rmjontheroad.com

Feb. 3 – Mini Grand Canyon

rmj — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:44:56 +0000

Grand Canyon?

Or Giant Dog?

Feb. 1 -New Growth

rmj — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:37:39 +0000

A hair update; Still Fuzzy!

January 1, 2012

February 1, 2012

Jan. 31 – Lizard Territory

rmj — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:33:07 +0000

On Friday, Jan. 27, Mavrik and I walked around a big hill we call Chocolate Mountain. The hill is covered with big smooth chocolate colored rocks that don’t seem to occur anywhere else in the area, quite interesting. As we traversed a seemingly barren sandy area around the base a lizard darted in front of me (Mavrik missed it, thank goodness or I never would have gotten the picture!).

I suspected it is a Zebra-tailed Lizard and an internet search confirmed it. It’s either a female or it’s not mating season yet otherwise if it’s a male the dark bands on the tail (hence the name) would be more prominent as well as the green coloring on the sides of the belly. Today Robert and I took the same walk and the same lizard darted out in front of us.

I could tell it’s the same one from the pattern of peeling skin on it’s head. Check out those super long toes on the back feet!

Jan. 25 – Surprise!

rmj — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:18:40 +0000

We explored our newest campsite area, walking a jeep trail into the mountains. The trail narrowed to a quad track then disappeared as the terrain became more rough and steep. The promise of a view from a pass above spurred us onward and upward and we were rewarded with a surprise. We had discovered a short cut into Tumco! (Check back to Jan. 15, 2008 blog when we visited the same area) It was a new approach that brought us into the old gold mining area via the sand dunes created when a huge storm disgorged the sandy contents of the huge cyanide leach vats.

Robert and Mavrik approach the huge vats.

What’s amazing is that a picture on a reader board along the trail through the ghost town shows the vats standing on wood scaffolding at least 30 feet feet high! It must all be buried in the sand!

Jan. 23 -The Bridge to Nowhere

rmj — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:28:11 +0000

We moved our campsite back to the Yuma area and stopped at a u-pick farm stand on the way. It is located at “the bridge to nowhere”, the original McPhaul Bridge over the Gila River on highway 95 in Arizona. The highway was rerouted and the bridge stands, decaying, over the trickle of the river. Ironically the ‘new’ bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1993, while the abandoned old bridge withstood the waters!

Built in 1929 it was abandoned in 1968 when the road was rerouted.

Robert's keen eye spotted this huge beehive in the ironwork of one of the towers.

Jan. 22 -Rock and Plant Views

rmj — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:55:18 +0000

Interesting objects encountered on our long walks.

Maybe an indigenous peoples grinding stone, but probably just an erosion pattern.

The skeleton of a saguaro cactus.

A bunch of tiny versions of the previous erosion pattern in a soft desert rock.

A hummingbird bush in bloom.

Jan. 20 -Kofa Wildlife

rmj — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:38:39 +0000

The main attraction in terms of wildlife in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is the Desert Bighorn Sheep. We were privileged to have a pair observing us from the peak of Crystal Hill in the northwest corner of the Refuge. We camped in the same area several years ago and had several sheep watching us then too!

The male gave us a great profile pose.

Two days later we climbed the hill, where Robert and Mav posed at the peak.

Jan. 13 – Yuma Tour

rmj — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:51:43 +0000

It was so windy in the desert we decided to head to town hoping the wind would lessen. It did, so we enjoyed several hikes in the Yuma East Wetlands where Mavrik could run and even swim in the Colorado river. We were camped across the river at the Quechan Indian Casino and were able to walk across the Ocean to Ocean Bridge to the wetlands area and even into town. We toured Main Street in the historic old town and even picked a mandarin orange to enjoy from a tree in a parking lot!

A picture of a picture of the Ocean to Ocean Bridge!

Detail of the interior of the restored Yuma Post Office, now a commercial building.

Jan. 11 – Mexico Sunrise

rmj — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:22:06 +0000

The sunrise this morning was gorgeous. We are only about 5 miles from the Mexico border, the city lights we see at night are in Mexico!

Jan. 10 – Happy Birthday Mav!

rmj — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:55:11 +0000

Mavrik turned 4 today and got a special treat, a beef neck bone, to chew on while we enjoyed a campfire.