November 5 through November 12, 2004

Friday November 5:

We both miss our early morning warm up soak in the hot tub…  ;-(  BUT, we get HOT showers with all the water we want to waste.  We will dump and refill this morning before we leave RIP's…. Walmart on Valencia road in Tucson said we could not park here.  We tried Casino Del Sol, down the road on Indian land, who said we could park there overnight.  We looked at their buffet, it looked WAAAY over priced at $15 for what was there.  We dined at Golden Corral's buffet, parking back at Walmart to walk across the street to it.  We came out 90 minutes later to find another RV parked near us, set up for the night with their generator out, and watching TV.  We considered just leaving, as it is no business of ours what others do, but then thought we SHOULD at least tell then about the Indian Casino in case they got chased out by Walmart later. Since there are no "No Overnight Parking" signs here, we have some responsibility for attracting other RVs by being parked here, too.  :-))    They decided to follow us to the Casino now, so we waited the amazingly short time it took them to get ready to roll, and drove 5 miles west on Valencia to the casino and parked near the tractor trailers.  Gerald and Lillie had just driven in from Ohio, and had not really relaxed from the trip.  They were headed to their winter campground in Yuma, and had stopped late at Walmart, and had not thought it necessary to ask, as we were there and there were no signs prohibiting overnight parking.  They intended to stay a day or two at Snyder Mountain BLM area....and they KNOW where it is!  We arrange to follow them in the morning, and both of us retire, as we're all tired.

Saturday November 6:

I was up early doing internet business, then at 9AM we moved to Snyder Mountain BLM area following Gerald and Lillie.  My estimate of where it was located is off quite a bit, so it's doubtful we could have found it.  It seems ideal for visiting the Tucson area, with a 14 day free stay allowed.  There are other RV's here, we park near another motorhome who does not seem to be home even though a jeep and two bicycles are parked along side it.  

Sunday November 7:

We climbed up the steep side of Snyder Mountain with Gerald.  Lillie went around the longer, more gradual way with Shadow.  That Maltese dog sticks to her like glue..  :-)  in the afternoon we went to a laundromat near Walmarts and dis a LARGE load of laundry.  We returned to park a bit further from the other motorhome, then noticed the large colony of harvester ants near our front tire.  Gerald thought I should back away from them.  I did, and was greatful for that advice later.  We all sat outside in the lee of our RV as the sun set to avoid the cool breeze in everning.  When we chilled enough to go inside, we found ants had gotten into the RV and even killed a few climbimg on the walls, some even carrying "stuff" in their mouths.  I was appalled, thinking they were moving in, and sprayed the ground around the tires with our favorite anti-insect infestation agent we use when we store the RV, Bengal insecticide.  It turns out they were carried in on the chairs we sat on outside, and after killing the few we saw, we never saw more.  Gerald had a clogged gray water dump tube;   I suggested we put a double dose of the Roebic K67 bacterial drain and trap cleaner I have in his tank.  I do hope it opens the tank drain up on his drive to Yuma!  If not, he will have the campground there fix it.

Monday November 8:

Gerald and Lillie departed for Yuma's Sun Ridge RV Park.  We left a bit later for the Sonora Desert Museum.    Unfortunately I lost a card full of pictures, including all we'd taken of Gerald, Lillie & Shadow, and also the first part of the desert museum.  The reason there are no pictures for the first part of this page is...the PICTURES for these days WERE IRRECOVERABLY LOST and could not be downloaded from the card.  :-((  I'm not sure if the loss was caused by an intermittent USB connector on the card reader (which happened as I tried to download this card), static, or a weakening card, but the files could not be read by the reader (only the top level folder was there) or the camera, and the camera insisted on reformatting the card.  This is the first 128 MB card I bought....I will use the second 128 MB card as my "first use" card from now on.  I had some problem with this card before, but was always able to recover.  This time the camera insisted on reformatting the card, and could not read any pictures from it, just like the reader.  :-((   Anyway, the Desert Museum  is QUITE a take in, well funded and most professionally run.  It is $12 admission per person, so not cheap, but worth the price.  The live mountiain lion (or cougar) house is especially impressive, but the many pictures taken there were lost.  Mountain lions are classified as "small cats" because among their other characteristics, they purr.  They are ANYTHING but small, and the thought of trying to look large, face down and fight off this cat with sticks and rocks (the approved method of surviving a cougar attack) is not appealing in the least.   Running makes you look like prey, and will increase the likelihood of attack.   The museum is considering getting a jaguar also, as these range naturally into eastern Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico, but they are classified as "large cats" and said to be much harder to handle.  They do have much bigger paws, and weigh more than the cougar.  The museum has a herd of collared peccaries in a fenced area.

They are not always easy to find among the desert plants that provide a natural "homelike" environment for them, but this one is cooperative.  It would be quite insulted to be called a "pig" despite appearances; they have a distant common ancestor, but peccaries evolved in the new world while pigs evolved in the old. Peccaries have a scent gland while pigs have none.  Peccaries give birth to 2 young while pigs have up to 20.  The live coyote pen was interesting, but Wiley lived up to his name, giving us only a teasing fast glimpse of his form as he moved around in the brush of his habitat.  New construction at the museum gave us the opportunity to see how the artificial rocks of the exhibits are made.

