A drive in the desert

On Tuesday, we had made plans to go for an afternoon drive in the desert with another volunteer here at the park, Eddie, in his old Toyota Land Cruiser.

Nicolas and I had some business to take care of first, so we got a little bit later start than we had planned, but soon enough we were all loaded into the Land Cruiser and headed to the north end of the park.

We travelled north on Castle Hot Springs Rd., past the north entrance gate to the park, and off the pavement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove beyond the north end of the lake,

and turned on the loop road that goes toward Crowne King Point.

Castle Hot Springs Road was pretty wide and smooth, the result of frequent grading,

but after we turned off the main road it began to get narrow and steep in areas.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were pretty impressed with Eddie’s Land Cruiser . . . as old as it is, it never hesitated on the the grades, and some of them were very steep!

We took a short break to explore an abandoned house on the side of the mountain, and stretch our legs a little.  That’s the one thing about the Land Cruiser – it’s a little cramped for the legs, especially with 3 in the front seat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked around the old house, being careful not to fall through the floor anywhere.

 

 

We were losing daylight quickly, so we didn’t hang around for too long, but got back on the road.

As we continued back toward Castle Hot Springs Rd., we passed a few houses,    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and evidence of more houses that we couldn’t see from the road.

I’m not sure what makes people want to live way out here, but they must really want to be away from it all!

We made our way through some steep grades and tight switchbacks, and through a canyon,

 

 

and the sun continued to fall below the horizon.

 

 

There’s an old resort out here that was a popular vacation destination for the rich & famous in the 20s and 30s.  The main resort burned down in the 70s, but there are still several buildings standing, including a caretaker’s house, and the grounds are still maintained with lush green grass and palm trees.

We made it back to Castle Hot Springs Rd. just as we were losing the sun which made it difficult to get many pictures of the old resort, but I did get one shot of the palm trees that suddenly appeared in the desert like an oasis.

It was a great afternoon for a drive in the desert, and we made it back to the campground in the dark without any trouble.  If we had been able to start out a couple of hours earlier it would have been better, but it was still an enjoyable drive, and we thanked Eddie for taking us all along with him!

Pipeline Canyon–Take 2

We mostly hung out around the campground this weekend.  Tom and Nicolas got started on the final step of waxing the RV, while I entertained myself by watching the hummingbirds feeding on the lupine on our site.

 

 

By Sunday, the cooler temperatures had moved east, and we were firmly back in the 70s . . . with increasing temperatures expected all week.

We decided to take the truck out for a drive to the north end of the park and hike the Pipeline Canyon Trail.  Last time, the boys took bikes and I walked the southern half of the trail, so this time we decided to drive to the north trailhead and hike south to the midpoint and back, a total of just over 2 miles, but without too much elevation change.

We drove north on Castle Hot Springs Road and re-entered the park at the north entrance. 

 

We parked at the Cottonwood Day Use Area at the trailhead – we were the only vehicle there -- and set out on the trail.

 

 

 

It was a beautiful day for a hike; we couldn’t believe there was nobody else there!

The boys took the lead, and we quickly put the parking lot behind us!

 

As with any hike in the desert, there were plenty of hazards,

 

 

but the trail is nicely maintained and fairly easy to walk along.

Bryce has no fear of cactii . . . in fact, he dares them to stick him!

Nicolas says “Oww!  Even the trees have pickers!”

From the north end of the trail, you are already almost at the top of the mountain, and after a short climb at the beginning of the trail, it’s mostly gradual up and down along the ridge until you reach the halfway point.

There are lots of Palo Verde trees along the trail,

as well as the characteristic Saguaro cactus that are all over this area.  This one seems to be giving directions – reminds me of the scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz”!    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soon we reached the halfway point, and stopped for a rest on the bench there.

Bryce took the camera from me and snapped some pictures of Tom and I . . . see, I really was there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From here we had another great view of the lake,

 

and a field of teddy bear cholla.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We could have continued along the trail, dropping down to the water and back up the other side of the canyon, but we decided to skip all that elevation change and just head back.

These guys didn’t mind – they were ready to go home for dinner!

As we made our way back to the truck,

we continued to admire the view and the wildlife around us.

 

Saguaros – both young and old.

 

Almost back to the trailhead, we were startled by some snorting from the brush – it turns out we weren’t alone afterall!

This guy kept his distance and tried to stay out of sight behind the Palo Verde!

Once we got back to the truck and headed out of the park, we found a family of donkeys on the road . . . these guys weren’t quite as skittish!

 

 

It was a beautiful day – perfect for a nice hike in the desert!

Where did January go?

Here in the valley, we enjoyed amazing weather during January.  It was so nice, with temperatures in the upper 70s, that the guys took advantage of the great weather to wash and polish the RV!

It was a BIG job, and took them several days to complete, but it looked really good when they were done!

 

The steep drop-off at the back of our site made the back door the most challenging area . . . I think I would have just skipped it, but that’s me . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the guys were busy with the RV, I was busy setting up a sewing room for myself in our volunteer laundry room.

The laundry room itself is pretty basic, but we do have 2 washers and 2 dryers, so laundry day goes fairly quickly – even for me!  We do have to be careful to stagger loads, though, since the drain can only handle one washer draining at a time, as is evidenced by the stains on the floor!

 

There’s another room in the laundry building, with several lockable cabinets and lockers that we can use.  I claimed one of the cabinets for storing my sewing machine and tools, along with my laundry supplies.  It’s much more convenient to just leave it there, rather than carrying it back and forth every week!

Each volunteer gets an assigned morning or afternoon for laundry.  Mine is Thursday afternoon, so now that’s my designated sewing time too!

 

There’s a table for my sewing machine and cutting board,

and even an available ironing board!

Last week I dug out a quilt project that I haven’t worked on for over a year and a half!  Two more squares finished!

As we turned the calendar to February, the bottom fell out of our temperatures!  OK, not really, but we are only in the 60s now, and we’ve had clouds!  We’ve even had to turn the heat pump back on at night!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We even almost had some rain . . . it evaporated before it reached the ground, but it made for an interesting pink mist in the air over the campground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, Tom and I took Nicolas to meet with a Navy recruiter and set up a time for him to take the ASVAB test.  We’re doing a little investigation in that area before he makes a final decision on college. 

On the way back, we stopped at a vehicle consignment shop that caught Tom’s eye.

They had a little bit of everything – cars, RVs, boats, motorcycles,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

even a couple tractors,

and an adorable truck and camper for our sister-in-law, Denise!

It was a fun place to look around!  We stopped for a quick dinner at Chick-fil-A (one of our favorites!), and got back home in time for another beautiful sunset.  Unfortunately, I only had my phone with us as we walked the dog, and it doesn’t take great sunset photos . . . oh well, I’ll probably have another chance tomorrow!