Category: United States

October 14, 2016 Mammoth Lake CA

Today we took the long way to Mammoth Lake.  We decided to try two of the Sierra Passes from east to west that are closed for a great deal of the year due to snow.  They were both open and it was probably our only chance.  We were hoping to see some fall colors at altitude also.

The first pass is California Highway 4, also called the Ebbets Pass Scenic Highway.  And while very scenic and fun to drive, long stretches were unstriped asphalt 1.5 lane road, the colors were disappointing.  There has been a lot of wind the last couple of days and a lot of leaves have been stripped.  The west end of the road is in Calavares County where Mark Twain hung out during his California Gold Rush days.

View from Ebbets Pass Scenic Highway.

The second pass is California Highway 108 also known as the Sonora Pass Scenic Highway.  This road wound thru miles of evergreens and was like any mountain road in Oregon until about 15 miles from the end there was a sign stating that the next 10 miles had a 27% grade.  This road has special meaning to Ron as the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Center is located on the east end of the road and highway 108 is actually used as the access road to the training areas at the top of the pass.  In the winter the road is closed with up to 20 feet of snow on it and the Marines have free play in the area.  In the summer they share it with the campers and the local traffic.  Ron spent two winters here training as a mountain leader and climbed around on the local mountains and skied down route 108 with full gear and a M-16.  It was a lot easier with Scout.

Fall colors along Sonora Pass Scenic Highway.

Tonight we are in a forest service campground within the city limits of Mammoth Lakes.

April 29, 2015 Manton CA

Today we are beginning to head home so the primary goal was to get north.  We recently joined an organization called Harvest Host which allows people who join to dry camp in participating wineries.  Our friends and fellow Malayan owners the Cooks recommended the organization.  After an uneventful  but windy drive mostly on I-5 we arrived at Indian Peak Winery in the very small town of Manton California.

The drive from I-5 was interesting as we entered a whole different environment closer to eastern Oregon than the Sierra foothills we had been in.  As we approached the winery we had several nice views of Mt. Lassen, and determined to return later when the roads thru the park are open all of the way.

Our campsite for tonight.

We were not quite sure what to expect when we pulled into Indian Peak.  It is a very small winery closer to the scale we are used to in Oregon than the massive wineries we have been seeing in California.  The tasting room was nice but empty when we walked in, and suddenly we heard a voice from upstairs saying I’ll be right down.  The voice belonged to Donna the co-owner along with her husband Fred.  We tasted and enjoyed all of the wines, with Fred relieving Donna about half way thru the tasting process so she could return to doing her paperwork upstairs.  After completing the tasting we purchased a bottle of wine that we intended to drink with dinner, but before we could leave Fred grabbed a couple of the bottles from the tasting table and said “why don’t we go outside and enjoy the day and drink some wine.”  We couldn’t pass up an offer like that, and 3 hours later we had drank a lot of wine and had an impromptu barbecue with Donna and Fred.  All in all it was a wonderful evening that we thoroughly enjoyed.  Good company, good food, and good wine.  Donna and Fred have certainly set a high bar for future harvest host visits and we would like to thank them.

Enjoying our tasting with Fred.

April 28, 2015 Yosemite NP

When we left Folsom in the morning we thought we needed to be in Portland on Thursday, but when we checked we found out that the appointment had been delayed.  Ton suggested that we go to Yosemite instead of heading North.  So after turning Scout around on the freeway, we ended driving backroads all the way to Yosemite.  Driving thru the California gold rush country was new to us and even though California is in quite a drought it has rained just enough in the last three weeks to green up the grass so the scenery was quite nice.  We passed thru Calaveras County which is the place that inspired one of Ron’s favorite Mark Twain short stories, the Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

We had last visited Yosemite about 20 years ago so our memories of how spectacular it is had faded.  It is easy to understand how John Muir and so many others were inspired by this place.  Our timing was a little off as this was the first day that on line reservations could be made for the park, the ranger we spoke to at the entrance said that they were nearly empty over the weekend, but today every spot was full.  He had mercy on us and assigned us a tent camping spot, and told us just to park Scout in the parking area for the tent campers and sleep there.

Scout posing in front of Half Dome.

