Filling our Time

Linda led the way on our first trail hike.

It has been interesting settling into our spot, exploring Yuma, and establishing a rhythm to our snowbirding. The weather has been nice; it is cooler than expected but very sunny. The wind blows quite a bit more than at home in Post Falls, which we deal with. Linda has taken on the challenge of dusting the camper, which is a big job for such a little space. 

As a contribution to the home maintenance area, I have started waxing and doing some needed touch-ups to keep the exterior of our camper nice. The little home is about 16 years old, and many little projects are on my to-do list. Each day, I wax a section of the exterior. When I see a crack in the caulk that needs repair, I clean and replace it. This list will keep me busy for most of our stay, and our little home will appreciate the attention.

Dome Valley.

Steve put together our first group hike. We were joined by nine of the Nelson's friends and we hiked up Telegraph Pass to a vista overlooking Yuma to the west and Dome Valley to the east.  I have to admit that I failed to make it to the top with the rest of the pack. The trail was a cement road that went straight up and my poor knees suffered both ways. Linda made the top and took photos for me. I took my time hiking back to the truck after I turned around. It was a nice hike and I really enjoyed the solo descent.

Looking to the southeast from the hilltop.

We have some friends, Rick and Teri Wright, who moved from Idaho to Tucson about three years ago. Linda has kept in touch and they invited us to visit and explore Tucson and see their new home.  We packed our bags and drove the 226 miles to the big city. 

As we drove, a short diversion off Highway 8 took us to the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site. We exited the highway and drove about 10 miles to the site where we parked in a dusty lot and walked to the fenced-in area containing the glyphs. There are over 800 petroglyphs viewable in this rocky area. They are very concentrated in these rocks and it's considered one of the largest grouping of glyphs in America.

The Wrights own a very nice house in a neighborhood of Tucson called the Oro Valley. Their home is on a golf course and they have a beautiful chunk of property with a nice one-level house and a large pool. We spent our first evening there sitting around a huge fire, eating, drinking, laughing, and catching up. It was a great way to start our visit.

On our second day visiting, Linda and I drove south through Tucson to Saguaro National Park. This is a very large park that is divided into two separate park units. Our excursion took us to the Tucson Mountain Unit about 10 miles outside of Tucson. The park is famous for the giant Saguaro cactus which spread out like a massive carpet over the landscape.

We viewed the area, visited the park gift shop, and then drove to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. There, we spent about three hours reading about the desert and viewing the numerous desert animals, plants, and crawly critters they care for at this site.

The other days in Tucson were spent eating amazing food, continuing our conversations about what we'd been doing the last three years, and enjoying exploring the city a bit. We had such a great time with the Wrights. Thanks to them for their wonderful hospitality. The best part was that there were things they still wanted us to see and more things we wanted to do. We all decided that was perfect because it meant we'd have to get together again very soon.

Mountain Sheep feeding in the shade.

A bobcat

Javalina resting in a cool spot.

Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus spp. baileyi).

Mountain Lion, the park's mascot.

Our stay with the Wrights was delightful.

Practicing my swiveling. Some call it sleeping.

Rick in his pro-swiveling mode.

After a great visit, we returned home to our normal life. The next morning, a group of new friends met at a trailhead a quick couple of miles from our place. The trail led us across the scabland to a small canyon where there were a few petroglyphs hidden along the trail. It was a nice hike, and you could clearly see the three glyphs. The entire hike into the petroglyphs and back was about three miles which made for an easy morning of talking and walking.

A final note, yesterday I experienced my first brush with a cactus. It was a real eye-opener and I still really don't know how I got into the bugger. My theory is that as I was working on some camper projects, the wind blew one of the rags onto the ground, where I first picked up the microspines. I noticed them on my left sock as I was finishing up my projects but by then it was too late. I had very fine prickers in my ankle, then my hand.  Once I noticed them, I removed the socks and tossed them in the trash. Linda worked me over with a pair of tweezers and then she took duck tape and covered all areas affected. She pulled the tape and got most of the spines out. Boy, do those things spread fast! After about an hour we figured most of the spines had been removed and I took a long shower. The final result of the debacle was that I lost two socks, and my old Crocs (the left one was covered in spines). I learned to stay alert while working in Cactus Country. 

