Wandering Spirit

For this season, at least….

We are already out walking before the sun rises…here it comes, peaking over the mountains.

We pass by the propane tank where we can leave our small tanks as needed.  John fills them at some point and we can pay at the office later.

Little purple flowers in bloom.

And yellow ones.

View as we approach the back of the ‘Bunk House’ (aka the Cliff House, named after the man who ran the place for years and was well loved.  He is responsible for much of the stone work here, I’m told). Notice the pink stripes on the roof?  They are not there!  Trick of the camera or the light I guess…but nice effect!  This building houses a big multipurpose room, and a 3 room library. In the front there is a nice patio and some gardens.

Up a hill we go!

Lots of cactus around, and those pink fuzzy flower things.

The next 2 pictures were not taken on the walk, but as we were leaving, driving very slowly, bumpity bump, down the long dirt road.

Bye Caballo Loco Ranch…We will miss you.  See you in the fall…..

Sunday I’m outta here!

The CLR sign backwards because, well, that’s the way it looks when you leave!

I’m sad to go, but on the other hand I’m ready to go.  It’s time to continue my journey.  My Wandering Spirit is doing some inner pacing…feeling anxious to be on the move.

I actually made the decision within an hour of posting the last blog, and while sitting in the Walmart parking lot I confirmed with Konrad at Little House Customs, AZ, for an appointment on Tuesday.

Now I’m involved with preparations for leaving….packing, final shopping, final laundry, final propane fill, etc.  And, final party.  😀 Jean and Mike had everyone over last evening since they just moved from “downtown” (the full hookups area), to the boondocks.  They have been coming here for years, staying in the full hookups, but recently they bought a really nice set up out in back, just about move in ready, in what I think of as more of a neighborhood area, as opposed to my spot which is a bit more off to itself.

Even though this is the boonies, most everyone lives here with all the comforts supplied by multiple solar panels and batteries and small generators, JIC.  They have satellite tv, freezers and even cooling systems.  There are only a few of us who live more on the simple side, like me with one battery, one small solar panel, and my little generator ( which I’ve only used since I’ve been out here to run the blender or the hair dryer.

In the summer the big generator here is only run once a week, so even the “downtown” area is basically a boondocking area.  It gets HOT, there are monsoons and there are snakes, so at this point if you are thinking of checking out CLR I’d suggest coming by next fall.  The first Rattler has yet to be seen.  When it happens that info is written on the board in front of the clubhouse so everyone will be alert and aware.

So sweet.

There is an interesting and diverse mixture of folks here at CLR, to say the least.  I’m looking forward to returning in the late fall not only for the beauty, peace and solitude I feel here, but continue to get to know the people and be enriched in doing so.

Thats kinda what this lifestyle is all about isn’t it?  Seeing this magnificent world and meeting the interesting and diverse folks along the way….

Last evening.

I’ve been wanting to go to Kitt Peak National Observatory and I finally pick Thursday, March 9, to go.  As the crow flies, it’s maybe 20-25 miles from me.

Kitty Peak as viewed from Hwy 286 and Britten Ranch Rd.

Since I’m not a crow, driving there is around 45-50 miles.  The last 12 miles are up the mountain which is close to 7000 feet elevation.  There are…I believe I read….20 observatories there.

In the visitor center if you look at the pictures and displays and read the info, get ready to have your mind blown and boggled completely.  You need to expand your imagination and comprehension beyond capacity when you really try to think of the distances and time involved in the boundless universe that our galaxy and solar system are just a tiny part of.

There is just no grasping it!  When I try, insanity beckons.

The public can enter three of the observatories on their own, or with one of the tours that are given daily.

1.  McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope.  This is the worlds largest solar telescope.

This is the solar telescope.  The shaft you see is 500 feet long, 300 of them are underground.

2.   2.1 meter telescope, one of the first telescopes built here in 1964, and still in high demand every night.

3.   Mayall 4 meter telescope, built in 1973 and the largest optical telescope on Kitt Peak.

There is a nightly program open to the public as well.

This time I took no tour but I did go inside the solar telescope and listened to a part of a tour some school kids were having.

Eventually I would like to take each tour and attend the night program.  Dogs are allowed to walk all over the grounds but not to attend tours or go in buildings so I’ll need to work something out.

An employee helped me find a shady place to park ( which wasn’t actually a parking space but was ok to park in he said), and I left Joy and Shiloh in JR with the windows open while I went to the visitor center and the solar telescope.  Then I returned and we had a picnic lunch in a picnic area near the parking lot. (yes, I brought their lunches too!). After lunch I took them walking around the grounds, so a good time was had by all.

Here Joy and Shiloh are admiring the Flamingo. (Huh?) 😂

If you come this way, I HIGHLY recommend visiting Kitt Peak.  Look it up on line for tour times and such.

So…future plans.

It’s starting to get what I consider hot, here.  It’s been in the 80’s daily, with threats of 90’s.  To be honest, it’s been fine in the shade with the nice breeze we’ve been getting.  Nights are still in the 50’s so that’s been ok.  But the higher temperatures are putting me in mind of moving on.

Thought I’d show you some spring desert blooms.  I don’t know the names of any of them.

I thought by this time I would know exactly where I want to go and what I want to do, but in reality, I just have some generalized ideas so far.

My thought is to head mostly north for awhile.  I was thinking of Mesa Verde, Cortez and Durango for starters, until I realized it’s a bit early in the season to be heading into the Rocky Mountains while towing a trailer.  I may very well want to stop in Camp Verde, at Little House Customs, AZ and see if Konrad can help out with a couple of possible developing problems on WS,  which I’ll get into another time.

Eventually I’d like to get up into South Dakota, then North Dakota, and there Colleen and Fred, who stay here winters, have invited us to visit them at their home.  They have clued me in to some interesting places to visit while I have a ‘base station’ near their home.

From there I have thoughts of traveling across Minnesota, into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, take my time going through there, cross the Mackinaw Bridge and travel through the Lower Peninsula visiting some friends on the way.  (Michigan was home for me from age 5 until I was almost 38).

These are very soft jello plans and I’m not sure where I would go from there.  By then it will be summer and I’ll be in hot muggy territory.  Being hot and muggy makes me especially crabby, and more importantly Joy doesn’t tolerate it well, and it can increase her respitory problems.

I swear, this little cactus at the bottom of my hill has a face.  He watches us when we walk by.

So we’ll see how it works out.  Usually I make reservations up the kazoo (?) and as of now I’ve made none.

As I   type this I’m waiting for JR who is getting her oil changed, along with all the trimmings.

We’ll be moving on soon, I’m just not sure exactly when yet.

The full moon setting this morning.

And blows and blows!  For about a week, the wind seems be be strong most of the time.  The good thing about that is that it keeps the temperature down, which we like. Always need to look on the positive side.

Another view of WS, taken from the only spot on the ranch where I can get an AT&T signal, and it’s a good climb!

One of the really nice things about living on this hill is that I’ve been able to leave Joy and Shiloh off their tie-outs.  ( The exception is if they go outside without me after dark).  They enjoy the freedom and independence and have only strayed once, when I didn’t take them on their afternoon walk so they decided to take one one their own.  I missed them in a few minutes and found them at the bottom of the hill.  We all came back up the hill and I put them on their tie-outs for the rest of the day.  The next day we started with freedom again and they seemed to ‘get it’ and have not strayed again.  So far.

So a Qi Gong class has started on Wednesday mornings in the clubhouse.  We’ve met twice, the first time we watched a DVD to learn a bit of the history of Qi Gong.  I learned that it is the ancient grandparent of the Martial Arts and things like T’ai Chi.  It’s a holistic system of movements and meditation….a very gentle exercise.  It was developed in China over 5000 years ago.  Known to some as Chinese Medicare. 😊

Only 4 of us have attended class so far, a man who has been practicing Qi Gong for many years, a couple who have some experience with it, and then there is me, new at this.  Hopefully others will become interested as time goes on.  Many folks will be leaving CLR in the next month or so, but we plan to start the class again next fall.

Some other activities I’ve attended here…a wine tasting, which featured Arizona or southwestern wines….

Everyone who attended brought a bottle.

Also we had quite a Fat Tuesday celebration.  My Margarita recipe seems to be quite a hit.

Along with any other Margarita we could lay hands on.

Joy and Shiloh were guests, since the party was held in Fred and Colleen’s new shed….more like a garage. (Fred’s Shed)

Ruth, who was here for the whole winter along with her horse Major, has gone home now…but they will be back!  She is leasing a boondocking site too!  Her sister Joyce will be joining her.

Here’s Major

The travel bug is beginning to bite me too….I’m starting to make plans.  Will share soon!

Meanwhile, here is last nights sunset from my yard.

Up on the hill where I live, there are two RV sites, uneven in size ( I took he larger one but the other one is not small).  I’d say it’s been many a year since the other one has been used at all, but hey, if anyone wants to pay me a visit and doesn’t mind boondocking, c’mon out.  It would be $15 a night or $70 per week.

My site from a different viewpoint.

Anyway, the two sites are separated by a garden of sorts…a cactus/rock garden.  More accurately it seems to have been a garden at some point in time, and it looks about as pitiful as a garden could look , but that just means more fun for me.  Well, except I’ve never worked (played), in a cactus garden before and I find I must be v-e-r-y careful.  When I’m not, I  tend to holler “ouch!”, and cuss some.  One doesn’t want to lean on anything, or steady oneself, against anything, or stand up after digging around under an occatillo branch!

That’s part of the garden to the left of the dogs, boardered with rocks. And the tall skinny branches on the far left are ocotillo.  Can you see all the sharp little thorns on them?

And here is an ocotillo when it gets leaves…one on each little thorn.  They look like they are neon in the sunlight.

There is lots to do in this garden.  I’ve been planting things and moving rocks around and pulling weeds.  Neighbor Vivian gave me a Century Plant and told me they grow quite huge, so I actually started a second garden.

Colleen and Fred gave me this cute little barrel cactus with yellow spines.

These are some more baby cactus that I planted in the garden.

There is a Mesquite tree in the garden that I hope is alive.  I should know soon.  At any rate I’ve been hanging various bird feeders in and around it.  ( I think I posted a picture of it in the last blog?) Some of the birds that have been feasting there are House Finches, Gold Finches, Cardinals, Pyrrhuloxia (similar to a Cardinal, but brown and red), Guilded flickers and Gila Woodpeckers….these last two have quite a display of spots and stripes, yellow underwings and red areas near their heads.  In the evening some Mourning Doves make the scene.

Working in the garden  and watching the birds, I feel peaceful and content.

These are not in the garden, but growing on the side of the hill.

Another sunset!

Seems like I remember that phrase from my youth…a song?  A Cartoon?

Anyway, it’s been awhile, but that is because I have such limited internet and cellular.  All my internet and phone activities have been drastically reduced, and it looks like it will be that way for awhile yet.

We return from Q and make our way down the 7.7 mile dusty road back to CLR.  Up the hill we go and with no observers I back into my spot within inches of where I was last time.

We pick up a new blue mat while in Q.  My patio has been inlarged!

In the middle of the night I wake to howling winds and WS rocks like never before.  In fact it has been VERY windy, with rain and cold most days since I returned, until yesterday who the weather returned to beautiful.  The old timers here say it’s the worst wind they remember.  I don’t know what the gusts were but I’d guess 40-50 mph on and off for days and nights.  We rocked but we didn’t roll!

Scary Sky

Seeds just blow out of the bird feeders and the feeders just blow to the ground, so I don’t use the feeders but just sprinkle bird seed on the ground.  The little birds remain plentiful except during the very worst of the winds.  (Where do they go, anyway?). I don’t see how they manage to fly.  Those little bundles of feathers are more hardy than I imagine.

Bird feeders at a calmer time.

During a lull in the wind we walk to Colleen and Fred’s house, and I thank Colleen for watering my plants while I was gone.  I haven’t told you about my cactus garden yet.  Maybe next post.  I also planted a few herbs in pots and those babies really did need watering.

Joy and Shiloh usually love the wind and enjoy staying outside sniffing it, but even they had enough after awhile and preferred being inside, plus with those big gusts often they had to be inside anyway.  I did a lot of reading.  I’ve been reading Patricia Cornwells “Scarpetta” series on and off for many months now.  I finally finished the….I think it’s 24 book series.  The main character, Kay Scarpetta, is a Forensic Pathologist, and through many of the books she is the chief medical examiner of the state of Virginia.  Very interesting…if gory…stuff, because the author has a background in the same field.

These re are the last three of the Scarpetta series that I read.  I would have loved to read them in order the way they were written, but that didn’t happen.

It was a good time for soup.

