"OH WHAT A NIGHT!"

  First of all I want to say Happy New Year to all. We celebrated New Year's Eve at the group campfire right across from our camper. We headed over, (drinks in hand), about 5:30PM..just before the sun set and the moon rose.  I must say EVERYONE had drinks,bottles, coolers, and even shot glasses. There were about 10 people there and more arriving. We pulled up a bale of hay and sat down....

As it got darker more and more campers arrived and our host, rightly named Hickiwan Ray, was playing tapes of country music mixed in with a splash 50's music.. Here are a few more photos...Our camper is right behind the flag way on the right side of the photo...that's how close I was to MY cocktails...

I was having a Brandy Manhattan in celebration of 2010...(my excuse for the night)..and I found that the first went down pretty good by the fire, so I ran to fix another. When I came out of the camper the moon was just coming up over the mountains..The Blue Moon, the second full moon in the month..so I had to try my hand at capturing the moment...as usual, you really had to be there...something magical to see......

I mentioned Hickiwan Ray...he is quite a character. He runs this RV park and he is crazier than a loon. We laughed so hard...and he knows everyone. They made us feel a part of the big RV family..Here is Ray on the right, talking to "I don't know his name"...could be because I was becoming over served......

....and the campfire was getting bigger.....

...and hot dogs were provided for roasting....

..Den and I didn't roast a hot dog because we had picked up some fried chicken to have for dinner...I definitely should have had some food at the campfire, but more about that in a minute. After the hot dog cooks were done, another big log was put on the fire.....

....more like another "tree" was thrown on the fire!! By now I was feeling brave and thought I needed a picture of me with Hickiwan Ray.....

....maybe it was the glass of wine I had after the Manhattans.....You may notice I am in jacket and gloves and Hickiwan Ray was now in his tanktop....and the temperature was about 40 degrees....a mixture of pure adrenaline and alchohol, I'm sure....
And here is proof I was totally "gone" by 9PM......notice my eyes....how embarrassing....(but fun)...

...we left immediately after this photo was taken and I went immediately to bed without dinner...not a punishment, just a necessity..Dennis chowed down on the chicken, mashed taters and cole slaw while I snored.
I woke up this morning with a bit of a headache and wasn't so sure I was up to fixing the great breakfast I had promised. I hydrated with ice water and sat in the recliner for about 1/2 hour before trying coffee. Actually, the coffee tasted great and I finally realized I would live, so I fixed us a late breakfast about 9:30AM....I made potatoes and churizo sausage with cheese, eggs and English Muffin toast...I thought it was restaurant quality, so I took a picture.....

...OK, so maybe it wasn't , but I was amazed I could actually eat ANYTHING, let alone this stuff!!
  About 11:30, I felt I needed to sweat some, so we took our walk. The sun was out (as usual) and the temp was about 65. We headed off into the desert again, this time in a different direction..and this time we didn't have the GPS, but Den said he wouldn't get me lost..not that he wouldn't like to, I'm sure...Here are some of the photos I took..I hope you aren't going to get sick of desert photos..and if you are ....TOUGH! I love it.....

...no, the W doesn't stand for "wino"...Actually I think I looked fairly good, all things considered. And here is the love of my life, who ate dinner alone and cleaned up the kitchen last night..role reversal at it's finest.....

Very cool looking cactus around here..I need to get a book on them so I know what I am seeing.....or what is sticking me......

...and here is the view of our RV park , way off in the distance on the left, from where we were.....

 ...I have to tell ya that they say there are wild burros around here, but we have yet to see them!!.We definitely have heard them in the middle of the night. I call them ghost burros..but those "ghosts" sure leave very real piles of dung all over the desert..I wonder where they hide during the day??? I keep hoping we will stumble across one or two on our walks...I don't know who would run first, the burro or me...
 So now it is about 2PM here and I think a nap would be a good idea, but it is too pretty out to be inside...hmmm, I have a reclining lounge chair outside....we shall see....
I have to say that we had a great time last night at the campfire. We met so many nice people..a lot were full timer RV'ers, too. And Hickiwan Ray yet remains to be seen today...I wonder if he felt as lousy as I did....
  There is so much to see and do around here...We have to get our permit next week to go the Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge....and then we can really get into the desert...CAN'T WAIT!! I will try and get a history lesson about Ajo and the Tohono O'Odom Indian Nation so I can share it with you .....Again..a Happy New Year!!!!! much more to come!!!