Saturday, November 29, 2014 (Gunsight Wash BLM, Why, AZ)

Today was a bit of a work day...well, at least for Steve. After breakfast, he finished editing the pictures taken yesterday on our ride and then headed outside to get started on fueling up the quads before loading them back into the truck. I cleaned up the kitchen and was about to sit down and get started on the blog post when a pickup truck pulled up. It was Bill and Donna...they knew we were leaving tomorrow so thought they'd stop by. We had a nice visit with them and then they were off to Why to fill up with fresh water. It was good seeing them again, perhaps our paths will cross again in Quartzsite.

After they left, we both got back to work...Steve loading the quads into the truck and me to the laptop to work on the blog. I finished the blog and then took my book and sat outside in the shade. Steve had moved onto another chore...cleaning the Campfire-In-A-Can...

With the work done, we both sat outside enjoying our last evening here. We have really enjoyed our stay here and have decided to revise our original opinion of Gunsight Wash. The area is great for quad riding and our spot here on the wash was perfect. Although the area is more suited to smaller rigs, there are a few spots near the entrance large enough for bigger rigs. You're only a few miles away from Ajo and Organ Pipe National Monument.The only downside is the noise from the nearby highway.

Once the sun was down, Steve went up to lower the solar panels.  There...all done for today, the rest of the pack up can be done in the morning. Tomorrow we are moving onto Yuma where we are connecting with Alan and Cec for a week...looking forward to seeing them again!

Friday, November 28, 2014 (Gunsight Wash BLM, Why, AZ)

Today is Black Friday here in the States...the official start to the Christmas shopping mayhem...a day where shoppers reek havoc at all the major retailers. Well, not being near any major shopping (not that I could stand to put up with all of the crowds anyway), we spent an awesome day out on our quads.

We had planned to head out a little earlier than the other day but that didn't work...again, it was just before 10:30 when we hit the trails. Let the fun begin!

Time for a break and a drink of water...

Ajo Peak...

 That's Lime Hill, elevation 1837 feet...we're going to go up there...

Up we go...

Come on, Di...you can do it!

Made it!

Time for another break in the shade...

Need to clean the dust off...

Organ Pipe National Monument starts on the other side of the mountain behind Steve...

 Bandeja Well...

Great views from up here!

Approx. location of our campsite...


And back down we go...

The route we had planned to take ended up taking us through a small section of the Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, there were signs saying we weren't allowed to enter...so we had a look at the map and found another road that looped around to where we were planning on going. It only involved a little bit of backtracking, so that worked out well.

A Game Watering 'hole'...

We stopped in the shade of a Palo Verde to eat our lunch. Our GPS showed this spot being "John the Baptist" (with the mountains in the background by the same name). This is what Wikipedia has to say...
"The range is named for John C. Butala, a hermit who lived for a number of years in a shack on the range's eastern side. Butala was a veteran of the Spanish-American War and World War I. He chose to spend the last decades of his life as a hermit living in the desert. There was some belief that he had been gassed and/or shell shocked during his military service. He was known as an eccentric with long matted hair, and most of the year he would wear only tennis shoes and a loincloth made from gunnysacks. He was also known for feeding and befriending a variety of desert wildlife around his camp, and some became so tame that they would eat out of his hand. It is likely that the nickname of "John the Baptist" derived from this behavior and his appearance as a wild-eyed desert prophet. Despite his eccentric ways, he was known for his mechanical and engineering abilities, and he would regularly be summoned into town to repair automobiles and heavy equipment at the New Cornelia Mine. He died in 1961 and is buried in "Ajo."  This pile of rocks and rusty old cans are the only evidence that a structure was once here. Interesting!

Very lush in this wash...

 Ajo Peak in the distance....

 Even though we couldn't do our original route it's still an awesome ride!

 We came across a bed roll on the trail...evidence of illgal migrants

...and a little further down the trail...more evidence of illegal migrant activity. We just couldn't imagine how hard and desperate it must be for these people to risk dying out here trying to have a better life...

Crested Saguaro...

 Valentine Well...

Ajo Peak 2549 ft....

Time to head home...

We got back just after 3:00...roughly 80 kms/50 miles. What a fabulous ride! But it was a lot hotter, 29C/84F and dustier that our ride the other day. Needless to say, we quickly changed out of our jeans and boots and after cleaning up, we were outside sitting in the shade.

Another end to an awesome day here in the southern Arizona desert...love it!

Thursday, November 27, 2014 (Gunsight Wash BLM, Why, AZ)

We had a very...and I mean, VERY...leisurely day today. After our usual start to the day, we did our resistance exercises, showered and I cooked Steve a big breakfast.

While I was working on the blog, Steve went up onto the roof and took a panoramic picture of the area...(click to enlarge)

The forecast is for temps up into the low 80'sF (high 20'sC), so we thought we should get out for a walk before it got too hot. Well, that didn't work...it was going on 12:30 by the time we headed out! Steve saw two RV's leave yesterday morning however we counted seven including ourselves so more moved in while we were out quadding. That's our rig in the distance...

After a short walk, we set our chairs up in the shade chilled for the rest of the afternoon...ahhh...28C/82F in the shade.

As the sun got lower in the sky, we moved over to the other side of the trailer where we enjoyed out drinks and munchies. When the sun went down, we moved inside.

Steve grilled faux turkey...aka chicken...for our American Thanksgiving dinner. We hope all of our American friends and their loved ones enjoyed a very Happy Holiday!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014 (Gunsight Wash BLM, Why, AZ)

It was another gorgeous day here in beautiful southern Arizona! And there is no better way to spend such a lovely day than to head out on the quads. So with lunches packed and plenty of water, we headed out...it was shortly after 10:30.
Thumbs up...let's ride!

It looked like we should be able to make our way over to the Darby Wells BLM area, so we thought we'd see if we could find the trails. As usual, Steve took lots of pictures along the way...

We turned at a place called Little Eberling Tank. We think it's a watering hole for cattle...

There were a couple of gates that we had to go through...you just have to make sure that  you close them behind you...

The trails we had been following eventually met up with a fairly major road...Bates Well Road that ultimately turned into Darby Wells Road...we made it! We are now on the opposite side of the New Cornelia Mine pit that we visited the other day. Mine tailings in the distance...

Mine tailings on the right go a long ways in both directions...

We rode right to the junction with highway 85, where we had turned around yesterday. A white truck passed us going in the opposite direction and Steve had an after thought...that might have been Bill and Donna, but he couldn't make out the license plate. We knew that Bill and Donna often camp in this area during the winter. FYI...Donna is Steve's sister's (Nadine's) husband's (Mike's) sister...follow that? LOL! So we turned around and started checking side roads to see if we could find the white pick-up. We did....and sure enough, it was them! We ate our lunch and had a nice visit with them...

On our way back, we took a small side-trip on another road and found Darby Wells Cemetery...way out in the middle of no-where!

Okay...time to head home...

See me in Steve's mirror?

Is this one of the black water bottles we read about that illegal migrants use? Steve said there was no evidence of any oil residue...it was clean and dry.

Shade is hard to find in the desert...

Back at Little Eberling Tank...we had a welcoming committee this time....

We got home just before 3:30...an awesome day out on the quads exploring the area! We rode 66 kms/41 miles. It had gotten pretty darned hot out by this point, so we were happy to shed our jeans and boots for shorts and flip flops! By the time we got all cleaned up and stuff put away, it was time to relax outside with our drinks and munchies, and watch the sun go down...

By the time you read this blog post, it will be the American Thanksgiving Holiday...so we'd like to wish all of our American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving!