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Thursday, January 25, 2018

Meeting a Fun Couple Face to Face and A Ride into the Kofa Wildlife Refuge

(Clicking on the pictures will open them larger in a new window.)

January 23, 2018

Today was a slow day at the Stinger "B" eventually a little after 11:00AM we headed into the post office to see what time we could pick up a General Delivery package. We arrived just before noon and as luck would have it the time to do so was Noon till 1:00PM. After a "little" time in line we left with our package of mail that our daughter had sent. We made a stop at the General Store for a few items then a stop at the Dairy Queen for a treat before heading back home.

Happy Hour was at the Stinger "B" tonight and Shirley and Ken, Seeing America with Ken and Shirley, joined us. We have been following each other's blogs and it was great to meet them in person. They had met Suzie and George a couple of years ago and Patsy earlier in the day but this was the first time Bill, Tom, and I had the chance to meet them. There were hugs all around. What a fun couple. All of us have gotten to know each other because of our blogs and the conversation flowed because we were sitting down with old friends.

George and Suzie in the front.
In the back starting at Tom's chair going right: Myself, Shirley, Patsy,
Bill, and Ken

The last little bit of light as the sun slipped behind the mountain
ending another wonderful day parked in our little corner of the world.


January 24, 2018

Our day started at a little after 7:00AM this morning. The plan for today was to take a ride over to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge and check out the Kofa Cabin. We tried to take this same ride last year and did not make it all the way. The conclusion we have come to is, if we want to make it to the Cabin we cannot get distracted on the way, no side trips, and we have to be on the road no later then 8:00AM. Maybe next time will make it.  We still took a wonderful drive that we enjoyed and fair warning I had fun taking pictures.


The first of this morning's light, that I captured,

and then the sun popped over the mountains to start a new day
in this beautiful place we are calling home at the moment.

Leaving LaPosa South this morning
we drove by Shirley and Ken's home on wheels.





Several ATV's passed and left us in their dust.

My first picture of the desert's plants had to be my favorite, the Ocotillo.


The cute Cholla/"Teddy Bear" Cactus.

The Cholla looks cute and fluffy but get to close and
they will painfully hook into you.

The stately Saguaros are every where you turn.

The road can be a little bumpy at times...okay most of the time.

The beauty of the mountains is all around us.

We decided to turn unto a road that would bring us by Scott Well.
We have been down this road before
and knew it was a manageable ride with the Jeep. 

(As I was going through the photos to decide which ones to use I noticed some of them where hazy. It took a moment then I realized they were the ones I took through the dirty front windshield.)


We saw a lot of these signs today.

Looking down one of the many washes we drove through today.



Did I mention the bumpy road.

No, this may not be a good idea and besides

if we back away

we can take the high road

and join back up again.


We may be wrong but we think they want us to stay on that road.

The other choice had a few rocks blocking it.

In the distance down the "not" designated road.


Tom only had to remove one rock today as we headed into a wash.
It looked to be a good size from above and the right tires would have
had to go over it.


Riding in the wash.



The road ahead was looking fairly smooth.



When I was going through today's photos I found this one.
Without realizing it I had framed the MST&T Tower with an Ocotillo.




A whole field of  Cholla/"Teddy Bears".


At times the road was rocky.







Spotted this Saguaro in the distance, the above picture, and was
able to zoom in on its cute face. 







One lone Saguaro at the top of the hill.
I love having a zoom.



I really like being able to take pictures and bring the subject in closer and closer.



We stopped and I took this photo as we were leaving the
Kofa Wildlife Refuge behind for today.

So ends the light of another day enjoyed in our neighborhood.

Caught a light pink along the edges as the sunset.




A short reflection about being parked in this wonderfully, quiet, beautiful place in the Sonoran Desert. Often when we are sitting with friends and enjoying the end of the day or when Tom and I are driving we talk about how wonderful it is to experience the vastness and beauty of the Southwest. Yet, there are people, we know, who do not understand how we can say "brown" is beautiful or ask why would you want to park where you are not hooked up to water etc... What many do not see and never will is the many shades of brown and green all around us and how at different times of the day the sun lights them up and it is breath taking. What they do not realize is there is a quietness in the desert you cannot experience in a RV park. (Then I think maybe that is a good thing if everyone wanted to be here it would get really crowded. Plus, we all have to find our own comfort zone and I respect that.) Yes, there is dust but even that brings out some of the beauty you can view in the distance. Yes, sometimes the dust is annoying but we live with it to enjoy the gift of being in a warm beautiful place. As we head home to Michigan in a few months we will be sad to leave all this behind but then we will begin to see the wonderful forest and rivers as we head East and North. The closer we get to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan the more we realize how lucky we are to live in the midst of the beauty of the forests and when we turn the corner and drive along Lake Michigan for the last sixty miles of our trip we know we have the best of two worlds. There are days we wake up and cannot believe how lucky and blessed we are to be living our dream. The real gift is all the truly wonderful people we have met and call family and friends along this journey of life. Each one beautiful in there own way.





