Friday, January 15
Sonoran Desert boondock, Why, Arizona
The crew and I hit the road early, heading out of Ogilby Road Camp, Winterhaven, California. We fly across Yuma on Interstate-8 and don’t stop until we reach Wellton, Arizona.
Wellton is a town popular with RVers.
A huge RV park is located on the north side of the interstate. If you turn south off the interstate you go into Coyote Wash (not into the wash, that’s the name of the place) which is the location of a long-time boondocking area.
Right before one arrives at the Coyote Wash boondocking area, there’s a parking lot.
We stop and I let Bridget and Reggie out for a potty run. In the nick of time, I might add. Then I fill up five one-gallon jugs of water at the handy vending machine. Water is only 50 cents for five gallons! I paid 30 cents a gallon in Blythe, California.
Hello, Arizona!
I gas up the Perfet Tow Vehicle and we get back on the interstate. Onward we go through Dateland, Sentinel, past the turn for Painted Rocks, all the way to Gila Bend. With firm resolve I drive right by Carl’s Jr and point the PTV onto Route 85 south.
The road to Ajo is familiar to me.
We stop for another walk-about at the roadside shelter about 20 miles before reaching Ajo. I drop a bag of trash in the receptacle and we continue on our way. Soon I’m setting up the camp you see in the opening photo.
After the long ride Bridget and Reggie are ecstatic to arrive at a new camp!
We’re living among the saguaros again. Here’s photo taken during “the golden hour.”
Saturday, January 16
First thing this morning, after breakfast, Bridget, Reggie and I spill out of the Best Little Trailer into the outdoor room of our new home.
“Ya’ know? I should fix the sugar water and set up the hummingbird feeder. I see the perfect place for it.”
Our campsite has a circular driveway.
Someone placed rocks around the saguaro and creosote bushes. They look nice, plus they protect the plants from vehicle wheels. Isn’t Bridgee pretty in the photo above?
I don’t know if we’ll get any hummers here.
It may take a few days. Cactus wrens are abundant. They flit and swoop from cactus to mesquite to cactus. They make a sound that says “desert” better than any other. Click the link above to hear it and see if you aren’t transported here.
Of course, the crew and I follow our routine and go for a walk.
The first walk in a new camp is always a treat! This environment, however, presents danger for Bridget and Reggie. The diabolical cholla (pronounced choy-ya) lives here!
Ooooh…. spooooky.
The above monster aside, cholla cacti have a deceptively soft appearance.
I think you’ll agree that they are attractive plants when seen in sunshine.
Ha! You’re not fooling me, you nasty cholla!
I allow Reggie to walk no more than six to ten feet from me, and I keep a firm hold on his shortened tether, ready to yank him away from any cholla pieces lying in our path.
I marvel at Bridget’s avoidance of cholla. How did she learn that? She’s never caught one in a paw that I can remember. I certainly didn’t train her. She doesn’t go near a cholla and we walk past several of them. That girl amazes me.
Besides the saguaros and cholla cacti, this camp has organ pipes!
This one has seen some stress, yet it’s recovered.
Several of the photos of our walk don’t come out well. It isn’t until we’re close to our campsite that I realize I’ve had the camera on the wrong setting.
We hang out on the blue mat and then I’m hit with a burst of ambition. More specifically, I’m hit with a desire for fresh vegetables for the fridge.
“Hey, guys! Let’s go into town!”
Bridget trots over to the side door of the Perfect Tow Vehicle and I pitch her in.
Reggie, still on his 20-foot tether, runs in circles around me while I twirl to keep my feet untangled, executes the chihuahuan long jump through the open door of the BLT, comes flying out again, races to me with his ears back and eyes bright, and immediately lies down at my feet, rolling over on his back and sticking his paws upward in delighted submission.
“I’ll take that to mean you want to go to town.”
Off we go!
One of the many things I like about the desert — well, the desert floor, that is — is when you want to go somewhere, you GO! The road goes directly there. None of this endless winding around that’s typical of other areas.
The desert doesn’t fool around. Everything is straightforward, not cute or coy. You want to go somewhere? OKAY THEN!
Go there like you mean it!
Arriving at Ajo we slow to 25 mph like good citizens.
At Olsen’s IGA market I choose a parking space way at the end. This is a futile attempt to prevent every shopper there from hearing the ridiculous noise of the crew as I hustle into the store.
Ajo, among other things, is an artsy-fartsy town.
It follows that the food selection is on the natural, organic, healthy side. Great! I go nuts. Well, I don’t buy nuts because I have a ton of them back at camp.
The produce section offers up interesting choices.
I grab red leaf lettuce, a yellow pepper, a red onion, a white onion (why, I don’t know… I like the colors), a bouquet of Swiss chard, bok choy (huh?), a cuke, a big head of broccoli (of course), a bunch of radishes, an avocado, and a bag of mung bean sprouts. . . Yes, you heard me. Mung bean sprouts. Why? Because they were there! How often does one come upon mung bean sprouts in a little country store?
The Swiss chard is gone by one o’clock, consumed for lunch.
Supper is stir-fry. Reggie and Bridget insist on tasting the mung bean sprouts out of my mess of stir-fry.
“Okay, just one. Here ya’ go.”
They gobble it up. What a weird pair.
I mentioned in the comments that the internet connection is slow here.
I work on this post, on and off, all afternoon, sitting at the table at the back of the BLT. I happen to glance up and see that the sun is setting.
“Oh, my God!”
You’ve seen breathtaking sunsets. Well, this one is more than breathtaking. It’s practically heart-stopping. I snap these photos, upload them, and put a frame around them. That’s all I do.
I can’t take credit for this splendor!
Unbelievable color spreading up from the horizon, filling the sky!
Imagine — just imagine — standing under this . . . .
“Oh, my God!”
rvsue
THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY BLOG!
I can’t help myself. Here’s one more look at that sunset.
