Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Windy still, errand day....

 
 
Our Location: Near American Girl Mine Road, BLM, CA
 
 
A very windy and coolish night. I had a hard time sleeping with the wind. It seems to have died off today but now as I type this, it is picking back up once again. Not big scary winds, just annoyingly awning flapping winds. Our neighbour has added tie down straps to her tent. A motor home adjusted it's parking so the cargo trailer behind helped to block some of the wind on their slide. If you've ever been out here, you know the kind of wind I'm talking about. 
 
 A course sand bottom wash, the banks are not overly steep but the left bank is less high, in fact more gradual than the right. Most washes have growth in them, Palo Verde trees, some living, some not, lots of sage brush and Ocotillo are usually nearby on the upper edges of the wash or the upper sides, seldom do you see any in the bottom of this kind of a wash. It seems too deep for Ocotillo here.


  This is a very narrow wash, the bottom consists of larger rougher round stones that have been beaten on their journey from higher places. This beating of the stones has also caused smaller stones, course sand and finer sand the further along the wash you walk. As it's narrow I think you can see the sides are not deep but are more than a slight dip as well.
 
Sunny today, still very cool though if you are in the wind. Not as cool as yesterday though, still much better than the cold, frigid, snowy days of Ontario. We aren't complaining.
 
 
The wash runs across the photo. It is not deep, only a dip in the road as you can see. It is a medium course sand bottom.


 This is a three level wash. You can see on the left, sand, in the middle is a course rock with course sand, and on the higher right side, small stones, course sand type bottom. The main part of the wash would be the left with the sand bottom.
 
After breakfast we loaded up the Dogsled and headed off to do a number of errands. To the rest area to get rid of some garbage, a stop at the Chevron for some water, and then it was off to Yuma. A quick stop to pick up a car before a stop at Home Depot, Fry's Fuel, Lowe's, and then Walmart. It was an unhurried day, we walked a lot looking at various things, comparing a few prices and just enjoying the outing. 
 
 
 Note the sand bottom on the right of this photo. That would be the bottom of the wash. This photo gives you an indication of the height and slope of some of the sides.


This wash has basically petered out into a roadway. Rough gravel, rough stones and course sand have all been washed out on to this flatter end. 
 
We were home around 2 PM, unloaded the Dogsled, put away all the groceries and then decided to have a 'fend for yourself lunch'. Riley having picked up a roasted chicken from Walmart, added a few things to her plate and called it lunch. I opted for a grilled cheese sandwich, a little salsa and chips, followed by a single serve Pecan Pie. Try as I might, I just do not care for the taste of the Walmart's chicken. They always smell so good though.
 
 This Palo Verde tree is on the edge of a wash bottom. The gradual slope on the sides are lined with sage brush.




 Washes join at various places on the desert floor.
 
A bit of a tidy after lunch dishes and time to read our books or in my case, to do my post. We've been slowly topping up our supplies with each shop and of course we shop often because we eat a great many fresh veggies every day. We find that 10-12 days is usually the limit for our fresh veggie supply before we need to restock.  As we usually use the veggies in a medely of sorts, we run out of most veggies about the same time.
 
 
You can see the difference in colour and texture of the wash bottom and the wash sides. 
 
 A rough sand bottom wash.
 
Today's photos were taken a few days ago with my phone while out on a walk. Washes, arroyo,gullies, ditches, whatever one would like to call them are the focus today. If you have never been to the desert you would be surprised to find it is not flat, nor is it all sand dunes. There are many water ways in the desert floor. Some are deep, over 6' to the bottom, some are mere inches, more of a dip than anything else. They range from rough bottoms to smooth sandy bottoms. Course sand, fine sand, big rocks, small rocks, flat rocks, round rocks, gravel, and so on. So I thought I'd give you a little sample of what I see when I walk here in our little corner of the desert. 
 

 Pretty rugged bottom, difficult walking in this stuff. Can you see the Ocotillo in the wash farther along, they seem to like shallow washes and are often found along the side slopes.
 
