WE FOUND WHAT WE SET OUT TO FIND TODAY

Thursdays wind didn’t bother us out here in the Kofa Refuge.  Seemed to be worse in Quartzsite.  How nice it was to feel the warm breezes even though we we had a thin cloud cover.  No wind in the night & all was quiet & calm.  Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  But Friday was a different story:((

SUNRISE AT OUR HOUSE
 
HAD TO DRESS WARM AGAINST THE WIND THIS MORNING


Heavier clouds had rolled in overnight with winds picking  up this morning & adding a definite chill to the air.  A very short walk for us & we were soon back inside for a couple hours until temps came up a notch & the day brightened up a tad.  Forecast calls for sunny days ahead beginning Saturday.

FOLLOWING A VERY HARD TO SEE TRAIL BACK INTO THE MOUNTAINS
We were finally out the door around 11 a.m..  Wanted to check out an area where friends Ann & Bill (Kofa Hosts on Palm Canyon Road) told us last time we were here where some additional tanks (water holes) were located.  Especially looking for one which has a tall ladder leading to it.  Ann also said it’s a beautiful boondocking area.

JUST AS KELLY WAS CHECKING OUR GPS THE BATTERIES DIED…MEMO TO SELF, ‘CHECK THE GPS BATTERIES AL’!!!!
With hand written directions in hand we headed north on Pipeline road running parallel to highway 95 on the East side.  Saw tracks leading off toward the mountains & with difficulty followed them in for a few miles until we lost the trail.

ABOUT TIME TO TURN THE LITTLE BUGGY AROUND
Lost the trail again while trying to make our way back to Pipeline road but with a bit of criss-cross wandering we did pick it up again & found Pipeline road.  A few miles further north along Pipeline we did find a solid looking dirt road again heading towards the mountains & this one turned out to be correct for what we were looking for.  Road ended at a Kofa Vehicle sign & chance encounter with a lady in a car gave us walking directions for the Hidden Valley Tank often referred to as Ladder Tank.

HEADED OFF WALKING TO THE BASE OF THOSE MOUNTAINS WITH PHEEBS OUT FRONT…IT’S A WIDE ANGLE SHOT SO PHEEBS IS NOT REALLY AS FAR AHEAD AS SHE LOOKS
   
PHEEBS LEADS THE WAY, SHE ALWAYS SEEMS TO KNOW WHERE SHE IS GOING

TURNS OUT PHEEBS IS HEADING STRAIGHT FOR THE THE GAP IN THE MOUNTAIN CALLED HIDDEN VALLEY TANK JUST SLIGHTLY LEFT OF CENTER
About a mile walk to the mountains.  Nice to be out walking instead of being jostled in the Jeep.  Pheebs just loves getting out & racing around everywhere smelling everything.  The gap in the mountain side leading into Shelter Valley is very hard to see but see it we finally did.  We still were not sure we were on the right path but looking ahead we could see a lot of green foliage in a large earth depression.  We knew from experience this was a spot where a lot of water would flow from the mountains through this narrow canyon & out onto the desert floor.  

ENTRANCE TO HIDDEN VALLEY TANK
We still were not sure we were in the right spot until looking ahead & up I caught site of something man made just up the narrow canyon a few hundred yards.

 
HAD OURSELVES A FEW BOULDERS TO GET OVER FIRST
A large tin roof type structure high up & sure enough there through the brush growing along the creek bed we spotted a steel tube ladder leading up a dry waterfall to what appeared to be a cement dam in the rocks.  In reality this was a waterfall created untold centuries ago.  In fact it is still a waterfall in the rainy season.  Yes, this was the tank we had been looking for.  Kelly at this point was ahead of me so started up the 40’ ladder.  She quickly realized it was not the thing for her to do & came down.  Pheebe in the meantime was trying to scramble up a bunch of lose gravel in the dry waterfall alongside the ladder.

I HAD STOPPED TO TAKE A COUPLE PHOTOS & WHEN I CAUGHT UP KELLY WAS ALREADY ON THE LADDER
 
GOING UP – COMING DOWN
I don’t mind heights & don’t mind climbing most things as long as they are solid.  I do not do shaky ladders leaning against buildings but this steel ladder was solid so up I went.  Climbing the ladder was the easy part. 

