A PROBLEM WITH OUR FRIDGE BRINGS US HOME A DAY EARLY

CIBOLA SUNRISE OVER ARIZONA’S TRIGO MOUNTAINS
Walking in from the road to check out our new Boondocking site here at the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge Monday afternoon we noticed a lot of tracks in the hard packed sandy gravel.  We knew the owners of those tracks would probably return in the night.  And return they did………waking us up several times.  We didn’t see them but we sure could hear them close by & it is a gut rattling scary sound if you have never heard it before.  Kind of like an old ‘A-Oooooga’ 1920’s rusty car horn or better yet it reminded me of a once popular TV show years ago starring Buck Owens & Roy Clark.  I’m talking about Hee-Haw & the sound belonging to those tracks in the ground belonged to none other than wild Burros of course.  And lots of them.  Sounded like a bunch of old cars surrounding us in the night rattling around blowing their raspy old ‘A-Ooooga’ horns!!
SEE HOW WELL THESE WILD BURROS BLEND WITH THEIR BACKGROUND
  
HAD KELLY NOT SPOTTED THIS GROUP OF BURROS THIS MORNING I WOULD HAVE DROVE RIGHT BY THEM
Again we were up very early & out the door into our Jeep.  Wanted to have us a good look around this whole Cibola National Wildlife area so started off at the Visitor’s Center on an auto driving loop tour of ponds, marshes, & open fields of grass.  It was shortly before 8 a.m. & we were the only one’s up so again had the whole place to ourselves.  Just gotta love when that happens.



 
NOW THIS FLOCK OF BIRDS I KNOW FOR SURE…..CANADA GEESE
 
 
CIBOLA VISITOR CENTER
I was just happy to see so many different trees on the Refuge.  Forests of trees in such a hot arid desert setting is kind of hard to comprehend but there they were in all their green leafy glory. 

 
Spotted a walking trail leading into a large area of trees so we parked the Jeep & headed in.  How nice to sense that aroma only found in a heavily forested areas of marshes & wetlands.  First time my nostrils picked that up anywhere this season.  The dry desert normally has no smell to it unless it rains. 

 
THIS NATURE WALK REMINDED ME SO MUCH OF A WALK IN THE AUTUMN WOODS BACK HOME IN SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO CANADA

I could only imagine how nice this must be when all these trees are in season with their towering canopies of leaves.  We heard birds but couldn’t see them.  The path we walked on was actually a raised berm & we could easily see how see this treed area floods.

 
A  BIRD VIEWING PLATFORM

  

THERE WERE NO SIGNS POST ABOUT DOGS HAVING TO BE ON A LEASH
After our nature trail walk it was back into the Jeep for a slow drive through irrigated fields of grass & corn.  Ranger said corn is grown here in plots to attract birds.

STILL A FEW SAND HILL CRANES LEFT ON THE REFUGE

From the auto drive loop drive we headed back to Cibola Road & drove down to the southern section of the Refuge along a levee road following along the same direction as the Colorado River.  Nice marsh areas & we could see Pelicans off in the distance.



The Refuge is definitely a place we will return to in future travels to this area.  Now unless I missed a larger boondocking area somewhere I wouldn’t say there are a lot of spots here.  Certainly not like Borrego Springs, Quartzsite, Bouse, or Ogilbe Road west of Yuma.  There are 2 nice spots south of the Visitor Center a few miles down where the pavement ends.  A road crosses here & we had the spot on the left south east corner.  Lots of greenery around.

Maybe not a fan of hot days but I sure do like the warm nights hot days bring.  I think Monday was maybe one of the hottest days we have experienced here in the southwest & I sat outside until well after dark working on my post.  So nice standing under a starry sky without having to be bundled up against the cold desert nights.  We even had Mosquitoes bugging us & I can’t even recall the last time sleeping with windows open in an RV.   But………. there is a fly in the ointment!!

I AM GUESSING THIS FELLOW AS AN OSPREY (FISH HAWK)
 
We are having a problem with our rig’s less that 2 year old new Dometic fridge.  Noticed for awhile now it has not been keeping things cold.  Turning it off & then back on again has been helping but now that doesn’t seem to be working anymore either.  About half of everything in our freezer thawed out overnight.  One small carton of half & half cream went bad a few days ago.  So this fridge problem changed our plans & a decision was made this morning to head on home.  We did stop in Quartzsite & talk to the folks at RV Lifestyles about the problem & they gave us a few suggestions to try.  Kelly also did some trouble shooting on the internet.


