YUMA.....WE'RE KINDA GETTING TO LIKE THIS PLACE

THIS WAS ONCE A PERSON'S HOME

We are only a half mile from a busy mainline double tracked railroad, but the heavy freight train whistles have never bothered us. Something about their mournful sound far off in the night seems re-assuring. Something about trains in a lot of us I guess.

Our morning walk brought us across a scene that was familiar to us. Scattered clothes, boots, suitcases, toothbrush, books, old cans, a rumpled sleeping bag, collapsed tent, etc. The remnants of a once living & breathing human being, scattered about on the desert floor. I find it always sad to think that what I'm looking at is the end of a person's way of life........ or perhaps their very life itself. Who the person was or where they have gone we'll never know, but what they left behind will remain in my mind for a long time. And the photos I took as well. THE SCATTERED REMAINS OF SOMEBODY'S LIFE

Decided to do the old mining town hike on Saturday morning instead of to-day. We were out of bananas, low on milk, & getting low on dog food so it was off to Yuma this morning. Seems odd to be way out here in the dusty wind swept desert & then a short 20 minutes later we're in the Yuma Palms Mega shopping Mall with huge palm trees, pansies & snap dragons in manicured flowerbeds. It's a crazy world I tell ya. I refused to go back to that IGA grocery store with the horribly loud Mexican music so we managed to find us a Wal-Mart Super Center not far from the Yuma Palms Mall.

The State Line between Arizona & California runs right through the west end of Yuma along the Colorado River. On the Arizona side the time might be 10 a.m. & a few inches away on the California side, the same time is 11 a.m. By the same token, we got gas in Arizona to-day for $1.59 a gallon & if we had crossed the state line into California, that same amount gas would have cost us $2.19 a gallon. Also, upon entering California, every vehicle is required to stop at an Agricultural check point & could be searched for citrus, fruits or vegetables because of potential bugs or something coming into the State. At least that's what we think it's for. And they wonder where all the Government money goes!! Yep, crazy world alright!!

We were back to the rig by 2 & unloaded the 650 bags of groceries. Ok, well at least it seemed like that many. Had an unexpected little visitor this afternoon. We always leave our door wide open & sure enough, a tiny hummingbird flew into the motorhome this afternoon. Poor little fellow couldn't figure out why he couldn't just keep on going through the big windshield, so I quietly explained things to him & not to worry. He placed his trust in me, sat in my hand while I carefully cupped him with my other hand & then gently moved him to the open window, wished him well & he was free once again. He was a happy little guy because I could here him humming contentedly to himself as he winged his way off in the direction of the distant mountains.

OUR LITTLE VISITOR

Stretched out later on the lounge chair & soaked up some sun shine. Watched 3 border patrol vehicles whiz by & head off into the desert. Yep, life goes on...........ME & MY LITTLE SUPER PAL, MOTORMOUSE......... CATCHING SOME RAYS

I've uploaded a few photos to an album to-night.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

SOOOOOO NICE TO SEE THE BIG OLD CALIFORNIA SUN

AN OLD MINING DUMP TRUCK

Well, lucky for me the rains had stopped, the big bad gray clouds had blown away, & the temperatures were on the rise first thing this morning. No need for the shovel!!

The past 2 & a half days here at the Ogilby Road site had been cold, cloudy, & rainy so I kind of had it in my head to move on this morning & put this gloomy area behind us. Figured we'd head up into the Slab City area. However, that was not the same plan Kelly had in her head. "Why leave now when the weather has turned nice," she said. Well, I guess she had a point so I had to get to work re-arranging my thought process for the day.

Up until now we hadn't used our solar panels, so once it was determined that we were going to remain here for a bit I scooted up on the roof & set about putting the panels up. Last time I had put those panels up we were over in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico near Elephant Butte State Park. That would have been back around the beginning of March. The panels went up fine without any problems. I THINK THIS IS A PETRIFIED ALIEN'S HEAD

The sun felt so good after the past few days that we just kicked back in our lounger chairs & soaked up some serious solar until about 11. GOLD CREEK RANCH MINING MEMORABELIA

This area is ripe with old gold, copper, & ore mines so we took a drive back up into the foothills on some of the old mining roads. About 4 miles north of here is the site of an old gold mining town by the name of Tumco so we hope to slip up there maybe to-morrow & have us a look around. In the same area we did see a sign pointing down a dusty gravel road saying, Gold Rock Ranch, so we headed off in search of it. Turned out to be an RV & Mobile Home Park complete with a small museum. Many old rusty mining artifacts, WW2 memorabilia from the area & a few old trucks which I took some photos of. They even have a website...http://www.goldrockranch.us One of those quaint little places out in the middle of nowhere. THIS TRUCK PROBABLY HAULED A LOT OF ROCKS IN IT'S DAY

Back to the rig around 2 & spent the rest of the day just soaking up some more good old California sunshine & doing some domestic chores around the rig. We're kinda getting to like this area so will probably stay for a bit & do some day trips, but first we'll have to dump some tanks & take on fresh water at a Shell Station over at Pilot Knob about 5 or 6 miles from here. Probably going to have to do that to-morrow.

Nice night with lots of stars & I can see the glow of Yuma on the other side of the Cargo Muchachos Mountains. On the distant horizon to the southwest are the miles & miles of shimmering lights which I assume are between Yuma & the Mexican border crossing point of Algodones. The desert nights of the American southwest have a clarity all their own & for a fellow like myself with an interest in Astronomy, it's a very special place.......................