Veggie soup with dumplings on top.

As of yesterday the windy weather broke and it’s calm and beautiful again.  Last night I had a campfire and watched the sun set behind Wandering Spirit.

Notice the star near the top of the picture?

And of course it’s not complete here without another amazing sunset.

(And A Recipe)

That would be ‘Fiberglass Rally’ as in molded fiberglass travel trailers and fifth wheels, such as Casita, Bigfoot, Scamp, Escape and Oliver.  They tend to be on the smaller side, rounded, and made of two molded pieces of fiberglass, a top and a bottom, held together with a belly band.

This is the 10th annual rally here in Quartzsite.  Since it’s a wide open area with lots of space here on BLM land, and it’s free, no reservations are necessary.  There have been about 150 trailers here this year.  The Q rally tends to be informal, with not too many scheduled activities, which I like.

Some of us!

Some more of us!

And more. Hey, WS is in this one, right of center, with the awning out, with a bushy thing in front of us, blue car to our left.

Lots of furry friends are here!

Here are are a few….Merlin, the excellent Schnoodle on the left.  Upper right…oh dear I can’t remember the name!  I’m sorry!  And lower right is Jessie.

There are various little dogs, medium dogs, and even a Great Dane, traveling in a Casita!

You know these two!

Yesterday’s sunrise.

In the last post I mentioned a Margarita recipe, and a number of people have asked me to share it.  So here it is.

One 12 oz can of limeade concentrate. ( Minute Maid is better than the others)

Empty that into a blender and refill the can with your favorite tequila.  (I like El Jimador, gold). Empty that into the blender and refill the can half way with triple sec. Add a couple scoops of ice and blend like crazy. The  blender I have chops the ice up fine.

Taste it.  You might want to add more ice or some water…depends on how you like ’em.

Rub a lime quarter around the rim of a glass then dip the top of the glass in salt.  Add a little ice into the glass and pour in the margarita.  Hang a slice of lime from the side of the glass, and there you have It!

Yum.  🍹

Gosh, who knew I was a party animal?  Well…not quite, but I really enjoyed my ‘Thank you and come say hello’ party last night!

In the morning I start the chili in my cast iron Dutch oven and that pot is filled to the brim.  I make a good sized bowl of guacamole, there were chips, dips, etc, and last but certainly not least there were margaritas.  The recipe for those came to me many years ago from friends Laura and Joel.  There was enough for everyone and lots of seconds, and I have to say, I didn’t skimp on the Tequila.

We were a happy group!  😁

This morning the chili is gone, but the fire pit still radiates some heat….and if I listen I can still hear the laughter in the pre-dawn silence.

Life is interesting.  Ten years ago I would have cringed at the thought of 20 people attending a party I gave.  Last night it was something that I throughly enjoyed.  I’m happy to say life for me is a work in progress…I’m still changing, growing, and learning.  This lifestyle is helping that happen.  

I MUST give special thanks to Colleen and Fred who have helped me in so many ways since I arrived here at CLR even through last night.  I couldn’t have pulled the party off without them!

Next….off to the big Q for a few days for the Fiberglass Rally!  Then back to home on the hill!

Sunset while we partied.

I choose Tuesday, January 31 for my moving day.  The cold snap has ended and spring is in the air.  Since the shed is already in place, it’s a routine move that I’m used to.

I’ve spent a LOT of time thinking about how I want to position WS up there, and I’ve even laid out a row of stones that I’d like the drivers side to line up with.  I’ve done dry runs with JR because some backing up will be involved and since I’m missing that precious ‘back up gene’ I need to compensate with much planning and figuring.

Others would do it for me, or spot me, but as the day draws close I decide I want to do it all by myself.  Alone.  No one watching.  I have plenty of room and plenty of time.

After our morning walk I empty tanks, clean tanks, pack up and hitch up.  I breath deeply, and off we go.  Up the hill in 2nd gear, JR has no problem at all.

I drive into the site as preplanned and then pull forward as much as possible.  Ten minutes later I’m exactly where I want to be, as neat as a pin.  That must be some kind of record for me!  AND as a bonus, I had no panicky moments.  All the previous working it out in my head must have paid off!

Before I moved up I put bird feeders out in hopes the birds would get used to them.  It worked!  They are empty and a good number of birds are watching me expectantly.  After I set up camp my first duty is to refill the feeders!

