Category Archives: Travels

Gunsite Wash BLM & Organ Pipe Cactus Nat’l Monument

Posted on Wednesday May 8th, 2013 by | Comments Off on Gunsite Wash BLM & Organ Pipe Cactus Nat’l Monument

Gunsite Wash BLM is dispersed camping, right outside of Organ Pipe Cactus Nat’l Monument. We got there Apr 18th, after the snowbird season is over. We were only going to stay one night…but ended up staying three, with no regrets. =)

We didn’t realize 85 was so noisy with the weekend. But then I didn’t know that it was a main road for a border crossing. It goes right through the Monument. We wanted to stop at the border town of Lukeville, AZ but right at the sign that says border crossing 1 mile, the line started no the road. We didn’t want to cross, just stop at the town, didn’t feel like waiting in line just for that.

The BLM was pretty private. But totally loved that when we got here, only 3 other sets of RVs including the camp host on about a 1000 acre of land. Lots of different places to set up. We parked outside of it, unhooked and then scouted out the some of the spots. A full timer, Everett, that has been doing this 8yrs greeted us and gave us some local background of the area and suggestions for the best sites. Very friendly and helpful.

Heard and seen all sorts of birds and heard free roaming cattle. Even heard a few military “birds” doing night maneuvers.

Learned quickly not to leave our Jeep windows open over night….bird poo…..lol We did have the tops on, so it could’ve been worst…grin

We would camp here again, even with border patrol check point lit up like crazy at night down the road…lol

HOLY COW….we aren’t in Oregon anymore. We drove through the SW back in ’07, but the border patrol is huge in comparison of then. They are every where….it is crazy. I know that we are much closer to the Mexican border then in the past, but they have increased their presence ten fold.

Organ Pipe Cactus Nat’l Monument was stunning. We have never seen anything like it. Just a forest of Pipe Cactus and we did get to see some beautiful blooms. I’ll never look at supposedly “dead” bushes, trees or cactus again. Just with a little bit of rain they really pop. It is something that you have to see.

We did the Ajo Mountain Drive, it was not what you call an easy drive, road wise….but so worth it and beautiful, especially just before sundown.

We did check out their Twin Peaks Campground that allowed RVs. With it being April, the campground was fairly empty and it has some sites that could accommodate RVs up to 40ft. It is a pretty nice set up the way they have it. We personally prefer the BLM, but have no issue with recommending this campground.

It has been visual adjustment for us. Starting in California…which was gradual to the desert….it was so strange for us. Here in Patagonia, we are at 4000 ft, so it more of a high plain desert, but less stark then at Joshua Tree or at Organ Pipe Cactus Nat’l Monument.

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Quartzsite, AZ

Posted on Tuesday May 7th, 2013 by | Comments Off on Quartzsite, AZ

Trying to play catch up with our posts and where we have been. I’ll be breaking mine up so it is not one huge post. =)

Never really posted that much on Quartzsite, AZ. We were there from Apr 16-18th. Learned real quick that nearly 90% of the seasonal business is closed by April 15th….lol That was interesting. We did find an all year RV resort of 88 Shades (I did comment on it in this post )

We stopped at T Rocks, which was really cool. I’ve never seen so many different kinds of rocks and minerals before. Loved all the different colors. If we didn’t RV, I would so get some for a garden or just have around the house. If you never been a rock hound, you have to stop here and see all the beauty that is in them.

We went to the Yacht Club, just because whoever heard of a yacht club in the middle of the desert?!? lol The food was reasonable priced and tasty. I really enjoyed the fish, the bartender was nice. There was only one issue, the “town drunk”….ggrrr…hubby had red flags going off about him. He just would not leave us alone due to us being the only ones in there that wasn’t local. Totally ruined it for us. If he wasn’t there, we would recommend it.

Now the place you HAVE to stop at is the Reader’s Oasis Books ran by Paul “Sweet Pie” Winer ….the Naked Book Guy…lol. Loads of different used books and even some old vinyl. He has a baby grand buried under some books that he will be more then happy to play you one of his original bluesy songs and will entertain you with all sorts of stories from his touring days. We throughly enjoyed stopping in there and getting a earful from him.

Not sure If we would do any length of time in winter at Quartzsite…we aren’t much into crowds. But we would like to see what it is like when it is in season and just to experience it.

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Posted in Everyday Stuff, RV Living, Travels

Dropping In & Saying a Quick Hi

Posted on Thursday May 2nd, 2013 by | Comments Off on Dropping In & Saying a Quick Hi

I have a post that I want to start working on, but I’ve just been so busy and so tired.

Can’t believe that a few months ago, getting up at 8am was early……lol Today we got up at 5am to try and start working out again. ToRn running the trails and me doing a fast walk.

The good thing is that when we hit the road on Apr 2nd, we had a hard time sleeping in, especially in the desert.

We got here Apr 21st and have been busy ever since. We are only required 5hrs a day, but we’ve been doing more because it has been busy and so much to learn. So many birders and so many brains to pick. Birding is whole another world…..grin

We are really enjoying ourselves here at the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve. And the town of Patagonia is it’s own quirky, artistry, ranch town.