CONFINED TO THE BOX:((

MOUNTAIN RAINS IN THE DESERT

Traveling east & west across the continent always involves time changes. If it's done slow enough, the mind & body adjust accordingly.....sort of!! About 15 miles east of us is the Arizona/California State line & that marks our third time change since leaving home. We finally remembered to adjust our clocks ahead one more hour yesterday, so early this morning our slow adjusting body clocks told us it was the usual 5:30 a.m. getting up time. One glance at our recently adjusted time pieces slammed us with the reality that it was, in effect....4:30 A.M. !!!!!!! To add insult to misery, rain was beating against the windows & the rig was being rocked by heavy wind gusts. Awwwwww nuts...........it was going to be a loooooooooooooooooooooong day confined to the box:(((((((

Two tired adults & 3 bored dogs in an 8x33 foot motorhome on a cold, windy, & rainy day somewhere out in the sandy & rock strewn Sonoran desert in the month of December has been quite a test of tolerance to-day..........for Kelly & the dogs of course!! Temps only got up into the low 50's & the wind chill factor drove them back down into the 40's. However, all we had to do was click on to our laptop's Canadian weathermap to put things into perspective & make us realize how truly fortunate we really were to be where we are. They are having an absolutely dreadful winter back home.

ARE WE GOING HOME SOON DAD??

The Yuma weather station called this cold wet weather here a very rare weather disturbance. I think the weather Gods somehow knew the Bayfield Bunch was in the area.

Several things got us through the day. We are soooooo glad we went with the Verizon Air Card in Silver City NM when we did. We have had an internet connection ever since arriving in this area Monday afternoon & being on-line to-day was a real lifesaver. With this heavy cloud cover our previous satellite system may not have worked at all & the gusting winds would have been playing havoc with the dish. We are very happy campers with our Verizon set up as we both alternated on the computer all day. I spent a couple hours on the website making some changes. Took me about 5 minutes to totally screw things up & the next hour & fifty five minutes having to re-do the whole thing again.

The clarity of our flat screen television has been another positive thing. We are picking up 10 clear stations with just our antennae. Too bad 7 of those channels are in Spanish!! Our Sirius/XM satellite radio was another good decision a few years ago. We can pick up news channels as well as non stop favorite music channels & all of the above make a tough & cooped up day in the motorhome much more bearable. However, Kelly just informed me that if it's raining in the morning when we get up she is going to need the shovel to dig a 3x6 foot hole about 6 feet deep. Hmmmmm, wonder what my wonderful dear wife has in mind for me.................. I'm sure it will be something nice:)))) I just uploaded the past 3 days photos to a new album.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

LOTSA CHOPPERS, SOME RAIN, & A SHORT BLOG

A COBRA ATTACK HELICOPTER

The heavy cloud cover & periodic light rain showers made for a milder morning than is usually the case in the desert. No wind so it didn't feel too bad as we took the guys for a walk between drizzles. MAYBE A BLACKHAWK, BUT A READER THINKS IT COULD BE A HUEY 205 OR 212

Headed the 15 miles or so back down I-8 to Yuma looking for a large mall we had seen from the Interstate a couple days ago. The Yuma Palms is at the city's west end has just about every kind of store there. We popped into a Pet Smart, Verizon, Best Buy, Circuit City, & Cracker Barrel. I liked the Cracker Barrel one best:)) Slipped further into town & checked out a Radio Shack & an Alltel antennae store. Needed some groceries so headed into an IGA. Sure was glad to get out of that store though. Really LOUD Mexican music with accordions & stuff. Arrrrrggghhh!!!!! Fingernails on a chalkboard would have sounded better than that!! DON'T KNOW WHAT THESE CHOPPERS ARE

We were back to the rig by 1:30 & that was just about it for the day. Didn't do much of anything for the rest of the afternoon. The cloud cover hung in there with bits of rain now & again. We had a lot of helicopters coming & going from the Marine base in Yuma. Saw 4 different types of helicopters traveling in various groups. Cobra Attack choppers, Blackhawks, & Sea Knights I think. Don't know what the 4th kind was. Anyway, gave me something to do...........run outside when I heard the choppers coming, snap a few pics & run back inside again. Pretty exciting day huh............and maybe the shortest blog of ever for AL:)) A COBRA & A BLACKHAWK TRAVELING TO-GETHER

No photos for the album to-day

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WORRIED ABOUT THE CAR WHEELS ALL NIGHT

CALIFORNIA SUNRISE WEST OF YUMA

I worried all night about the car's front wheels. When we rolled into the Pilot Knob area on Sunday we were aware that we had to be careful about where to drive on the hard packed sand. RV tracks were visible where rigs stuck to main roads & we could also see ruts where people had become stuck. Picked an area that looked solid & made a wide sweeping left turn with car in tow. I could feel the sand getting a little soft & as I checked my driver's mirror I was shocked to see the car's wheels were not tracking straight like they usually do. Instead, the front wheels were being pulled sideways through the soft sand. I quickly straightened out the motorhome & noticed the car's front wheels then came into line & appeared ok. Shut everything down & that's where we stayed for the night. Wheels looked ok but decided not to unhook the car until this morning. Why have a good night's sleep when I can lay awake & worry about the wheels all night eh!!

Windy this morning & cold. We stayed inside doing a bunch of computer stuff & free Verizon/Skype phone calls. Had to leave our blue flame heater running until we were ready to pull out. Un-hooked the car, started it up, put it into gear & eased out the clutch expecting nasty metal grinding sounds from the wheels, but it was ok. Moved the car around to the front of the motorhome waiting for the steering wheel to start jerking or a wheel to come off, but nothing happened. Could it be we had dodged another bullet. Kelly then hopped into the car as I followed her out of the desert sand to the small paved road & away we went. Kept waiting for her to pull over with wheel problems but we made it to the Interstate & away we went to our next camping location about 8 miles away. She said it drove perfectly, with no problems. Only thing I can figure is that the shallow ruts the motorhome's wheels made in the sand were enough to somehow cause the front wheels on the car to become dis-oriented in the ruts & get themselves out of line. In retrospect, we should probably have un-hooked the car before motoring through that sandy area. Lesson learned!!