Heading East

The stay at Mojave Narrows Regional Park was interesting and we got some well-deserved rest. The trains were plentiful, but the park was positioned where they didn't use their horns so the sound was more background noise all day long.  We didn't shower during our stay. The restrooms were not very clean and so I used the men's, but Linda used the camper. The clientele was a mix of stop-over campers and people living in their old RVs. Everyone kept to themselves and hardly ever moved about their campsite.  Now, would I recommend the park, probably not! For less money, we have found much cleaner and more accommodating locations.  

By the time we were ready to hit the road, the Jeep was charged and working normally. The tow brake was doing its job, we had filled the propane tanks, emptied our gray and black tanks and all we had to do was drive. The route took us on HWY-15 to HWY-215 to HWY-10 to Hwy-62 leading us into Desert Hot Springs where we found the KOA and settled in.

After setting up, Linda grabbed the laundry and got busy with that operation. I put the Jeep on the charger and went about making sure the camper was stabilized. I mention this because the wind was blowing at a very consistent 45 MPH. Linda had gone to the main office to touch base and when she returned she said there was a sign at their counter that said, "Yes, the wind does blow all the time!" Let's say that when we get down to Queen Valley we will be very experienced wind travelers.

Our site, at the Palm Springs/ Joshua Tree KOA.

While setting up our trip Linda, contacted several people that she knew were down in the southwest. One contact was Terry Wright, a teacher Linda had worked with at Fernan Elementary.  We had many adventures with Terry and Rick, her husband, many years ago so we thought it was about time to get reacquainted by staying a few nights at the KOA where they were wintering. The first evening at the KOA we had a great time talking about what we'd all been up to and how we had been doing. We really enjoyed reconnecting.

Linda and I took Stinky Jeep and did a big loop of the Coachella Valley. Starting at Desert Edge we drove east and looped back hitting Coachella, Indio, La Quinta, Indian Wells, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City, and finally Palm Springs. This gave us a good overall look at the valley. Linda really liked Indian Wells the best, but if she were to move there we would have to sell everything we own and she still would have to live in a box. Traffic near Palm Springs was bad, they were doing road work and had the lanes narrowed down from three to only one. It took so long to go a mile we didn't have time to get off the road and explore Palm Springs. We made our way back to camp, stopping at Von's, a grocery store, on the way.

Terry and Rick at our camper.

The next morning Rick came knocking and took me out to breakfast at his favorite little spot. We had a good meal and did some further catching up. Linda and Terry went for a long walk and by the time we Rick and I returned, the ladies were back too. 

That evening Terry and Rick came over and we spent several hours together talking and laughing. Our little camper was tight compared to their 5th wheel, but we made it work.  After they went home Linda and I spent the next hour packing  Canyonwren and getting her ready to leave in the morning. We had a great stay at this KOA and seeing the Wrights was grand.

Our campsite, at Hi Jolly.

By 9:00 AM we were on the road heading out of California and into Nevada. It was smooth driving and the sun was out most of the time. We hit Quartzsite at about 1:00 PM and made our way out to our boondocking spot at a BLM campground called Hi-Jolly.  

Hi-Jolly is an interesting place. It is three miles north of town in a flat area just off HWY-95. The camping is free and you just drive in and find a spot you like.  We were not picky about our spot and chose to stay closer to the entrance of the area. I figured we were only staying a night so why take a nice spot (if you can call them nice) that other longer-term campers could use.  We snuggled in for the evening on a flat spot right in the middle of everything.

Looking north at Hi Jolly BLM Campground.

Looking back toward the Highway at Hi Jolly.

The sun started setting and a little rain shower came over our two friends Canyonwren and Stinky Jeep, so we collect a few more photos and then our sun sank and we enjoyed the evening.