A REMINDER OF WHERE WE ARE…

    Yesterday evening I could see a few clouds settling in just over the West mountains and I was hopeful for a red sunset..I kept watching the sun as it took it’s slow dip, just starting to touch the horizon and I could see that I was in luck tonight. Now, as you probably know, I had my “uniform” on, and the campground was near to full, but that didn’t stop me. I grabbed my drink, (which is always in a thermo Disneyworld Xmas mug,) jumped on my bicycle and rode through the many RV’s out to the casino parking lot..I must say, I didn’t spill one drop…and….I was rewarded for my effort!!!
 

I couldn’t believe my good fortune!..There was no one out there but me…The casino had a few cars at it, but nobody was outside…The sun was just setting and there wasn’t a sound….

The casino light was on , but I’m sure anyone in there was too busy playing the machines to notice a strange old lady in her jammies, on her bike, camera around her neck and Xmas Mickey Mouse mug in her hand…and if they did…they HAD to think they were hallucinating…


This morning there was no spectacular sunrise, but after the great sunset I am sure not complaining.  I had a cup of coffee and began the “camper cleaning” job.  We have our windows open everyday, and the dust blows in one window and out the other…I was done by 9:15  (it doesn’t take long to clean 260 square feet).  I wanted to take our walk out into the desert today. It was partly cloudy and a perfect morning for it. We headed out, traveling Southeast toward the mountain area the burros sometimes frequent.  I was being a lot more cognizant of watching for snakes now…

The picture on the right has 2 rose chalcedony in it, and that is how I found them..they are just lying on the ground..you have to be able to spot them..We were beginning to walk higher up on the slope of the mountain, when Dennis spotted something up higher, looking like a package…

He started toward it and I got a little spooked as to what it may be.  If it were drugs, I wanted no part of it…But Dennis was on a mission, so I followed blindly, as I usually do. We got closer and discovered it was a backpack like the drug “mules” use when they try to smuggle drugs..(we learned this from Border Wars)..Upon closer examination, we saw clothing, shoes, underwear, prescription drugs, a toothbrush and empty soup can….

                         

(click on any photo to enlarge…)

Well, this was a reminder that there were other things in the desert to be wary of besides the snakes…We didn’t touch anything, but made note of where we found it.  We should tell Ray about it when we get back…I am sure there is a sad story to go with this photo .
We kept wandering around that mountainside…It was so peaceful ..The cactus wrens were singing and the breeze was just a whisper…


That would be my scout waaaaaay up ahead of me…He always ends up in front of me…I am busy taking a trillion photos of anything I find interesting..If you look closely at the Saguaro on the left side of that last photo on the right ,you will notice a nest high in the arms of it…Of course I had to get a few more photos…
 
OK, now what kind of bird would make a nest THAT big?? Should I be looking UP for danger as well as down?? I have no idea what made the nest, but it was no Cactus Wren!! I hollered at my wayward scout, Tonto.  He was just ahead of me and he didn’t have a clue what kind of bird would build this kind of “cactus condo”…Holler out to anyone who does have a clue..
There are a lot of great rocky spots here with some pretty creepy looking little caves and crevices'..

I usually give these spots a wide berth when wandering around them…Just how big ARE the lizards out here??? I just cannot seem to walk by a Barrel Cactus without snapping a picture…

…and this Organ Pipe was huge!!!!
Well, we had about enough excitement for one day, so we headed back to our camper..We got back about 10:45AM and had another cup of java outside in the sunshine…We were expecting mail, so Den rode his bike up to the office to see if it was in….Also, we wanted Ray to know what we had found in the desert…

Den’s knees almost seem to hit his chin when he rides his bike…maybe because the bike was originally our daughter’s and she gave it to him to take with us…
Ya just gotta love a man on a dirt bike..well, I do…! Den came back…..no mail and no Ray.. We will talk to Ray later about our find..Ray and Marcia must have gone away for the day….

So…that was our day….Like I said, sometimes we need a reminder of the huge problem the Border Patrol faces down here in Southern Arizona.  We sit up there in Northern Illinois and have no idea what is happening here, and what effect it has on everyone…
So now, it is time to get dinner under control…Actually it already is…Tonight is boneless pork chops, grilled by my Grillmaster..already in the fridge all dosed up with yellow mustard and my famous rub…With them will be left over spaghetti and a salad…Looks like I better do a few more laps around the park before I indulge in this dinner!! Thanks for reading…I hope you enjoy it 1/100th as much as I enjoy blogging it!! Get ready…tomorrow…the big  Legion Chili Cook Off!!!! Pictures will be included, rest assured!!