Our new location is on Ogilby Road just a short 8 miles or so from Pilot's Knob. It's another free area & much better than where we were. It's a hard packed rocky gravel surface so no problems with tricky sand. We have trees & shrubs here with mountains close by. Only about 5 other rigs visible so we've got lots of room again for the doggy guys. Gathered up some firewood & built a firepit but the wind picked up & we retreated inside to stay warm. Finally saw some sun around 3 but the wind still made going out too cold.

BUILDING A FIRE PIT AT OUR NEW OGILBY ROAD SITE

We have Verizon coverage here with 3 green bars. Not quite as good as the 4 bars we had over at Pilot's Knob. Everything still works pretty good, but slower, except for our Skpe phone which just doesn't have a strong enough Verizon signal to work well. Television signal is really clear & we get about 7 channels with 4 of them being Spanish. As long as we have an internet connection we are happy campers.

Will probably take the car & head back into Yuma to-morrow morning for groceries & a little browsing.....

And a word to fellow RV'ers about RV.NET while I'm thinking about it......We belong to an RV site on the web called, RV.NET http://www.rv.net/forum/ RV.NET is a super great website & has been beneficial for us time & time again. It is made up of countless RV'ers from all over the continent with a wealth of RV information that is priceless. No matter what RV related problem you have there are people out there willing to help. Kelly reads the forum most everyday & whenever we have a problem she posts it on the website & literally within minutes sometimes people are on-line trying to help. These people are the experts, they are the ones living in their rigs, driving the highways, using the campgrounds, visiting the attractions, & living the RV life first hand. Prime example of people not only talking the talk, but walking the walk. We highly recommend other RV'ers get themselves onto these forums, not only to receive help when they need it, but to give help as well.CLICK ON THE PICS TO MAKE THEM BIGGER

No photo album to-day but the few pics I did take I will add to the next photo upload maybe to-morrow.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

FROM THE SHORELINE TO THE DUST BOWL

SUNRISE ON MITRY LAKE, ARIZONA

The early bird gets the worm probably means the same thing as the early fisherman gets the fish. And so it was about 5 o'clock this morning as pick-up trucks towing clanking old boat trailers started rolling in to Mitry Lake on the bump infested & dusty road right beside us 20 feet away from our motorhome!!

Beautiful sunrise over the peaceful lake as the squawking sounds of the duck like coots rippled through the air. The splash of solitary fish & the flocks of snowy egrets across the lake reminded me I was standing out there on the shoreline.......... in my pajamas. In my rush to get some snowy egret photos I had rushed out the door & hadn't bothered to get dressed. To add insult to embarrassment, I didn't get any snowy egret photos either:((

Took the dogs for a walk around the area & climbed a nearby rocky hill for a few overlook photos. It's a very scenic area but I wonder what it will look like after they kill the vegetation along the shoreline road. EARLY MORNING FISHERMEN ON MITRY LAKE

Because of the car & people traffic going by on the road we decided to head out of the area & find us a new site west of Yuma. Checked our maps & boondocking books plus some boondocking info on the computer & headed off for a place called, Pilot Knob. Sunday morning meant light traffic going through Yuma & before long we were about 15 miles west of the city & exiting the Interstate as Sidewinder Road for a look at Pilot Knob. A paved road ran parallel to the interstate on the south side & a number of RV's were scattered about on the south side of the road. We headed west down that road until we saw a few more RV's & pulled off onto the sandy & hopefully hard packed desert floor. Found us an ok spot with nobody close by. Lots of room for the furry guys to run around & not bother anybody. It's kind of an unwritten rule amongst boondockers that you don't bother or crowd other people by pulling in close to them & we always respect that. Boondockers are a different breed of people from other RV'ers who prefer the more crowded RV Parks. We just prefer to go our own way, do our own thing, & not bother anyone else along the way.

There is a large U.S. Marines Airborne base in Yuma & we can see Marine helicopters heading back & forth to their gunnery range in the Chocolate Mountains over to-wards Niland, California. It was last year around this time when we were in Slab City that I saw gunfire coming out of the night sky on that gunnery range. It was quite a light show.

IT'S THE CACTUS SHADOW MAN AT THE DUST BOWL

To-morrow we'll head west again & probably up into the Salton Sea area. Supposed to be lots of free BLM areas around there so we'll see what we can find. Would be nice to find a spot we like & just stay for awhile. We'll see.................................

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

WEST TO YUMA & NORTH TO MITRY LAKE

SOME DESERT CATTLE FENCING

Based on the weather reports last night & this morning we decided to pull up stakes & head for Yuma. Weatherman had wind warnings for northern Arizona so we knew that would filter down to our area for sure. Don't want to be out on the Interstate on big windy days. Chance of possible rain plus an unsettled weather week ahead too. Figured if bad weather was coming in we would be better off closer to Yuma where we could at least slip into town on boring rainy days & mix it up with the local shoppers if we had to. A GREAT BOONDOCKING SITE NEAR PAINTED ROCK, ARIZONA

We were on the road by 10 & climbed aboard Interstate 8 heading west about 15 minutes later. We immediately ran into some heavy wind gusts & some blowing dust so figured we were going to be in for it, but 20 minutes later the winds & dust were gone. Don't know where they went.....they just went!! OUR NUMBER ONE DESERT DOG BOY

Rolled into the eastern end of Yuma around 11:45 & headed for a mall on the south side that had a Fry's Grocery Store. Kelly slipped in for some stuff & I headed for a Subway Shop next door to do a little stuffing myself. We really noticed how much warmer it was in Yuma & I could feel a lot of humidity in the air compared to the desert we had just left on the other side of the Castle Dome Mountains to the east.

