Phoenix, Los Algodones, and Valley of Names (Catching Up)

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

March 13, 2018

This morning I was up to see the sky a wonderful pink before sunrise by the time I grabbed my camera and stepped outside and it had turned to a golden glow. It is amazing how quickly the color changes in the early morning.

With the cloud cover all we could see was a slip of sunlight on either side
of the rising sun.

We were on our way to Phoenix this morning for a follow up appointment with a Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiologist Tom had seen last year for a slow heartbeat. Turns out it was definitely a side-effect of one of the high blood pressure medicines he was taking. Tuesday's visit confirmed that and the doctor told him unless something new comes up he does not need to see him again. His last words of advice: never take that particular medicine again. So that was definitely good news.

While we were getting ready to go this morning we had a knock on the door and it was Lorne from A Place Called "Away" He had seen our motorhome from across the way and had taken a bike ride over to say hello and goodbye as they were heading out that morning. It was nice to have quick moment to talk and hopefully next year our paths will cross for a longer visit with him and Sue. By the way nice looking bike, Sue.

A quick picture of Lorne's group as we were speeding by.

Some of our views on the way to Phoenix.

Semi's ahead as far as the eye could see.

Starting to see some yellow wild flowers along the side of I-10

We spent a two months in Tonopah a couple of years ago. During that time we
visited, Buckeye, Goodyear, Glendale, and Avondale for shopping and
dining. Every time we went by this bug I missed the picture.
Today success...finally!

I snapped the lizards on the way back.

Lovely green fields.

On our way back we stopped in Goodyear to do a little shopping. There is
a TJ Maxx with a Home Goods store here that I wanted to visit.
We ate a late lunch at the Arriba Mexican Grill and it was quite good as
was the Happy Hour Margarita.

Our next stop was Walmart in Buckeye to pick up a few items. Then gas for
the Jeep at Fry's. Every time I have seen this store I wonder about the
combination. Two essentials in life I guess...:) 

The shadows and swirls on the mountains to the north.

I put my zoom lens on to catch what I thought was the last of the sunset.

Then the afterglow started. 

The sky to the north turned a light pink.

In front of us was a golden glow

and I could not stop taking pictures.

Even the semis turned a beautiful orange/gold in the light.

Even the color fading did not take away from its beauty.

Passing the semis they glistened in the last of the light.

The orange became deeper just towards the end.

We can see the lights of Quartzsite in the distance and after 30 minutes
the last of the sun's light bid us goodnight.

March 14, 2018

Two days and two doctors, today we were up before the sun to make it to Los Algodones for my 8:30 appointment with Dr. Urena.  I had two fillings done last time and they needed some follow-up.

Out the door by 6:15 AM we could still see a sliver of the moon and a
faint glow from the sun as it makes its way up to bring the light to the day.

The sun is up and the landscape is sparkling as we travel south on 95.

Going by Yuma the fields are so green and this family has
 a beautiful oasis in the center of the field.

Crossing at Los Algodones.

Brunch at the Black Bear Dinner.
Tom's upper left and my Eggs Benedict which included Avocado.
Mine was delicious and Tom said his was, also. 

Shirley and Ken, Seeing America with Ken and Shirley, we thought of you
this morning. This was on the wall across from out table.

After brunch we headed out to the Valley of Names.

It is going to be a wiggly road.

The mountains in the distance offered a wonderful contrast
to the light sand we were driving through. 

Then we started to see the names.

When reading about this place it mentioned to bring your own rocks,
if you wanted to leave your name in the sand and we did.

There are a lot of names out there.

As you can see we miss-judged the size and number of rocks to bring.
I had wanted to put a heart in the corner but we ran out of rocks.
It was hot and windy as we did this but can I just say of the two of us
Tom is the most artistic, I draw stick people.
Do not know what happened today.
My work is on the right and his is on the left.

What Tom did find was a space near a Ocotillo.
The perfect spot!

Knowing we will never find this place again

we wanted a good memory of what we left behind.

Not sure exactly where this is but it is Laguna Dam.

This would be how we knew the name of the dam...LOL

Back on 95 heading North toward Quartzsite we saw this tank
parked in the Yuma Proving Grounds.
That was a first.

Took a quick ride down King Valley Road.
This Saguaro looked like a bird condominium.
Many, many generations of birds started their lives here
and were protected by this beautiful Saguaro.

Curious, I looked up what type of birds nest in the Saguaros this is what I found:
The gilded flicker and Gila woodpecker excavate nest cavities inside the saguaro's pulpy flesh. When awoodpecker abandons a cavity, elf owls, screech owls, purple martins, finches and sparrows may move in. Large birds, like the Harris's and red-tailed hawks, also use the saguaro for nesting and hunting platforms.

We of course see these all the time along 95 what I never noticed until
today is that some of them are made of wood.

Though most are steel. I was just surprised.

Once back in Quartzsite Tom wanted to take a ride back by a mine that
Kathy and Rick, It's about time, had mentioned touring.
We drove past the mine and continued on the road a short
distance into the  Dome Rock Mountains. 

Looking back we can see the dust covering the mountains off to the east.

This is were we stopped. It was late and Tom was not sure of the road
ahead. We will have to come back another year and check farther.

Looking out over toward LaPosa LTVA the dust has
pretty much hidden the mountains and it from our view.

So ended what ended up being our last day parked out on Plamosa Road in the Quartzsite area for this our Fourth Adventure. We do love it her and look forward to the next time.

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!

I am playing catch up because of the internet connection we have here in Why, AZ. It is a slow process and honestly I do not want to spend all my time at the computer. We have been able to take two rides in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and I, of course, took a lot of pictures. We are enjoying our time here. Wherever you are, we hope you are enjoying the first day of this wonderful new season of spring that is upon us.

If you would like to leave a comment, we would enjoy hearing from you.