 The rocks in the museum exhibits are so natural looking I was not sure if they moved rocks or synthesizied them.  It turns out they make complex latex molds from real rocks found in the field, and then use them to cast concrete and fiber replicas where they want them in the museum.

 This is pretty sophisticated stuff for a non profit organization. :-)  The bird exhibits are extraordinarily well done.  

This elf owl peeks at me shyly over its shoulder (really over it's BACK, demonstrating near full 360 degree neck swivel) as I sneak a picture.  This lovely turkey vulture was MOST accomodating....

After I had taken several pictures of it in the cage, with its fellows,  it decided to display it's full splendor for me.   It DID hide the competition .... its cage mates behind the wings, as if this could be a beauty contest???  :-)))    The desert bighorn sheep were beautifully housed in natural habitat.

This setting is much better for photos, but does not offer quite the thrill of seeing then in the wild as we had on Antelope Island near Salt Lake City.  The bird house is good.  As I was looking for photo opportunities in here, I saw a young lad pointing his camera into a bush intently. When he finished, I asked him want he'd seen.  He replied "a bird...."

So here's "a bird"...  :-))  Seriously, it is a member of the cardinal family with a long name I can't recall....and waxing must take precedance to looking it up.  We finished the day off at the hummingbird house.  These birds like their privacy, and often stay hidden in the thick folage in their habitat (which visitors enter through a double door to enjoy them free flying among us).  

The feeders attract the hungry ones out to show their exquisite miniature forms in all their detail.  This is quite a way to end our day here!!  We see the hummers at home on flowers in the back yard, but they never allow us to get this close, and will flit away with BLINDING speed if we enter their rather large "personal space"!  I have a few pictures of empty feeders here that had hummers sitting happily when I pressed the button...they MOVE OUT instantly!  We are happy we had planned to stay another night at Snyder Mountain, as the Desert Museum took all afternoon, we arrived back there near dusk, and it was dark by the time we started dinner.  

Tuesday November 9:

Left Snyder Mountain early.  Drive to Organ Pipe was uneventful, but we see more Border Patrol activity than we did two years ago. The ranger who signed us into the campground (with a CREDIT CARD for the $5 charge) said the only cell signals we would get here were from Mexico, and we should definitely leave the cellphone OFF.  The live flower memorial to the National Park Ranger who was killed here in 2002 by drug smugglers was moving; such a shame!  We picked a spot in the campground close to other campers.  The campground was FAR from full, and half the spaces were roped off not to be used.  We remembered only after reading the campground rules that this place allowed generators only between noon and 4PM.  I am really annoyed by these rules, as we can only use the generator when we least need it!  We need it to prepare dinner and recharge the battery for evening TV watching, and for morning coffee....NONE of ouir needs are met by these rules.  After filling our coffee thermos at noon, and eating lunch, we hiked Victoria Mine Trail, 5.3 miles total, and enjoyed it thoroughly.  Claire declined to proceed another 4 miles to a secomnd mine...THANK GOODNESS!  :-)  We were both quite tired when we got back, and I think I had a bit of dehydration too.  We could see the buildings of Lukeville and Mexico from the trail, but after recalling the hostile stares we received from the Mexicans here two years ago, we had no urge to cross the border. Dinner is pasta soup using up left overs; it was a relatively easy dinner for tired Claire!  We discussed our activities for the next day, and decided to move on to Yuma.  

Wednesday November 10:

We showered, dumped, filled water and departed Organ Pipe around 10:30AM.   I decided to use the diagnostic scanner to monitor the engine coolant temperature on this trip, and connected it before we left. The border patrol check point just outside the park opened the trunk of the cars ahead of us, but asked only what our nationality was and waved us through.  We decided to stop as soon as we cleared the park to make coffee and eat lunch.  The drive through Ajo, and across the Barry Goldwater Air Force Bombing Range  crossed some interesting but remote desert.  We heard only two close jets which we did not see, then joined I-8 in Gila Bend for the rest of the trip to Yuma.  We stopped first at Fry's to ascertain whether we could still park overnight there, and buy a small amount of supplies; they said they had no control over parking, but RVs did park there at the far end of the lot despite the "no overnight parking" signs.  We moved on to All Secure storage, and signed up for our space which we were already being billed for, as they had filled up.  Prices were up to $34/month now, $5 above two years ago, but the same lady manned the desk, and the man who showed us the space volunteered to take us to the airport, and pick us up when we returned to save taxi fare...WOW!  We refilled Claire's prescription at Walmart, then decided to skip buying gas and going to Sam's Club to find the BLM Fortuna Pond 14 day area before dark. As we drove out of Walmart, we noticed Sam's appeared closed...???  As we drove north on Pacific Ave, we noticed a billboard for Sam's club, giving a new address of 1462 S Pacific Ave. We can locate that later...OH, here it is right at the intersection of Pacific Ave and US 95, and it has GAS too!  We will try that another day, and expect the prices should beat Walmart's $2.049 with the gift card. Things sometimes do work out best by dumb luck!   I had a fair location for Fortuna Pond in the GPS, and a written description of how to get there.  Still, we chose the wrong unmarked "high road along the levee", 300 yards north of the correct road which was lower, and older....oh well, it was only 3 miles of extra 15 mph driving on dusty bumpy dirt roads.  :-(  We almost gave up, as it seemed too remote, but decided to give the other road a try, and it turned out to lead to a signed 14 day camping area on a pretty pond. The BLM camping area roads were not really big enough for our RV, and at one point Claire had to stop and back up for a passing car.  I spoke with the man driving it, and he assured me the area there was safe for camping, there were lots of other people there, and they were not thugs.  :-)  We had to back around on the road to approach the pond from the proper direction with the RV, but we then found a perfectly level spot 20 feet from the pond.  The sun was well below the horizon as admired the pond in the pink afterglow of sunset.....then pulled the windshield curtain for the night.  We had not expected so much time to be taken in travelling the 8 miles here from Walmart.....we are TIRED!  :-))   Claire prepared stir fried chicken and Bok Choy, a real treat, and a lot of work after a long day.  I was abouit to go to bed, when I recalled we had no coffee for the morning, so ran the generator to make that.  I DO enjoy the areas with no imposed quiet hours, only what seems courtious and reasonable. We hear a few coyotes in the early evening, then nothing but a few trains passing in the distance, and some water gurgling nearby...time enough to figure out what causes that in daylight....perhaps a pond exit creek?

