Monday, November 24, 2014 (Travel to Gunsight Wash BLM, Why, AZ)

Today is travel day for us...time to move on but we aren't going very far, only 20 miles north back up highway 85 to Gunsight Wash BLM (Bureau of Land Management). We have really enjoyed our stay here at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Unfortunately, there is a scenic drive that we were unable to experience because our truck is just too big to take on the road...."The most popular is the Ajo Mountain Drive. It is a 21 mile, mostly gravel road usually passable by normal passenger car. RVs over 24 feet are prohibited, due to the twisting and dipping nature of the road. January through March a free three hour ranger guided van tour is available." Drats, bad timing for our visit...

Since we didn't have far to go, we had our usual leisurely start to the day. It was going on 11:30 by the time we had finished at the sani-dump and were heading out of the campground.

Everyone is stopped at the Border Patrol Check as they head north...

About a half hour later we pulled into Gunsight Wash BLM, a free camping area with a 14-day limit. As we pulled in, we couldn't see any other RVs...as well as no on-site camp host. We understood there usually is a camp host, perhaps we are just a little too early in the season (again).

We parked and walked in a short way and decided on a large spot along the wash that would fit us. With no other RVs, along with the reviews we have read that say the road gets rather bumpy the further you go in, we figured we'd stay close to the entrance.
These A10 Warthogs flew over shortly after we arrived...Cool!

After we were all set up, Steve took pictures of our new spot.  We have a shaded area with a fire pit next to the wash...

And a warm sunny area out front. The sun is so low this time of the year the awning only shades the side of the trailer...

While Steve was up on the roof tilting the solar panels, he realized that we are not alone here after all...there are a few other RVs further in. We had been both a little apprehensive about being here by ourselves so close to the border but feel a little better now that there are others here.

We went for a walk a little later...sure enough, there are three motorhomes along with a truck parked in the BLM. We also determined that we chose the best spot for us...the road(s) do get quite bumpy and the vegetation is quite thick making maneuvering around all of the bushes and trees a bit of an obstacle. There really is no "it factor" here (in our opinion) other than it's free and very close to Organ Pipe and Ajo.

We were entertained by another A10 Warthog fly-over...

We enjoyed happy hour outside...along with another beautiful sunset....

It cools off very quickly once the sun goes down, so we retreated inside for the evening. Tomorrow we are going to take a drive into Ajo and check it out, along with another BLM site Darby Wells.