LAUNDRY, FUGITIVES, AND SCARES...OH MY!

   We got up a little early this morning so I could run to the laundry and beat any rush that may come later....I was the first one there and at 7:50AM and was done by 9:30AM....very handy, that laundry. We took our walk around the park about 6 times.. Gotta get at least 2 miles in. Here is a view of our camper ...

..Den had just decided to shed his flannel shirt and had dropped it at the camper..It got down to 35 degrees last night and was up to 73 by noon..On our walkabout we noticed they were attempting to install a little pond and waterfall..Dennis was checking out the installation...

This was not here when we arrived on Dec. 28th....Notice the baby palm trees around it...I'll bet they have to put water in this thing 3 times a day, as dry as it is here!!
We met a couple people when we were walking and the lady said "Did you see all the burros yesterday?"..WHAT?????? Are you kidding me, toying with me? I answered no that we hadn't and asked where she saw them. She said that there were about 30 of them yesterday morning on this side of the ridge...The ridge being the same one that we walked AROUND to the OTHER side of ...therefore totally missing the burros "herd"..(if indeed they were actually there!)...And you know that if I ever DO see them, they will become movie stars on my blog!! I am still not convinced they aren't "trucked in" after dark.
 We took our walk up by the Casino/gas station/convenience store and the casino was just opening up at 10AM...very unlike Las Vegas!! They have a huge generator out in back for their electricity and the water here (and at the RV park) is all done by reverse osmosis...I have NO idea what that means, but we have good hot water and plenty of water pressure in our camper... On our way back down the little road to the RV park I decided I needed a photo of the entrance...

  After lunch we went into the grocery store, with a side stop at Dollar General..Yep, they do have one of those...AND....a Family Dollar....not to mention a Radio Shack and Pizza Hut....really not as remote as it once was..If you recall, I did a blog on our drive around the Ajo Loop....There was a sign at the beginning of the drive into the mountain that I neglected to get a picture of, so I had Den stop on the way to town so I could take this very sobering shot.....

....Now this certainly brings reality right at ya!! We saw it when we entered, but it doesn't deter people from driving the 10 mile loop.  You just have to be smart and VERY wary!! We never saw anything suspicious, except maybe us, in our sneakers and ball caps...
 We have a Border Patrol Headquarters about 4 miles from our RV park..and we noticed a lot of low flying helicopter action  late in the morning.  When we got into Ajo, there was a large helicopter making low circles over the North end of town..right over our grocery store......

...As I got out of the truck to take this photo, a Border Patrol vehicle pulled up in front of the grocery store and one of the Border Police got out and went in our store...We followed him in and he was all business...looking around...a little unnerving, being there was a helicopter circling us, too.  I was waiting for a chase scenario through the IGA, (and wishing I had brought my camera inside...well, maybe not). Shortly after he came in he left the store and we were all wondering what the heck was going on...We never did find out, but I think I will pick up a copy of the Ajo Copper News(their local paper) next week and see if there is any news about it..Certainly made shopping a little more exciting...
 I mentioned that a lot of the homes here have orange trees growing in their yards, so I shot this out the truck window ....

..I'm getting pretty good at taking pictures out the window "on the fly"....very covert, I must say...I would make a good private detective...very sneaky.
We finished our shopping and headed back to the campground...It is so serene around here..I never get tired of the views....This is our road back to Hickiwan, Rt 85 headed South.

If  you stay on this road for 12 miles or so past our park, you are at Organ Pipe National Monument..and if you stay on it for about another 25 miles you are at the town of Lukeville on the US side of the Mexican Border. We have been to Organ Pipe National Monument about 6 years ago and don't need to go again..and we WILL NOT be going into Mexico this trip.
 I told you about hanging my Hummingbird Feeder and feeding the Woodpeckers...Well...SURPRISE,SURPRISE, SURPRISE, Mr. Woodpecker....Look who just flew into town....!!!!

AHA!! I hope this little guy has a mean streak..He will have to be very assertive to fight his way through the nasty peckerwoods!!! It doesn't take much to make me happy, obviously.
 When I was doing laundry I noticed on the bulletin board that there is a craft/flea market at the Why recreation center this Saturday morning....We will definitely be going, if nothing more than to find out where the heck the rec building is...It can't be hard to find...The town of Why is about 1 block long...I will blog more tomorrow....I am hoping for yet another beautiful sunset tonight....more later....