Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Water in the desert....



Our Location: Near American Girl Mine Road, BLM, CA
Merry Christmas Eve to everyone!! May this holiday season find you doing whatever it is that makes you happiest, whether it is with family and/or friends, enjoying some good times, laughter, food and good cheer, or alone with a good book or movie enjoying the peace and quiet. Which works best for you, I bid you a Merry Christmas Eve.

 Yep, we drove in there.


Very pretty over here near the Valley of the Names. 


We are just at the very edge of the 'Writing'. A very small sample of how it looks. Some folks have painted rock, others use what's around, and some bring rocks with them. 

 
Today I spent a number of hours with Jerry Shannon as my tour guide. I cannot tell you how much fun I had, the wonders that I witnessed nor the amazing sights we shared. Truly it was an educational day for me. Jerry is very knowledgeable about the area and seemed happy to share it with me. Elva, you are truly a gem to share Jerry with me for these hours. Jerry, any time you want a ride along or a hiking partner I'll be more than happy to fill the spot. 


I think that may be Picacho Peak over there. I could be mistaken though. All of these photos were taken with my Nikon camera and as you can tell we had sun and cloud all day. 
 We travelled along on this for a while. Pretty good, a bit bumpy but nothing too bad.


  Now isn't this a view? All of those colours, all of those jagged peaks seemed to just go on and on.
Elva sent me a text saying Jerry was just leaving home and so I walked out to Ogilby Road to meet him. We won't say that he AGAIN missed the road but he had to turn around before I could climb into the Jeep right around 9 am. Riley opted not to come with us, and I think in the end it was probably best, I don't think she would have enjoyed the twists and turns nor the bumpy ride. For her that wouldn't have been fun. 


I only realized I didn't get a photo of Jerry when I started editing the photos I snapped today. I'm sorry Jerry, I just never thought. I will get one for sure  next time. However my driver Jerry is in this pretty silver Jeep that Miss Elva owns. How wonderful of her to loan me both the Jeep and the driver for today. 

The colours are truly amazing. The views are jaw dropping.  
 Jerry stopped each time I wanted to snap a picture. I tried to limit myself and still came away with over 250 of them. How could you resist with views like this?
We circled the Cargo Muchachos (thanks Elva for the correction) in Elva's Jeep. We started on Sidewinder Road right here close to the Igloo and in the course of about 5 hours we ended up on Indian Pass Road, which links up with Ogilby Road, which of course is the main road near the Igloo. 
We traveled along in places like this for a while. I can imagine this running full of water and the crashing of waves as it makes it way through. 
  
If you look closely you can see the Colorado River. 

Does this one help you to see it better?
We traversed washes, old rail way lines, semi road like paths, we climbed a few steep spots, twisted and turned, back and forth, up and down, over, around and through places were made for an adventurer. I can honestly say I was not once nervous or worried, Jerry is an excellent driver with a hearty sense of adventure. 
 
 
We still need to travel a bit before we get there. The road is there on the left side of the photo. 
  The colours are truly amazing. The views are stunning.
We stopped in at the edge of The Valley of the Names and I think that may be a place Riley and I would visit on our own sometime. It is an interesting place to visit and certainly something to see. It seems amazing that someone would think to do such a thing and of course others have followed suit over the years ending up in an amazing display of 'I was here'. 
  
Do you believe we are in the desert? The Colorado River has produced it's own little oasis here. The greens, yellows, browns, and blue all back dropped by the surrounding mountains. It's amazing to see.
One wonders about all those different colours, textures and formations.
 We traveled through here which was a single track rail road bed at one time. In some places it looked a bit on the skinny side but we fit with room to spare. 
From here we ended up at a sight overlooking the Colorado River. The views were stunning. We spent some time following the edge of the River for a while. It was an amazing sight, so much greenery and water right here in the middle of the desert. A boat ramp, complete with boats and a few signs that were quite interesting, such as NO DIVING and 'CANOES'.  Truly a ride worth the effort.
 We stopped and did a short hike to see a bit more.
 
 In the middle of the desert there is this lush green surprise when you top over a mountain top.


Standing at the end of our little hike. There are no words to describe what I see before me.


For the first time ever I was able to see 4 wild burros. We popped around a corner and there they were, standing in the middle of the path. They didn't seem too impressed that we were there but moved off to let us pass.
 Yep, it's a boat here in the desert.



 There are even fish here in the water of the Colorado River not far from the boat above.


That is the top of yet another boat in this little boat ramp area. 
  
We spent some time in a few washes that were truly awesome, high steep sides, amazing formations that jutted out into the wash, deep course sand with a few bigger rocks tossed in for good measure. How Jerry found his way through is a mystery but he didn't hesitate at any point. 
There is a fair current here in this river. 
 
A magazine photo? No, it's mine, I snapped this one. 
 Doesn't this photo shout CANOE?
  
