We toured Gunsight Wash, and then we toured Gunsight Wash.....

Our Location: Coyote Howls East Campground, Why, Arizona

 

A great night for sleeping, windows and vents open I got a full night's rest. I heard a coyote before I drifted off and I think he was at the dry swimming hole getting a drink, he sounded that close. 

 

The sunrise out our front door

 

I woke around 6:15 am or so, noticed the sun wasn't quite up yet, read a few blogs, but before I could read my emails I decided to head out and catch the sunrise. It was a glorious sunrise just outside our front door. It was easy to catch in the lens of the camera. Back inside I did a few puttery things before heading downstairs to grab myself something to drink. 

 

Pretty isn't it?

I was outside with my big mug of sugar free hot chocolate when Riley poked her head out the screen door and said her good mornings. I was enjoying a good read and after a quick chat through the screen door, she went back to do her morning stuff. I continued to read. 

 

Restricted land Gunsight Wash

 

Riley decided to make some biscuits this morning, so after we had those on the cookie sheet and ready for the oven, I headed back outside to read some more. Settling into my page turner I noticed George heading by on one of his walkabouts. He wandered in, took a seat and we chatted for a bit. Always nice to chat with George, he has some very helpful and interesting tips and stories to tell. It was a nice little visit and before long George was heading back home before Suzie sent out a search party. 

 

Restricted Land

 

Riley's biscuits turned out pretty good, and I can tell you there are none left. That must say something about the cook. We had a couple for breakfast, and finished the rest up for lunch. Considering there are only 8 biscuits in a tin, it wasn't that there was lots of them.

 

Cute little store.

 

After a quick clean up we headed out to Gunsight Wash. Did you know there are two of them here in this area? I didn't but we found both of them today. Our first attempt was extremely interesting and a bit educational as well. We drove a few miles out along AZ 86, which of course is the wrong road for dispersed camping. We in fact came along that very road on our way here. Not far past the casino is a little road off the right with what appears to be abandoned houses and a washed out piece of road.  We took that road, came along to a gent sitting on a bench, and I asked him where Gunsight Wash was located. He gave me directions, turn left right here, go behind that building and around that mountain, you will have arrived at Gunsight Wash. 

 

Mural on the bathroom wall at Why, AZ

 

So we followed his instructions and found Gunsight Wash. Except we didn't find any dry camping, no sign of any kind of camping. The road was horrendous. It made Darby Well Road look like a paved highway. We followed it for a while, but decided to turn around. Heading back to the highway we left a trail of dust behind us. We reached a very sandy, loose dirt area that was extremely difficult to drive through, met a border patrol fellow on his way in and noticed a white jeep sitting at the cross roads.  As we pulled to a stop just before the highway, the white jeep pulls up behind us and beeps his horn. I put my window down and the same gent comes up to the window, asks if we found what we were looking for. I told him no not really and explained what we were looking for. He told me there is no camping allowed here, it's restricted land. So I apologized and mentioned he should have told me and we wouldn't have entered. He half smiled and said something that was hard to hear. I think he enjoyed us taking a rough ride. It's native land of course. We chatted for a few minutes, he thought we were from Oregon, why I have no idea but when I said no we were Canadians he came back to chat some more.  A few minutes later we were on our way. 

 

Gunsight Wash Dispersed Camping

 

We stopped at the Why Not, Travel store, to check it out. Riley loved the murals and we browsed the travel shop, asked the cashier for directions and turned right out the front door, drove 2 miles to the place. It's very nice, but again no cell signal. A number of good places to park with tons of space between units, or little space, depending on the spot you pick. We wandered around for a bit, decided the cell signal issue is an issue if we stay in the area a long time. Turning the Big Dog around, we headed for home. I notice the spring is making a bit more noise on the bumpier roads. It's doing no damage, just a noisy spring, Jerry from Auto Tech told me. I may have it replaced as it's getting pretty annoying. 

 

Large sites at Gunsight Wash

 

Since we weren't in any hurry, we passed the corner turn to  Coyote Howls East, drove from here to the fridge and turned into Coyote Howls West. It's a full hook up campsite. Our impression is this is not for us. Sites are small, crowded and very narrow entry and exits. We even managed to see a young coyote foraging in the back alley behind one of the trailers. We followed the short driveway, hung a left and from there we headed off home.

 

Bold Jr Coyote at Coyote Howls West CG

 

Back home we heated up the Weber, tossed on a potato for Riley, mixed veggies splashed with a bit of OJ, and a Bourbon Chicken breast. Of course our salads don't go on the Weber. Lunch was very good. We topped it off with some peaches. Hmmmm....hit the spot. 

 

Signs here a C.H. East Campground

 

After that we grabbed our walking sticks and headed out. We completed the 2 mile outside trek here in the park and were back home just a bit over an hour from when we took off. A nice walk, noticed a number of things we didn't see before. Didn't chat with anyone this time!

 

Sunset here at Coyote Howls East

 

After that it was outside reading, enjoying the little bit of warmth we could find. The breeze was cool and a heavy sweater was pretty much the order of the day. Moved inside to read after a bit, shutting the big door and the windows, as well as most of the vents. Getting much cooler tonight than it has been. Long pants, long sleeves and I'm tossing a fleece blanket on the bed tonight. 

 

An amazing sight to watch.

 

Outside to watch the sunset and start this post. The sunset was very nice tonight, not as spectacular as last night but still nice. Inside to finish off and get warmed up. The rest of night looks like a book reading night.

 

The red doesn't show as well in the picture

 

So there you have it. Our touring day. Maybe not exciting for others but we enjoyed it and that's what counts to us. So thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your stay. Feel free to leave a comment. 

 

 

The End

 

 

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

 

Deb