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

A little exploring today.....

Our Location: Coyote Howls Campground, Why, Arizona

A wonderful night for sleeping with the windows open. A full or nearly full moon kept the desert floor looking pretty bright.The coyotes yapping off in the distance gave the night a rather amusing bit of entertainment.

Looks fuzzy and soft, doesn't it?

Awake shortly after 3:30 am I spent some time reading blogs, writing emails, etc. I think today we will head out exploring in the area, checking out a few more boon docking locations. Iput in time on the computer until about 6:30 am and then started puttering around in my part of the Igloo, quietly of course. Finally around 8 am  Riley staggered out of her room. 

Wouldn't catch me setting a dish up in there.

I made pancakes for breakfast this morning as we were heading out for a few hours and didn't want to be overly hungry when we got back. A quick clean up and we were on our way out the door around 9:30 am. We headed north toward Ajo finding our way to Darby Well Road. We'd heard there was AT&T service there but we couldn't find it. We scouted out a number of boon docking spots but truly without cell service nothing in there was of interest to us. It's too far away from people if something should happen.

No idea what this is but I think Rick would like it for his collection.

We did chat with a few fellows, one a fellow Canucky from Flin Flon, Manitoba. They assured us that parking was fine as long as it was on an established road. We drove for over an hour, winding our way here and there, enjoying the sights and discussing the 'what if' there was cell service.  Riley didn't like it, didn't feel comfortable and so after that we just enjoyed the scenery. If we both aren't comfortable we don't stay anywhere. 

Pretty pink Cactus

The road we followed swept around and into the back side of Ajo. We kind of tumbled down into the little town, seeing numerous residential areas with a great deal of southwestern flavour. Many had cacti gardens, curved arches, wrought iron here and there, many rounded corners, and bright colours. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures as we were busy looking for Olsen's Grocery on the GPS. 

Arizona Snowman....er cowboy man....er....cowboy mud man...

We found it, and I'm surprised to say we also found Olsen's Ace Hardware. It was part of the grocery store, with about 4 or so aisles of hardware between the groceries and a row of freezers along a wall. It was very odd. They even had shopping carts for each, small ones with Ace Hardware, and bigger ones like a regular grocery cart. Truly it was different. 

Heading toward Darby Well Road and the town of Ajo, Arizona

We noted a number of homes with Christmas balls atop of the cacti in the gardens. It was very cute and I'm sure when the sun catches them, quite a sight to see. 

Looks like he's confused on which way is up

A couple of beautiful churches along our drive in the little town of Ajo, we managed to snap a couple of pics but didn't stop. We had freezer items in the back and even though they were in a 'freezer' insulated bag, I didn't want to have them sitting out in the heat. 

Interesting as the middle two are touching in some places  but not growing together.

We didn't find Gunsight Wash today but we'll catch it tomorrow. Just to say we've had a look around and take a few pics as well. 

Just lovely to look at.

Home around 1 pm or so, we read for a bit before BBQ'ing lunch. Today was a green salad, mixed veggies with a squeeze of orange juice and a nice ham steak. It was pretty good if I do say so. 

The road we followed into the back side of Ajo

Tidied up, headed out for a walk. We didn't walk the entire perimeter but we probably dud a little more than half, so I'm thinking probably we've put in about a 1 1/2 miles today. We enjoyed some of the many sights here in the park. Each individual has a unique style for decorating their spots, we even found one themed for the beach complete with sea gulls, a pelican and mooring posts. 

Coming in the back door at Ajo....

We are enjoying the various types of cacti, and the interesting uses to which they are put. We've seen a few places that have placed empty glass bottles upside down on some bushes, I'm wondering if they are some kind wind chime to deter something from eating the garden. I'm not sure and I didn't see anyone to ask. 

Interesting looking, don't ya think?

On our walk around the park we checked out the laundry room, very clean, the machines are nice, $2 to wash (top loads only), very reasonable. Big drums so they will hold a good sized load. I didn't see the price for dryers but I have seen a few clothes lines around the park. The showers and washrooms are old and need some serious refurbishing as the hard water is playing havoc with the ability to clean anything. The rusty build up in the shower bottoms indicates more than just a hard water problem. Riley and I won't be using them, we both came to that conclusion at the same time and a look between us was all that was necessary. 

A very pretty church.