A fellow RV'er we had met at City of Rocks State Park awhile back had drawn us up a detailed map of where to find some free camping on BLM lands called Mitry Lake north of Yuma so we headed up that way & immediately got ourselves turned around heading for Quartzite. Finally figured out our mistake when we got to the road with the big military guns. Big U-turn & back to Yuma looking for the corner with two gas stations. Found it & got some gas while there. $1.53 a gallon. Most we had to pay so far was $2.03 a gallon back west of Deming, New Mexico.

Drove the 9 or 10 miles up to the Mitry Lake area & had us a look at some free boondocking sites. The nicer sites were up along a canal but the road going in was a bit rough & the drop into the canal was steep & we worried about the doggy guys falling into the water so we found a spot down along the water's edge of Mitry Lake itself. Nice area but there was a lot of garbage lying around from the many local fishermen who frequent the shore along the water's edge. Doesn't look like any attempt has ever been made to clean things up so we were disappointed. A sign near the boat launch stated that sometime in November or December the whole shoreline was going to be sprayed with some kind of poisonous chemicals to kill the heavy vegetation & make the lake more accessible to fishermen. Something is very, very, wrong here!! Can't imagine what this area will look like by next year at this time when more party animals & fisherman flock into the area leaving their litter behind. One site we stopped at had a large carp lying on the ground that they had hauled out of the water & just left there to die. I took my shovel, scooped it up & put it back into the lake but I think it was already dead. This was the kind of thing we noticed last year at a lot of our boondocking sites. Wherever Mother Nature is present, there is beauty & wherever man is present, there is generally a hell of a mess!!!! I am constantly appalled at how people have no regard for the environment. Smashed liquor bottles, garbage thrown on the ground, etc. etc. etc.

MITRY LAKE, NORTHEAST OF YUMA, ARIZONA

Finally found a sort of ok site but it was right beside a dusty dirt road with people roaring up & down so we'll only stay one night & head further west in the morning. There were a couple of older fellows here fishing when we got here but they were good enough to move their truck & we pulled the rig into the spot for the night.

OUR SITE AT MITRY LAKE

Checked the weather & they have scaled it back a bit so it doesn't look too bad now. Will probably just slip over to the west side of Yuma in the morning & see if we can find a better spot. And yes, our Verizon air card works great here at Mitry Lake & we have four reasonably clear TV channels too .................................

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

PROBABLY OUR SHORTEST TRAVEL DAY EVER

BLOG POSTED FRIDAY NIGHT

We had decided the day before to leave the Painted Rock area & head over to-wards Yuma & hopefully find us a Verizon coverage spot out around Mitry Lake somewhere. Short doggy walk & then slipped over & had us a look at all the petroglyphs on a large pile of rocks just north of us. I included the pictures I took this morning of the glyphs in yesterday's album.

We rolled out of the Painted Rock campground about 10:15 heading for Yuma. Decided to check for a Verizon signal about a mile down the road & sure enough, there it was. Drove another couple of miles & decided to pull over, have a coffee, & upload the blog & photo album. Had spotted a large flat spot on the desert floor by the east side of the road so pulled in there. Surface was hardpacked with stone just like Quartzite. Kelly checked one of our BLM Lands books to see if by chance we were on BLM lands & sure enough, we were. Figured we might just as well stay here for the rest of the day & overnight so drove the rig about a quarter mile further in off the road & set up camp. Probably the shortest travel day we've ever had. A grand total of about 3 miles. Not another human being or structure visible for as far as the eye could see. We could leave our door open finally & the doggy guys could come & go as they pleased. Very little traffic out on the road. Maybe a couple of vehicles every couple of hours or so. And it's a free spot too:)) STEAKS & BAKED POTATOES ON THE BARBIE

Spent the rest of the day catching up on computer stuff & just relaxing. Gathered up some firewood & built us a firepit. I think I had a siesta in there somewhere too. We have 5 or 6 television channels but they are all on the fuzzy side, but who cares, we have the whole Sonoran Desert to ourselves right outside our door. Despite it being heavily overcast, the scenery is just beautiful...........as usual here in the southwest.

Kelly did up some steaks on the barbie & just as they were done, the clouds to the west parted allowing the setting sun to spray the entire desert floor & surrounding mountains with awesome splendor. Grabbed my camera & managed to bang off some nice sunset shots. By the time I was finished, my steak was almost stone cold, but it didn't matter. The sunset had priority. We got us a nice campfire going as the desert night closed in around us. Wasn't long & we could see the distant lights of Gila Bend about 30 miles to the southeast across the desert floor. Over the mountains to the east we could see the large & spread out light orange glow of Phoenix on the low clouds. To add to all this, the cloud cover thinned out allowing the full moon to emerge & cast it's far flung moonbeams across the desert floor. We eased back in our comfy lawn chairs & marveled at the spectacle around us. Sat outside for a couple of hours, burning embers in the campfire, binoculars in hand, & just soaked up the whole wondrous canvas of Mother Nature's masterpiece in front of us. The clouds skudding across the moon made for one of the most memorable nights we've had in a very, very, long time............ OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