See the bird feeder stand?  See info below.☺️

People stop by during the afternoon to see if I got situated ok.

Later I get cleaned up and prepare a pan of baked beans ( minus the baking since I don’t have an oven) for the pot luck.  When I return to my new digs the sun is setting.

My first sunset from the hill.

And my first sunrise. ‘Morning has broken, like the first morning…’

Other the Desert Tour and the move, you may think that all I’m doing is sitting around eating bon-bons. (What ARE bon-bons anyway?). But no.  I’ve been going to pot lucks, happy hours, movie night, Taco Tuesday at the ‘local’ VFW (about 18 miles), walking the dogs, doing laundry, and get this….I even go to a welding lesson with Vivian, Ruth and Joyce, given by Paul.  They all made turtles out of horse shoes, but since I already purchased one of those from Paul, I made a bird feeder holder from two pieces of old rebar.  It has that rustic look but it works and I like it.

(I’m sorry, don’t have a picture of the turtle yet!)

This nice little table was in the shed so I got to keep it.  Had to put it together first, the legs were removed.

Joy and Shiloh seem to like the new location.  They are often off leash up here!

Now I’ll have lots to do at my site, rearranging rocks, and important things like that.  And we’ll have a little party up here on Monday, complete with Margaritas on the house!  Whoo-hoo!  🌵🌞🍹

There are so many things I want to tell you about, but some are being preempted because first I want to tell you about our Desert Tour!

The most excellent way to explore the desert is in an ATV/ORV/ 4 wheeler/quad….all pretty much the same thing….I think.  Most people at the ranch here have one or more.  Fred and Colleen have one called a Honda Pioneer.

Colleen and Fred, and if you look closely, you will see Daisy in the middle.

This ATV can hold 4 people, and they invited Ruth ( my neighbor with the horse, Major), her sister Joyce who is visiting, and me to a day of desert exploring.  Ok, that’s 5 people but the plan they offered was that Colleen would stay home and watch Joy and Shiloh, along with Daisy!  What a deal!  Thank you Fred and Colleen!

At 9am on Monday we hit the road…well….the trail…and what an amazing day it is! The weather is perfect topping out at about 70 degrees with blue sky’s.  We pack lunches and off we go.  I’ve never been 4 wheeling out on the trails and I am surprised at the poor condition of some of them, and at the ease that Fred and his  Pioneer handle them.

An example of the trail, and it got worse than this.

Even  the winter desert is green here, and will be greener when the trees and some bushes get their spring leaves.

Cactus in bloom.

This area is all hills and mountains and washes….sometimes dipping deeply and other times rolling softly.

The area is peppered with abandoned mines, evidence of many hopefuls, searching for gold, silver and precious stones in years past.  Some found what they were looking for.

The above hole in the side of the mountain is called Sunshine Mine, and was apparently somewhat successful, yielding more silver than gold.  It’s bigger than the other mines we saw.

After more sightseeing and lots of stories from Fred, we come to the marble mine, with hunks and chunks of beautiful white marble scattered about.

Joyce, Ruth and Fred in front of the mountain of marble.

A closer view of the marble.

Yours truely, sitting on a chunk of marble.

We stop at what used to be the old Ryan Ranch house to eat the lunches we packed.

There is a well there.

And a corral made of Mesquite, with the old water tower above.

I’d hate to meet up with this guy!

This is the biggest Saguaro that Fred knows of in these parts.

We head back to the ranch where Ruth needs to tend to her horse.  Joyce and I vote to continue the tour, as Fred has offered to show us Chrystal Mountain, a few miles north of CLR.  We take ‘C’ road, the roughest one yet, and bounce a few miles farther on, while Fred points out some of the small mines that dot the mountains here.

At Chrystal Mountain we get out and Fred shows us the crystals in the rocks and boulders lying all over.  

They remind me of the inside of a geode when you crack it open, except these are just lying everywhere.

Climbing Crystal Mountain.

We  take what we can carry in our hands.  Some of them will become part of my new RV site on the hill.

Maybe it was all the fresh air and sunshine but I am worn out when we get back, and as happy to see Joy and Shiloh as they are to see me.

Shiloh, Colleen, and Joy.

I was also happy to have my head hit the pillow at 7pm!

OUCH!  Not a pillow.