Two Week Limit

As most boondockers know, there is usually a 14 day limit for camping on Forest Service or BLM land in the SW states.  Usually, I’m bored and ready to move on even before the 2 weeks are up – even though it is rarely enforced in most areas.  I also try to keep my blog within the 2 week limit, so here I am again, already .

I was worried that the weather might have been a bit cool this time of year in the Sedona area, but other than some cool nights, it provided some great hiking weather, and no rain that threatened to turn the access road into my camp to quagmire.

Almost every morning, better than an alarm clock (what is an alarm clock anyway?) I awoke to see one or more hot air balloons approaching, without even having to lift my head off the pillow. 

I was greatly impressed to see how accurate the pilots are able to land these things – right in the parking lot of one of the pickup locations.  But then, I discovered that they ‘cheat’ just a little bit!  Since they can only control the distance they fly, and not really the direction, I now see that they land as close to the road as is practical, then unload some of the passengers, and add a bit of lift so that they can walk and drag the craft over to an appropriate final resting spot.

Meanwhile, I seem to have managed to fry my 1500w inverter by accidentally connecting it to the same circuit as my generator.  Not a good plan!  I was forced to use my backup 400w inverter for a few nights, but it has a fan that runs constantly, and is almost as annoying as listening to a generator!  I shopped around in Prescott Valley and soon picked up a 1250w inverter from O’reilly auto parts. But after about 1 day of use it smelled of burning wiring and sparks erupted inside – without any connection errors.  They were happy to swap it for a new one in Sedona, but that one only worked for a few hours before I realized it was only producing about 1/2 the needed voltage.  It managed to fry the power supplies to my router and cordless phone in the process. Luckily, I have backups.  I took it back and got a refund after they tested it in the store and it wouldn’t even power their fan.  After that, I picked up a new 1000w one at Auto Zone, and have been happy with the power ever since.

I found this item in the Ace Hardware in Sedona, and had never seen one before.  Anyone know what it is?  I do now.

In the washroom of another business in Sedona, I saw these two signs!

While on signs; there were warning signs on several of the hiking trails I enjoyed around Sedona and Oak creek.

On the home front, I put up a new removable shelf by the bedroom window, so Hailey would have a good place to sit and be able to see outside.  So far, she refuses to sit there, and even ignores the treats I place on it for her!

Back in camp, there have been a few visitors – sometimes at night.

Packrat?  Or …?

I guess I’d better end off this rather long post with some more hiking photos!

As we departed camp for the last time today, I was surprised to see an antelope spooked up nearby!  Too bad my good camera was not in the cab at the time.

We’re off to somewhere, but won’t know where till we get there …

 

Finally (Drum Roll), I have not one, but two new Photospheres to show you.

First one is at Fay Canyon Arch, and the second is up on Cathedral Rock, both near Sedona, Az.  Better check them both out!

These are 360 degree x 360 degree photos and you can zoom in to get close up views as well!

Bagdad to Sedona.

We spun the compass upon leaving Quartzsite, having no real destination in mind.  It ended up pointing to the north-east, so off we went, beyond Hope (!), and through Wenden and Salome and other towns along that route.  At the highway 93 junction we turned north, and before long we were in the canyons and valleys past Nothing, but before Wikieup.  We pulled off at Burro Creek, but rather than pay $14 to listen to generators and have no cell service in the campground, we carried on up the hill to a nice high, scenic spot with great views and no neighbours.  There was also a view of a new T-Mobile tower, but since we are on satellite, cell service is a bonus, not a necessity.

Back to Quartzsite for a minute.  Like others, I noticed a blond lady waving a sign advertising an RV dump at the corner on Hwy 95.  It wasn’t till I had been there a week and seen it mentioned in someone else’s blog that I realized it was a motorized dummy!  Guess that’s why she didn’t wave back .

Also on the cutting room floor I found a photo that missed my last blog post – of some of the many signs set up to lead various camping groups to the correct area in the vast BLM boondocking areas during ‘high season’ in Quartzsite.

Now, back to Burro Creek.  If you don’t mind dodging a few cows and the occasional wild burro while hiking down a nearby wash, you may find yourself at Kaiser hot springs.  Visitation varies by the day, and the first day in it was a bit too crowded for my liking, but the next few times I had it almost to myself.  I took a garden hose in with me one day, and used it to siphon off some of the loose debris and silt that inevitably accumulates in some of these places, which greatly improved the water clarity.  Its in a fairly narrow canyon, so it only gets sunlight during the middle part of the day.

With a high clearance 4x4, you can actually drive within 300 yds of the pool, but I preferred the 30 minute walk in from the highway.  Along the way, there is a ‘rest area’, or someone’s idea of a camp on the edge of the wash

It was too nice outside to watch the first half of the Superbowl, but after the sun went behind the mesa, I watched the 2nd half and saw the famous catch while lying on his back, and of course the infamous pass and interception at the goal line.  I wasn’t cheering for either side, but it sure was an exciting finish.

After a fill of hot springs soaking (for now) we were off to points further to the north east.  Bagdad is a small copper mining town (a real company town) on the way to Prescott.  Only four miles off the road I was on and boasting a pool and aquatic center with free admission was enough to lure me in.  Being a small town where signs are not really needed, there was no signs indicating the pools location, and even when I found it (?) there were no welcoming signs or obvious ways to tell where it was.  The web site did say the hours varied by season, so it may have been closed?  I grabbed a few essentials at the Basha’s store and carried on towards Prescott.  After a cool overnight at a Wally world we were off again for Cottonwood and Sedona, where some friends were staying while doing some hiking in the area.  I found my ‘usual’ spot on forest service land available near the model aircraft flying field, and was soon set up, anticipating the inevitable hot air balloon overflights in the morning.

They did not disappoint, in fact they had landed balloons on the access road one day and actually had to drag them off to the side so I could pass!

Other low flying aircraft in the area included this one.

It was not a real fighter, but a radio controlled one – but using a real jet engine!

And the usual Sedona scenery was all around …