The difference in environment from the desert on the east side of the Colorado River to the desert on the west side of the river is comparable to the Frying Pan to the Fire effect! The Sonoran desert looked veritably lush to us in hindsight! The different colors of green awed us, from the huge saguaro and the variety of cholla cacti, palo verde and mesquite trees, to the light fuzz of the sprouts of forbs and grasses that carpeted the sandy, pebbly desert surface. Fall rains must have been adequate this year! The Colorado desert by comparison looks parched! The ocotillo bushes east of the river were covered with tiny emerald leaves on their spiny branches. Here on the west side of the river the ocotillo are blooming already, with the crimson flowers perched on the tips of tan, dead looking sticks.

We’ve seen only 2 fully leafed out ocotillo around here!

A more typical ocotillo, bright red blooms on dead sticks!

We moved from the classic Sonoran desert to a particular sub-part of that desert, the Colorado desert. Basically we have just crossed the Colorado River from Arizona to California, then went south about 70 miles. We found our old spot we call “Tortoise Hill” and set up our campsite.

A beautiful sunset illuminated the mountains behind us.

We took a walk today to the NE corner of the Kofa Wildlife Refuge, literally!

Literally, the NE barbed-wire corner! Mavrik kept making unauthorized entry into the refuge by going under the fence!

A lonely stand of saguaros seen on our walk. Look closely, you can see Mavrik catching a little shade!