I can't believe I'm writing this post! I can't believe it because we are in the middle of nowhere, and yet, we have a internet connection! It's slow, I'll give it that. But just to have the connection when we are seven miles from the Mexican border is incredible. Don't ask me why it exists. I can only think it is for the safety of the many border patrol officers and park rangers we've seen. We asked many people if it was safe to be this close to the border, and we got the same answer: It's possible we'll see drug smuggling or undocumented people coming across the border. Our job? Stay out of it and away from it. If we can keep to ourselves, we'll be safe. Truly, there are enough people here, that I haven't felt at all threatened by anyone, and we haven't seen anything to indicate any illegal activity. So . . . it's like anything else: don't leave your valuables in your car, and lock things up if you're not around. Easy.
We passed through towns with names like "Ajo" and "Why" on the way here. Ajo actually turned out to be a fairly large place, although it's only about 10% as large as it was in it's heyday (when the population was about 18,000) and there was gold, silver, and copper mining. The mines were shut down in the early 1980s. We didn't see it, but we were told by some others that the mining museum was very interesting. We just drove through in our quest to get here and get parked.
We're in a nice park campground, which is very cheap camping for us with our parks pass--just $6 per night. Most private RV parks are charging anywhere from $30-55 per night for camping. We love camping in the national parks, not just because it's such a bargain, but because the surroundings are invariably beautiful, and because it is almost always very quiet. Our last three nights have been spent parked within spitting distance of Interstate 8.
George wasted no time getting out on the leash, now that he was in surroundings where he could hear anything trying to sneak up on him. He really prefers going out after dark when everyone else has gone back inside their RV's, but he's doing better all the time.
Then yesterday evening after dark, there was a ranger/volunteer-led star party. That was a lot of fun. We were told the myths associated with the different constellations that were visible, and I learned how to locate Taurus (my sign) next to the Pleides. Fun! Mike is the hobbyist astronomer in the family, but each time I attend one of these star parties with him, I learn at least one new thing that I can remember for next time.
This morning we were slow getting started. I had a bad night--just didn't feel very well, and I felt kind of crummy most of the day. I'm feeling better now, however, and so hopefully, I'll be back to normal by tomorrow. We went on a short walk around the campground. There is a nice trail around the perimeter where we were able to see some good specimens of the Organ Pipe Cacti, among other things. This is one of the few places in the United States where they grow. They look a lot like the Saguaro Cactus, except that the Saguaro tend to grow from one stalk, and then put out arms, while the Organ Pipe seem to put out arms from one central location. Here are a few shots of them You can see three different sizes here--like the mama, papa, and baby cactus. The baby is kind of in the middle behind a small creosote bush.
They are also smaller in diameter than the Saguaro. To give you some idea, here is a macro shot of each taken from about the same distance. You can easily see the difference in the size of the ridges. This is the Organ Pipe:
Nasty needles, huh? If you'd like to know more about these cacti, I'd like to direct you to my previous blog, "Ribbon of Highway," and the posts I wrote about Saguaro National Park East and Saguaro National Park West, which are both located in Tucson, Arizona. If you want to learn more information about Saguaro Cacti, that's where you'll find it. It's a very interesting story and a very interesting park. I only mention it because there are plenty of Saguaro Cacti dotting the landscape here, and the story of how they survive and reproduce is fascinating--to me at least.
I took a few more random pictures. The Ocotillo have been in bloom all along the way, and that's been fun to see, although there isn't much else in bloom.
We took a loop drive today: the Ajo Mountain Drive, which is a 21-mile dirty, wash-boardy loop. It's passable for a regular passenger car, as long as you have good tires. It wasn't really anything more than what we've been able to see right here in the campground, although we did get back up into the hills where we found a natural arch. With the truck rocking and the warm sun, I fell asleep for a good part of the drive. As I said, I'm not feeling my best. When we got back to the trailer, I took a long nap, and now I'm feeling quite a bit better.
So now we're watching the Super Bowl--go Packers! (I've never been a Packer fan, but I so love that they are publicly-owned that I've decided I'm a fan. And who else would I root for? There aren't any NFL teams in Oregon.) It's half time and Mike has gone out to ride his bike around the park a little bit. I've been babying myself because I have a catch in my ankle. Does that ever happen to you? No injury that I'm aware of, but it hurts to put weight on it. (Such a lot of whining in this post. Welcome to my world.) It's better than it was yesterday, but I haven't wanted to take any long hikes because I worry it will start hurting. I think by tomorrow I'll be good as new. And if that's the case, there are some great hiking trails we plan to try out. Many start right here in the campground, which makes it so convenient.
We passed through towns with names like "Ajo" and "Why" on the way here. Ajo actually turned out to be a fairly large place, although it's only about 10% as large as it was in it's heyday (when the population was about 18,000) and there was gold, silver, and copper mining. The mines were shut down in the early 1980s. We didn't see it, but we were told by some others that the mining museum was very interesting. We just drove through in our quest to get here and get parked.
