Monday, November 28/2016

Kay and I were up early again this morning so headed into Parker for brunch and to pick up a few supplies we had failed to get on Saturday.
John decided to get the one 30 pound propane tank filled since it would be almost empty.  We have not filled it since Montana so we are doing real good as far as burning propane.  Since we got to the warmer weather, we have not had to use the heater much so that is a good thing.  John had put the tank in the truck so we were good to go this morning.
Our first job of the day though, was to stop at the Crossroads Cafe in Parker and order food.  I must say, the cheeseburger was GREAT!!  I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants a great meal.  Their menu was four pages long and the variety is incredible.  The prices are good too.
When we got back to camp, John got busy packing up for our travels tomorrow.  Kermit was loaded on the back of the truck and then John checked the water on the battery banks just to make sure that all was well with them.   All the "junk" was loaded up and I cleaned up the inside of the trailer getting it ready for travel tomorrow as well.
Once that was done we headed out for a cruise.  We headed down Shea Road toward Swansea Townsite.  It wasn't too long before we were on off the pavement and headed down the sandy road to Swansea.  It is an easy drive and easily accessible by any 4 wheel drive vehicle.
Swansea, once a bustling copper mining town that "lived" between 1908 and 1943 is now a ghost town filled with ruins and artifacts.  There are several remains still standing of the buildings that dotted the area.  What remains of the railroad grade is still visible and the sheer history of the place is ever so present.   If history is what your passion is, this place is ideal.
The drive home was incredible as Mother Nature provided an incredible sunset.  We stopped for  several pictures and at one point John said "It's almost like driving in a picture"!!   WOW...that was pretty deep and so appropriate.
We arrived back at camp and the cats (who we had left outside) were waiting on the steps for our return.  It was time for the Monday night football game so we piled into the trailer and turned on the TV.   Adult beverages were passed around and I got supper ready for John to cook!!

A boat we found

Arizona canal

Road into Swansea

Arch along the way

Another great Arizona sunset

Sunday, November 27/2016

It is Sunday and that means FOOTBALL!!   It is Sunday, Sunday, Sunday and I just might win the pool this weekend.   Man, I could use the whopping $20.00 jackpot!!  LOL  Man, why would I want to win when the pot was $150.00??   No....I'd rather wait until it was twenty!!
It is also Grey Cup Sunday in the CFL so our Canadian football season will be over today.  Either Calgary or Ottawa will be the winners and get to raise the Grey Cup in victory.  This is what the teams play for so hopefully it is a good game and not one of the classic "blowouts" that we often see.
The weather today is supposed to be rather questionable and with the wind continuing to blow, it looks like TV is the only good option.   It is supposed to rain today and the gathering clouds sure suggest that that too, is in our future!!
Our fellow campers are all pulling out today so I'm thinking that we are going to be the only ones out here tonight and that is a beautiful thing.  Finally, peace and quiet!!
Well, the Ottawa Redblacks won the Grey Cup and yes, it did rain off and on for most of the day.  Being that the weather was so shitty, it was up to me to cook supper.  John did not want to brave the chill, the wind or any other elements today so.... it was up to me to pick up the challenge.
Of course I always have my most favorite chef in my hip pocket so I simply opened the freezer and got some of Ronnie's phenomenal slow cooked roasted beef and "black gold" gravy out and we had an awesome meal of beef, potatoes, gravy and brussel sprouts.  Man..... I wonder what the rich folks are doing tonight!!  I really can not complain about the meals we eat when we are "roughing it" on the way down!!
The cats are enjoying the campsite and have settled in wonderfully.  They are truly....camping cats and go in and out of the trailer as they choose.  They came in last night and about 20 minutes later, we heard a chorus of coyotes singing not too far away.  I am sure they were in the wash but the "kids" were in and that is all that mattered.
It was time to put my kindle down and go to sleep.......Life is good!!

