I DID SEE ONE CAVE TODAY!!

After a sausage muffin breakfast, about 9:15AM, we set our GPS, got the camera and headed off in the direction we assumed this mysterious cave in the hillside would be. The day was perfect for a walk in the desert. The temp was about 60 degrees and it was somewhat overcast, so it wouldn't be too warm. Our blog friends, Al and Kelly, who have been here before, told us to find the knob hill with the lone tree on it, and the cave was in the next hill to the right. After about 1/2 mile we did spot the hill and the lone tree.....

...This one's for you, Al!! We shall plod onward!!
It seems the burros are now present everywhere we go. How is it we missed them on so many previous walks...now they are stalking us!!

...Hi kids!! There were quite a few young ones with this group and I am sure if we got too close they would either have run off or started their soulful braying. They just stood there while I photographed them ...as if posing..then turned around and wandered off.
  We kept heading into the direction of a mountain we thought the cave was located in. This part of the desert we were in was mostly scrub trees and sand and not a lot of cactus. Some of the trees had a parasitic kind of growth hanging from them like the moss you see in Louisiana...It seems to be almost a rusty red color...

This stuff is in many trees, and I have no idea what it is, but it looks as if it is almost "dripping" from the trees.
As we walked along we came upon evidence that someone else had been out here at one time...and probably left this water jug behind...Somehow I don't think they were here legally....

....We were about 2 miles out into the desert when we found this...It made us watch with more caution where we were going and who else was also wandering in the Sonoran Desert!!
Soon, the desert was starting to show us more greenery and more cactus..We went through a pretty area of what they call a "wash", where the water runs through when it rains...Hence the greener trees and more growth in this spot...

Den looks thrilled to have his picture taken, doesn't he? I tried to explain to him that pictures mean lots more when actual people are in them....He just doesn't get it!!
This picture is a close up of the where actual green or bark of the cactus has been either eaten or worn off, leaving the dried bleached out cactus "skeleton"....

Well, according to our GPS, we were now 2 1/2 miles into the Sonoran Desert and the mountain we were headed for seemed to be getting further away instead of closer. We began to think that people were just toying with us...that there really was no cave, and they were secretly watching us from their camper windows, laughing at the Illinois gringos looking for a hole in a mountain that didn't exist. It was at this point Den suggested we head back in the direction of the RV park. We scared up a Desert Jack Rabbit in the process.
 I noticed there were more rocks in this area and picked up a few neat quartz. I put quite a few in my pocket and found my jeans were getting heavy, so I stopped picking up rocks. Then I found a dried cactus skeleton that was bleached white from the desert sun...I carried that back also. I took this photo of a small cholla..It is so bright green..it almost looks like it has fur....

...trust me, this is NOT fur!!
Bare with me on this one...I couldn't resist...This is what I told Den was a "Double Barreled Cactus"...These are actually called Barrel Cactus and there were two... get it??.alright...very lame, I admit. Dennis thought so too....He failed to see the humor...

As we did our trek back to Hickiwan, we discovered yet another telltale sign of a presence of someone on this path before us...maybe months ago, ...then again, maybe days....

....a reminder of who came before us...
On our way back to our campsite I wanted a picture of myself to prove I actually walked the 5 miles round trip today with Den.....

PROOF!! I actually think I walk further..His legs are lots longer than mine!
Well, all in all, it was a fun and rewarding trip. I got a few mementos in my pockets in the form of quartz...(probably adding about 2 pounds to my walk). I had a really neat cactus "skeleton" clutched in my hand, was stalked by wild burros, saw a reminder of people desperate to get into the US, found a couple neat cactus...AND....I did get to see one Cave..This is the one and only Cave I saw on our walk.....

....on our last 1/2 mile back to civilization....We were really tired, but always enjoy a walk in the desert. We got back about 11:30 AM, had some cheese and crackers and big glasses of ice tea.
It stayed overcast most of the day. I took a quick walk (another one?) up to the laundry to see if they had any good books to borrow. When I got there I noticed a sign posted saying that Jan.23rd, next Saturday, there would be an Indian craft/food/pottery/jewelry sale from 10A-3P....I CANNOT WAIT FOR THAT!!!!
Time now to put my uniform on and relax. Den just put in the DVD "Band Of Brothers" that our son, Kelly,loaned us to watch. He said it was awesome!! More tomorrow!!