April 27, 2015 Folsom CA

Today we planned a day with Supachai and Pae.  We started off by going to Folsom Lake to see the fish hatchery there.  When we pulled in there was a special event going on, an intercollegiate rowing competition on the lake, we watched the last two events and enjoyed the atmosphere as there were about 20 universities represented.

One of the teams from the University rowing meet on Folsom Lake.

Next we moved on to the Amador County wine region to check out a couple of wineries. We had a nice lunch at one of the wineries, and Supachai became a member of the wine club there so we were entitled to a free lunch at their sister winery.  Not being able to pass up a free meal we went to the other winery and enjoyed our second lunch.  

The vines were just starting to bud at the winery.

On the way home we noticed that there was a road bike race taking place in the mall near Pae and Supachai’s house, so we stopped and watched the last 10 one mile laps of the race.  We are not sure who won as the place we thought was the finish line turned out not to be the finish line!  

Inspired by the bicyclists Supachai wanted to go for a bike ride.  It was fun to watch Ton deal with gears on a bicycle for the first time in her life.  Pae was a great coach and got Ton thru the ride without any damage to her or the bicycle.

We finished the day by having a delicious steak dinner prepared by Supachai, while watching the Anaheim Ducks win in overtime to advance to the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Pae and Supachai are always great hosts, but this time we really want to thank them as they truly outdid themselves.  Thanks so much for a wonderful weekend.

April 26, 2015 Kings Canyon NP

Today we woke up to quite a surprise.  There was over a foot of snow on the ground.  It was really beautiful, but the concern was whether we could get out of the campground as the road was invisible.  Ron did a little scouting and marked the path of the road, until it got to a part that had been plowed.  After some photos were taken, it was time to move, and no problem at all, Scout handled the foot of snow easily.  As we dropped down out of the mountains we were quickly out of the snow zone and on our way to visit some friends in Folsom.

A lot more snow than we expected when we went to bed.

Supachai, and Pae are old friends from Portland, and we try to swing by and see them whenever we are in Northern California.  As always their hospitality is great, and we enjoy catching up with them.  Tonight was a all you can eat Korean Barbecue, with Supachai challenging us to eat 20 plates of barbecue items.  I think we just missed, but everyone was very satisfied.

April 25, 2015 Sequoia NP

Today we planned to move on to Kings Canyon NP, but in keeping with our history with Scout we woke up to snow.  We decided to push on anyway and drove thru a mixture of snow and rain to Kings Canyon.  When we arrived we stopped to see the status of the roads and were told that the first couple of miles were snow covered, but after that it would be ok as we descended into the canyon.  So we decided to move on, within the first mile we came across 2 cars that had slid off the road, but Scout was tracking with no problem.

The road into Kings Canyon.

As we descended into the canyon we did not regret our decision as the scenery was spectacular and the mist and the snow cut the visibility but made what we did see was  really beautiful.  After driving to the end of the road in Kings Canyon we returned to the visitor center at Grants Grove.  As we were pulling in the snow plows were arriving which made things easier.  When we got to the trailhead for the Grant Tree we were met by a volunteer who was going to lead a Ranger talk.  The Rangers were all busy dealing with a bus that had slid off the road, no one was hurt, but they had a bus load of kids who needed to be entertained.  So we had a personal guided tour of the Grant tree which was really nice.

At this point we decided to grab a spot in the campground and hunker down and watch the snow.

We were caught in an unexpected winter storm.

April 24, 2015 Sequoia NP

We had planned to cross over the central valley to Sequoia National Park.  The night before Ton mentioned the Carrizo Plain National Monument which is famous for its spring wildflowers.  So we took a side trip to Carrizo Plain National Monument despite the fact that we did not think there were going to be many flowers due to the drought.  California Highway 58 was another great backroad.  As we had guessed there were no flowers, we passed a dry lake that showed the extent of the drought.  

A dry lake bed in Cazillo National Monument.

Next we headed across to Sequoia NP to look at the Giant Sequoia’s.  The drive up to the park is very steep with a 5000 foot elevation climb and  many turns and switchbacks.  The tree’s are impressive and while not as tall as the Redwoods they are thicker and denser.  We stopped at the Sherman tree which is supposed to be the biggest tree in the world by volume weighing 2.7 million pounds and is estimated to be 2200 years old.