"Everything has its beauty
but not everyone sees it."
                                   ~Confucius


( I would change this quote and add "Everything and Everyone")


Our days are wonderfully relaxing as we get to enjoy our dream!
Thank you for reading about our day and hope yours was wonderful.
If you would like to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

16 comments:

  1. Beautiful scenery! Glad you are really getting to enjoy your days :) things are going well here! Love & miss you guys!

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    Replies
    1. Glad to hear everything is going well back there.
      The scenery is beautiful and being parked out in the desert is wonderfully relaxing, did I say that before...:). Love and miss you all, also.

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  2. Another couple of days of fun. Your camera is doing great Deb or is it the person behind it?

    I know how you feel about this great Southwest. Not everyone sees it that way and I'm married to one. To each his own I guess

    Enjoyed the Jeep ride into the desert with you two. That is something Yuma and I enjoy doing. He likes the getting out and running around part the best though. His old man is having a hard time keeping up.

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    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed the "ride with us".
      I always enjoy seeing the pictures of Yuma running...it would be nice to have a smidgen of that energy.
      No unfortunately, or maybe it is fortunately because it would get crowded if everyone wanted to be here, not everyone feels the same about the beauty out here.
      I keep reading the camera's book and hoping to retain a little more each day...lol

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  3. We have family and friends back Home telling us the same. We'll take the Desert over the Beach any day.
    Great Pictures.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    Replies
    1. We love it all but keep getting pulled back to the desert. There is just something that says sit and relax about the southwest that is hard to resist.

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  4. A great post, Deb. Thanks for the virtual jeep ride until we get the reality one! I agree with Doug, your pictures are beautiful. I especially love the different Saguaro and Teddy Bear Chollas.
    Your reflection at the end is so true. We all know those who will never see the beauty of this desert but that doesn't matter. We are all different, thank goodness!

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    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed the "virtual jeep ride" Tom and I are looking forward to the reality one and finding out where you have decided we should go.
      I love the Teddy Bears, also. They look so soft and cuddly.
      I agree "thank goodness" we are all different. It is what makes life interesting.

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  5. Wonderful pictures Deb, I don't think I could ever get tired of seeing the many cacti that dot the southwest. Thanks for taking us along with you and Tom.
    The desert is not just dust and brown. It's alive and vibrant, it's washed with hues of browns, but also blues, greens, yellows,reds, oranges, and pinks. Each hour offers up a different view of the same scene due to multiple things such as sun, cloud, dust, haze, and position. The contrast is more drastic and more dramatic with each passing hour. The desert is never boring. The desert is a place of exploration and solitude, inspiration and imagination. Dry camping is only a hardship if you think it is, other wise it's fun, entertaining, and educational. It offers more challenges and requires a bit of planning and thoughtfulness. Not everyone wishes to participate. Good thing or there would be less choice spots available for the rest of us.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Deb and we enjoyed having you along.
      We agree with everything you said, especially that the desert is never boring. Plus, you are so right if everyone wanted to dry camp there would be less choice spots...:)

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  6. Deb, your pictures are wonderful! I really like the one pic of saguaros that looks like a little family. Love the way you write your story. The desert along with sunrises and sunsets are so beautiful here. So glad you are enjoying everything your way of life has to offer. So many people don't see the beauty, and you're so right with your reflection at the end. Some people don't understand why we like to travel so much..and I'm saying why wouldn't we? There is so much to be seen and with all America and Canada have to offer why should we just stay home? There will come a time that we won't have a choice so better do it while we can! Love that we've gotten to meet you, Tom and everyone else. So special you all are and we feel very blessed to call you all friends..

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    1. We totally agree with your comment we love everything about this lifestyle and meeting and making wonderful new friends is at the top of the list. We are so glad you and Ken have been able to come and spend time sitting and chatting. The only issue we have is that it has been so much fun the time is flying by way to fast.

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  7. The desert isn't for everyone, but I sure love it!!

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  8. More excellent photos and more wonderful desert days. I great description of what we love the southwest. I have told people either you love it or you hate it. The wide open spaces,, quiet times and this scenery is something that we truly love.

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    1. Thank you.
      So true, either you love the desert or you hate it, there does not seem to be a lot of middle ground. Tom and I have discussed it more then once, no matter were our travels take us, part of our time will always be out here.

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