A trip to Mexico….

 

Our Location:

Ogilby Road, Winterhaven, California 

Don’t you just love when a plan comes together? Of course you do, and so do I. Blue skies, warm temperatures and good friends, a great day. A perfect plan. 

Deb D, Tom, Ken and Kim..

John, Brenda and Riley, all at the little outdoor cantina.

The six of us climbed into the Dogsled this morning at 10:30 am and headed down the pathway toward John and Brenda’s (John and Brenda’s Incredible Adventure) place. We noted that they too were climbing into their big truck and falling in behind us. We headed off to Los Algodones. 

Tom, John and Ken.

Deb D brought us some special napkins.

We had an incredible day, much laughter, a few drinks, some food, a little shopping and a short wait in line at the border crossing. Back home around 4:30 pm we all came together for happy hour with John and Brenda also dropping in for a little more visiting. Darkness and cool night temps had us all saying our goodbyes, see you down the road to John and Brenda as they head off on the next part of their adventure. We have enjoyed getting to know them better in the last few days and look forward to having our paths cross again in the future! Safe travels friends.

Only three this fly over…

We called it a night not long after they departed. We of course I think you should know by now means Deb and Tom as well as Ken and Kim, Riley and I.  Riley was tired after Mexico and missed HH. She is battling a sinus issue.

Goodnight from Ogilby Road.

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Another quiet day….

 

Our Location:

Road Runner BLM, Quartzsite, Arizona 

A sleep pattern of sleeping a few hours, awake for a few hours and another hour or so of sleep seems to be the new norm for me. It’s not one I like but it seems to be the one I’m adjusting too. This is the third night in a row. 

Water hanging from the branches

A hint of colour off in the distance…

A little pinky over there…

Awake, dressed and out the door before 7 this morning I watched the sun come up as my feet carried me across the desert floor and I managed all of my steps again today. Back home before 8 am, a bit of breakfast before we headed off to town to do a few more errands that we some how managed to forget yesterday.

Water puddles from last night’s rain.

The sky is getting a little more colour…

Happy hour found us all sitting at Ken and Kim’s ( Journey with Ken and Kim ). We managed once again to have some chuckles, tell some tales and enjoy the company. We headed home at various times toward nightfall.  We of course being Deb and Tom (Celebrating the Dance  ), Lorne and Sue ( A place called away  ), Riley and I.

The sun lighting just the very tops of the clouds.

You can see where it will top the clouds very soon.

I chatted with dad, the retirement party for brother Rick was a success with a lot of people in attendance. The weather is warmish there, the start of the annual deer season is Monday, otherwise all is quiet on The Rock in Lake Huron.

It is easier to see now….

It has already kissed the mountains behind me.

Until next time…..

Take care, be safe,

Deb

An outing with friends…

 

Our Location:

Road Runner BLM, Quartzsite, Arizona 

Still windy this morning but would calm down some as the day went forward. The only plan today was a visit to Silly Al’s later in the afternoon. We all climbed into the Dogsled, leaving Yuma to guard home dirt, just before 3:30 pm MST and headed into town. We met Bill and Patsy along with Dave and Cheryl. An enjoyable couple of hours passed quickly and we were home again around 5:30 pm.

L to R:
Tom, Deb, Cheryl, Dave,Patsy, Bill, Deb, Doug ( no beard)
Riley was the photographer.

Riley.

That was our day. I hope you had a good one also.

Until next time….

Take care, stay safe,

Deb 

Meeting a fellow Canadian and a jeep ride.....

 

Our Location: 

MM 91-90 SB AZ 95, near Quartzsite, Arizona

 

A very nice but chilly morning, Riley and I were out the door to get our steps in before the heat started but were taking off extra sweaters before we got back home. It was a nice way to the start the day. 

 

Ivan stopped by this morning!

We noticed this burned out rig on our jeep ride today.

This old fella is pretty gnarled but still hanging on.

Doug, Yuma and I were just getting ready to head out for a jeep ride toward the Tower Hill area of the Kofa Mountains when a big dark blue GMC truck came cruising back toward us. A tall, lean fella climbed out and smiled at us, Ivan ( Roadtrip ) had found us. It was very nice to meet him, I've followed his blog for a lot of years and can now put a face to the words. His sidekick HRH Miss Hailey, his three legged kitty was at home keeping the rig safe. A very nice chat with us all sitting in the sun next to the White Lion, it was a great morning!! 