Saturday, November 26/2016

Well, we have been camping now for a while and with that comes dirty laundry and the need to replenish supplies.  I guess it is laundry day and since we are not too far from Walmart, it was time to grocery shop.  I'm thinking we are in need of a few more cases of adult beverages as well!!
Kay and I are up early (as usual) and John and the two cats are sleeping in (as usual)!!  We had got our laundry sorted last night so all we had to do was make ourselves respectable looking and go crash the local businesses.
We drove into town and hit the laundromat.  We loaded the washing machines then headed over to a local restaurant for my first carne asada burrito in months.  OMG....it was smelled heavenly in the restaurant and I'm sure I was drooling on the table while I was waiting for our order!!
We then headed back to the laundromat where the washing machines were just finishing so the clothes went from the washer to the dryer and we were able to sit down and eat.  Man, that damn burrito was delicious.
With the laundry done, we headed to Walmart.  We stocked up on all the stuff we thought we would need for the coming days then headed back to camp.
Surely John and the cats would be up and about by now!!
Once the clothes were put away and the grocery were in the cupboard, we were on the go again.
John wanted to take a drive over the Parker Dam road so we piled into the truck and headed out.
The Parker Dam is a concrete arch gravity dam that spans the Colorado River between the States of California and Arizona.  It was built between 1934 and 1938 by the Bureau of Reclamation.  It is 320 feet high but 235 feet of this is below the riverbed making the Parker Dam the deepest dam in the world!!  Wow......There is that word again!!  It's main functions were to make a reservoir and provide hydroelectric power.  Lake Havasu is the reservoir and is capable of holding 210 billion gallons of water.  Now, that is a lot of water!!
We stopped and took all the necessary pictures and continued down the two lane winding road that followed the twists and turns of the Colorado River.
There were several signs along the road warning of the possibility of wild burros on the road and it wasn't too long before we saw some.  There were two standing along the ditch and we were able to stop and get some close ups of them.  They really were not too worried about us and actually walked right up to the truck for some real close ups!!
The ride today was pleasant and it was great not to be jostled around like we were on Henrietta.  We could actually talk to each other without shouting too!!  Both Kay and I were feeling rather sore and stiff after yesterday's ride with all the bouncing we did over the rough terrain.  Thank the Lord for Tylenol and Voltaren Emulgel!!
We were able to find a load of wood in our travels today so a "real" campfire was in our future.
We got home, the cats came out of hiding and we settled around the fire that John had started.  Man, the heat felt awesome. and we sat around it until the wind came up and we took refuge in the camper.
Of course it is Saturday night so,  that meant steak and potatoes for supper along with beans and mushrooms.   John managed to get our meal cooked despite the bloody wind and we ate it up like we were ravenous wolves.  Mmmmm.......Life is Good!!

The Parker Dam

The Reservoir (the start of Lake Havasu)

Looking down from the highway

The Colorado River

A huge CAT generator

The observatory

Friendly neighbourhood burros

Really friendly!!

Well, maybe not with each other....

But real friendly with us!!

Burros On Road

more sand dunes

Sun going down

Tonight's campfire

Fire and Sky

Day is done...

Friday, November 25/2016

Headed out

Today was a riding day.  With the quads fueled up and Henrietta's skid plate now bolted together and secured properly (Kay and I are sure going to miss those black rubber tarp straps holding her together!!), we headed out.  John wanted to find the "back way" to the Desert Bar (also known as the Nellie E Saloon).  Although we have been over to the bar via the trails a few years ago, John wanted to try a different way and that supposedly was via the Grey Eagle Mine Trail.  Off we went.....
We started out on Shea Road and headed  south east and soon found ourselves on a wide trail which followed along the base of Gibraltar Mountain Wilderness Area.  There was absolutely NO motor traffic allowed and a fence on both sides of some of the trail ensured that.  There were a few places where there was no fence and one could see what remained of quad tracks marking up the pristine sand dunes that lay to the left of the trail.  Although it probably doesn't do any damage to the area, the untouched beauty of the surrounding dunes was disturbed.

Rock "paving"

Being that we were skirting the mountain, the trail itself was strewn with lots of rocks and large spans of rock "paving"!!   Henrietta is not one of the best riding machines as she is a 2009 Arctic Cat with more than 7000 miles on her!!  She is a trooper and as long as Kay and I take it easy on the "old girl" she takes us up and over anything that the much newer Wildcat maneuvers over.