We're in a nice park campground, which is very cheap camping for us with our parks pass--just $6 per night. Most private RV parks are charging anywhere from $30-55 per night for camping. We love camping in the national parks, not just because it's such a bargain, but because the surroundings are invariably beautiful, and because it is almost always very quiet. Our last three nights have been spent parked within spitting distance of Interstate 8.
George wasted no time getting out on the leash, now that he was in surroundings where he could hear anything trying to sneak up on him. He really prefers going out after dark when everyone else has gone back inside their RV's, but he's doing better all the time.
Although it wasn't a long drive yesterday, it did seem to take a long time for some reason. We were on a state highway, and so it was undoubtedly a little more windy (long i) than the interstate. We just hung out for the rest of the day after arriving. There was a beautiful sunset over the Sonoyta Mountains.
Then yesterday evening after dark, there was a ranger/volunteer-led star party. That was a lot of fun. We were told the myths associated with the different constellations that were visible, and I learned how to locate Taurus (my sign) next to the Pleides. Fun! Mike is the hobbyist astronomer in the family, but each time I attend one of these star parties with him, I learn at least one new thing that I can remember for next time.
This morning we were slow getting started. I had a bad night--just didn't feel very well, and I felt kind of crummy most of the day. I'm feeling better now, however, and so hopefully, I'll be back to normal by tomorrow. We went on a short walk around the campground. There is a nice trail around the perimeter where we were able to see some good specimens of the Organ Pipe Cacti, among other things. This is one of the few places in the United States where they grow. They look a lot like the Saguaro Cactus, except that the Saguaro tend to grow from one stalk, and then put out arms, while the Organ Pipe seem to put out arms from one central location. Here are a few shots of them You can see three different sizes here--like the mama, papa, and baby cactus. The baby is kind of in the middle behind a small creosote bush.
They are also smaller in diameter than the Saguaro. To give you some idea, here is a macro shot of each taken from about the same distance. You can easily see the difference in the size of the ridges. This is the Organ Pipe:
Here's the Saguaro:
Nasty needles, huh? If you'd like to know more about these cacti, I'd like to direct you to my previous blog, "Ribbon of Highway," and the posts I wrote about Saguaro National Park East and Saguaro National Park West, which are both located in Tucson, Arizona. If you want to learn more information about Saguaro Cacti, that's where you'll find it. It's a very interesting story and a very interesting park. I only mention it because there are plenty of Saguaro Cacti dotting the landscape here, and the story of how they survive and reproduce is fascinating--to me at least.
I took a few more random pictures. The Ocotillo have been in bloom all along the way, and that's been fun to see, although there isn't much else in bloom.
There are lots of Cholla Cacti all around, although I didn't take any pictures of them. And several of the barrel cacti look as if they have already bloomed. I'm not sure how to tell when these fruits are ripe, or what one would do with them, but they're interesting to see.
The Organ Pipe Cacti seem to favor the south-facing hillsides for some reason, and the lighter-colored soil. There weren't nearly as many in the darker soil or on the opposite sides of the hills.
We took a loop drive today: the Ajo Mountain Drive, which is a 21-mile dirty, wash-boardy loop. It's passable for a regular passenger car, as long as you have good tires. It wasn't really anything more than what we've been able to see right here in the campground, although we did get back up into the hills where we found a natural arch. With the truck rocking and the warm sun, I fell asleep for a good part of the drive. As I said, I'm not feeling my best. When we got back to the trailer, I took a long nap, and now I'm feeling quite a bit better.
So now we're watching the Super Bowl--go Packers! (I've never been a Packer fan, but I so love that they are publicly-owned that I've decided I'm a fan. And who else would I root for? There aren't any NFL teams in Oregon.) It's half time and Mike has gone out to ride his bike around the park a little bit. I've been babying myself because I have a catch in my ankle. Does that ever happen to you? No injury that I'm aware of, but it hurts to put weight on it. (Such a lot of whining in this post. Welcome to my world.) It's better than it was yesterday, but I haven't wanted to take any long hikes because I worry it will start hurting. I think by tomorrow I'll be good as new. And if that's the case, there are some great hiking trails we plan to try out. Many start right here in the campground, which makes it so convenient.
6 comments:
Great photos Barbara. Love the one of the sunset.
Hope you are feeling better soon.
wow what a sunset!
I think George would fit in on my street... we have five regular cats on leashes :)
Barbara,
That sunset picture takes your breath away!
I'd like to know where you found the harness for George. Our Charlie - my husband calls him George half the time - walks on a leash, too, but the harness is so wimpy, if he gets scared, he can just back out of it.
Wow, nice sunset photo! Fantastic Reds. Is that camera trickery or was it really that brilliant?
Glad to hear the bug didn’t stick around long. And that kitty pal is adapting to his journey-related necessities. Pretty pic of that sunset--we all agree on that !~!
Nice post - it gives everyone a great sense of what it is like going there. ...and it is true, as long as you watch out for yourself, being along the border is fairly safe!
Sam
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