Monthly Archives: December 2018

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December 16, 2018

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Arizona, Boondocking

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Kofa NWR: Part 3

December 14, 2018 (Day 4)

Sheila and I took the girls for a long walk after brunch. We continued to search for the elusive desert tortoise. We searched a wide wash for tortoises, but we still didn’t find one. Later in the day, Paul decided to hike up some of the large hills around here. Geocaching is not allowed in the refuge — no man-made things are allowed to be left behind. However, Paul found the cache of all geocaches! Here are his words and pictures:

“While hiking, I came across an unusual rock formation. Inside the rock formation was a tobacco tin with a miner’s claim from 1949. I don’t think it has ever been disturbed. I left the claim in its original place.”

December 15, 2018 (Day 5)

We had read that some people hike up the opposite side of the gorge toward the palm trees. We decided to give it a try. There isn’t a path, but people have done it. We have no idea how people do it, unless there is a sort of path somewhere that we couldn’t find. Once it got really rough and involved much scaling of rocks, I left Paul and Sheila and started my descent. I can go up, but I have a fear of going down. (I get dizzy and unstable). They kept at it and leapt over major cracks and scaled boulders. They pushed their limits, but still never made it to the palms. A+ for effort! We are left wondering how people make it up that side of the gorge.

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Find Paul and Sheila


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My Descent — no path

After Sheila’s dogs have dinner, they get a little treat — like dessert. Poppy is now in on this tradition. Here she is waiting patiently for Kenzie and Bunnah to finish their dinners so that she can have a treat:

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Sunset through the Airstream windows:

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The evening was calmer and warmer, so we had a campfire — our first one this winter.

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December 13, 2018

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Arizona, Boondocking, Dogs, USA Travel

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Kofa NWR: Part 2

December 12, 2018 (Day 2)
Hiking the Palm Canyon Trail

After a leisurely and hearty camp brunch, Paul, Sheila, and I took all three dogs and hiked up the canyon trail. Since our campsite is relatively near the trailhead, we walked. Sheila’s dogs are seniors. Kenzie, the Westie, is 12 and Bunnah, the Scottie, is 10, but they did the rugged steep trail with us like champs. On the way down, we took a little break and Bunnah took a wee nap.

Here we are still climbing, but we looked back to see if we could find our camp. Can you spot the Airstream?

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Can you spot the Airstream?

Little did we know that our timing was impeccable. It’s great that none of us wanted to leave first thing in the morning. We arrived just as the sun was illuminating the palms.

You have to look up to see the palms:

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These are California Fan Palms, and they are the only native palm trees in Arizona. There are several theories on how they got into these canyons and other niches. It’s likely the seeds were spread by birds or coyotes thousands of years ago. They continue to survive due to the micro-climate in the protected canyon. The decaying fronds fall to the ground, decompose, and create a new growing medium for new trees. They are self-sustaining. There are other trees in other niches, but these are the most dramatic.

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Other palms in niches

The girls at the end of the trail

Poppy resting
Bunnah and Kenzie
Poppy is ready to leave

Here is our view from the top. Can you still spot the Airstream?

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On our way down, we saw a couple of lizards, but no other wildlife.

After an exhilarating day, we were treated to another spectacular sunset.

December 13, 2018 (Day 3)
Searching for Desert Tortoises

Yesterday, we met a fellow Canadian on the trail and he said he saw tortoises. The three of us humans left camp without the dogs, because this time we were hiking across the desert, through washes, and scrambling around cholla. It’s a good thing we left the dogs at home because the ground was covered with an assortment of sharp thorns. Sheila came near, but didn’t touch a teddy bear cholla, but one grabbed on to her bare leg. There is a reason why they are nicknamed “jumping cholla.” Ouch!

We searched hard for tortoises, but we didn’t find any. We will try again tomorrow.

One dead and one live saguaro
Find Paul
tiny blooms
chain cholla blooms
searching in the sandy washes for tortoises

And more desert beauty as the sun goes down

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December 13, 2018

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Airstream living, Arizona, Boondocking, USA Travel

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Kofa National Wildlife Refuge: Part 1

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December 11, 2018

Palm Canyon Road

The Kofa refuge was established in 1939 to protect desert bighorn sheep and other wildlife. Because this is a protected area, there are some regulations, so it isn’t as open as using BLM land. For example, you can only camp within 100 ft of the road, and camping is only permitted for 14 days within a 12-month period. Also, pets must be leashed or contained at all times. Like BLM land, camping is free.

Kofa is a contracted name from “King of Arizona”, which was the name of a gold mine in the area back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. There are several entrances to the refuge. We chose Palm Canyon Road, but some of the others are Blevens Road (Crystal Hill), King Road, Castle Dome Mine Road, and MST&T Road.

Although Palm Canyon Road is gravel, it is wide and graded. We had no trouble with things jumping around in the Airstream, nor when we encountered on-coming vehicles.

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We weren’t sure how far we would drive in. The camp host told us that we could go to the end of the road and there would be a turnaround in the parking area for the trailhead. We didn’t know how far the road went, but we found this site and pulled in. It turns out that there is only one more campsite beyond ours, but it is only big enough for a small motorhome or van. Here is our campsite with its spectacular views:

camping with Sheila in her 17′ Escape

Our new Airstream is set up with 4 100W flexible solar panels and 4 AGM batteries. These have been sufficient for us so far. Water is always an issue when boondocking. We conserve as best we can, but water usage will determine how long we can stay here.

Desert Plants

We had rain last week, so the desert is quite green. We heard that the washes did flood. We wish we could have seen that.

barrel cactus
cholla blooms
cholla bloom
saguaro
teddy bear cholla
dead cactus

Last year, we arrived after the ocotillos had lost their leaves. There are many in full-leaf here. Stunning!

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lush
leaves changing color

Let’s observe the Airstream in its natural environment:

And that wraps up our first day in Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

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December 11, 2018

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Arizona, USA Travel

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Becoming Yumans

We spent the last two weeks in Yuma. It was like coming home. We spent a lot of time in Yuma last winter. We attended a few events like the AKC dog show and the Dorothy Young Memorial Electric Light Parade, and of course, we hopped the border and went to Los Algodones for a day.

The Light Parade was one of the most interesting parades I’ve been to. Although it began at 6 pm, we arrived before 4 pm to get a good parking spot and a place to set our lawn chairs. We parked next to Little Caesar’s Pizza so we had pizza and wings before the parade began. Once the sun set, the lights came on and we watched floats, vehicles, dancers, and bands come by in sparkling waves. The theme this year was agriculture. It was fitting since you can’t be in Yuma without being face to face with agriculture wherever you go.

Dole had an interesting float. It included a large television monitor showing their workers in the fields:

The greatest crowd-pleasers were the low-riders! People were shouting “flip the switches!” What a fun show!

Even an Astrovan can be a low-rider!

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There were so many parade entries. After 102, I stopped paying attention to the number.

Even garden tools behind the bus

Even the dancers and bands wore lights on their costumes:

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A cow, a pig, and lots of bikes:

Continuing our focus on agriculture, check out this lemon! It was grown in Yuma. A friend’s friend grows these in her backyard. It has the texture of a Meyer lemon, but it’s enormous. Look at how huge it is compared to the normal fruit in the bowl. It dwarfs the grapefruits.

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Goodnight Yuma. Next stop, Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

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