We Moved and The Last of the Pictures From Our Ride to King Valley Road

Friday, March 10, 2023

On Thursday we moved back to a spot just off of Ogilby Road where we had been parked in February.  Sadly our neighborhood is short one rig this time.

When we turned off of Ogilby Road after a short distance I could
see a white dot and when I zoomed in I could see it was the Igloo.

No, we are not parked that close to the Cargo Muchacho Mountains but I do like that when I zoomed in from this angle it looked like the Igloo was parked with them towering over it.

Stepping out of the Stinger "B" this morning to take a picture of the sunrise I was pleasantly surprised at the temperature. After taking the picture I asked Tom for my shawl and sat down to enjoy the morning. Deb decided to join me with her coffee and a few minutes later Tom joined us carrying two mugs of coffee. 

The sun came up and pretty quickly slipped behind the clouds.

This guy went by several times this morning.
As we drove out to Ogilby Road a little later we saw it landing.

We sat out chatting until we noticed it was 9 o'clock and since the plan was to leave for the Arizona Market Place by 10 it was time to go in and get ready.

After Tom and I left a few dollars behind at the Market Place this morning we headed over to the UPS Store so I could return a few thing I had ordered that did not work out. We were stopped at a light and just as we started to turn we noticed the bird below.  I had never seen a bird with such a long bill before which is why even though it is a blurry distorted picture it is shared here. Between the Jeep moving and extensive cropping this was the best I could do.

I believe, after doing some checking, this is a 
Long-billed Curlew.

We made one more stop at Walmart for a few things then headed home. A little later we sat out and Deb joined us for a short Happy Hour. 

If you have read this blog for any length of time you know I share a lot of cloud pictures, The collage below are of some I liked this evening.

The other two people at Happy Hour could not see it. I think
it is totally clear the top picture is a blue angel flying by.

The sun set behind the clouds tonight but its light 

as it left did give produce some pretty color.

I took this then headed inside for the night.

It was a good day!

Tuesday, February 28, 2023 
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge 

All of this wilderness is located in Arizona and is managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Kofa Wilderness is bordered on the south by the Castle Dome Mountains and the western end of the Tank Mountains are in the southeast of the wildlife refuge. The New Water Wilderness in the New Water Mountains ends the extension of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge to the north. The La Posa Plain is a wide, generally flat plain in western Arizona near the Colorado River and is on the west and northwest border of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. The plain lies to the east of the Colorado River Indian Reservation and east of the Dome Rock and Trigo Mountains.

The Kofa Refuge and Wilderness is open to visitation year-round, 24 hours a day. There are no entrance fees and visitors are free to camp wherever they choose, keeping in mind the vehicle restrictions. The vast majority of the public comes to the Kofa Wilderness between October and March when 'winter visitors' flock to southern Arizona. These 'snowbirds' as they are also called, tend to remain on or close to the designated roads. Thus, intrepid hikers can still find vast areas of the Refuge to themselves. The Refuge is virtually devoid of human activity during the hot summer months. (from the internet)

 

As I mentioned in my last post, posted on March 7th, Riley and I turned back at the first Horse Tank and I had wished I could have gone forward but if I had I would have missed the wonderful time chatting with Riley. Looking back as I write this I am glad I forgot the hiking pole. We spent our time looking at the mountains in front of us and found many interesting faces among the rocks. We also could see other things and if you enlarge the pictures you might see things we never did.  It is all about looking with "open eyes". 

One of our favorite finds.

I even remembered to take a picture of  
Riley and I.

Do you see a turtle?

Deb and Tom catching up to us after their hike.

Heading back to King Valley Road

Baby Ocotillos

The shadows on the mountains

are beautiful and ever changing.

Could that be a very large Owl peeking at us?

When I saw this hill it was completely black. By the time I got
my camera focused the black shadow was almost gone. 

King Valley Road

Tom turned the Little Black Limo right to go further down King Valley Road but we did not travel that far. Checking the map it looked like a road we had been on in the past from the other end. On that ride we encountered a steep wash we could not get through. It was getting late, the road was bumpy, and we did not want to travel several more miles only to turn around and back track. So after talking about it we all agreed the best idea was to turn around.

The last picture of the day.

The Kofa Mountains are beautiful and their beauty can be seen in every direction. Tom and Deb took a hike to see more of the tanks and from what they said had a good time. I know Riley and I had fun chatting while looking for faces and shapes on the mountain side. Some she saw and I did not, some I saw and she did not, and some we both saw. Driving back into Quartzsite we stopped to see our stranded friend and invited Doug to join us for a late lunch. It truly was a good day spent with special friends.

We are glad you stopped by!

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

Now There is One, Looking for Wildflowers, and More of Our Ride Down King Valley Road

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

Monday, March 6, 2023

We stepped out this morning just before 8 o'clock to blue skies and scattered clouds and looking to the left of us we could see that the Igloo was connected to the Dogsled. It was moving day for Deb and Riley and they were ready to go. They walked over and after hugs and several see you laters it was time for them to go. 

