for a day or two. Depends where & when we stop to-morrow night.

It will be a sad morning when we leave our little Hickiwan Trails for the last time Sunday but with a bit of luck we hope to pass this way again next November. There is no place like the beautiful & majestic American southwest & we'll miss our morning desert walks here:))

(I'll try uploading this now without pictures. The pictures I can add later when we have a better connection speed)

CHRONICLES OF GHOST MOUNTAIN....THE END

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 21/08

Thanks to a good tip from my friend Bob in Kitchener, Ontario I was able to fix our broken flag pole to-day by inserting a steel rod in the center of the pole & using generous helpings of duct & electrical tape. Tightened a couple band-it clamps on too just for good measure. Workin gooooood:))

Took the dogs for a short walk & then went on a longer hike ourselves up & over some fairly rocky terrain. The rough stones are not always paw friendly. Another reading & relaxing, sunny & warm afternoon. I finally finished my Marshal South, Chronicles of Ghost Mountain book. Quite an accomplishment for me considering I haven't read a book from cover to cover for about 25 years. Tells you something about how much I enjoyed this book & the effect it has had on me:)) We are already looking forward to returning to the Ghost Mountain area of California in the fall of this year.

Decided to hike out into the desert after supper to take a few pictures of the big moon from atop a hill about a quarter mile away just in case it turns cloudy for to-morrow night's full moon. Good thing we took flash lights with us because it was a dark bit of walking & rock scrambling coming back. No easy task.......

Friday will probably be our last day here in the Darby Wells area west of Ajo. Saturday we'll pack up & head for Hickiwan Trails for one night & then we begin our long trek eastwards. To say that I'm feeling sad about our departure would be putting it very mildly. I have grown so accustomed to the peace & quiet & solitude of the desert that I'm going to find getting back into the old neighborhood routine at home.................very difficult this time!!!!

NO PHOTOS UPLOADED TO THE WEB ALBUM TO-DAY

FOUND OUR PERFECT RV SITE AT LAST

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 14/08

Our recently warm weather has gone into the dumper as we woke up to a cold windy morning. Never even made it out for our walk. Max is still staying off his left ankle so it was a good morning for him to stay on the couch. Had problems uploading the web album photos this morning & we seemed to have some internet connection problems so we spent most of the morning trouble shooting.

We had planned on moving to a new RV site west of Ajo in a couple of days but after being at Mike & Maureen's last night on the Darby Hills road, we decided to pack up & move to-day. It's just too beautiful there to miss another day. Drove the 3 miles over to Hickiwan Trails, dumped our holding tanks, & topped up the fresh water tank & water jugs. Stopped in the office to help Ray with a few things on the computer & then we were on the road heading for Ajo. Arrived in the Darby Wells BLM land area about 2 p.m. Had looked at a site the previous night that was totally secluded so that's where we headed for & luckily no one was there when we rolled in. This is by far, the nicest RV site in the nicest area we have ever been at. Photos can't even begin to do it justice. We are sooooooo happy to be here & cannot believe our good fortune at finding such a superb site. Our friend's Mike & Maureen are our closest neighbors & they are out of sight about a quarter mile away. I will probably wear my camera out over the next couple of weeks taking so many pictures. OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy We just can't believe our luck:)) No chance of some yakky doodle RV club moving in right next door either. So many new areas to explore, trails to hike, & rocks to scramble on. Nobody around us but birds & coyotes. I am so looking forward to total peace & quiet in the lap of Mother Nature herself. At last.........we may have found our winter home for years to come:)))))) Hmmmm, can you detect the excitement in the usually un-excitable guy...............................................