TO-DAY WE MET THE WANDERWOLF & LITTLE BIT

DESERT MOONRISE AT PAINTED ROCK, ARIZONA

Neither Kelly or I are very good at good-byes & this morning (Thursday) was no exception as we quietly slipped out of the Hickiwan Trails RV Park & headed west. Good-byes always seem so final or something. I have always tried to avoid that good-bye syndrome simply by kind of vanishing into the woodwork, disappearing around a corner, or just quietly slipping on down the road, so for the friends we left behind at Hickiwan Trails this morning, let me just say........see ya later guys, & thanks for your hospitality:)) IT'S AL UPLOADING THE BLOG THURSDAY MORNING AT HICKIWAN TRAILS

We spend a fair amount of time with our computer both at home & here, keeping in touch with fellow travelers & reading RV forums & blogs. Every once & awhile we are actually able to meet some of the people we have been in contact with over the past months or years. And so, as we rolled into Ajo Arizona this morning on our way to Gila Bend we were able to hook-up with & meet a fellow RV'er & blogger who goes by the name of Wanderwolf. Wanderwolf's name is Mike & Mike's rig is called, Wanderwolf. And Mike's tiny dog is called, Little Bit. Mike & Little Bit live in Wanderwolf. Mike is a superb artist working in oils & acrylics. His beautiful works hang in an Artist's Studio Gallery in downtown Ajo & he has just lucked into a great little studio deal of his own & is busy renovating & re-doing an older building on Racolla Street. Mike took some time out of his day to proudly show us his Wanderwolf rig which is also a complete work of art in itself. Nice fellow & I will put some more photos in the next photo album of Little Bit, Mike, & the Wanderwolf. Mike's website....http://wanderwolfandi.blogspot.com/2008/12/original-virsus-copies.html THIS IS THE WANDERWOLF

INSIDE THE WANDERWOLF IS WHERE MIKE LIVES & DOES HIS PAINTINGS

Some fellow RV'ers at Hickiwan Trails had told us of a place northwest of Gila Bend called, Painted Rock. No electricity or water so we knew that also meant, basically no people. Our kind of spot for sure & as we rolled west of Gila Bend & then 12 miles north up to Painted Rock, we weren't disappointed. Probably 30 or 40 sites here but only about 8 rigs scattered over a wide area. No problem for us to find a nice level spot with our nearest neighbor about a quarter mile away. It was about 2 in the afternoon & the temperature was sitting at 80F with a light breeze. Didn't take us long to get the lawn chairs out & for the first time since leaving home in Bayfield, we both felt at ease & comfortable with our surroundings. Didn't have to worry about the dogs bothering or upsetting people or people bothering or upsetting us. Not a human sound anywhere, just the breeze in the creosote shrubs. The dogs were free to run & play. And, so were we.....at last. MIKE IS HOLDING HIS DOG....LITTLE BIT

We had picked up a Verizon internet signal about 20 miles north of Ajo to-day & had the computer logged on almost all the way to our destination of Painted Rock. But, just about a mile short of the campsite we lost the signal. So near, yet so far. Had that signal hung on for us we would probably have stayed here for another 2 or 3 days but we'll be leaving to-morrow & heading for some more BLM lands just north of Yuma that we have heard about & hopefully we'll find us a Verizon signal there. When we leave in the morning & re-gain our Verizon internet signal we'll pull over somewhere & I'll update the blog with this post. I have another photo album ready to go as well but that will depend on how good a connection we can get before I try the photo upload. CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AJO, ARIZONA

Anyway, it was a good day, ending with a nice moonrise, a campfire, & a nice sunset........................ And the doggy guys loved it too:))

OUR FIRST DESERT CAMPFIRE

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

UPDATE...FRIDAY MORNING DEC. 12

About 4 miles south of painted rock where we have regained our Verizon signal so have pulled over & are checking email, updating the blog & putting up another photo album. It's a cloudy cool morning. Will include this mornings petroglyph photos to to-day's album later to-day if we find a Verizon connection somewhere northeast of Yuma around Mitry Lake.

IT WAS JUST KIND OF A FEELING SAD DAY

MORNING WALK AT HICKIWAN TRAILS

Just didn't seem right waking up this morning without the internet waiting for us & a few television channels to bring us up to speed on the world's news. The Park's Wifi signal isn't strong enough to reach us & our one fuzzy television channel just reminds us of a snow storm in Alaska.

Nice to be out in the desert for a morning walk again. We have had a lot of nice walks & memories here at Hickiwan Trails the last couple winters & I noticed that one of the Inukshuks I had built atop a rocky ridge last winter, is still standing. Kind of gave me a warm fuzzy. I took my cameras along but didn't take many pictures this time because I would only be repeating many of the photos I've taken here previous times. You can see a lot of those photos on the Hickiwan Trails RV Park website. http://hickiwantrailsrvpark.com/ or looking back a year to one of our days here http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2008/02/look-at-hickiwan-trails-rv-park.html

Our favorite boondocking site last year was just west of Ajo, Arizona just off Darby Wells Road. It's only about 10 miles up the road from Hickiwan Trails & we were really looking forward to going there again this year after we leave here. A major concern of ours is cell phone & internet service because Kelly needs both for here work related Deerpark Lodge reservations, etc. We were really hoping by some outside miracle that we might be able to get on-line with our new Verizon card over there, but had already heard that Verizon didn't cover that area yet. We took the car & the laptop & headed over to Darby Wells to find out for ourselves, but alas, no coverage. Oh well, we thought, we'll boondock here anyway & just drive into Ajo for our internet connection. But, as we headed up the old dusty road with it's bumps & grinds we sadly came to the conclusion that the road this year is just too bad to bring a motorhome in on. Just too many bumpity wash-outs. No problem for the car but it would just shake the heck out of the motorhome. We drove to the beautifully peaceful & serene campsite we parked at last year & just stood there listening to the golden silence of the surrounding mountains & saguaros. As I stood by the old campfire stones staring out over the desert valley before me with the mighty Ajo mountain range on the far horizon I was filled with an overwhelming sadness. We had been looking forward so much to returning to this spot ever since the day we left it back in February, nearly 10 months earlier. Just as we had been looking forward to returning to Hickiwan Trails. And I knew as I stood there that it was unlikely we will ever pass this way again.