The sand dunes - not a mark on them

Wide, dusty trails

We made our way over to the trail that would eventually spit us out onto Cienega Springs road and soon found the Kiosk that signals the Grey Eagle Mine Trail Head.
This trail is a relatively short trail  (about 5 miles) which winds through the rugged terrain of Billy Mack Mountain.  It offers great views of the area and is really suitable for all types of Off Road Vehicles.  We met stock jeeps, quads, tons of side by sides (both stock and modified) and dirtbikes along the trail today.  The trail itself starts and finishes on the Cienega Springs Road also called the Nellie Mine Road or The desert bar road.  It all depends on who you get your information from as to what the road is called.
Anyway, we started up the trail and it was quite picturesque.  We found ourselves travelling along a narrow canyon with several palo verde trees growing up the sides.  There were several places along the canyon that were fairly narrow so that if you actually met oncoming traffic, someone would be putting their vehicle into reverse and backing up to a wider part of the trail!!  Fortunately, we were parked for a beverage break when we were passed by about 10 side by sides and dirtbikes so we got lucky.
We traveled along until we got to the junction of Giers Mountain Trail and Grey Eagle Trail.  We took the Giers Mountain Trail and never did really finish the Grey Eagle Trail which I'm thinking is something we really should have done because reading about the mine site sounded quite interesting. I am sure we are going to be back here again so finishing this trail really needs to be on the agenda.

Grey Eagle Mine Trail Kiosk - sits just off the Cienega Springs Road

Trail marker

Sandy trails along parts of the Trail

Palo Verde growing up the sides of the small
canyon

Some small gravel along the trails

Beverage and a "pee" break - Kermit and Henrietta

Heading up

We accessed the Giers Mountain Trail and immediately started climbing.....up, up and up!!  The trail is a rough four wheel drive trail that starts just off Highway 95 between mile markers 155 and 154.  It lies in a very rugged and I mean rugged (almost inhospitable) part of this diverse state.  It is the home of big horn sheep although we were not so lucky as to spot any.  Perhaps we were too busy keeping our eyes on the trail as it truly did offer us a variety of challenges.  From small rolling rocks to much bigger boulders, tight blind turns, shelf road and LOTS of oncoming traffic, we had our hands full.   The views were incredible and I kept saying profound remarks like "WOW"!!  Somehow, that just didn't seem like enough!!
Kay and I had to giggle as here we were in old Henrietta while we were being passed by young, powerful modified side by sides that seemed to eat up the rocks and off camber terrain like it was nothing.  Us, on the other hand, picked our path and kept trudging on.  Both Kay and I giggled when she mention that all these people were probably wondering "what's Grandma doing on a trail like this?"!!  Well....Grandma (aka Henrietta) managed to do the whole trail and back again!!
We even got several spectators clapping for us when we maneuvered what turned out to be the most difficult part of the trail.  There was only one way up and one way down so by the time we got to the spot, there were several spectators and we managed to conquer the uphill, off camber, rocky slope.  We had Henrietta's front wheels off the ground of a few occasions but we crested the hill to clapping hands and cheers!!   Thank You...Thank you very much!!

rugged wilderness

Incredible views - does one ever get tired of this?
I think not!!

Eventually we made it back to the Grey Eagle Trail and knew the worst of the trail was behind us. We came and we conquered!!  Henrietta was so proud of herself!!  There was still a lot of traffic on the trail but we were able to sit along the trail and wait some of it out.  It was time for a beverage break and get ready for the final leg of our trip back to camp.
It was turning dark and it certainly looked like we were going to have a "night" ride today as well. That was cool though because the trails look so different in the dark and since we were on familiar trail, there was really no stress in wondering.....is this the way we came?
Just before we turned off the road, there were several side by sides further down the road that were actually looking for the same trail we were on.  They had seen John turn and we heard them mention that they had better try the trail where we were.  As it turned out, this was the trail they needed in order to get back to their campsite!!  It is so easy to lose your way in unfamiliar territory so I am sure they were glad to see John turn when he did.

Kermit

Memorial Plaques that lie near the trails summit of Giers Mountain trail

Waiting for oncoming traffic to get to the summit
so that we can descend 

Our ride home was uneventful and we found ourselves spit out onto the pavement about 3 miles from our campsite.  So, into High gear Henrietta went and we were home in no time.   It was a great ride today and we saw some incredible scenery and met people along the trails whose faces were nothing but huge smiles.  As one fellow said....."Only in America!!"  It was a great day!!
I can't remember what John cooked us for supper but I'm sure it was delicious.  Life is Good!!

Another incredible sunset.