Reportedly the largest tree in the world by volume at 2.2 million pounds.

We are planning to spend tomorrow here also.

April 23, 2015 San Luis Obispo CA

Today we drove the most famous stretch of PCH from Carmel to San Simeon.  The weather was perfect for the drive.  Ton was very impressed with the trip and I was less so.  For me it was less impressive than I expected, and for Ton it was everything it was built up to be.  I think the difference is that for me as the driver it was just another cliff side drive, and in fact is less challenging than the stretches north of Mendocino, and between Point Reyes and San Francisco.  For the passenger who can look out the window the cliffs are higher and the vistas are grander so the view is incredible.

The famous bridge on the PCH that is featured in so many car commercials.

We stopped at what I think was a private home that had planted flowers and had some art by the road near Pacific Valley.  It was really spectacular and Ton spent nearly an hour taking pictures there.  Not only where there great flowers but the views of the ocean were also tremendous.

Near San Simeon we came along to a beach with thousands of elephant seals.    It was fascinating watching them from up close as they lay on the beach.  This colony of seals is recent with the first ones showing up in the early 90’s and growing  up to 15,000 seals.  This time of year the colony is mostly made up of females and juvenile males.  The males are in Alaska.  They come down to the colony twice a year in the spring and the late fall.

The elephant seal colony. They are just resting before swimming off to Alaska.

The last stop was Hearst Castle which is now part of the California State Park system.  I guess it is interesting what unlimited money and time can do.  To me it is a little over the top excess, but there are a lot of interesting art pieces that were brought in from Europe.

April 22, 2015 Monterey CA

Today was a day to sight see around Monterey.  We started by visiting Point Lobos State Reserve.  Another stretch of beautiful coast with views over to Pebble Beach and out to sea.  We saw more birds, sea lions, and harbor seals.  We walked for a couple of hours just enjoying the view and of course taking many pictures.  

Sea Lions on the rocks at Point Lobos State Reserve.

After Point Lobos Ton wanted to head over to Salinas to visit the John Steinbeck Museum.  On the way we were amazed with the amount of vegetables and other crops we could not identify.  I know the mid-west is supposed to be America’s bed basket, but as you drive thru it is long sections of one crop.  What we always find amazing about California is the diversity of crops in small areas, I guess this makes California Americas fruit and vegetable stand.

One of the many vegetable fields we saw around Salinas.

We stopped in a great visitors center in Salinas.  The place was tucked into a strip mall, but was staffed with the typical friendly people you find in all visitors centers, and had a plethora of information about the central coast and the rest of California.  Ton loved the free local raisins.

The Steinbeck Museum was nice, though one of the exhibits was closed and they were preparing for a festival.  I enjoyed the exhibits on his early life in Salinas and how the local area influenced his writing.  But the highlight for me was seeing Rocinante Steinbeck’s truck camper he used for researching Travels With Charley  this book was one of my inspirations for doing this.  I only wish I had Steinbeck’s ability to write about what we are seeing, but I am sure I am not the first person who wished they could write like Steinbeck.

Finished the day by visiting Pessagno Winery.  We enjoyed our talk with the tasting room manager Chris about the Salinas Valley, the Philippine influence on the local culture, and how the local people felt about Steinbeck.  The wine was good also.

We ended the day with a dinner at Pebble Beach.  The sunset was a bit of a disappointment, but not the day.

April 21, 2015 Monterey CA

Today was a kind of lazy day as we were a little slow getting going.  We picked up PCH and followed it down the coast to San Francisco.  Initially we were following Tomales Bay instead of the coast.  We noticed a lot of advertising for BBQ Oysters but as we were running late there was no chance to check them out.  We may have to come back in the future to find out how they taste.  Near the bottom of Tomales Bay we came across some mud flats teaming with birds and seals.  

The mudflats on Tomales Bay were teeming with birds.

After Tomales Bay we climbed back up for some more cliff top driving until we crossed into San Francisco on the Golden Gate Bridge.  The traffic was pretty tame for San Francisco so we were thru the city pretty quickly and back along the coast heading to Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz.  Despite living in the Bay Area for two years we had never followed PCH from San Francisco to Santa Cruz so it was new for us.  Our tours of west coast lighthouses continued  as we stopped at Pigeon Point lighthouse which California State Parks took over from the Coast Guard.  Ton was excited to find a whole new bunch of wild flowers.

Flowers and high surf at Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

Tonight we are “camped” with our back to the Monterey airport, at a Navy Campground, but the price is right.  Tomorrow we are going to stay in the area and explore a little bit, before heading for Big Sur. 

April 20, 2015 Petaluma CA

Today the weather was tremendous, the nicest weather we have experienced since we bought Scout.  In addition there was exceptionally high surf along the whole coast which just added to the views along the PCH.

Really high surf today made the coast even more spectacular.

The drive today was slow but, really beautiful.  The combination of the bluff top views and the surf made for a fun drive.  Scout handled the twists and turns of PCH very well and we were rarely the slowest vehicle on the road, turned a couple of heads when we would catch up with cars moving slower than we were along the highway.  It was a really happy day for Ton  as in addition to the beautiful weather, the wildflowers were out at all of our stops. 

In addition to the spectacular sea views the wild flowers were out on all of our stops.

In Gold Beach we met a Chinese couple who had a rental RV, we did not speak much with them beyond helping the husband find the place to check in as their English was limited.  Yesterday we saw them a couple of times and today when pulled off in Bodega Bay I looked up to see the wife waving at me as they drove by.

After checking in at the Coast Guard base in Petuluma for the night, Ton pointed out that Lagunitas Brewery was located in Petuluma so we were off.  Good Beer, Good Weather, and a Good Band made for an enjoyable night and the end to a great day.

Lagunitas is one of the biggest independent brewers in the US.

April 19, 2015 Ft. Bragg CA

Today we would be going into new territory heading down the Pacific Coast Highway.  Past trips had taken us as far south as Crescent City California, so the next few hundred miles will be new for us.

Today we were focused on visiting the Redwood National and State Parks in Northern California.  We had made a day trip down into Northern California on a previous trip to Southern Oregon and had seen enough of the Redwoods to really wet our appetite to see more on this trip.  Unfortunately the weather was not fully cooperative and it was raining and gray most of the day.

The Redwoods did not let us down.  We stopped at a couple of California State Parks to look at these trees.  The Coastal Redwoods are really magnificent sometimes topping 300ft tall and 70 ft. in circumference.  The highlight of the day was the 32 mile Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt State Park.  This park contains 3 of the 5 tallest Coastal Redwoods in the world, though we did not find any of them.  We did find a fascinating drive with trees that defy my ability to describe them.  We also stopped by one of the obligatory tourist traps where you drive your car thru a Redwood, but Scout would not fit, and Ton was unimpressed with the stuff in the shop.

The root ball of a Redwood. Really immense.

After that we followed PCH over a coast range and along some high cliffs over the Pacific to Fort Bragg for the night.  Another ho-hum 40 miles of magnificent views.

Arizona

We have made a couple of short trips to Arizona while we have owned Scout.  In 2016 we spent some time in the Sedona area, Monument Valley, and visited Overland Expo.  In 2017 we swung by the Grand Canyon with our Thai friends during the rental RV trip. I took a trip to the southern part of the state in 2020.

May 20, 2016 Sedona AZ

May 12, 2020 No Comments

Today was spent exploring some more around Sedona.  This time we did some drives out into the Red Rock Country.  Besides spending some time taking

Read More »

February 2, 2020 Tucson AZ

I planned to have an easy day in Tucson before watching the superbowl.  But the game was pretty late so I looked for something to do early in the day.  

Since I was on an airbase it seemed appropriate.to visit the the Pima Air Museum which has the second largest collection of airplanes in the world.  On the way I drove by the boneyard.  Davis-Monthan Air Force Base where I am staying is where the US stores aircraft that are not currently being used but not ready to be scrapped.  Some are being held in reserve in case they are needed in the future.  Some are being stored for possible sale to other countries Air Forces, and some are being harvested for spare parts for similar aircraft.  There are thousands of aircraft stored here in the desert and it is quite a site.  The storage area is referred to as the boneyard.

Some of the thousands of aircraft in the “boneyard” next to the campground.

The Pima Museum was very impressive, I spent about three hours wandering thru the exhibitions looking at both military and commercial aircraft.  There were some interesting experimental planes, and some classics.  The WWII exhibits were especially impressive.  If you like planes or just like mechanical things I highly recommend the Pima Museum.