I said good-bye to the old campsite near Darby Wells road and we drove the short distance into the town of Ajo. Another familiar place for us. Stopped at the library & Kelly went in to use a computer & check our emails. I took a walk around the beautiful town's square with it's distinctive Spanish flare. It was the middle of the week & no one was around. Few cars & fewer people. Ajo was a booming mining town years ago but since the closing up the large open pit mine the town has fallen on hard times. It's almost a living ghost town now. I had taken some photos here last year & took a few more to-day. It's quietness only added to my sadness.

We were back at Hickiwan Trails by 2. Met another couple we had first met here last year & have been in email contact with ever since. Pat & John are from New Mexico. Had a little chin wag & of course learned about some more great RVing areas. While talking to them, Hickiwan Ray, the Parks manager walked over with something hanging on a stick. It was a rattlesnake. But, it was a baby rattlesnake & it was obvious that it was very dead. That is the first real rattlesnake I've ever seen. It was apparently near one of the RV's to-day. And here I thought they were all underground!! Ray figured it got separated from it's Mother somehow. I'm not a big snake person but couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor little thing. As I said before, it was just a sad kind of day for me.

Kelly & I had set up a website for HickiwanTrails last year so Ray had a few technical questions about the site & I was able to help him out with understanding a few things on the computer. Always nice to be able to help out.

After supper when it got dark, Kelly & I walked around the park to look at people's Christmas lights. Met another couple we had known from last year & it was nice talking with them for a bit. They are from British Columbia. He was the fellow who was instrumental in helping us get our Star Choice up & running last year.

I took Max out for a short walk later as the large moon overhead bathed the desert landscape around us in a soft hue. It was a fitting time to say good-bye to Hickiwan Trails. It was a fine time to feel sad...............

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

UPDATE.....Thursday morning. Feeling better & we're off to-day for an area northwest of Gila Bend that we heard about. It's out in the middle of nowhere & sounds like our kind of place. Should be cell phone & internet coverage up there & hopefully some television channels either from Yuma or Phoenix:)) Toodles

LED ASTRAY IN TUCSON BY OUR GPS SYSTEM

Max had me up twice in the night & the big bad gusting winds finished me off again about 5 a.m. Repeat performance of the night before complete with black skies & rain. Temps really dropped as a cold front rolled into the area & I froze my fingers off hooking up the car. Had decided the day before to head for Hickiwan Trails RV Park this morning so by 9 o'clock we were all packed up & on the road heading west. Rains had stopped, sun came out & the winds from the northeast worked in our favor pushing us westward. http://hickiwantrailsrvpark.com/

East of Tucson we decided to program our GPS system (Garmin Gertie) to put us on track for highway 86 leading to Why & Ajo Arizona. The road, commonly known as the Ajo Way is a quiet little 75 mile highway heading due west out of Tucson's south end. As we approached Tucson from the southeast I had a pretty good idea where the highway was but as we got into Tucson Garmin Gertie directed me into the left lane of a 6 lane highway. Too late, I saw an overhead sign saying Ajo Way....right lane!! No way I could get over because it was a heavy traffic morning. Ok, I thought, no problem, I'll just get off at the next exit & double back. Garmin Gertie in the meantime was hollering at me & calling me names for not following her directions & I was yelling back at her with even blacker names & allegations. Then, the situation got worse!! I-10 heading into Tucson suddenly turned into one big huge construction zone. ALL exits were blocked off for miles & miles, lanes narrowed to Volkswagon width with heavy construction machines everywhere. We were swept right through Tucson from the southend all the way up to the north end on the way to Phoenix. Don't know how many miles we were carried along in the narrow two lane traffic but we were finally spit out of it somewhere northbound at an unblocked exit. Think I saw a sign that said Chicago 25 miles!! Swooped off to the right & then doubled back underneath I-10, grabbed a left turn ramp & swung back up onto I-10 heading south. Figured we'd head back down to the south end of Tucson & watch for the Ajo Way sign but we didn't even get 2 miles when we got siphoned off by heavy traffic into a right hand lane onto the southbound service lanes. This was a 3 lane road with traffic lights every mile or so but at least we were still pointed in the direction of the south pole. At one of those lights I spotted an oasis ahead in the traffic chaos. Bulled our way into the right hand lane & at the next light hung a right hand turn & swooped our 53 foot length in another tight right hand turn into the back parking lot of a Dennys. It was 10:30 in the morning & I was already a half hour behind on my 10 o'clock coffee.....so just get everybody out of my way!!!!!!!!

We got ourselves some breakfast, a couple dozen cups of coffee to steel our nerves, & we were back on the road again doing battle with the Tucson morning madness. Took us another 20 minutes of hollering & hooting before we finally spotted the Ajo Way sign pointing westward. What a relief to finally see Tucson disappearing in the rear view mirrors.

And Garmin Gertie?? Well, if she survives her upcoming lobotomy & apologizes profusely 35 times in a row while plugged directly into the cigarette lighter........... I might consider mercy & a conditional pardon!!