On our walk we passed George and Suzie, as they were sitting outside reading their e-readers and enjoying the nice weather. We stopped for a few minutes, George giving us good instructions to get to Gunsight Wash tomorrow and Suzie filling us in with regards to the Event Calendar we were given upon entrance to the park. Thanks again guys. 

Sunset starting tonight....

We trekked onward to the clubhouse and were amazed at the number of books they have there. We will be going through our own collection and perhaps offering up an exchange before we leave. They had no movies that interested us though. Their collection wasn't too big. A nice puzzle that Patsy would like I'm sure. Plenty of room to work on it. Doesn't look to me that anyone has done anything since George posted his picture the other day.

Then it went to this pretty sky...

Back home we slipped inside for a bit. I edited pics and then came outside to catch the sunset and it was amazing tonight. The sky was on fire!!! The coyotes were yapping off and on as it went down. Truly a nice night. 

The read increased and got darker....

I'm still outside at 6 pm with short pants and a sweatshirt typing my blog. I'll have to go in soon to upload some more pics and edit them as I used my phone for tonight's sun set pics. The door is still open, the vents and windows too. The temp reads 70F/ 21 C. A truly wonderful evening. 

And this was the end.....

So there you have it. Our day of getting out and looking around. Nothing earth shattering or life altering but fun for us and we enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment, or send money. Which ever suits you.

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

Deb

Moving day.......

Our Location: Coyote Howls, Why, Arizona

A nice night for sleeping and I did sleep well. Drifting off some time around 11 pm and not hearing a thing until 6:30 am. Spent a little time reading blogs, emails, and checking the weather before rolling out and starting our day. The overnight temps in Huachuca City reached 53F/11C, beautiful sleeping temps. Today's temps in the area will reach 72F/22C but we won't be here to find out for certain. We're heading toward Why, Arizona where their over night temps were 63F/ 17C and the day time high will be 79F/26C and we will be there to let you know if that's true or not. 

Sun shining on the mountains

As we were hooking up Vicki popped her head around the Big Dog to wish us well. Her and John leave tomorrow heading for southern Texas, the South Padre Island area I think he said.  We were pulling out of our spot before 8 am and heading toward Benson along AZ 90. A quick stop at the Inspection station in which not one question was asked and we were on our way again.

What an amazing view

We slipped on to I-10 West in Benson and then on to Tucson, and then a quick mile on I-19 South before heading west on AZ 85 or 86 ( I can't recall). A nice scenic route, with a few hills and a roller coaster effect that made HRH Miss Kitty toss her stomach contents, which thankfully were nothing as we don't feed her on mornings when we travel. 

One could never tire of this view

We enjoyed the route which took us through little a little town named Sells. Cute name for a town. We noted the many cacti dotting the landscape. Various kinds, sizes and shapes. Some healthy, some not so much, and some in between as well. Another inspection station but no one was stopping vehicles going our way.  We did pull off a bit after that station to just stretch our legs and give Miss Kitty a bathroom break. 

Tucson, Arizona

We arrived here at Coyote Howls before noon under mostly sunny skies and a temp of 83F/ 28 C, and a wee bit of a breeze. We paid for a week and pulled down Mesquite Lane about 8 or so spots and settled in. Nice place, pretty quiet, movies and books available at the clubhouse up front. Wifi signal is pretty good back here and we are doing our first Boon Docking since arriving in the USA. I don't consider an overnight at Wally World a boon docking situation. I consider that being a house guest. 

Bit blurry, but tons of different varieties of cacti

Since we boon dock all summer we're very used to this kind of living and enjoy it a great deal. We're looking forward to becoming more comfortable with Boon Docking options the longer we are in the Southwest and will be spending pretty much our entire winter living off the grid. As I said, we enjoy it, it's quiet, peaceful and at times can be very entertaining as well as educational.

See the road straight ahead, way, way , ahead.....we're going there.

We passed by George and Suzie ( Our Awesome Travels) on our way to this spot down the row from them. Thanks George for telling us about this place. It's as nice as you said it would be. 

Just love the cacti.

We are surrounded by moutains, and I'm anticipating some nice sunsets from our location. About a 1/2 mile before turning into the park we encountered a coyote on the road side. The first one we've actually seen down here, but we've heard them many, many nights. We hear them back home at our summer location as well, but they remain a bit more concealed there. 