LOOKING UP THE LADDER

LOOKING DOWN THE LADDER AFTER TRANSITIONING ON TO THE ROCK FACE
 
LOOKING INTO THE TANK…WATER COMES IN FROM LEFT & POOLS BEHIND ROCK & CEMENT WALL…THE BIGHORN SHEEP COME HERE TO DRINK…REPAIRS LAST YEAR TO THE ROCK WALL
 
Today’s heavy wind blowing though the narrow canyon slot created a wind tunnel effect at the top of the ladder as I struggled a bit to transition myself off the ladder & onto the rocks at the lip of the waterfall.  No easy feat with the strong wind & I knew this would be the difficult part when I came back down.  Kinda took me back a bunch of years when I have been known to climb a few Micro-wave towers & a small town 80’ water tank half a dozen times.  Thanks to steel tubing embedded in the rock I was able to make it up further & above the tank for a look see inside.  Lot of loose rock on the steep incline but with good hiking shoes & a sharp eye one can do it.   Took about a dozen photos. 

TIN ROOF OVER THE WATER PREVENTS IT FROM EVAPORATING
 

I COULD SEE A TRAIL LEADING FURTHER UP THE WASH BUT THIS WAS FAR ENOUGH FOR ME
With the winds ripping though there I didn’t stay long & began my descent.  As expected the backward transition from the rock onto the ladder was a bit of a momentary challenge but slow & easy does it and that’s what I did.  Minutes later I was petting a happy & concerned little Pheeber buns at the bottom of the ladder:))
 
LOT OF LOOSE ROCKS & GRAVEL SO ONE HAS TO BE CAREFUL WHERE ONE STEPS
 
BIT TRICKY GETTING DOWN TO THE LADDER

A LAST LOOK DOWN THE CANYON BEFORE CLIMBING BACK DOWN THE LADDER
Bit of a rock scramble coming back out of Hidden Valley Tank but it’s those rock scrambles that are so good for our leg muscles.
  
WHEW, GLAD TO BE THROUGH ALL THAT
Exiting the canyon Kelly noticed a ridge running along the trail & wondered what was on the other side.  With that we walked up on top of the ridge & spotted the remains of a very old truck of some kind.  For sure there will be a story behind it but how the truck got there or who drove it there we have no idea.  Maybe some of you old time car buffs can identify what this might have been at one time.  I’m guessing something out of the 20’s or 30’s.

 

Nice walk back to the Jeep as the cloud cover began to slowly break up & shower us with a few momentary splashes of sunlight.  Just so great to spend another few hours walking & exploring around the mountains & deserts of the Great American South-West.  It’s a land where the scenery & adventures never stop if one does not want them to.  A land of history, mystery, & great stone castles in the air………

 
We were soon back to the Jeep & bouncing our way along the dusty desert road back out to highway 95  Fifteen minutes later we were tiredly back to the rig.  With winds a blowin we retreated inside for the rest of the afternoon.

 
SORRY FOLKS BUT KELLY MADE ME POSE FOR THESE
Saturday morning with a few basic directions in hand we are off again & this time our goal is to find 2 more water tanks hidden somewhere in the Castle Dome Mountains not far from where we are camped.  We are told if we can find Gray & Arch tanks we may also find a grinding cave with Petroglyphs & a sleeping cave.  A grinding cave probably means Indian grain grinding holes in the rock but no idea who we will find sleeping in the sleeping cave if indeed anyone is sleeping there at all.  Maybe a few old reposing Ghosts perhaps.

SCENERY JUST GOES ON FOREVER HERE IN THE SOUTH-WEST

COME ON DAD YOUR LAGGING BEHIND
Peter & Bea at AMERICAN TRAVELER had themselves a real struggle trying to get themselves out of Florida due to icy road conditions & massive traffic jams on I-10.  Enough was enough with the Florida weather this winter & they are trying to make their way out to the South-West.  With a bit of luck they may have made it to Texas today.  Or, they may still be locked in ice somewhere in the South-East:((

 
GORDON W in our Shout Box asks. ‘what does your neighbor think of your south gate using his driveway’?  The short dirt & gravel section leading in from Ghost Town Road to our neighbor’s gate is a right of way & has always been used by our property & also the neighbor directly south of us so we’re good to go there.

Thanks to bobm for the link about Dish TV on Nick's Blog.  Guess we won’t be rushing into anything there anytime soon.  Actually all we really have to do is just pack up our satellite dish at home & bring it with us.  That’s what we used to do.  Don’t ask me why we haven’t been doing that because I just don’t have a good logical answer to that question.  Kelly is the TV watcher in the family & enjoys her nightly shows.  She watches TV & I sit here working on my daily post with headphones on filling my head with music.  I do that so I do not have to listen to the television.  However there are times when I too have things I would like to see whether sitting at home, boondocking, in transit, or wherever.  I would liked to have seen CNN’s special about the Beatles Thursday night.  Also Jay Leno’s last show this Thursday night.  I watched Johnny Carson for many years & while traveling booked into a Motel in Billings Montana back in May of 92 just to see his final night.  Now just because I grumble a lot about TV programming does not mean I think all TV programming is bad Ed.  But of course you knew that…..right:))
 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( The Marshes were shown into the dentist's surgery, where Mr Marsh makes it absolutely clear that he is in a big hurry. 'No expensive extras, Doctor', Marsh demands, 'No gas or needles or any of that fancy stuff. Just pull the tooth and get it over with.'  'I wish more of my patients were as strong minded and as brave as you, Mr. Marsh, 'said the dentist admiringly.  'Now, which tooth is it?' Mr. Marsh turns to his wife and says: 'Show him your tooth, honey.'

WARM WINDS A BLOWIN IN THE KOFA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE:))))))

BOONDOCKED JUST SOUTH OF THE KOFA MOUNTAIN RANGE

With Arizona’s milder temperatures this year I had been keeping an eye on the thermometer up around Sedona the past few weeks & with daytime highs in the 60’s last week & earlier this week I was hoping we could grab a few days in that area.  However checking the 10 day forecast I saw the temps dropping into the low 50’s with rain forecast for Friday.  Night time temps down at the freezing mark.  We missed our window of opportunity but we’ll have us a look at Sedona again maybe around the end of March or early April on our way North.

 

FIRST TIME USING OUR NEW SOUTH GATE & IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM

Kelly surprised me Wednesday afternoon when she returned from Wickenburg with the words, “if we can get the rig loaded up we can leave tomorrow”.  Well that was all I needed to perk up my spirits again.  We talked about Yuma, Borrego Springs, or a return to the Kofa Mountains.  We liked the idea we can be into the Kofa’s in about two & a half hours from our house so that was our destination.  Plus now that all the congestion has cleared out of Quartzsite it just made it more practical for us to head back on down through there.

ALWAYS GREAT TO BE ON THE ROAD GOING SOMEWHERE

We had Winnie’s wheels rolling by 9:50 & it was the first time through our new south gate.  Worked pretty slick.  Quick stop at the Post Office & we were westward bound on 2 of my favorite lite traffic highways.  Number 71 from Congress to Aguila & number 60 from there to Interstate 10.  Just put er on ‘Cruise Control’, sit back & enjoy Arizona’s mighty fine scenery rolling by.  From I-10 to Quartzsite is only about 12 miles.  A customary stop at McDonald’s for coffee & we were on our way again.  Winds had really picked up throwing a lot of dust into the air in Quartzsite.  No traffic jams, no crowds, no problems.  Now that’s how we prefer to do Quartzsite. 

 

YEP WE’RE IN QUARTZSITE ALRIGHT

 

Q’S MAIN INTERSECTION MAY LOOK BUSY BUT NOTHING LIKE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A WEEK AGO

Knew exactly where we were going so headed about 30 miles or so south of the Q & hung a left into the desert across from Stone Cabin & made our way along a dusty desert road back into the mountains.  An area familiar to us between the Kofa & Castle Dome mountains.  Kofa’s to our North & Castle Domes to our South.  ‘How sweet it is’ as Jackie Gleason would say.

SO NICE TO CATCH SIGHT OF THE KOFA MOUNTAINS AGAIN

 

CHECKED OUT FIRST ONE CAMPSITE THEN ANOTHER

DECIDED ON THE THIRD ONE

We headed back in far enough this time to a spot where the only sound in the air was the wind rustling the hair around under my Cowboy hat.  Not another RV in site for as far as the eye can see.  No telephone wires, power poles, light pollution, buildings, noisy traffic, nothing.  Finally a spot that totally suits our much preferred style of boondocking.  No television signal with our antennae but we do have internet.  We really gotta get on the ball & get ourselves a ‘Dish’ receiver & activate the TracVision dome we already have on the rig.  It is already set-up & programmed for Dish TV.  Sometimes we just drag our feet too darn much.