 A close up look at the bottom of the above photo. 


So that was our day. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.
 
Until next time... take care, be safe, 
 
Deb
 
 

16 comments:

  1. Because of the wind and open areas hav never stay in that area where you are, we liked to move around more. The other grocery stores do the chickens as well , as use different slices maybe ty one of those maybe Frys etc..

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    1. We like to move around a bit more as well but this year it seems we'll be here a bit longer than we originally had planned as we didn't stay long in Texas as our original plan had called for. We love the area and the wind is the wind, it's not crazy, just annoying for the most part. It does cool things down a bit though.
      Yep, we just haven't tried any of them yet.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  2. Nice write-up on washes big and small. I am so slow with breakfast I don't have time for lunch before suppertime arrives. Glad you reminded me about chicken. I'm going to have to buy one of those rotesirre chickens at Olsens tomorrow. Glad you two had a nice easy day.

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    1. Glad you liked my little bit about the washes. I'm always fascinated by the difference in each one and I wonder how they came to be. Of course the ones closer to the hills are deeper and I didn't really take any photos in those ones but I'll do that a different day.
      Riley loves the chickens and they are quite simple for a meal.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  3. Hee hee. We were in the Foothills today. Did you go to Fry's or Walmart in the Foothills? We got back about 2:30 so we might have passed each other again. Your observations and descriptions of the washes is amazing.

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    1. Thank you Elva. I just write what I see. Nope we didn't use that one, we used the Walmart on South Pacific. Although we've been tempted to go out to the Foothills, we liked that Fry's better. I waved when we past Pilot Knob, didn't you see me? Haha

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  4. I'm hoping that every once in a while you kick over some of those rocks in the washes just in case there might be a nugget under one . Hey you never know , good luck . P.S. if you hear a rattle quit kicking the rocks . Vern in Boise

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    1. Vern you are after my heart. I keep looking for golden nuggets but unless they're from some food place I don't see a single nugget. However if I do manage to find one, I promise I'll think of you first and know you wish you were here finding one of your own.
      I keep an ear tuned for rattles on each and every outing and I assure you if I hear one, I'll still be wishing you were here so you could be between me and the rattle.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  5. Isn't it interesting it's all about the water in the desert making up all those washes. I truly love a day of shopping when I'm not in a hurry to do anything!!

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    1. The desert is a world of it's own. It is fascinating to me to imagine those washes running high with water and yet empty again in short period of time. Damage and destruction, life giving, life altering, wonderful but deadly water. It is most definitely interesting.
      I'm not a shopper as a rule, but some days it's nice to just wander without a goal.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  6. That's a lot of errands to get done before you have lunch! Grilled cheese sounds yummy to me. Such beautiful pictures!

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    1. My late husband used to say I do the navy seal approach to shopping, get in, get what I need, get out. Haha
      I mixed a few kinds of cheese and enjoyed the experiment. I'll try it again with a few different kinds next time.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  7. Hi, I'm Evelyn, a new reader. I'm parked off American Girl as well. If you'd like to visit drop by. I'm parked over more closer to Sidewinder.
    Evelyn in a Class C. I love all the pictures you post.

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    1. Hello Evie. Welcome to my blog. I hope you enjoy your visits. A visit sounds nice. You can reach me at manitoulin.island @hotmail.com to give me a bit more of a description to make you easier to find.
      Thanks for the compliment, I'm glad you are enjoying the pictures.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  8. Enjoyed reading your observations about the washes it never ceases to amaze me what power there is in flowing water.
    Great pictures.
    We have parked over there and the wind can be wicked but it is a beautiful area and I am guessing it is a stop in our future.

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    1. I love the washes, the different textures, and slopes, it's all very interesting. You wonder how something so rapid can leave so much in it's wake. After all the desert floor is lined with washes of all kinds.
      We love it here and the wind is the wind. I much prefer the winds here to the winds at Joshua Tree NP. We won't return there due to the winds.
      If you're in the area before we leave, we have a big spot, lots of room.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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