 

 

It was pretty rugged looking in some places.

After Ivan headed off to run his errands, Doug ( Miss Adventure Travels  ), Yuma and I headed out for a jeep ride toward Tower Hill in the Kofa Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Riley opted not to come along, too rough for her. It was a long ride, but some nice scenery along the way. We both agreed it wouldn't be a ride we'd take again though. A few rough spots had us bouncing and at least once we needed 4 wheel low to get us out of a tight spot. We left around 12:30 and made it back around 4:30 pm. We managed to meet on the road Ivan as we coming out and he was heading home! Thanks Doug!! 

 

Some rough walking around here.

We climbed up there.

To see this!

So there you have it, thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed the visit. 

 

Some nice views.

The number of saguaros is amazing.

Just beautiful out there, lots of cholla too.

Until next time....

 

I love the rocks!

Lots of holes/caves from wind or maybe rain.

Forests of saguaros.

 

Take care, be safe, 

 

We circled the entire valley floor as it stayed close to the foot of the mountains, it was rough in places.

Some very pretty views.

Good night from the Kofa Mountain Wildlife Refuge near Quartzsite, AZ.

 

Deb

 

A very long truck ride today.....

 

Our Location: 

MM91-90 SB AZ 95, near Quartzsite, Arizona

 

A very crisp morning this morning, but sunny. Sunny is always good, it makes the day warm up quickly. After breakfast I took a quick walk across the road and snapped a few photos. I'll post them another day. 

 

The Kofa Mountains.

 

Sitting chatting with Doug for a bit this morning, we all decided we take the Dogsled and head back to Queen Canyon. The jeep is too rough for me to ride in for long periods or for rough roads, so the Big Dog filled the bill. We left just before 11 am. 

 

I think that white line in the rock may be a crack and that is sky behind we are seeing through the hole.

We started hiking here for a short while.

Queen Canyon is off of the Kofa Mountain trail, it's 5 miles to the parking area. The road is roughish and much better suited to smaller wheel based vehicle but the Big Dog ran along well. It was after the parking area that I finally decided we'd gone far enough, the sides were getting skinnier and the rocks were getting bigger and so we finally found a place to turn around. It was extremely rough going. Sorry to disappoint you Doug but I'm glad we came back when we did, Riley and I are both just whipped! 

 

Doesn't that look like someone standing there?

I love the ruggedness of these mountains.

 

A few side stops netted us some photos similar to yesterday but in a different area. We parked the truck and took off on foot for a bit, Doug, Yuma and I managed to make it to the top of a small incline that was covered in shale. The views were nice and the climb was a made with some effort.  Yuma is always first to reach the top of course, and Doug eventually made it as well. You can follow Doug & Yuma and see their photos at Miss Adventure Travels .

 

What a difference colour makes. 

 

Back home around 2 pm we all kind of flopped into our chairs and spent the rest of the day doing our own thing. I think the next time Doug suggests a 'short, easy ride' we will go back and look at his blog post regarding the ride before we under take it. It was interesting Doug and I enjoyed the hike a great deal. 

 

Lots of Teddy Bear or Jumping Cactus down there and Yuma never got stuck once. Smart fella!

A view across the way from up high on our hike.

As I was writing this post a BLM truck showed up with a nice park ranger who explained that we cannot camp here but because we plan on leaving Monday after the long weekend is over, the place is clean and we weren't trying to hide, he told us we are good until Monday.  Nice to know, even though there are no signs saying you can't camp here, it is BLM but they want folks to stay in the areas closer to Q. Good to know for the future. 

 

Can you see me up there waving?

How about now?

 

So there you have it, our long truck ride that did not get us all the way to the Skull Rock but we did manage some steps and photos. All in all, a good day. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.

 

Doug and Yuma made it up there too.

Nice view from up here.

Until next time..

 

There's Riley sitting on that rock down there while we went up to the top of the nook.

A hand waving at us.

 

Take care, be safe, 

 

Deb