Enjoying Our Time in the Desert

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

Saturday, November 25, 2023

We took a short ride this afternoon, to the West of us, towards the Dome Rock Mountains. The pictures below are from that ride.

It really seems to us we are seeing more dead Saguaros this year.

I could see the head of a teddy bear at the top of this one.

My first thought when I saw this guy was Lumiere, the
candlestick, in the movie Beauty and the Beast. Yes, having a
daughter and granddaughters I have seen the movie several
times. As we got closer it looked less like him to me.
What do you see, if anything?

One of several Ocotillos we saw today.
This is actually a succulent shrub. They can
get to be 20 feet tall and live up to 60 
 years. Though, I read there is some evidence
 they can live as long as 100 years or more. 

We saw a lot of Chollas. 

A mine entrance

What is left of the flower at the tip of an Ocotillo branch.

I thought this little guy was a cutie. Do you see the face?

They look so soft but don't be fooled.
There spines have barbs that easily go in but are hard to pull out.

The first time we drove up to what is left of a stone cabin, pictured below, was in March 1, 2017. clicking on the date will bring you to the blog where I recorded that  visit. Surprisingly, it looks much the same as it did back then. The only difference is there is now a fence around it; we walked around inside last time. It was actually nice to see that it is being preserved. There is no information about this cabin at the site.

From Cholla Road.

Doing some research I came up with the name
Joseph Cone's Cabin

Joseph Fremont Cone (1892-Oct. 18, 1971) was an artist and worker of ironwood. He was well-known in the area for being a nature lover. The building next to this cabin is his former workshop. Both of the buildings were allegedly built in the late 1800s.

With the sun behind me I could not see the outline good
enough to get it right over what is left of the cabin.
This was not here the last time we were out here.

The Kofa Mountains in the distance standing near the cabin.

I-10 in the distance.

Looking towards the Dome Mountains and a section 
 of the Bureau of Land Management Camping Area 

Sleeping Indian from the Pipeline Road.

Home

The sun had set behind the mountains when I took this picture 
with the my phone and it captured this last glow of light.

We ended our day sitting out on our patio chatting with Kim and Ken. Riley was relaxing in her home and the rest of our neighbors were off to the races in Yuma. The sun had set and there was a definite chill in the air when we decided it was time to retreat into the warmth of our homes. I know our family and friends back home will think we have become wimps; it was in the low 60's but with the wind it was bone chilling cold. It was a cool but fun day...lol

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Today was basically a do nothing day for me. Tom did drive over to Parker to pick up a curbside order I had made at the Walmart but other then that not a lot of movement here until later in the afternoon. We had a different day planned and like it occasionally happens in life they changed. I am not sure what triggered my allergies but I went to bed coughing and did not wake up feeling the greatest. So I went back to bed and did not get up until later in the morning. As the day progressed I felt better and we did join our neighbors for Happy Hour. Sue and Lorne were planning on leaving in the morning and I did not want to miss out on getting together. Though, like I mentioned a couple of sentences ago plans change. A vote was taken and a new plan was formed it looks like they will be leaving on Tuesday. Until then our neighborhood will remain the same size a bit longer...😀

After the sun set this evening there was some lovely

color in the sky. 

Sitting and chatting with friends was how our day ended. How lucky are Tom and I to be living this lifestyle! 

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.