Birding is a big thing here. There is even a local house that the late owner put out so much bird feeders over the years, allowed birders to share in it, that when she passed her family has a care taker there to keep up the tradition while they try and find another birder to buy the house and keep up open to birders. It is called the Paton‘s…it is a must see and the current caretaker Larry is a wealth of knowledge.

More info on Paton’s : http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g31303-d3369728-r158787471-Paton_s_Hummingbird_Haven-Patagonia_Arizona.html#REVIEWS

Now we just need to get into routine and time to go over there, learn and enjoy it….grin

Here is just some of the area’s attractions for birding : http://www.patagoniaaz.com/category/area-attractions/birding/

And we still have all the canyons to explore….the good thing, is we have 5 months do to that.

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Posted in Everyday Stuff, RV Living, Travels

A Blow Out Kind of Day

Posted on Sunday April 7th, 2013 by | Comments Off on A Blow Out Kind of Day

It has been a rough day overall. The kind that you have being dreading that was going to happen, did. So close to our destination and then what sounded like an explosion….we had a blow out.

An inside tire on a Sunday…..blah….what the heck is AAA for if there isn’t anyone around to help? So many calls, none of it helped. But at least we are here and are safe. Going to have to deal with it first thing tomorrow.

Buying used and such, you expect things to happen….but is it too much to ask to at least spread it out some?

A 6 hr 39 min trip according to google, we added about 90 more minutes to our estimate because it is an RV with a tow and going over mountains….yeah, you can’t go as fast as other vehicles. With the blow out we got here about 4:48 after hitting the road at 05:45 this morning.

We are suppose to do another 6hr 38min day when we leave here in a few days….I don’t think so. That is way too much especially with going through high population areas. I’m going to divide that up. I’ll be looking into that once I finish this up.

We are here at the very small RV park of the Castle Air Museum, in Atwater, CA. That was created on the Air Force Base that was closed in the ’90s.

I’ll save my first impressions and comments about the RV park part for when we take pictures and post about it.

For the overall feel, if you ever lived on a military post/base….no matter which branch….this still feels like a military post to me. There is obvious stuff like the fuselages they have in a field or the old ordnance they have for collecting dump fees….which bring back MAJOR flashbacks for me, since I grew up on an ordnance post. But even without all that, it still smells/feels like the military to me. I don’t know how to explain it….maybe it is just the Army brat in me that misses it so much.

One of the few positives today, really got to see the beautiful hills coming out of Oregon and a good view of Mt Shasta coming into California. =)

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Posted in Everyday Stuff, RV Living, Travels

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Life Changes & the Holidays

Posted on Tuesday December 25th, 2012 by | Comments Off on Life Changes & the Holidays

Happy Holidays!!!

Life is a changing for us. It is both exciting and scary as hell.

As of Friday, we picked up an RV. A 2002 Holiday Rambler Admiral, that we’ve named Ackbar. To learn more about it, check out our travel blog : http://WhereTheHellAreWe.com This is travel only, no politics and personal stuff…..yes, I do know that I go on sometimes….lol

Long story short, we are going to become full time RVers by the end of Feb, when our lease is up. We are both so looking forward to it and scared. There is so much to learn, it is so big…….it is overwhelming. Once we learn it, I know we’ll be fine…..it is just getting to that point.

Ideally, we want to boondocks a lot and find places to volunteer at for hook ups and learning. We already have our 1st volunteer place at Patagonia-Sonoita Creek in AZ Apr 22 for at least 3 months.

Due to packing stuff for storage, getting rid of stuff, time involved (takes me about 6hrs to put up) and you can’t put an rv under a tree, I didn’t get one this year. Right now, I’m really missing it…..being trying to avoid a lot of holiday stuff that I usually go nuts on, the holiday lights, haven’t even listened to the holiday music that I love…..since I knew that wouldn’t help. But I may listen to the music tomorrow…..and get one day of it.

I have such happy holiday memories from growing up, I love shiny glittery things, always felt like magic. And in the process, really missing my family. This year it feels like the holidays, but doesn’t.

I did get a text from mom, dad was asking if we had an Applebees, I’m like I’d prefer Olive Garden….told them they didn’t even need to go anywhere to get the certificate or mail it…..send it by email. Love that option.

I don’t expect things from my folks anymore, my concern is their finical well being especially since they are raising their 3 grandkids. So I’m just happy with card to know that they are thinking of me. They did send us a ecertificate, which we’ll put to good use on my birthday, I was just happy to hear from them since I’m missing them right now.

I’ll be calling tomorrow, that is for sure. Dad use to call on my bday at the time I was born….but that is way too early on the west coast….grin I love my folks…even though we drive each other nuts…lol

Next year, I may not have my big 7ft fresh cut Oregon tree, but I do plan on having something. This was the 1st year I’ve been without something, not doing that again next year. I picked out cats, personal and old ornaments from when I was a kid, put them into a small shoe box and taking that with us. The only thing that I’d really be missing from it, is my German tree topper….which I love, but need a big tree for that. =)

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Posted in Everyday Stuff, Family Stuff, Travels

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