What happened? Last Saturday, our two-week limit for camping at Dome Rock was up so we said "good bye" to Dome Rock (six miles west of Quartzsite) and we headed back to the La Posa LTVA (long term visitor area), two miles south of Quartzsite. We paid our $40 for two weeks and headed for the "twins" - "dump and fill." We took on water after dumping our holding tanks, moved 100 yards from the water fill area, hooked up the generator and proceeded to do laundry. We kept repeating the process (dump - fill - move a 100 yards, and wash clothes) until we were done with washing. At that point, we parked the trailer where we intended to stay for the next couple of weeks. It's a nice spot with a LOT LESS DUST.
As the clothes were still wet, we headed for Quartzsite for a laundromat. By now it was dark and when we returned to the camping area, we drove down the road and could NOT find the unit. It was pitch black. We turned around and drove back to the entrance to the camping area, periodically shining our truck headlights off the road - much to the consternation of other campers. We could not find our rig. Finally after the 4th drive on the road, we located it. Whew! We live to camp another day.
We've had a couple of real nice campfires and have grilled out a couple of times. Those steaks looked as big as the state of Deleware and were one inch thick. Yum Yum. Thank you Safeway Grocery for reducing the prices of meat instead of throwing it out AND then taking an additional 30% off.
A couple of days later, we took a "road trip" down to YUMA, AZ made famous because in the old West, the territorial prison was in Yuma. The Army has a HUGE testing ground on the north side of Yuma. West of Yuma is the area where WWII General George Patton trained his tank corp for defeating Rommel in the desert. Yuma has a large population of snowbirds, lots of great restaurants, a Walmart, and is also close to the Mexican-American border.
We had heard of a place near Yuma called Algodones, Mexico where Americans walk across the border by the hundreds and thousands everyday to take advantage of high quality dental and optical work, and low cost prescription drugs. It sounds scary but we have talked with people who go there regularly and say that the quality is excellent and that it is safe. So, as we travelled just west of Yuma, we took the exit that said "Mexico - Algodones Road" We took the last U-turn before Mexico after seeing the huge parking lot where people could park and take the walk. Maybe next year after we renew our passports.
After viewing the crossing to Algodones, we went a little further west (we were now in California) until we got to Pilot Knob BLM Camping area.
We checked out the area and noticed a road alongside the BLM headed south. Sheryl said: "Let's go see the fence." You know the "FENCE." The one between the U.S. and Mexico. So down the road we went. About 4 miles later, we were in view of the canal that runs along the border and the fence in the background. I took some of pictures.
The brown strip on the other side of the canal is the FENCE. The canal is U.S. Territory. It would be tough to cross because it's deep and wide.
As I got back in the truck, I noticed a Border Patrol truck about 1/8 of a mile away coming toward us. I turned the truck around, headed back up the gravel road, looked in the rear-view mirror and lo and behold, Mr. Border Patrol was right there behind me. So the two of us went all the way back to the beginning of the road at 12 miles per hour. I pulled off the road to make a computer adjustment, he went by me and that was the last of that. He never pulled me over but that was sure on my mind.
We had another BLM camping area - Imperial Dam - to check out, a half hour north of Yuma, so we got back on I-8 headed east toward Yuma. We took the exit we needed and headed north through some of the most lush country we had seen. The Imperial Valley. Imperial Valley grows all kinds of veggies because of the irrigation canals that extend outward from the Colorado River.
We will miss the extremely fresh red, yellow, and green peppers that we've been able to purchase here in Quartzite that come from the Imperial Valley and nearby Mexico.
One half hour after exiting I-8, we arrived in the Imperial Dam area. There are a number of different camping areas.. each one is a little different. After checking them out, we realized we liked Kripple Creek - nice camp sites and wild burros.
The other one was Senator Wash.
Senator Wash is $40 for two weeks, $80 for four weeks, or $180 for SEVEN MONTHS. Senator Wash Campground has washrooms, dumpsites, and fresh water. We talked with a guy who had come from New York State and had been there since November. He loved it. Even though there might have been 500-600 units during January and February, it wasn't too crowded.
Another feature was the water. Senator Wash is also on the Senator Resevoir.
There were a limited number of spots down on the beach and on the other side of the Resevoir you can camp for 14 days free. Then you can come back to the fee area just above the beach area. We think that might be a place we'd like to camp if we come back another year.
We found other places to camp within the Imperial Dam area but we enjoyed Kripple Creek and Senator Wash the most. It was a great day and a nice ride home.
The sky clouded over for the trip home and we were within 20 miles of our camper when we went by a sign on Route 95 north that said: "Palm Canyon - Kofa National Wildlife Area." Notice I said I went by the sign. Sheryl noticed the sign too and said "let's check it out!" Now you have to understand that once an Allen gets a goal in mind (like getting back to the camper), it's very hard to "turn around." But I turned around. 4 miles back down a dusty gravel road we came to a Camp Host trailer and a sign that said:
And...
As we drove the four miles - the gps said we climbed about a thousand feet to the base of the mountains to Palm Canyon. We shot pictures and admired the view. We were about to leave when the Sun came out - so we reshot the pictures and I'm so glad we did. They turned out great.
An additional note about the Kofa Wildlife Refuge. The 4 miles into the refuge is on BLM land and there were LOTS of places to pull over and camp. Once inside the Kofa, you can get a permit to camp for 14 days free inside the Refuge..
and we found some choice spots along side the road to the base of the mountains.
We found a church in Quartzsite today hosting the ministerial Good Friday Service at Noon. It was great to attend and enjoy, not haveing to plan and participate in it for a change. After a late lunch at the trailer, we headed back to the Kofa NWR to drive to the other canyon - Kofa Queen Canyon. The "road" (more like a quad-runner two-track) wasn't so swell, but lo and behold, at the end of it was an enormous canyon, like you might see in a Western movie. According to my DeLorme Topo Map program, the peaks on either side of us were one thousand feet above us. We parked the truck at the entrance to the canyon and walked a quarter mile inside. It was QUIET. We enjoyed the views. I thought about taking pictures but I knew that it would be impossible to convey what we saw in a photo. Another ride back down a dusty trail and into town for dinner at the Q-Cafe (Q stands for Quartzsite). We may wind up there Easter Sunday after service. Their special is going to be ham and scalloped potatoes. yum yum.
We may leave Quartzsite and start home on Monday with a major stopover in Dallas, Texas to visit relatives and friends. Then a stop in Goshen, Indiana to get a couple of things fixed on the travel trailer and then finally home to Flushing. We'll see how things go. Our plans have changed many times before. Whatever things turn out to be, I'm sure it will be some sort of an adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment