THE SONORAN DESERT IS CHANGING…..

   I’ve got to tell you that this morning I went through my ritual of donning my nightshirt and slippers to get a photo of the sunrise.  It was just as the orange was beginning to come over the mountain….I thought I had it perfectly….WRONG!…Oh well…take my word for it..it was pretty…not spectacular , that would take some clouds, but a nice sunrise that I failed to catch….#@*#!!!

   The first thing I did after I got my coffee was start dinner…Well, I threw my Rump Roast into a crock pot to get my Italian Beef started. If you care, which I am sure you don’t, this is great and easy…Just put a 4lb. Rump roast into your crock pot..Mix together in a bowl 1 envelope of Good Seasons Italian Dressing, 1 soup can beef broth, 1 jar of pepperoncini peppers (juice and all)…and dump that on top the roast..Cover and cook 10-12 hours..I usually take out 6-8 peppers to serve on top the sandwiches…My Julia Childs minute is now over…I make no excuses..I love to cook.

Last evening I watched our neighbors who are camping in their van. They set a romantic table for 2. … A bottle of wine, 2 nice wine glasses, and dinner outside with a Hickiwan sunset for a backdrop. I should also say that it was getting pretty chilly outside, but this didn’t stop them…What a neat Valentine’s Day Eve.

   

About 9:45AM, we put on our walking shoes, sunglasses, hats, camera and got the GPS…We headed out into the desert toward the hill with the “little cave” that we had discovered previously. There was a neat Saguaro I spotted and I suggested to Den that he climb up in the cactus and sit in the U-shaped arm so I could take his picture….

He respectfully declined (actually it wasn’t so respectful)…..I even told him I would give him a boost…He offered to give ME a boost…with his shoe!…no sense of adventure, that man! 

…And here we have…The Three Amigos!! I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist these three dudes…

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended up in the far valley, behind the ridge, but stayed more on the Eastern edge than we have before..I was on a quest for more rose chalcedony…I think I am now officially addicted to rock–hounding… all I need is a rock tumbler and I will be in heaven. We did notice even more greenery in the desert this time…

 

(click on photo to enlarge)

If you noticed, my trusted scout was getting further away from me.  Every so often I would say,”Where aaaaare you???” The he would answer that he was keeping  track of me…He is the one carrying the GPS..I should not carry it…I know it wouldn’t help me one bit , I don’t understand it…We spotted these two little lizards at different times..I spotted the first one and later, Den found this one..

They are very small and very fast…I am always nervous they will run right up my leg…and then I would  actually die on the spot…I have no love for reptiles! I wasn’t even a real big fan of the Godzilla movie. Here are some more shots of the beautiful Sonoran Dessert… This tree looked like it had the Saguaro in it’s evil grasp and wouldn’t let go…. We were having a super time wandering around. The weather was warm and there was a great breeze whistling through the mountains.

If you look closely you will see my guide…trying to lose me… Where’s Waldo..or should I say Dennis??

And now for our posed pictures….I had to walk fast to catch up to Dennis so we could take each other’s picture….

 

Dennis decided he wanted to make a walking stick out of a dead Ocotillo cactus, and I watched as he took out his trusty buck knife and tried to remove some of the stickers…This think would make a great fishing pole, but NOT a walking stick..He was making me laugh..Thank God, he finally gave up and put it down..He would have been an embarrassment coming into the park with a 20’ walking stick..

 

We finally got done goofing off in the desert about noon…We had walked about 3 1/2 miles again, according to Tonto.

 

 

 

 

I got us each a big glass of ice tea and we sat outside relaxing in the sunshine. The Border Patrol made a pass behind our camper and then turned down the trail behind us and disappeared.  He reappeared about 1/2 hour later and some people from the camper up from us went a talked to them, pointing toward the desert…I have no idea what had transpired, but I am assuming they had called them to check something out…At any rate,the BP had no one in the back seat and he left right afterward…Never a dull moment down here.

I need to mention that Den and I did find a few rose chalcedony…Here are just a few..

OK, time for my shower, which I look forward to …especially after a walk in the desert..Something is smelling a little “gamey” in here…and I fear it is myself!! We had a great day today….and dinner is smelling heavenly!! Please do not  get bored and try to jump out of our truck just yet…there will be more to come!!!