We were a bit later than anticipated but without cell service we couldn't do much about it. Soon we were once again on good roads and homeward bound with Jerry dropping me off before 2:30 pm. 
 We are leaving the edge of the river but we are not quite finished with the river yet.


 I could look at this view for a long time. Wouldn't a little cabin here be nice?




We are actually almost down in the river bed now. 
 
I took a great many photos but have selected my favourites for this post. I will post more in the future but for today, I hope you enjoy this amazing ride. 
Wow. 
 

You guessed it, we followed that sandy wash. 
We went down this path....
Thanks again Jerry. It was truly a great adventure. 
And we kept going along that wash. This is a different photo than the one above, note the sunshine on the side of the wash.

 Managed to see the River one more time.
 
My first sighting of wild burros. 
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your ride. Thanks Jerry for being such a great tour guide. 
 You can see the shadows on the mountain.



 Pretty steep sides on this wash. Layers and layers are evident in the side walls.



 Amazing.
Until next time.. take care, be safe, 
How do you describe something nature has made so indescribable? 
Deb 




18 comments:

  1. I'm so happy you had a good time. Jerry loves going out there. His brother used to be his sidekick but unfortunately he's no longer with us. Just one correction on the mountain name. There is another area named the Chocolate Mountains. These are the Cargo Muchachos. I verified with my cousin, the desert expert....lol

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    1. Haha...sorry about that. My mind was just not function quite right at the time I was doing the post. I appreciate the correction Elva and thanks to desert expert as well.
      I had a great time, I can see why Jerry enjoys going out there.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  2. Wow, you really saw some great sights today. It sure makes a difference when you travel with a knowledgeable person. Lucky you!
    Merry Christmas to you and Riley. Keep enjoying the area. It is a gift!

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    1. Thanks Dave, Merry Christmas to you as well. I was very fortunate indeed to have such a wonderful tour guide and driver. It gave me the opportunity to look around instead of paying attention to the road.
      We enjoy the area very much and can see returning here very often.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  3. Beautiful pictures and very interesting. Loved the pictures of the Colorado River. I put mine and Dolly's name out there, but couldn't tell you where. So many names. It is great you had a guide to show you the best places without having to wander around the vast beautiful area. Merry Christmas to you and Riley.

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    1. You would have enjoyed the ride Doug, very much. In fact I'm certain you would make the same drive. The views were stunning.
      Merry Christmas to you and yours as well Doug.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  4. Replies
    1. I agree. Merry Christmas to you and Sue.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  5. There's some pretty amazing sights in the desert!!

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    1. It was truly amazing for me to see. Not being the driver was fun, I got to just gawk around and enjoy. Merry Christmas Nancy.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  6. What a beautiful area, nice to have a tour guide to take you through the area. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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    1. It was wonderful to have such a wonderful tour guide. A very generous thing for Jerry to do for me, and of course very generous of Elva to loan me the driver and the jeep. Haha.
      Merry Christmas to you folks as well.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  7. I'm so glad you enjoyed your ride! It's looks amazingly beautiful and yes, I could see a cabin right there! I'm sure Jerry enjoyed having someone along who enjoys the area as much as he does! They are really wonderful people. Elva is a sweetie! Merry Christmas to you and Riley!

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    1. It was a fun time, and Jerry even grinned a little so I think he had a good time too. They are truly wonderful folks.
      Merry Christmas to you and Ken as well.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  8. Great pictures Deb. You went through an area that I like quite a bit. I normally stay up on Indian Pass road as there are less people there, but it is much further out then where your staying. From an off road map here is a little bit of history for the Cargo Muchachos. The Chocolate Mountains are on the other side of 78(the end of Ogilby Rd) with Black Mountain by Indian Pass Road. start of paste-->Gold was first discovered by Spanish colonists as they moved northward from Sonora, Mexico. According to legend, two young boys came into their camp one evening with their shirts filled with gold ore. These muchachos cargados (loaded boys) were the namesake for the Cargo Muchacho Mountains, where the Tumco deposits occur. Following the first discovery of gold, Mexican settlers operated numerous small mines for many years. <-end of paste

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    1. Thanks Peter. I realized my mistake after the post, and then Elva pointed out my mistake as well. Riley and I actually took a ride out to Indian Pass Road (Jerry and I hooked up with Ogilby from Indian Pass Road yesterday) today to check out a few spots but I"m not sure we like it there. Seems pretty windy, even more so than here. However it's something we may check out again while in the area. There are some folks parked back there today as we walked for a bit along the road. It's very pretty though.
      Merry Christmas.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  9. Great pictures. Nice that you had a personal guide.
    Wishing your entire Family a Safe and Merry Christmas.

    It's about time.

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    1. Thanks Rick. I had a wonderful guide and enjoyed the ride very much. I couldn't wait to see over the next hill or around the next corner.
      Merry Christmas to you and Kathy.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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