We May Be In The Boonies, But We Are Not Alone….
We’ve managed the first few days of the Arctic Blast without turning into boondocking ice-cubes, but we’ve got a couple more to go before things (hopefully) return to normal. Today will probably be our most testing day since temps this AM started just below freezing PLUS we’ve been rewarded with a brisk 25 mph wind to ensure we know who’s boss. Yes, mother nature…we bow to your most fabulousness superiorityness.
And we are out there…really, really out there.
The place we’re currently boondocking (reviewed last year in THIS POST) is quite large. It’s somewhat stark in nature without the intimate prettiness of some of our other fav spots, but it’s got LOTS of space which means plenty of opportunity to get wild and lost. Right up my alley, in other words. Many boondockers here seem to congregate together nearer the entrance, which probably says alot about human social nature:
And then of course there’s us. We are different, in so many ways…and we push “The Beast” to where many others would never go. I guess our choice of location shows it too?
But despite this solitude we are not alone. The area around here is bursting with ghosts of history past and even a few living souls that you might know too. The hills around this area are littered with gold and have a rich mining past, but the story goes even further back than that. Many centuries ago the native indians (in particular the Cocopah and Quechan tribes) roamed these desolate lands and their shamans left memories of their passing with rare earth carvings that etch the landscape around our boondocking location. Coooool! I set off in search of these Geoglyphs on my bike and found not only several fascinating spots, but a couple of interesting (and unmarked) etchings with a more modern twist (see below).
And as for living souls? Somewhere out in this BLM wonderland RV Sue And Her Canine Crew have set-up shop (in fact she just met her neighbors), plus Ivan and his kitty are hanging here too (and he just had a rather interesting AZ security encounter). As large as this area is I’ve yet to spot them, but we may well knock into each other during our time here.
In more civilized digs MonaLiza and Steve of The Lowes RV Adventures are staying in an RV Park in Yuma and popped over for a happy hour sunset at our rig. We followed their travels through Alaska last year and have kept in contact via the internet ever since, but this was the first time we got to meet the vivacious couple and share some time together. Always a joy to meet like-minded folks on the road.
And as for today? We’re buckling up and riding out the wind before our trip south of the border tomorrow, I’ve got an irritating (but necessary) trip to El Centro and then this afternoon (if the weather holds) our ‘ol RV buddies Alex&Ellen are coming to join us. Who says life is boring in the boonies?
Ya, got me missing the boonies! We are in San Diego for another week, feeling claustrophobic already.
Stay warm.
Meeting you, Nina and Paul for the first time was a treat. We had been following you even before we started our own full timing and learned so much from you. We think you are the giants of the RV lifestyle blogosphere!
Cheers and see you at Q.
It was great to meet you guys too! So fun, especially talking about some of our old, favorite spots in the Philippines.
Nina
Oh our trip south of the border was a non-event but we paid $35 each for cleaning(which we think is high). There are too many dental offices to choose from 🙂 Crazy place.
The last geoglyph is from a lazy alien UFO. Or perhaps Doug & Dave are in your area? Don’t discount it as harmless. Check the inside with a hand held compass. If the needle points anywhere but north, follow the compass direction to find Peg Leg Smiths lost mine.
and just down the road. a unique place called gold rock ranch.
http://www.goldrockranch.us/
Cheers for the tip! We’re headed that way to explore later this week.
Nina
You guys just keep having way too much fun!! What a great life, isn’t it?
The cold weather you guys are experiencing reminds me of our first extended trip. In 2008 we arrived in Tucson late November to cold, cloudy weather, staying in Catlina State Park. While dumping the tanks prior to set-up, it started snowing! Who would have thunk it?
Brrr….snow while dumping…yikes! Hope it doesn’t get that cold there when we pass thro’ next month.
Nina
We’ll be arriving tomorrow (Tuesday). We’ll try to find you. We are only there two nights before heading to Tucson.
Cool. We’re off to Mexico today, but I’ll send you coordinates this evening so you can pop by for happy hour (if you wish). Lots of space out here. You should have no problems finding an easy open spot 🙂
Nina
My you two are social butterflies. Wish we were in the area. Enjoy and stay warm out there.