Headed north, via the Left Coast

We enjoyed the time out on Indian Pass road, but it was a bit further from Yuma, so with that in mind the move was made to Sidewinder road, just back of the ‘Center of the World’ in Felicity.  Also, friends Don & Donna  were arriving, and Ernie & Deb had just moved into the nearby park in Winterhaven.




We got together for a few social gatherings, but even then were starting to cut down on contacts.  Enjoyed the last NHL game for the season, likely .  There was a mixed bag of weather, including some more flash flood warnings.  We were on higher ground, but a ‘moat’ filled up around us, but did not block the exit.

 

Wind chill around home still about -29C, so all the Corona should be frozen solid!

We celebrated Hailey's 10th birthday, and one year anniversary of losing her leg.

 It's that time of year, and with the crisis ramping up, we all decided to was time to make a move and start heading north.  We took our last look at the border fence and headed out.
Walmart in Parker was a bit shy on supplies, as I walked through, holding my breath!

I wondered what I could find to drink.  It appears there is a good supply and no hoarding of this beer!

 

It's usually Spring Break at this time of year, so I thought I would stop by Lake Havasu and see if the 'breakers' were practicing safe, err, distancing!  It looks as if this volleyball game is maintaining a six foot spacing?

 Too crowded for us, so we continued on and found us a nice secluded spot in Mojave National Preserve.  The plan to spend the day 'isolating' was scuttled by bad weather approaching.

So ... we blasted west through Barstow, Bakersfield, and some very active oil areas in SW California, on our way to the coast.

Not sure when this slump happened, but it completely blocked the highway about 5-6' deep.  Fortunately, there was an easy detour around it.

 The nice thing about being self contained, is even at a rest area, there is no need to go inside or interact with anyone!

 Wine country!

 This notice came through on my phone, just as we were exiting Sonoma County!

We made it to the coast, but no photos yet as it was raining (and dark) when we arrived.

Wow, the blog is officially up to date.  That has never happened before.  Don't expect it in the future either!

(tried Open Live Writer again without success - hate the Blogger editor.  I also noticed that my blog failed to appear on the sidebars of many blogs where it usually does - thanks again Blogger)

Las Cienegas NCA, Indian Pass, Bees, Snakes, Earthquake!

A few pronghorns we spotted at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.We spent a few days exploring around the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, then decided to keep on heading further east.  We found some propane at the general store in Arivaca, then continued eastward, through yet another Border Patrol checkpoint till hitting I-19, and headed for the Mexican border.  There are hundreds of huge trucking warehouses lining both sides of the highway as you approach Nogales.  It must be a major transportation hub for good going to and from Mexico, and one of the busiest border crossing areas.
We got within about a half mile of the border in Nogales, where some re-stocking was in order at the Walmart.  Not surprisingly, at least one in three licence plates in the parking lot was from Sonora, Mx.
From there we headed further to the north-east and passed through Patagonia, but did not stop this time through.  We drove through Sonoita, then entered the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area via the south entrance.



One of the designated camping areas provided a base to explore the area and do some visiting in Sierra Vista.  The hummingbird feeder went out and very soon attracting a bad crowd!  Never saw a hummingbird, but the feeder was soon covered in a mass of buzzing raiders.  Normally, I would have waited till they departed overnight and then remove the feeder.  But with several hours of daylight left, I was scared of how many more may show up before then!  So, I carefully unhooked the feeder from where it was, then set it down on the ground quite a distance away – then covered it completely with a pail.  The swarm was reluctant to move on, but after several hours they gave up and moved on.  No one was stung in the process!

The truck needed a new fuel filter, so we got that done on a day trip into Sierra Vista, then hooked up with a friend from there and visited Tombstone for a drink and supper.  The next day, we wandered over to Patagonia for a great lunch.  On the way back to camp that day there was a snake on the road.

Not sure what kind of serpent he was, but he was not at all keen to leave the roadway, where it must have been a bit warmer.  We had to pick him up carefully with a stick and move him off the road to prevent him becoming run over.
The weather forecast was not good for the next few days with some possibly freezing temperatures and even maybe some snow to look forward to.  With no better outlook in eastern Arizona, the next day we packed up and cruised back through Yuma to the Ogilby road area.  There were a few showers and a bit of rain along the way, so it was good to get back to the sun. This time we went further north on Ogilby, then a couple miles down Indian Pass road.

Just having morning coffee one day when I heard some traffic outside.  Looked out to see seven (7) Border Patrol trucks roll into my camp area and park.  They then proceeded to unload and ride off on 10 quads – on a dusty training run!

I was watching a hockey game on TV one night when a few strong gusts of wind started to rock the rig.  Except, there was NO wind!  And there was no one else around.  It wasn’t till I got a text msg that I realized that Hailey and I had just ‘survived’ an earthquake.  No beer was spilled.

 

There was a bit of rain in the forecast, that resulted in multiple Flash Flood warnings coming over the phone and radio.  I wasn’t worried though, as I had my boat all ready to go!

To help combat the shortage of toilet paper, I have decided to just try and grow my own.  This is my first crop growing nicely in an undisclosed location.