SNOW GEESE

Coffee & crispy chicken wraps to go at McDonalds & a fuel stop before leaving the Q for what is probably the last time this season.  Nice relaxing drive home & we drove in our gate just before 3 p.m.  Didn’t waste any time transferring everything from the rig’s fridge & freezer into our house fridge.  Spent about an hour getting everything put away & that was about it for us.  Home a couple days earlier than expected but  that’s OK.  Had ourselves a great week & that is all that mattered.  We’ll deal with our fridge problem in the next few days & hopefully it is something simple.  Always nice to go away but sure is nice to have a home to come home too…………….:))

 
THERE IS MUCH MORE HERE AT CIBOLA THAN JUST DRY DESERT & CACTUS
Long time blog readers Karen & Steve have finally slipped the surly bonds of another Wisconsin winter & have their Class A Sahara Motorhome headed quickly for much warmer southwestern weather.  Oh what a great feeling that always is.  First day on the road did not get them out of the snow region but with each mile traveled old man winter is left further & further behind.

At the very southern edge of the Refuge sits Cibola Cabin beyond which is Cibola Lake.  The lake however is mostly marsh now.  The above photo is a canal in the refuge & not Cibola Lake.

CIBOLA CABIN
 
 
 

And how are Jo & Fred Wishnie doing now since recently settling into their Tucson sticks & bricks after nearly 9 years of full timing.  Well they are still in the process of settling but Jo did find time to write a post on how it’s going………….  Life After RV'ing

GROANER’S CORNER:(( An American visiting in England asked at the hotel for the elevator.  The portiere (doorman) looked a bit confused but smiled when he realized what the man wanted.
"You must mean the lift," he said.  "No," the American responded. "If I ask for the elevator I mean the elevator."
"Well," the portiere answered, "over here we call them lifts".  "Now you listen", the American said rather irritated, "someone in America invented the elevator."
"Oh, right you are sir," the portiere said in a polite tone, "but someone here in England invented the language".

THIS POST IS COMING TO YOU FROM THE CIBOLA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SOUTH OF BLYTH CALIFORNIA:))

OUR MOJAVE SUNRISE THIS MORNING
Stretching across our desert night sky I am always enthralled with how brilliantly clear earth’s Milky Way appears with it’s myriad of stars & star clusters.  Earth & we Earthlings are located on the Orion Arm of an immense 2 armed spiral galaxy & it is through this one very arm we peer outward & beyond into our Universe.  Here in Mojave’s cool steady night air it is that beyond which seems to appear ever closer.

HAD TO GET UP ON THE ROOF TO TAKE OUR WILSON SLEEK ANTENNAE DOWN
 
FINALLY FOUND A USE FOR THIS CLAMP I BOUGHT AT QUARTZSITE YEARS AGO
 
With body clocks still on Arizona time we were again up before 5.  How nice to turn on our laptops & have internet right there waiting for us.  Great connection out here….if your in the exact right spot that is.

KELLY TAKES A BLACKBERRY PHOTO OF OUR BEAUTIFUL MOJAVE MORNING

THIS COW WAVED GOOD-BYE TO US AS WE ROLLED BY HEADING SOUTH DOWN ESSEX ROAD
Didn’t take us long to get things stowed away & grab a quick morning walk.  Felt a little sad leaving this spot in the Mojave but by 6:50 we had the big wheels rolling on another beautiful morning.  Only a short half mile up to ‘Hole In The Wall’ where we dumped our tanks & took on fresh water.  It was 7:30 when we pointed Big EEE’s nose south on Essex Road & rolled on out of California’s Mojave National Preserve.  Picked up Interstate-40 & headed east.  Very light traffic as we lumbered our way up to & over Mountain Springs summit tumbling our way back down the other side all the way to Needles.  Hung a right turn onto highway 95 heading straight south for Blyth.


GOTTA LOVE THESE GENTLE ROLLER COASTER WHOOP-DE-DOOS

FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE COLORADO RIVER

OH & I JUST WANT TO GO OUT THERE & ROLL AROUND IN ALL THAT GREEN GRASS
Highway 95 running from Needles to Blyth is a nice stretch of road running very straight for long distances on smooth pavement.  Mountain ranges on either side with lots of easy rolling & fun ‘whoop-de-doos’ along the way.   I’m thinking this is the road we took from Parker to Blyth several years ago when we picked up our Class C Sunseeker in Parker.  Closer to Blyth the Colorado River begins making appearances on the left side of the highway.  Rolled into Blyth around 10 stopping for some groceries at ‘Smart & Final Extra.  Weird name for a grocery store but we liked it anyway.

KELLY CHECKS HER BLACKBERRY MAIL
Usually we are on I-10 passing through Blyth on trips to Borrego Springs or Niland & it had been a few years since we had actually been in downtown Blyth itself.  When we stopped at the grocery store it was nice to see palm trees & hear birds singing.  There ‘s some nice southwest architecture here as well.



