We left Motel 6 early, after one of the worse sleep I have ever had, the wind had picked up and my room, being at the end of the building, was resonating from an outside door that was suppose to be locked… but slammed all night non stop. Finally, Mc Gyver put a towel in the door jam to absorb the noise… First we fought the wind… then it pushed us… that was the better part of the ride.

Same exit as the Mitchell Caverns, but a right at the fork took us to “The Hole in the Wall”.

Was a bit windy, nothing major, had the dish up without a hitch… and then Mother Nature started as darkness fell upon us.

The temps dropped, a thick fog was coming in, it started with rain and end up with hail, again no sleep, the furnace was coming on every few minutes, of course the irony is that my bed is at the coldest part of the camper! Another bad night without much sleep, I don’t do very well in the cold sometimes, blood thinners due to 5 past bypasses… themselves due to a daily taste of my great unhealthy Cuisine… Morning finally came and… the word retreat again surfaced in the plans.

There was no sense staying. The skies had cleared up, but the temps stayed low and the wind did not take a single break. On my way to Gila Bend last week, going south on Arizona 95, I had noticed quite a bit of BLM land and many great trails, wish I had come here first, but… that is just not what I had decided… I pack. Noticed? When we travel… it is always “we”… when it is time for any kind of labor… it is “I”… Do you like his new coat?… finally, Pits are hard to fit, big chested… an XXL was perfect… on sale too!

We dropped about 2000 feet in about 15 minutes and the warmth was felt almost immediately… we even stopped for a short walk, took off 2 layers… only two more left. We stopped at the BLM Field office… They are great and are such a source of information, sometimes a free map. Unfortunately the regions are divided in to 16 to 20 squares and each map at $4 a piece can add up pretty quickly, they are free on the Internet, might have to invest in a small printer… I bought one that pertained to Lake Havasu City south all the way to passed a bit Parker which included also parker Dam and more land in that direction. The complete area west of 95 is closed to the public, but the east side is wide open. This office had a Gila Monster, which is fairly rare, for me anyhow… some rattlesnakes… and an office manager full of knowledge. What a great job, truly.

There is something about BLM land one can get attached to while staying for a few days, some stay for a few months. There is a respect toward the land, far neighbors, as in Anza Borrego sometimes we even get to know each other and watch over each other’s “stuff”, specially when away from camp.

Gas is cheap here… camping is free… and Lake Havasu City is about 10 miles from here, I am already thinking if we need anything from Home Depot, Walmart, Lowes… and at the same time it feels like being in the wilderness… not totally remote as Joshua Tree was, but the temp is great…

Tonight will be my better night sleep…

I am finally regrouping here, already received an e mail regarding the town of Oatman, an old Mining Town that is trying to make a come back… and I just learned that Saturday night is a Firework Show… not any show, but from a Firework Convention happening in town where they are going to display the best and latest Fireworks, I was told that it lasts all night with the many vendors trying to compete with each other. Might be time to get a tripod… pictures generally do not make justice, worth a try.

And on another note, “Thank You” for the readers that made me aware of their favorite pictures, at the same time however, I apologize for asking. I realized that there are near 1000 pictures to sort through… and… how could I… forgot that rest of the world has only so much time… I already appreciate the time you spend reading my Blog… hoping that you enjoy it as much as I enjoy sharing this Journey with you all…

Be well…

Ara and Spirit

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 14th, 2007 at 9:44 pm and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.