Thursday November 11:

This morning I awake VERY early…before 3AM, and work on the log.  Even WITH the coffee, I am ready to return to bed at 4:45…and do so.  Retirement is GRAND!  :-))  We moved from our spot along the pond to a more shaded spot between trees.  I thought we would not fid, but only the antennas brushed, and a few twigs broke off when we walked around the RV.  This is a GREAT spot, as we still have the view across the pond to the north, but no sun to heat the RV up. I decide to wax....and find that the midday sun really CAN penetrate the trees, but I can work the shady side.  I was pretty well exhausted by the time I quit at 4PM, but all but two panels of blue are finished, as well as all the white on the front and half of the passenger side.  I'm making much faster progress on this than I thought possible, but I believe much of that is due to the perfectly lovely shaded setting looking over the pond.  Thyis place is a wonderful find abour 8 miles from Yuma.  The rough road makes it worth while only for a few days stay, but it is WORLDS away from Yuma's busy congestion, nestled among farm fields and levees, and visited mostly by fishermen and their families.  The roads carry mostly farm equipment and pickup trucks, many of these running near 50mph on the bumpy road.  I guess the drivers must have GREAT dentists...or no fillings.  :-)  Claire runs the generator occasionally to vacuum, and cooks steak with a green chili sauce, pressure cooked carrots, and quinona, an exotic grain that is improved by the green chili sauce too.  We are in "use up the perishable foodstuffs" mode, and Bill's green chilis are one thing we will not waste, but being frozen we cannot take them back home on the plane either.  :-)  We discuss taking only one day in the campground, but decide we really need two, with water.  I need to change oil, and that is one thing we will NOT do on BLM land.  There are extreme penalties for doing that (last I heard it is $50,000 fine).  I guess I understand the rule, having seen the mess of overflowing oil at the trash dumpsters on BLM land in the Imperial Valley, and knowing the river water is intended for agricultural and drinking purposes.  What I DO NOT understand is the incredible slobs that put it there that way.  Pep Boys in Yuma will accept used oil for recycling free.  Our drain pan contains all the oil with no leaks.  I keep it in a locker underneath, and that locker is clean and not oil soiled after 4 years of use.  We spread plastic bags to catch any drips....I just DON"T GET IT.  It isn't rocket science...  So sorry for the soap box folks.  It's just annoying to have the actions of a few slobs spoil things for all the rest of us.  This place has no trash dumpsters, and signs that say to carry your own trash out.  Still, there are unsightly piles of trash lying around, floating in the water.....and even some stuffed into the protective wire fences that protect the cottonwood trees from animal damage.  We have no place to haul it except in our living area, or we would take some out ourselves.  

Friday November 12:

Awoke at 6AM.  There were a couple of fishermen's kerosene lanterns burning along the pond nearby, their light visible through the windshield curtain in the darkness.  I decided to finish the log and try and get the final web page ready to upload.  We plan to do as much waxing as possible today, then go to Historic Gold Rock campground 12 miles north of Winterhaven CA (across the colorado river from Yuma) on Saturday, spend Sunday there, and return to Yuma on Monday, finding a "place" to park and sleep overnight near the storage facility before storing promptly at at 6AM Tuesday when the storage facility opens it's gates.  We will have only an hour to prepare the RV for storage before we must leave for the airport, so EVERYTHING must be packed and ready the night before. Perhaps we can start the preparations in the storage facility driveway an hour earlier.   It will be a very early morning wakeup, especially for Claire who likes to sleep a bit longer, and a long day traveling too.  Two hours of that long day DO disappear in the time change though.  :-))   This will be the last webpage posted until mid January, when we rejoin the RV.  Until then, ENJOY.  WE are!!  :-)))