The drive from Tucson to Hickiwan Trails in Why, Arizona is one of my favorites. It's a narrow highway but hardly any traffic & I love the desert & mountain scenery along the whole way. Kitt Peak is a high mountain to the left with it's many telescopes & observatories. I was up there one day two winters ago & spent a couple of hours walking all over the place looking at the telescopes. Like I said, this is a nice drive.

Stopped at a gas station & filled up our gas & propane tanks in preparation for boondocking in the Ajo area shortly. Kelly tried out our new Verizon air card while we were driving & we had service for about 30 miles west of Tucson but then we lost the signal & that was it. The closer we got to Hickiwan the more familiar things became as I recognized the Ajo Mountain Range & the Darby Wells peaks way off on the horizon. So many pleasant memories from the past in those areas............ & more to come.

Rolled into Hickiwan Trails around 2 P.M & it felt good to be back once again to a little piece of Arizona that we had stumbled on 3 years ago one day while wandering aimlessly westward. To-day it sort of felt like coming home to our little piece of Arizona. We were at Hickiwan Trails RV Park twice last year & the second time we were here on our way back from California we were able to set up a website for the campground. http://hickiwantrailsrvpark.com/

We always try to park our rig away from other RV's because with 3 dogs it doesn't take long for people to start complaining & throwing things at us so we found us a place on an outer corner facing our side door to the desert. The Park's Wifi signal won't reach us so I'll have to take the computer & walk over closer to the office to send the blog later to-night. Only one fuzzy television channel too but as I said, it's a remote part of the State so we just have to expect some limitations. Just happy to be here & looking forward to our morning walks in one my very much most favorite little pieces of Arizona desert:))

No photos for the web album to-day.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

TUESDAY DEC. 10....UPDATE

We will be heading for Hickiwan Trails RV Park in Why, Arizona to-day. There is a good chance we will not be able to get a Verizon signal there because of the remote location so it may be a few days before we figure out how to get back on-line again................. A

INTO THE CAVERN & OFF TO A MONASTERY

Max got me up at 1 a.m. for a doggy wee wee & the weather had me up again around 5:30. Wind gusts were rocking the rig from side to side & at dawn's first light we could see how black the sky's were over the mountain ridge to our north. The thunder, lightning, & rain started coming down hard & then became louder as the hail began hitting the roof. I figured right away that what I was really hearing was the end of our solar panels as they were being shattered into thousands of pieces. I rushed outside & immediately noticed the hail was not the large & rock hard stuff we get in Ontario sometimes so our solar panels we're going to be ok. The storm didn't last long & the winds began to subside as the sun began breaking through the parting clouds. A rainbow appeared over to-ward the northern mountain range. All was well in paradise again:)) A RAINBOW AFTER THE STORM

By 8:30 we were scurrying quickly through the campground & across the parking lots heading for the Discovery Center & hopefully the first cave tour of the day. We made it with minutes to spare as the park ranger tour guide & his assistant were just loading 3 other people onto some little tractor pulled carts. Because no cameras are allowed in the caverns I felt I had left a part of me back in the motorhome. We were very fortunate to be part of such a small group because tour groups usually consist of 20 people. And the biggest bonus..... no screaming & hollering school bus tours. A short 3 minute uphill drive had us at the outside entrance point of Kartchner Cavern's Rotunda & Throne room. http://azstateparks.com/Parks/KACA/index.html We were given very detailed instructions on the do's & don'ts of our impending tour. They are EXTREMELY sensitive about protecting these caves from any harm or contamination of any kind. We were even instructed on how to properly carry our coats if we should decide to remove them once inside the cavern. Four heavy duty steel doors made sure outside air would never enter inside. Temperature in the area this morning was about 50F & as we entered through the last steel door the cavern temperature was 70F. Between two sets of doors we were actually sprayed with a fine mist as we walked through a section of man made tunnel. The water spray is to prevent any lint or skin particles from falling off people in the cave & contaminating the cavern. You now understand why I capitalized the word......... EXTREMELY!!

Our tour guide was an older man who has been a ranger here at the Kartchner Caverns for the past 10 years. It was very obvious he loves his job & his primary focus has been to protect these caverns. An excellent guide who explained everything with enthusiasm & dedication. The caves are beautiful & mind boggling. It was the same overwhelming feeling we experienced when we toured the Carlsbad Caverns a couple of years ago. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/THURSDAYDEC21 The Kartchner tour lasted 50 minutes & culminated in the Throne Room with the majestic 58 foot Kubla Khan column. A 5 minute light show with accompanying music rounded out the very well conducted tour. Sure wished I could have taken my camera in there................................ A PAINTING OF KUBLA KHAN

A year ago at this time while staying at Hickiwan Trails over near Why, Arizona we met another RVing couple, Bea & Herb. We met them again up in Quartzite the following month & since then have kept in touch via email & Facebook. Bea & Herb hail from Aberta , Canada & like to spend their winters traveling in the American Southwest. Our paths crossed again when we rolled into this area yesterday. Bea & Herb had stumbled across a quiet little place a few years ago that just happens to be a Monastery with full RV hook up sites. Anyone can come here regardless of religion & there is no pressure from the people living here to change anyone's religious views . The Holy Trinity Monastery is located just south of St. David, Arizona which was just a 20 minute drive from our campground at Kartchner. St. David is about 8 miles south of Benson Az. LADY OF GUADALUPE CHURCH

