A wonderful Arizona sunrise.....

Our Location: Sonoran Desert National Monument, Maricopa, Arizona

A very quiet night and we both slept well. A warmish night with the temps hovering right around 49F/ 9.4C this morning. I was awake early before 5 AM and waited until the sky lightened before getting up. The sun rise was amazing. I enjoyed it very much. 

Early morning as the sky was starting to colour. 

 Riley and I headed out for a walk after a hot drink. We headed off cross country and walked back toward the mountain that we see out the back window. We managed to find the road and followed it for a half mile or so back into the flat land. 

The camera does not do justice to the sky but it sure is nice anyway. 

While walking the road I decide to keep a record for our future use. We took Exit 140, turned left on Freeman Road, went under the 14' bridge and went across the cattle guard. We followed the road passed the buildings to the T.  We turned right and continued up almost to the top of the hill but parked on the left just before the crest. 

The sunrise is closer now, and we are not quite at the top of the hill.

At the top of the hill there is a road off on the left, it was that road we connected with on our walk. The road splits at the top of the hill. It is there at the BLM road 09B and 8009 split. The road down that veers off is 09B and it goes down to the flat area of the desert.  The road that continues along  the south side of I-8 is 8009. At the beginning the road that goes to the left is a bit rough but as you go further down the hill it continues to get rougher and has ruts that are the results of water washing it out and/or wheel ruts. The area is passable but one must be careful and go slowly. At the low spot where the good road begins it is a bit of a risk as well if there were rain in the area. You can see that it would be very soft mud and could cause issues getting back to high ground. It is at this low spot the road narrows quite a bit and desert pin striping will be a given as the growth is very close to the road. After that the road is good as far as we went. Sorry, didn't take any pictures.

The sun is painting the clouds in various shades of pinks and yellows. 

Further down the road there is another division. A road going off to the right this time. It goes over a berm and down into a deep wash and then continues along. We didn't follow that road but it isn't one I would suggest that anyone follow to park unless you have a high clearance vehicle. A rain would make that road very dangerous to use for any vehicle. 

Just as the sun is about to pop, and the sun on the mountain out our back window.

As far as we walked the main road was good with a number of places to park available.  The road  noise from I-8 is very acceptable. The views are wonderful and I think it's pretty safe here as well.  The signs at the T in the road say there is illegal immigrants in the area at time and the usual blurb that goes along with that sign. While there is evidence of past use I didn't see any new evidence. The only draw back is we have no AT&T cell service here. We did a few miles back on I-8 West but  not here.

 

Our nearest neighbour, the mountain out our back window and home. 

We enjoyed the day but didn't do much today. A cool wind picked up as we were walking and chilled the air down considerably. The windows were closed all day due to the wind but we didn't need the heater.  Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Some cacti around the place.

 Until next time.... take care, be safe, 

Deb

Change of plans, Sonoran Desert National Monument.........

Our Location: Sonoran Desert National Monument

We left Quail Ridge this morning shortly after 8 AM but not before we offered some assistance to 3 gentlemen that were trying to cut a limb from a tree on a spot not far from our spot. They were using an axe that was not making the job easy. I offered them my sawsall to use. They were like three little boys in a candy store, happy as all get out. By the time we’d finished packing up they had finished with the limb and returned my saw. 

 

The mountain views before we left Quail Ridge RV Resort, Huachuca City.

We changed our minds about our destination this morning and so instead of heading for Why, Arizona we came to the Sonoran Desert National Monument. We still have no cell service but I think we will enjoy this spot better or so we think so far. 

 

Views on our drive today.

 

We turned left on AZ 90 toward Benson, climbed onto I-10 West and travelled to Exit 199 which lead us to I-8 West. From there it was a straight shot to Exit 140, a left turn on to Freeman Road and then straight across the roadway, over the cattle guard and onto BLM 8009. We followed this until the T in the road, turned right and parked on the left just before the brow of the hill. A nice spot for sure. 

 

Tucson City Limits.

 The drive was uneventful, the kind we like. We had no issues getting into our spot and have a very wonderful view. We think we’ll be here for about a week but that is subject to change at any time for any reason. There are a few places I think we can walk while we are here and I think we will take advantage of it while we can.
 

A rest area on I-8.

 

We set up everything, and had to put the awning out to keep some of the sun off the fridge side of the Igloo. The sun was warm and we opened the windows, the big door and a vent or two. However before long we were closing them up again as the sky clouded over and things cooled off. 

 

Mileage signs along the way.

 

We started the generator tonight as the batteries do not seem to be holding a full charge. After all the checking I’ve been doing I think the MPPT control charger is faulty and will be having it tested when we reach Quartzite at some point, or maybe we’ll head to see Slab City to Solar Mike. We’ll see how it goes.
 

Sights along the way.

 

So again, no cell service but we do have internet and we’ll be keeping in touch that way. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Until next time… take care, be safe,

Deb