Tuesday, November 13, 2012 (Crossroads BLM Campground, Parker, AZ)

It was a gorgeous start to the day today...the sky was clear and as the sun came up over the mountain, it looked like it was going to be a great day.  It just had to warm up a tad...a bit chilly out there at 44F/6C.

After our exercises, we had showers and breakfast and then got ready to go quadding.  It was shortly before 10:30 when we drove out of the campground and across the road where there is a big area to park and offload the ATV’s.  I apoligize for the spotty pictures of late. My poor camera has been on too many dusty rides so I will be sending it in soon for a cleaning.

We had both quads out and Steve was just topping them off with gas and I was getting all the other stuff out of the cab of the truck.  On one trip, I grabbed one of the helmets and was just getting out of the truck when....”Madam Clumsy” appeared again (that’s twice in the last couple of weeks!).  I thought I was on the bottom step and let go of the handle as I put my foot down...but the ground wasn’t there!  Yes, I fell backwards onto the gravel giving my lower back a good jarring and hitting my head on a rock.  The head wound ended up bleeding just enough to matt a large spot on my hair before drying up...it’s my lower back and hips that are really quite sore.  But after a bit of rolling around on ground moaning in pain...it must have knocked the air out of me as well...Steve helped me up.  Apparently I scared the crap out of him.  I walked around a bit cursing at myself for not being more careful. 

Am I okay to go for a ride?  Yes, I was sore but it wasn’t too bad sitting...and I really, really, really wanted to go for a ride, so I decided that we should give it a try.  The fellow at the Visitors Centre had given us a hand drawn map of a few things of interest to see in the area...so let’s go. 

More wild burros...

One of many rock formations in the area...

Some old foundations and slag piles in the background...

And he is about to go inside this cave...

Steve's Maglite wasn't bright enough so he had no idea how far the shafts went...

We could see people standing around this cave that we had missed on the way in...

Can you see the Arch?

Now, I must say it wasn’t the most enjoyable ride I have ever had but we did see some awesome scenery and we even met some very nice people while stopped for a break at the cave.

I must admit that I was pretty sore waiting around as Steve gassed up the quads and loaded them back into the truck.  I finally had to climb into the truck and sit down. 

Once home, I took a couple of Advil and laid down for a bit...and within an hour I felt much better...ahh...gotta love pain killers!  Now it was time to wash the dried blood out of my hair.  Steve helped me with that and then we sat outside in the shade.  It had turned out to be a very warm day.  Reclined in my gravity chair felt great.  With the right combination of ibuprofen and tylenol (thanks to my nurse friend, Nancy), I think I may survive!