The only negative about the park so far is no CELL SERVICE. Seems AT&T doesn't have any towers in the area. Our Canadian phones work on their network down here. I could activate my US phone but unless we find it to be a more common thing that AT&T doesn't work, I won't be doing that.  With the internet connection I'm not too worried about no cell service. We'll manage. 

Pretty sky isn't it?

Lunch today was a salad, spaghetti, and garlic bread. Finished off with some peaches. Hmmm...good stuff. Sorry no pics, we were hungry when we arrived. 

Next it looked like this....

The afternoon was spent making up a few lists, such as this week's menu, shopping lists and a few boon docking locations in the area we want to check out without the Igloo running behind us. 

A finally like this.....

So there you have it. Our journey today was about 200 miles, took us about 3 hrs and 45 minutes all together, including a few stops for stretches and inspections. We consider it to be a good travel day.Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment. 

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

Deb

Our last day here at Quail Ridge Rv Resort.....

Our Location: Quail Ridge Rv Resort, Huachuca City, Arizona

A nice night for sleeping and I slept all night from about 11:30 pm to almost 5:30 am. Just what I needed. I spent my early morning hours reading blogs, checking weather, email, and spent some time on Google Maps as well in preparation for tomorrow's journey. I think I'm all prepared now. If not, well we'll figure it out.

Tomatoes on the vine in Dec

We have enjoyed our time here but it's time to head for lower elevations and warmer weather. We will certainly return to the this park if we are ever in the area again. People are friendly, we're close to anything we might want in Sierra Vista, lots to see around here and to keep us busy. The price is right, the wifi was okay and the sunsets were nice. Definitely a nice place to visit.

Love this cactus

Up and about around 7:30 am I quietly did a few chores that we neglected yesterday. Then sat down to read my book. Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell. I truly enjoy her books. She's got a nice style.

Such a pretty colour....

After Riley was up I decided to tackle some cleaning since tomorrow is moving day and we'll be boon docking for the next while at least. The vacuum came out, the mirrors were cleaned, you get the picture right? I spent some time just doing little piddly things that take time but need to be accomplished. You know dusting, tidying closets, cupboards, etc. They aren't dirty or messy just ....unkempt, I guess, or in mild disarray, might be the best way to describe them. Since this is our home and I've always been a bit of a neat freak I find the 'full' closets and cupboards to be in constant need of a tidy. I'm getting better but you know what I mean. 

Amazing front yard...love the sunscreen..

After my cleaning frenzy I decided to read  heading upstairs to lay on my bed to read for a while there. Well you know what happened right? Riley made herself some lunch as I wasn't around to BBQ and when I finally got up about 1:30 she was washing up her dishes. I guess I needed the rest.

Beautiful cacti garden

I made myself a nice green salad for lunch and finished it off with a couple of scoops of ice cream. That was lunch! Then it was outside to start putting stuff away. John, next door came out to chat and eventually I had to break away to help Riley get things packed up properly. It never takes long but it's just the idea of doing it all. It's helpful when Riley helps out and she learns where things go, how to put them away in the proper places and order. She's pretty good with the inside stuff but has never helped much with the outside stuff.

Sorry it's blurry but it is very pretty, blooming in Dec.

After everything was away I chatted with John once again, discussing a number of things among them his twin Honda generators. Nice, quiet, small, only 35 lbs. I'm seriously considering getting myself one. My little generator is very noisy compared to this little Honda he has. In fact he has two the exact same. He can hook them in series to increase his power output. I wouldn't want two, one would be more than enough. 

These quail are fast!!!! Best pic I could manage.

Back inside I read my book for a bit, then grabbed Miss Riley and off we went for a walk around the back part of the park. She headed home after our usual length of walk and I continued to get a few more pics for this post. Chatted with a couple that lives here full time and they also gave me some tips as to places to go while in the state. Nice folks.

I believe there may be an upcoming holiday....

After that it was back home again to write this post, edit some pics and just finish the evening with my book. So there you have it, nothing exciting. The temps were coolish today, with overcast skies all day, no sunset pics tonight either. The last few days have been overcast with a few rumbles of thunder once in a while but no rain has fallen. Tomorrow I think we're looking for sunny skies once again. 

Skinniest Xmas tree I've ever seen.

All of today's pic's were taken with my phone right here in the park. Thanks for stopping by, feel free to comment. 

Seems to be a few of these around....

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


Deb