A cool strategic bomber from the late 1940’s at the Pima Air Museum.

My last adventure for the day was to try to find an ATM from my bank.  It took two tries  and about 10 miles of driving to find one.  Scout would not fit into the drive thru so I parked and was walking up to use it when a car sped around me and cut in to beat me to the machine.  Then they spent about five minutes getting ready to deposit checks while I cooled my heals in the sun standing behind them.  The guy did not even have the guts to make eye contact with me while I waited for them to complete their complicated transaction from the comfort of their car.

Today is my day for jerks, as my neighbor at the campground is apparently using his truck engine as his generator to power his RV, so every hour he runs his truck for 15 minutes right outside the door of my RV even when I am sitting outside watching the Super Bowl.  On top of that the team I was rooting for in the Super Bowl lost.  Tucson so far has been my least favorite stop on the trip.

February 1, 2020 Ajo AZ

With great reluctance I left Organ Pipe.  I decided to head towards Tucson to do some much needed shopping, and to be somewhere that I could get TV to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday.

As I was leaving I debated whether to stop in the town of Ajo as it was about 20 miles out of the way.  In the early 1980’s my sister lived in Ajo as she had married a guy from there.  I remember visiting her and thinking it was the most remote place on earth, a dusty company town that was dominated by a gigantic copper mine.  At the time the copper mine there was supposed to be the largest in the world.  The mine closed in the 1990’s and given how remote it was I wondered what state the town would be in. 

A mission style church across from the main square of Ajo.

I am glad I decided to visit as the town had much more character than I remembered and actually seemed to be thriving. It is one of the oldest settlements in Arizona having been founded in 1854, one year after the land was purchased from Mexico.  The town is centered on a typical Spanish style town square, common in Mexico and New Mexico.  It is small but very well preserved and charming.

The town square with a very nice Christmas Tree even though it is February 1st, I guess why waste a good Christmas tree on just Christmas! 

Since the mine closed it looks like the town has become a small artists colony.  Since it was Saturday there was a small farmers market with local artists, and some baked goods, but not a lot of farm produce.  There is also a antique and art store around the corner from the square that was interesting.

The entrance to the antique market in Ajo.

Next to the antique store was a sign saying do not miss the artists ally, so I turned down to check it out.  There were some interesting wall murals down the ally, and I ended up spending about 20 minutes walking the ally even though it was only 30 yards long.

A mural from the artists ally.

Finally it was time to head out to Tucson.  As I was crossing the Tohono O’Odham Reservation which is the second largest Reservation in the US there was a surprising amount of traffic.  It turns out this weekend is the annual tribal rodeo and festival.  I passed the rodeo grounds and was tempted to stop for the day but pressed on instead.

I spent the rest of the day in one of the busiest Costcos I have ever seen, and the military grocery at the Air Force Base in Tucson.  Tonight I am parked on the Air Force Base dry camping.

January 31, 2020 Organ Pipe Cactus NM

I slept in a little this morning before heading out to explore some more of the Monument.  As I was walking around I saw a European camper with Netherlands plates.  I asked them how they liked traveling in the US and they said they were enjoying it tremendously and were looking for ways to come every year.  I told them about our van in France and it started a long conversation about how we arranged things in Europe, and they asked questions about purchasing here in the US, as they are thinking about buying an American RV.  It was an interesting conversation, and I learned about some places they really enjoyed in Europe to add to our future travels.

The campground tucked into the desert at Organ Pipe.

I spent the day doing a couple of drives along the other two scenic roads.  These roads were interesting as they showed different environments in the Sonora.  One was dominated by Saguaro cactuses.  The other was a road that paralleled the Mexican border for 14 miles to a small natural pond fed by springs.  The road was heavily traveled by construction equipment as they are building a section of the wall here.

Trumps Folly, a scar on the Sonoran Desert and a scar on the American Soul.

I returned to the campsite which is one of the best I have seen in the Park Service and is very well managed by the rangers.  There are a couple of trails that leave from the campground so I walked the desert view trail and enjoyed the expansive views, and the quiet that you get when you are far away from civilization.  The Park Service had put out very interesting plaques describing how the native American and early European settlers used different plants for medicine and to produce household goods.   This place is special, the views are incredible, often the only sound you here is the wind, and both the day and night skies are pristine.  

A Saguaro forest on the desert view trail.

When I returned to Scout for the evening I ran into Harry and Erna and we spent some more time over a couple of beers talking about traveling in North America and Europe.  I also said good bye to John and Yvette my neighbors with the Tiger and thanked them for their advice on the blog.

Once again I finished up my day by attending another ranger talk.  Tomorrow I am reluctantly off to civilization as the food cupboard is bare.

January 30, 2020 Organ Pipe Cactus NM

The plan for today was to drive the Ajo Mountain Road and hike a couple of the trails along the road.  I woke up about 6 am and thought I would go out and watch the sunrise after I made my morning coffee.  I made my way to the top of a hill and enjoyed the quiet of the desert morning.  The sky was crystal clear which made for a pretty but not spectacular sun rise.  I ended up wandering up into the desert and ended up with a nice walk while enjoying my coffee.

I tried a little artistic shot of an Organ Pipe at sunrise, but I miss the real photographer in the family.

After returning to Scout and puttering around for awhile I bought another day for the campground before taking off for the drive.  The Ajo Mountain loop is a 21 mile gravel road up into the Ajo’s.  Both hikes are near the base of the mountains. One is called Arch trail and is an easy 3 mile out and back, though I never did see the Arch.  The other trail is two trails that connect to lead you to an overview that gives you views into Mexico, and back towards Ajo.  When I got to this trail I was feeling a little lazy so I decided to hike the flat part and skip the 1000 foot climb to the overlook.  I was able to follow two Park Service Rangers out looking at plant life.

Two nice examples of the namesake cactus of the park.

The park is being significantly impacted by the current government immigration policy.  A large portion of the wall is being built across the valley floor at the base of the Monument.  

These signs are abundant in the park.

It was early afternoon when I returned to the campground for lunch.  I was planning one more short hike from the campground for the afternoon, but instead I ended up talking to my neighbor John for a couple of hours about Tiger ownership, military experience, and blogs.  John and Yvette’s blog is www.theturtleandthetiger.com, it is their adventures full timing in a Tiger around the US.  

This bird was singing up a storm when I went by.

Before I realized it it was dinner time and time for me to do my evening catch up with Ton.  I ended the day with another interesting Ranger Talk on how nocturnal animals navigate in low light.  The Ranger talks are one of my favorite things about the parks, and the young men and women who share their passion for the parks and nature always gives me a warm feeling.

January 29, 2020 Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Today I reached the target for the trip.  When I was looking for places to go both Ton and Dylan my son said that I should visit Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  So I am here now, and I am really glad they recommended this place.

I was pretty low on fuel so the plan was to find a gas station before I left Yuma.  I plugged the Monument into Greta and she gave me a different route than I took yesterday but I figured there would be a gas station on the way.  The route took me through an extensive agricultural area in the desert.  I learned why the Proving Grounds tested bridges in the desert as the Colorado River runs thru Yuma.  The agricultural area is a result of tapping the river water.

The green of the fields against the desert mountains was jarring.

I ended up on the Interstate without gas and I really needed gas so I got off at the first available fuel.  When I pulled up to the pump they were really gouging so I put in enough to get me to the exit from the freeway.  A little further up the freeway I saw fuel at a reasonable price so I filled up.  With the fuel problem solved i headed on down to the Monument.

The drive thru the back country was pretty quiet, with no towns for about 70 miles until I came into the old mining town of Ajo.  My family has a connection with Ajo as my sister lived there for a few years.  On the way out I plan on stopping to check it out.

The drive into the monument is lined with all types of cactuses not just the Organ Pipes that the monument is named after.  On arrival I was a little worried about campground availability so I headed up there but there was plenty of room and the Ranger told me I could pick any spot that had a green card on it.  As I was driving in I saw another Tiger like ours which is pretty rare.  The spot next to it was empty so there are two Tigers parked side by side.  The couple is from Massachusetts  and they are full timing in their Tiger.

Scout parked up next to a large Saguaro cactus.

Once I settled in and finished lunch I decided to head for the visitors center along a walking trail where I got an introduction to all of the different types of cactus in the Sonora desert.

