Saturday, March 15
After breakfast the crew and I set out on a walk around the area of our new camp near Bouse, Arizona.
“Camp Bouse”
These days I can’t be sure how Bridget and Spike will respond to the suggestion of a walk. Sometimes Bridget plops her behind down and refuses to leave camp. When I walk off without her, she sits, stubborn and unmoving, staring at me until I return.
Spike loves walks.
However, sadly, there are times when arthritis takes the fun out of walking for him and he chooses to remain in camp. This morning both Bridget and Spike are rarin’ to go!
The rocky ground doesn’t seem to bother the crew. Spikey reaches the crest of the hill; Bridget waits beside me.
It’s more fun with Bridget and Spike along.
This morning they want to explore as much as I do. On the Benchmark map for Arizona, this area is marked as Bureau of Land Management land.
We come across a post supported by a pile of rocks.
From a distance it looks like a cross.
I assume it’s a memorial — not an uncommon sight in the desert — or possibly the grave of a pet. Upon closer inspection I see it’s not a cross, but four posts lashed together. Each post has a small bottle sticking out horizontally, held by their caps which are screwed onto the posts.
Hmm . . . Each jar has a rolled-up paper inside.
The shadow of a cross . . .
Curious, I unscrew one of the jars.
The paper is an official State of Arizona form for a mining claim, complete with diagram. Well, I wonder if I’m camping on a claim . . . .
I’m not concerned. Obvious campsites with fire rings are scattered all about. No apparent signs of any mining activity. If someone says we have to move, we’ll move.
I replace the paper and we continue our walk.
Our camp is the furthest one out which means no one driving by.
The crew and I follow the two-track “road” that brought us here. We stop occasionally to let Spike leave his messages. Both Bridget and Spike are in great spirits, enjoying an excursion in the fresh air of this desert morning.
The crew is undaunted by how far we stray from home!
The only sound is the crunch of rocks with each step.
No flowers right now in this part of the desert. Not much wildlife either. Very few rodent burrows. As much as I enjoy seeing wildlife, I’m glad.
No wildlife can be a good thing.
Few or no rabbits mean few or no coyotes, few or no rodents mean few or no snakes. I’ve seen one chipmunk since we’ve been here and heard the strident call of one flicker in the ironwood tree at our camp.
And, of course, there are those ubiquitous black birds that float on air currents. Seems no matter where we camp… from Arizona to South Dakota to Washington and all the states in between, a pair of big, black birds circle above. Slim pickins’ below . . .
No talking, no engines, no radios or tvs . . . simply silence . . . ahhh . . .
On the way back to camp I stop a few times to pet and scratch Spike and Bridget to give them encouragement. It works! Off they go with renewed energy!
Bridget figures out a short-cut and soon we’re back at camp, the crew slurping from the water bowl.
I thought I’d drive into Bouse today.
You know, kind of look around, check it out, take some photos. It may seem crazy to anyone reading this, but I have to work up the ambition to re-enter civilization, if one can affix such a grand term to the tiny desert town of Bouse.
The clean, dry air, the sunshine, the silence except for the whoosh of breezes through the ironwoods, my pals napping on the folded quilts on the ground. . . all of it anchors me securely and happily in place.
Maybe we’ll go tomorrow . . .
rvsue
I APPRECIATE YOU SHOPPING AMAZON FROM MY BLOG!
Here are some interesting and useful items purchased by readers recently:
Old Smokey Charcoal Grill #14 (Small)
BAL Tire Locking Chock
RoadPro 12V 12′ Extension Cord with Cigarette Lighter Plug
Cobra 400-Watt 12-Volt DC to 120-Volt AC Power Inverter
BISSELL Little Green ProHeat Compact Multi-Purpose Carpet Cleaner
Shells® 22LB Powerful Vacuum Suction Cups Hooks Hangers
“FLASHBACK”
Bridget and the Spikester play in the Tieton River — Willows Campground west of Naches, Washington — Summer of 2013
NOTE REGARDING WILSON ANTENNA AND MILLENICOM INTERNET . . .
I added a link (provided by Mick, my friend and technical advisor) on the Internet Antenna page accessed from the header. If you scroll down, you will see a link for an external antenna adapter cable for Millenicom Pantech Jetpack, as discussed in comments under the previous post.
