Peace at the End of the Road

Wednesday, January 29, 2014


Our time at Quartzsite is coming to an end. We spent the last two nights in our favorite spot, after trying two others for a few nights. The end of the road proved to be perfect for us. The first two spots we picked in La Posa South turned out to be on the pathway for the Jeeps and ATV's heading up into the mountains. Lots of dust churning traffic mornings and late afternoons. Sunday we drove back to the Phoenix area two hours east of here. I broke a tooth and found a good holisitc dentist, Dr. Nick Meyer, there who gave me a temporary crown. After laundry, showers, and a night in a very crowded snowbird rv park in Scottsdale, we were happy to get back to Quartzsite to use the last three nights on our pass. At least we found a Trader Joe's so we could jam the fridge full of good stuff again!

 

First campsite 100 feet upwind of the busy and dusty main trail

Second campsite near a busy ATV track

We have never seen this at Walmart before. What do the Chinese factory workers that make these think?

I guess these keep away those nasty Quail infestations.

Driving to the end of the Long Term Visitor Area we found the sign that says no overnighting beyond this point. Previous campers spent a lot of effort lining a “driveway” with rocks and “decorating” with rocks and dead tree limbs. There is a small wash behind us, so we have a few trees for shade and our own stand of saguaro cacti. We can see about a dozen other campers scattered across the flat desert, but no one within shouting distance. It has been very quiet here.

Last campsite in the shade of a towering Paloverde tree.

Birds nest in a Mesquite tree

View toward Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

Paloverdes rarely grow leaves but have green bark and twigs

Fishhook Barrel Cactus

Our three most common cactus: Cholla, Barrel, and Saguaro

Greg has been riding his bike back up into the mountains on the ATV trails. The roads are way too rough for me, so I am just enjoying camp, with some short strolls to enjoy the desert. Note from Greg: The ATV trails through the New Water Range gave me several loops of 15 to 20 miles over desert pavement, alluvial pediment and loose wash channels, and lots of lava and pyroclastic flows, such as welded volcanic ash. I followed one trail that dead ended at an old gold mine where hydrothermal deposits daylighted under the oldest volcanics. Nearby I encountered modern hobby prospectors sieving sand in a wash as they looked for placer gold.

Barrel cacti growing out of welded volcanic ash

Baby Barrel Cacti

Baby Cholla, about 3 inches high

Trail through the knee-high Cholla forest on the back side of Elephant Back Mtn

Nest in a Lava cave completely lined with cactus spines. I never saw the resident.

Abandoned gold mine just inside Kofa Wildlife Refuge

Tomorrow we will replenish our water to prepare for more boondocking and drive a short distance to Kofa Wildlife Refuge to hike into Palm Canyon, that has the only native palm trees in Arizona. Supposedly, we can boondock there before we move on to the Yuma, AZ area. We can see the jagged peaks from here, so we are anxious to explore them!

Sunset over Dome Rock Range