 

PRETTY NICE FRONT YARD I WOULD SAY

 

I’D SAY THE LOOK ON KELLY’S FACE PRETTY WELL SAYS IT ALL:))

We are in the KOFA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE not far from where we were back in 2010.  We especially like it here because of it’s remoteness & the fact nobody else is here.  It’s like we have this whole mountain playground to ourselves.  Not everybody’s fancy of course but it sure fits us to a T.  Oh how we love listening to the silence of the wind in the Saguaros:))  We are totally ringed by mountains.  Some near, some far.  We’ll be on the desert Jeep roads in the morning in search of something.  Not sure what yet but I bet we’ll find it:))

 RETIRED ROD left a Rattlesnake vaccine link in my Wednesday post.  Click on RATTLESNAKE VACCINE to read about how this works & what it does.

 

Sometimes the difficulties of finding a place can stretch into a lengthy day resulting in an unexpected sighting.  In this case it was Bighorn Mountain Sheep in the Yacqui Pass over in California & it happened to Doug & Dolly at MISS ADVENTURE TRAVELS.  Their elusive destination Wednesday had been Ghost Mountain in the Blair Valley.  A Police car followed them back to Borrego Springs.  ‘Oh-Oh’. .

And Awwwwww Nuts!!!!!!  Our loveseat couch broke.  We were both on the couch, Kelly went to get up & the bolts pulled out of the floor at the back of the couch & we both suddenly tipped forward.  Luckily I caught my laptop with my feet.  Right now we have yellow plastic tire levelers under the front of the couch to keep it from tipping forward.  Bruce back home had made a special block of wood to fit under the front bar of the couch but of course I forgot to bring it.  We’ll pull the cushions off tomorrow & have us a look at what happened.  I’m not optimistic we will be able to fix it the way it was though.  I remember how much trouble Ron & Scotty had installing it last summer……….

FOR KELLY & I IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT THE SCENERY, THE PEACE & THE QUIET………

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Ethan walks into a barn with a farmer to buy a horse.  The horse is laid down in some straw. After giving the horse the once-over Ethan says, "This here horse ain’t got no shoes on."  The farmer replies "Well he ain’t got up yet.

NOT MUCH GOING ON:(( -- OR IS THERE??

RED TAIL HAWK

The windsock attached to our front gate hung straight down at dawn.  It was so calm a wisp of smoke would have gone straight up into the still morning air without a waver.  Sky was clear & the air crisp, not cold.  Another fine Arizona day was underway & I knew with this calm air it would be a good time to turn our raked up ground based yellow dried grass into burnt-up air based atmosphere.  And so be it the task was done.

DIDN’T TAKE LONG TO BURN UP THE DRIED GRASS WITH 2 FIRE SOURCES

Couple readers asked how Dally was doing & we again noticed this morning she seemed a bit subdued.  Happy to see us but her jumping exuberance has settled down & I think that is a good thing.  I’m sure her experience has changed her in some ways.  Maybe matured her a bit & taken some of that young dog rambunctiousness out her. 

A few folks have asked about that Rattlesnake vaccine shot Pheebs had Tuesday.  The vaccine buys time.  If an animal is bit the vaccine holds back the effects but the animal still must be taken immediately to a Vet for further treatment.  An animal has a higher survival rate & less bad effects if it has been vaccinated against the Rattlesnake’s venom.  Vet said the majority of snake bites are on a dog’s nose & 20% of those bites are dry bites meaning no venom is injected.  Only after effects from the vaccination may be a temporary small lump at the injection sight on her neck after about a week.  Snake aversion classes are also held in Wickenburg but I’m thinking they do not begin until well into March or early April.

Not a lot to write about.  Tried to interest myself in some yard puttering but ended up in my recliner watching TV for most of the day.  Kelly went to Wickenburg for the results of her Tuesday blood tests & to do some shopping & that’s about it for today…………………..

GROANER’S CORNER:((   Two city boys were on a train heading through Texas when one of them noticed some cows. 'What a lovely bunch of cows.' he remarked. 'Not a bunch, herd,' the other boy replied.  'Heard of what?'  'Herd of cows.'  'Of course I've heard of cows.' ‘No, a cow herd.'  'What do I care what a cow heard.  I have no secrets to keep from a cow.'

(last minute update) 

OUR RV IS PARKED IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE TONIGHT…..WHAT COULD THIS MEAN??

PHEEBS WINS THEM OVER AT THE WICKENBURG VET CLINIC

I KEPT A CLOSE EYE ON THIS PATCH OF CACTUS TODAY HOPING TO GET A FEW PHOTOS OF THE GOPHER SNAKE

A high thin wispy cloud cover made for a slightly cooler day & that worked well for me this morning as I concentrated my efforts on cleaning out all the old dead grass along the ditch in front of our place.  Fired up our weed whacker for only the second time this winter.  I have a tendency to avoid small gasoline engine powered things as much as I can but the garden rake just wasn’t the right tool for the job I was doing.  Don’t like things that make a big noise.  Dug a few preliminary shallow holes near our new gate in preparation for planting something in them & doing a little landscaping in that area.  Kept my camera close by in hopes of catching a glimpse of Mr. Gopher snake but didn’t see him.  Kelly busied herself in the house cleaning.

