A Saturday update

23 Mar 05: The pretty little flowers are starting to go to seed now. And with all seeds, they want to spread and populate different areas. When we go hiking now we end up with seed around our pant cuffs or socks. And Zeus the dog has them all over him. He has to be brushed with a wool carding brush that really picks them out of his fur.

CJ and Zeus have had a couple of snake encounters the last few days they have been walking. These rattle snakes fascinate the half blind dog Zeus. It is a good thing he minds well. All you have to say is come and he comes right to you so he has not really been that close. They do make a lot of noise though. And they also ran into a gila monster today. Pretty thing. Bigger than I would have thought.

24 Mar 05: First thing this morning as we stepped out of the camper, CJ spotted a flat tire on the jeep. That put the planned trip to the Harquahala Mountain Byway to the observatory on hold or even cancelled it. I did not want to drive up that road without a spare tire. So we just packed up and headed into Salome and got it fixed. Then on to Alamo State Park to camp for the night. Needed to empty our holding tanks and fill up on fresh water. CJ also will wash her hair in the standup shower with unlimited hot water supply. She does have a lot of hair. It takes at least five gallons to wash and rinse it if she does it in the camper.

The weather is cloudy and the wind has blown most of the day. In fact we had some sprinkles this evening. But the forecast is for clearing skies and warmer temperatures. That is good since we are headed back north and would like to get a little more sun before we leave the desert country.

The flowers still amaze us. We saw our first beaver tail cactus in bloom today. A lot of cholla look like they are just about to bloom around here also, but not quite.



25 - 26 Mar 05: Headed over to Kofa Wildlife Refuge to take one last look at one of our favorite places in the deserts of Arizona. We camped just outside the refuge on BLM land (if you don’t remember, BLM is my favorite camp host). Took a drive and did some hiking in the refuge. The beavertail cactus is blooming pretty well, but only a few of the cholla are. A little disappointed in that fact.

As of tomorrow, the compass will be headed only in the direction of north. No more east, west, or south. Will be headed back to Montana. Both of us are a little sad that we will be leaving the desert for another year. It has been one of the best times down here. The wildflowers have made such an impression on us. What a treat to the visual sense. The pictures we took do not capture the florescent beauty of this place. With the rainfall they have had, it is truly a feast for the eyes.