Nice to see Bea & Herb again & we all set off on a mile walk around the back property of the Monastery which leads through a woods alongside the San Pedro river. Stopped to look at some machinery that shakes the husks off the pecans. Pecans are a big industry in this area. Pecan orchards everywhere. The path led through some heavy thickets & open fields bringing us in a large circle back to the main part of the Monastery. Walked through the cemetery & stations of the cross area to the Lady of Guadalupe church. Always so nice to see this southwestern architecture with it's heavy use of adobe & wood. Church & grounds were very nice & we even got to fill our pockets with pecans in the pecan orchard. Didn't see many people though so I guess they were all inside somewhere. Our walk took us about an hour & a half & it was good exercise for our legs. Back to Bea & Herb's rig for some pecan pie & egg nog ice cream. All & all, a pleasant way to spend an afternoon with some nice fellow RVing folks. After a short stop in Benson for some gas & groceries we were back to our rig by 4:30 & that was about it for our day. Thought I would take a chance & try out the Park's shower facilities & see if they were scrimping on their hot water here too. Well, was I pleasantly surprised when turning on the shower tap to see steaming hot water coming out. Within seconds I had the water so hot in there I melted all the shower tiles!! Stayed in there so long 112 shouting people lined up beating on the door!! Had it been a coin operated shower I would have had to go to a bank for a loan!! And, if I don't end this blog right now I'm going to fall asleep at the keyboard again & fall right off the chair onto the floor!! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

SILVER CITY TO KARTCHNER CAVERNS STATE PARK

A WALL PAINTING IN THE DISCOVERY CENTER

A co-worker in Clinton, Ontario once told me he gets up a 4 a.m. every morning & starts his day by reading our blog when we are traveling. Well Bruce, I'm here to tell you that I'm sometimes up at 2 a.m. just writing the darn thing. And so it was last night again. Don't know what wakes me up occasionally but when it does I'm usually beat for going back to sleep for an hour or so. It's either watch some TV or hop aboard the computer & catch up on some email, edit some photos, or start on the next day's blog.

Another cold morning so we cut our doggy walk a bit short & started packing up the rig. Had to kind of wiggle the motorhome around to clear the tight campsite & slightly re-arranged a wooden post in the process. I exited the motorhome & re-re-arranged the post back to it's original position & I was off. Kelly followed in the car & we met up at the Wal-Mart store just down the road to hook up the car. Probably the first time we were ever in a Wal-Mart parking lot without actually going into the Wal-Mart store itself. BARREL CACTUS FLOWERS

The drive heading southwest to Lordsburg on highway 90 was very scenic with hardly any traffic. Just a nice sunny quiet Sunday morning drive all the way on a gentley winding road. Picked up interstate 10 & swung our nose westward. Crossed the Arizona State line at 10:30, or 12:30 Ontario time. Most of the traffic was trucks but did notice more RV's on the road than a few weeks ago. Watched a big widespread dark cloud cover rolling in from the southwest. It's the stormfront that is expected to bring snow to northeast New Mexico to-morrow.HEADING DOWN HIGHWAY 90 INTO LORDSBURG, NEW MEXICO

We reached Kartchner Caverns State Park about 1:15 p.m. Very nice campsite & very few people here. That is always a bonus!! State Parks in New Mexico are $14 a night with electricity & water but Arizona is $22 a night. You don't want to even know what California is:((

Didn't take us long to get things set up & within one minute of turning our computer on & slipping in our Verizon air card..........WE WERE ON-LINE:))))))) If we were still using the tri-pod system I wouldn't even have had the maddening jumble of wires out of the car yet. And who knows if we would have got a good signal from the satellite because we had a heavy cloud cover over us. We know this air card isn't going to work everywhere but so far it sure beats all the hassle of physically setting up that tri-pod, dish, & arm plus all the computer stuff we had to go through to get on-line. And then you had better hope the wind didn't come up & move the dish off the satellite!! Got your note in the Shoutbox Don & we have been looking into that....thanks for the link. The only disappointment is that we can only get one channel on the television & being this close to Tucson, that has surprised us. Looks like it is a boring sports channel too:(( After a little afternoon siesta we walked over to the main visitors building here called the Discovery Center. Beautiful desert hummingbird gardens surround this superb building. A lot of money has been spent here. Very spacious & modern with lots of exhibits & a large screen theater showing a 15 minute movie explaining the caves. HOWEVER, there are two main drawbacks. First of all it is very expensive to see the caves compared to Carlsbad over in New Mexico. (to see our tour of the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, go here..... http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/THURSDAYDEC21
$18.95 a person to see the Rotunda/Throne room & $22 to see the Big Room here at Kartchner. Needless to say we'll be doing the Rotunda/Throne tour. The second bug-a-boo for me is....NO CAMERA'S ALLOWED IN THE CAVES!! !^**#!!(*>+**%# Couldn't believe it when I heard that!!!!!!!!! So, the only thing I can do is take a few pics around the Discovery Center.......... which I did. But, no photos of the caves themselves. I'm so mad about that I could almost go outside & spit....maybe even spit twice!!

Well, at least we've got a nice campsite. We are ringed by high hills & mountains all around & this is a really picturesque place. Another well thought out & beautiful State Park. We were really lucky to catch a beautiful sunset going down so I grabbed my camera & scrambled up on top of the motorhome to crack off a few shots. They are at the end of to-day's photo album. To-morrow morning we will take the Kartchner Cavern tour of the Throne room & then decide where we feel like going next. There is a free campground over near Benson so we might slip over there to-morrow night but not sure. Some RV friends from British Columbia that we met last year are in the area so we may get to-gether for a coffee with them to-morrow too. We'll wait & see which way the wind is blowing in the morning:))

SHE'S A GREAT LITTLE PICTURE TAKER:))

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/