NO SIGN OF MR. GOPHER SNAKE ANYWHERE

I had really hoped we would have been loading the rig this week in preparation for travel shortly but sometimes my travel plans are hard to get implemented.  Kind of like that saying about trying to nail Jello to a tree.  You solo folks don’t have that problem.  When your ready to go somewhere you just up & go somewhere.  Nice. 

<<< PETER & LESLIE GAVE US THIS QUALITY WIND CHIME LAST WEEK

Jim & Rene from LIVE. WORK. DREAM. had an update on the goings on at Slab City.  They are currently there & attended a meeting at ‘The Range’.   Seems to be a lot of rumors & confusion swirling about in regards to what is actually going on there.  Anyone typing Slab City into our ‘Search Bar’ can see our trips to Slab City over the years.

SO NICE TO SEE THE HUMMERS AT THE FEEDER >>>

It’s always important to be prepared for emergencies while out hiking.  Barney over at OLD FAT MAN ADVENTURES in his latest post talks about what he carries in his backpack while on the trail.  This will be of interest to hikers or any folks doing day trips in the back county.  He even talks about his bladder………..

 

GATE IS ANGLED TO FACE THE ROAD TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OUR NEIGHBOR’S RIGHT OF WAY ROAD…SAME NEIGHBOR WHO’S PROPERTY I HAVE BEEN CLEANING UP

Rather than having our 14’ south gate placed in-line with the existing fence causing us to make a 90 degree turn going in or out of it I had the the fence builder angle the gate in.  That makes it much easier for ourselves or anyone else towing something to get into our yard.  Kind of hard to explain so had to climb up on the rig & do a bit of an aerial view of the gate set up.  Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

BOTH GATES CAN BE SEEN IN THIS PHOTO…OLDER GATE AT EXTREME LEFT & NEWER GATE AT EXTREME RIGHT

Seeings how we had a trip to Wickenburg anyway this afternoon for Pheebs Rattlesnake vaccine shot Kelly figured she might as well get her monthly blood tests taken care of again.  And besides, she said Bashas had butter on sale.  We were in the Jeep & on our way before 3.

THIS STREET SIGN IN WICKENBURG TELLS A LOT ABOUT THE TOWN’S HISTORY

We were early for our Vet appointment & they took us in.  Pheebs just makes friends wherever she goes.  She had the two ladies at the front desk just a cooing over her when she put her paws up against the counter & peered over to see how they were doing.  Another little doggy came in on a leash & Pheebs right away made friends with her.  The Vet himself liked Pheebs right off & had no problems doing a routine examination.  Pheebs never even felt the Vaccine shot in her neck & before she knew it we were all done.  With a big tail wagging smile she said good-bye to everyone & out to the Jeep we went.  The actual vaccine shot was only $12 & the routine exam $28.  Half an hour later with lengthening shadows beginning to fill in the canyons we were home & that was pretty much it for another Bayfield Bunch day…………….. 

 

PHEEBS PUTS SOME REASSURING SMOOCHES ON ANOTHER LITTLE FELLOW WAITING TO SEE THE VET

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Mike Montana got into his old rusted Ford 4 by 4 and drove to the neighboring ranch and knocked at the door. A young boy, Neil, aged about 9, opened the door.

'Is yer Dad home?' Mike demanded.
'No, sir, he ain't,' Neil replied. 'He went into town.'

'Well, then,' inquired Mike, 'is yer Mom here?'
'No, sir, she ain't here neither. She went into town with Dad.'

'How about your brother? Is he here?'
'He went with Mom and Dad,' explained Neil patiently.

Mike Montana stood there for a few seconds, shifting from one foot to the other and muttering to himself.

'Is there anything I can do fer ya?' Neil asked politely. 'I know where all the tools are, if you want to borrow one. Or maybe I could take a message fer Dad.'

'Well, it's difficult,' answered Mike uncomfortably, 'I really wanted to talk to yer Dad. It's about your brother getting my daughter pregnant.'

Neil considered for a moment, 'You would have to talk to Pa about that,' he finally conceded. 'If it helps you any, I know that Pa charges $600 for the bull and $60 for the hog, but I really don't know how much he gets fer Howard.'