HAD THIS PLANE NOT PULLED UP WHEN HE DID I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO LAND RIGHT ON I-10 IN FRONT OF US…TURNS OUT IT WAS A CROP DUSTER
We remembered where McDonald’s was so it was a quick stop for a travel coffee & we were on our way again.  West out of Blyth for a short few miles & we exited onto highway 78 south.  This is an old familiar route for us  heading for Brawley, Niland, & Borrego Springs.  We knew right where the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge turn off from highway 78 was…..but we didn’t know exactly where to go from there.  A few dusty gravel roads, a stop at the Oxbow Recreation Area for some directions, a narrow one lane wooden bridge over the Colorado River & a drive through the sleepily dusty little community of Cibola with a right turn at a stop sign & down a paved road a bit where sure enough we found ourselves at the Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center it’s very self.  Wow that was quite a sentence to get through.

CROSSING THE  MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI??  NOPE, JUST THE COLORADO RIVER TODAY

Lady inside was very friendly with lots of information for us.  Explained the area on a map showing us where BLM lands were. (across the road from the refuge)  Said a lot of this area’s birds have already left on their migratory routes north.  She’s thinking this unusually warm weather has prematurely triggered their flight plans.  Oh, & mentioning weather…..how does 86F today sound.  In fact our wall thermometer in the rig said 91F at 5 this afternoon Arizona time.  Hotter than the hobbs of Hades in the sun but oh how refreshingly cool in the shade.  Matter of fact that is where I am typing this from right now sitting on the north side of our RV with a wonderful cooling breeze fanning over me.  We did find us a nice boondocking spot & looks like we are the only one’s here unless we missed the spot where all or most Dockers go.  If we did that’s perfectly OK with us:))

DRIVING THROUGH THE COMMUNITY OF CIBOLA
Our plan is to Jeep around tomorrow morning & scout out this whole place getting a lay of the land for future boondocking travels.  It’s an area we have been by numerous times on our way from point A to point B but had never taken the time to stop in & have a look around.  Wasn’t until we read some of Nina’s posts (Wheeling It) that we decided we had just better come have a look for ourselves.  It is not far off the path on our route home to Congress either.   Anyway, we like what we have seen so far & anywhere out here in the vast deserts of the southwest having bodies of water is always a huge bonus.  And oh how we are loving the acres & acres of green irrigated fields along the Colorado River.  Just makes me want to pull over & go roll around in all that gently waving emerald green grass.  And how nice to see some sizeable trees again.  We Northerners sure do miss our big green trees.  Well I sure do anyway.

SEEN IN THE DUSTY LITTLE COMMUNITY OF CIBOLA
And while I’m thinking about it I just once again would like to throw out a great big thank-you to all our blog readers.  Whether you have emailed us, Twittered, Shouted, Facebooked or just plain commented on our blog I just want to say how much your thoughts are always appreciated here at the Bayfield Bunch………….

OUR CIBOLA BOONDOCKING SPOT
Now ‘ED’……a little correction for you.  In your last comment on my post you wrote, “It is too bad that you could not get the gas you needed out of the EEE tanks. It would have saved some money and the extra driving that you had to do so you could buy expensive California gas. Baker, CA prices are always high but nothing like Needles, CA. Then about 20 miles from Needles in Arizona Love's Travel Stop is $1/gallon cheaper”………..  Ed, we did fill up the Motorhome, Jeep & 5 gallon gas can at that very Love’s gas station east of Kingman last Tuesday (I may have mis-identified it as a Pilot station) & we at no time ever purchased any gas in California for the 6 days we were there.  Not a drop!!  We’ll pick up a bit of gas for the rig in Quartzsite on the way home in a couple days & that’s it……….Imagine that, me correcting Ed for a change instead of Ed having to correct me.  Groovy:))

HAPPILY WORKING AWAY AT PUTTING TONIGHT’S POST TOGETHER:))
Just gotta say again how nice this past week for us has been.  Such a nice break from our Congress routines to get on the road seeing & doing new things.  I so much enjoy going places we have never been & seeing things we have never seen & in a few days we’ll be looking forward to heading back to Congress again where we will probably stay until we begin our long trek back home to Bayfield Ontario later next month.  And yes we’re even looking forward to getting ourselves back home there as well.  It is this great freedom of diversity that works so well for me.  Always having travel plans to look forward to is the key for me in avoiding same old-same old boring routine days, weeks, & months at a time.  Not everybody’s cup of tea of course but with a restless soul like mine I’ll ask you to simply put that old travelling teapot on the stove & just let it steep forever……….:))

THIS MORNINGS EARLY MOJAVE MOON
GROANER’S CORNER:))  Bill and Sarah were Londoners and were blessed with seven healthy children. After many months of discussion, they finally decided to move to New York. It should have been a simple enough move, but when they arrived, they had great difficulty finding a suitable apartment to live in.  Although many were big enough, the landlords always seemed to object to such a large family living there. If only Bill wasn't so honest about the size of his family!  After several days of unsuccessful searching, Bill had an idea. He told Sarah to take the four younger children to visit the local cemetery while he went with the older three children to find an apartment. After looking for most of the morning, Bill found a place that was ideal.  The landlord asked him, "How many children do you have?"  Bill answered with a deep sigh, "Seven .. but four are with their dear mother in the cemetery."  He got the apartment!