As we stood there with one quick wave Deb pulled ahead
and this spot was empty.

They are off and later we heard they had made it to their
destination safe and sound.

Tom and I sat down to enjoy our first mug of coffee and when
the sun went behind a cloud there were shadows on the 
 Dome Rock Mountains and an immediate chill in the air.

We sat out for a while and enjoyed out second mug of coffee. Going inside while Tom had something to eat I decided to get our laundry ready to go. While I had something to eat Tom loaded the laundry into the Jeep and headed into Quartzsite to the laundromat. While he did that I took care of somethings here at home. We will be pulling out in couple of days and there are a few more stops we would like to make in Arizona, two of them will require reservations, before we point the Stinger "B" East. As the navigator of this crew I had a few phone calls to make today and some research to do. After talking with Tom when he got back with our clean clothes we have a "plan". Fingers crossed after a couple of calls tomorrow that everything will fall into place for the rest of our time here in Arizona. If not there is always Plan B we will just have to figure it out. 

Later this afternoon we sat out for Happy Hour it was a little chilly with a slight breeze but we put sweatshirts on and dealt with it. 

Looking out to the South I just liked the look of the sky. 

Just as the sun began to set it popped out from beneath the 
clouds, where it had spent most of the day, and the 
sun's light brightened this spot in our view.

Tonight's sunset

Then looking towards the East I again just liked
the way the sky looked.

One final look towards the West and the sun was gone from
our view but its light was still beautiful.

That was our day and it ended in the quiet of the desert as the darkness descended upon us.

Sunday, March 5, 2023

The sky was cloud covered when we stepped out this morning and there was somewhat of a chill in the air. Yet we persevered and brought our second mugs of coffee out to enjoy. Deb and Riley were off to run some errands in preparation for leaving in the morning. I mentioned to Deb that Tom and I were thinking of taking a ride down Plomosa Road in search of some blooming wildflowers and would she and Riley like to join us around noon. 

Deb joined us though Riley opted to stay home. So off the three of us went in the Little Black Limo in search of some "blooming flowers". There were no flowers to be seen but we did check out a few spots and found some nice ones with cell service we all said we would consider in the future. Always nice to have options and new views to enjoy.

First stop was for a picture opportunity. I am not sure how
 many times I have taken these two pictures as we drive

 through this section of the Plomosa Mountains. This is looking
 West and it is my favorite view on Plomosa Road.  

Some views on 

one of the roads

we drove down.

We stayed on Plomosa Road until we reached Salome Road in Bouse where we took a left and headed towards Parker. Then after a few miles we finally found the wildflowers blooming on both sides of the road. Tom pulled over and we all got out to take some pictures. I was only able to identify two of the flowers we saw then I gave up looking. Named or not named they where all beautiful.

Arizona Lupine

Desert Primrose

With all the clouds there was not a visible sunset this evening.
What we did see was a lovely rose afterglow.

It was a good day we ended up taking a fun ride checking out some boondocking areas and we found some blooming wildflowers. I have read with wildflowers there is no guarantees but the 2023 season seems full of promise. We may just see a nice colorful display in the desert and that would be wonderful...🤞

Tuesday, February 28, 2023 

Kofa National Wildlife Refuge 

The Refuge was established primarily for conservation of desert bighorn sheep and their habitat. This is still one of the primary management objectives. Subsequently, wilderness visitors are apt to encounter man-made structures such as concrete dams, windmills, and other modified or enhanced water sources. Many of these structures, built in the 1940s and '50s, have been allowed to slowly deteriorate, while others are maintained by Refuge staff to provide essential water needs for desert wildlife. On occasion wilderness solitude may be interrupted by the sounds and sights of aerial overflights as Refuge staff conduct wildlife surveys. The airspace over the Refuge is controlled by the military; thus, you may also see and hear military jets and helicopters during your visit. By and large, however, the remoteness and solitude of Kofa's backcountry is unmatched by other, more heavily-visited wilderness areas.(from the internet)

These first three picture I took  as we followed the trail

to this Horse Tank.

There is water in this tank.

The rest of these pictures were taken by Tom.
The horse tank is in the middle of this picture.

At this point Riley and I turned back on the trail. I will be posting those pictures in our next blog. Deb and Tom continued on to a couple of more tanks and the pictures below are what Tom took of that hike. 

Looking at the pictures Tom and Deb took on that part of the hike I wish I would have had my hiking pole with me to continue. Deb posted her pictures over several days on her blog, On a long and lonesome highway... not just of this part of the hike but the entire ride.

Our days continue to flow forward all to quickly. At the same time there is a peacefulness to each on of them that is felt inside. This time like all the other adventures we have enjoyed out here in this beautiful place called the Sonoran Desert will be held in our memory book to open as the years go by. 

We are glad you stopped by!

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