Bailey (the cat)and I head south in the winter to explore the back roads, deserts, coasts, forests, beaches, of the southern US! I 'graduated' from full time work, and have been enjoying the complete freedom ever since. I'm normally in southern climes during the winterand all over Alberta and Canada during the summer. Come along for the ride. (Photo is of former co-pilot Harley).
We continued to enjoy our stay along the Bates Well road, south of Ajo, Az - me out hiking and biking around, and Bailey keeping the lizards on their toes, as well as the local quail, and a lone cottontail.
There are lots of options on places to camp, though not all are suitable for a larger rig, and I won't camp anywhere with abundant cholla cactus. Other types are not as hazardous for little paws and noses.
Larry the lizard.
When it was time to go, we packed up and headed down to Why, then east on 86, through the large Tohono O'odham Nation reserve. Topped off propane at Three Points (Robles Junction) before heading south towards Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. Good thing I waited to fill the propane, because it was $4.89 in Ajo, and $2.29 here - a slight difference! Just south of Three Points, I swear this line of mail boxes gets longer every year! Check out the video!
We've camped in Buenos Aires for quite a few times over the years, and have changed favourite sites a few times, always finding a slightly better place. So, I had this one site in mind, just hoping to find it vacant. Well, the stars must have aligned in our favour! Less than half a mile from the spot, we met a couple of camper rigs exiting the area. The gravel road is very narrow, so I pulled over and stopped to let the other rigs safely past. Well, the guy pulling the big 5th wheel stopped beside me and asked if I was looking for a site; then informed me that he had just departed Site # (witheld), and had raked it and cleaned it up nicely, ready for the next camper! Well, that just happened to be the spot I was hoping for! If we had arrived a half hour earlier, we likely would have driven past, seen it occupied, and had to settle for a lesser spot! This is the spot.
Lots of primitive roads and trails to explore in the area.
It does have a few cactus, but very few of the really nasty varieties. If you haven't camped here before, you are required to camp in desgnated camp spots - usually something I avoid. But the refuge has likely 60 - 70 individual sites, spread out over miles and miles of back roads and trails, so many are a half mile from the nearest neighbour - which suits me just fine. No noise, music, or those infernal generators running at all hours! And, other than a new group camp area along the highway which might have a fee, all are free to use for the usual 2 weeks!
As usual, the trail cameras were out, and usually capture more activity in the dark, but this resident coyote was running late on his rounds, and stopped by in early morning.
There have been a fair number of nefarious border crossers here over the years. I found the remains of this old carpet-bottomed boot cover, designed to reduce the tracks left by such individuals.
Bailey was disappointed that the lizards he chased last year were nowhere to be found. But there were still plenty of Kangaroo Rat dens, and thick grass areas to explore.
Local ravens wanted to star in a podcast, performing in front of a trail cam.
There was a fair bit of Border Patrol traffic in the area, and flight tracking shows some of their activity along the border.
Trying out some new additions to the solar array.
Mighty hunter lying in wait for prey. Or butterflies!
Made a couple runs into Tucson during this time, for a fuel fill and some groceries. Also had to pick up a couple of Amazon packages - one of which became a challenge. One item would not fit in the convenient Amazon lockers, so I had it sent to Tucson Pack - n - ship, which I had as a possible on my Amazon app. But, being proactive, I tried to phone the business to confirm they provided this service? The phone call led nowhere, and their web site was poor. A Google Streetview check of the address looked a bit suspect. I tried to cancel the order, but it was too late. Fortunately, my timing was good, and I was waiting in front of this closed and locked business (nothing to indicate it had ever been a shipping place) when the delivery van showed up.
Weather during this time was a bit on the cooler side, and we were forced to turn on the heat some times at night, or at least in the morning. Backup locations on the Texas coast looked worse, and much of the central US had snow and ice, (same at home), so nothing to do but find a jacket I guess!
When it was time to depart, we headed back up the road to Three Points for some more cheap propane, then through the southern edge of Tucson, then back down the the south-east, bound for historic Empire Ranch, in Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. We have camped here quite a few times, and have some preferred spots. But some of them have sprouted new fences and gates, and others have suffered a bit of road damage from flooding. Also, a large area usually full of campers has now been fenced off for some reason? While we had no desire to camp in those spots, the closure might force other campers to relocate into our preferred terrain. But, we found a nice spot, previously scouted, that would be just fine.
As I've seen in the past here, there was some sort of hunting dog competition going on, whereby a group of horsemen follow after a bird dog across the landscape. My camp seemed to be right in line with their course! While I was away one day my trail cam caught the whole posse riding by!
Made a day-trip down to Patagonia, and out to Harshaw to look at some previous camp spots. But, as expected, the big new mining development just past Harshaw has essentially ruined the area for camping, as most sites I've used are directly roadside, and now there is heavy mining traffic 24 hours a day.
Did a few more day trips in the area, including Madera Canyon and Greaterville. Also did a lengthly day excursion with a friend through Sierra Vista, Bisbee, Douglas, then to Rodeo, NM, before taking a rough forest service road through from Portal, to the entrance of Chiricahua NM, and then retracing our route through Tombstone, and back to camp. Lots of great scenery, and even a tiny bit of snow and ice in the high mountain pass. There was plenty of snow at even higher elevations.
It will soon be time to move along down the road. Distance and direction - to be determined!