There are four types of cactus in this photo if you look carefully.

They were giving a Ranger talk when I got to the visitors center so I caught the end of it.  After I consulted with one of the volunteers and made a plan for the next couple of days I headed back to Scout to prepare dinner.  After dinner I spoke to my other neighbors who are also from the west side of Portland and finished the day with another Ranger talk on coyotes.

A flowering barrel cactus.

January 28, 2020 Yuma AZ

Today turned into a shopping day.  I wanted to swing by a couple of military bases to pick up some food and stuff.  Yuma has both an Army testing area, and a Marine Corps Air Station.  

I started at the Army base as they have a RV camp and I needed to dump and get some water.  While I was in there I asked about availability and they said they had only one spot available so I moved on to the Marines.  

After a run thru there stores it was early afternoon and I had to decide what to do.  I had a couple of options there is a National Wildlife Refuge in the area so I headed over to their headquarters to look at the option.  The nearest place I could camp was about 90 minutes away.  I checked the next option which was to head on to Organ Pipe National Monument and that was over 2 hours away.  I decided to call the Army to see if they still had that spot and they did so I headed over there for the night.

The base does ordnance testing, is the sight of the armed forces High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) parachuting school, which is done by special operations, and interestingly the place where they test bridging equipment despite the fact that it is in the middle of the Sonora Desert.  

A WWII Sherman tank on display at Yuma Proving Grounds.

At the base entrance they have an interesting display of old armor and artillery that I stopped in to take a look at.  This place was a major training area during WWII with three infantry divisions going thru here before heading to Europe.  I wandered thru the old equipment for a while.  Included in the display was an example of the howitzer that I worked on during my first two years in the Marines.

The M101 105mm howitzer that I operated during my first two years in the Marines.

By the campground they had an interesting display of a land train concept that was trialed at this base during the early 1960’s.  The concept was to have a train that did not run on rails and was capable of going across country off of roads.  The thinking was that this would allow for flexible logistics.  The train consisted of a command unit, two power units, and 10 wagons.  The entire thing was over 500 feet long.  They tested it here for 3 years before abandoning the concept.

The command unit of the land train.  The back includes quarters for 6 people.  The wheels are over 10 feet tall.

January 27, 2020 Quartzite AZ

I wanted to swing by Quartzite AZ which is an interesting part of the RV culture.  In the winter the town of 5000 year round residents swells to as many as 500,000 people as RV’s by the thousands descend on the town to enjoy cheap sunshine and parking.

I took my time leaving in the morning as I wanted the rush hour traffic in Las Vegas to settle before setting off.  The drive was an uneventful 200 miles thru the Mojave desert.  While the landscape was desert there are subtle differences.  The valleys between the mountains are generally much wider, and on this drive the sage brush is gone and you begin to see various types of cactus.  I really enjoy driving thru the desert as you realize how harsh and tough an environment it is.

I arrived around lunch time and the town was busy, but I missed the biggest week of the year by one day.  Once a year there is a RV show under a giant tent in the desert that is supposed to be the biggest in the country.  During that week an estimated 500,000 people attend the show.  Thousands of RV’s park in the BLM land surrounding the town.  Today driving from Las Vegas to Quartzite I easily passed a couple of hundred RV’s heading home from Quartzite.

I did a quick driving tour of the town and then headed over to the giant tent as there were a lot vendors set up there even though the show was over.  I ended up in a giant flea market.  I walked over to see the giant tent and imagined 500,000 people swarming it last week.  I took a turn thru the flea market but could not find anything I needed so I decided to head out of town.  

One of several vendor areas like giant flea markets around Quartzite.  The theme is RV’s, Americana, and Seniors.

When I got to Scout I realized that Arizona is on Mountain Time in the winter so it was an hour later than I thought so I decided to find a place locally.  Leaving town I saw a BLM office surrounded by several hundred RV’s so I pulled in there.  When I went in the office they told me it would be $40 for a week, I asked if they had a nightly fee, but it was one week or nothing for this site.  As I was walking out the volunteer told me that if I went up the road five miles I would see a bunch of RV’s parked on BLM land and that site was free for up to 14 days.  So tonight I am parked up with several hundred other RV’s for free about 7 miles from Quartzite.

Scout on his free site courtesy of the BLM.