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1 to 15 February 2017 16 to 28 February 2017

Thursday February 16, 2017

We are in no rush to leave early (maybe the dogs!) because we only have 175 km to travel today. We are going to Ajo.
I really have to wash the windshield before we leave.

We hit the road by 10 am.
Those are "speed cushions" to slow people down!

On our way to the Interstate.

We had to make a quick stop for gas before we left Phoenix. We are now on the I-10 east to the US-85 south.
Once near Gila Bend, we saw this big brown hill! It is a dump!

Gila Bend got its name from the sharp bend in the Gila river!!!
Gila Bend also has a few "things" out of the ordinary, like this motel looking like a spaceship!

The US-85 is the main road from Phoenix or Tucson to get to Mexico. A Border Patrol station...

Somme pretty neat rock formations...

Here we are in Ajo.

Our home for the next week.

For only $125 for a week, we can't complain.
On our way to the information center, we had to stop for a quick car wash.

Ajo is an old mining town, the mine closed in the 80's. 35 years later, Ajo is making a comeback as an artsy town.

Our stop at the information center was just perfect, the young man giving us the info was just great, he was passionate about his town. We realize that we will have more to do here then expected.

We are having chicken wings for diner. My beach body...

Friday February 17, 2017

The main reason we are in Ajo is to visit the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument nearby.
On our way to the Monument, we pass this border patrol control station.
We will see many of these control station/checkpoint because we are so close to the Mexican border.

Now what is the difference between a National Monument and a National Park?
The major difference is in the manner in which they are created. A National Park is established through an Act of Congress and the land so designated may originate from a variety of ownership. A National Monument is established via Presidential Proclamation. This land is to be taken from existing public (federal) ownership.

Once we are in the monument, we still have to drive 15 miles to get to the visitor center.
On our trip, we see all kinds of cactus, some are weird looking!

At the visitor center, we were giving a lot of information on what to do and see at the Monument.
We started with a short movie explaining what is the purpose of the Monument, what is a desert.
Next was a quick look at the exhibits and display in the visitor center.

I always like when they have a scale model of some sort, this on is of the National Monument.
The arrows pointing left are pointing to the visitor center and the arrow pointing down is showing where the border is with Mexico. Ajo is way pass the top of the display.

From all the info we got, we took the suggestion of driving the North Puerto Blanco Drive to get a good view of the Monument.
On the left is an organ pipe cactus and on the right is an ocotillo in full leaves.

These two saguaro cactus have used this ocotillo for protection and shade in their early years of growing.

We made a quick stop to hike this short trail, the Red Tanks Tinaja.

This hike gives us a chance to see the flora up close and personal. I am standing next to a Coville's Barrel Cactus.

An old mine shaft secured to prevent accidents and also to protect a claim.

A big organ pipe cactus.

Pretty Michele on the trail.

A baby Coville's cactus and on the right, a fishhook barrel cactus.

More cactus.

A forest of cactus?

The Sonora desert is a "green" desert.
In the foreground, you can see the Diablo Mountains and in the background, Mount Ajo. Monday we will be doing the Ajo Mountain Drive tour with the Monument rangers.

With the North Puerto Blanco Drive done, we head south to drive the South Puerto Blanco Drive. Another weird looking Saguaro cactus!

On this drive you can see a lot more organ pipe cactus.

The wind is blowing pretty strong today. You can see the dust and sand being blown around by the wind on the Mexican side.
On the right you can see the border between Mexico and the United States. It is not a wall, but a short fence.

A dead organ pipe cactus. Organ pipe cactus can live up to 150 years.

Me, taking a photo of Michele, who is taking a photo of me taking a photo of her!

It may look like they only have weird looking cactus in the Monument, but it is just that we are taking mostly these one.

A saguaro skeleton still standing up. Saguaro cactus can live up to 200 years old.

Here is another part of the fence between the two countries. It is made out of railroad tracks. It is mostly there to stop vehicles, not people...

Just like human being, cactus do suffer from malformations...

What a lucky find, a Palo verde tree with its roots system exposed, pretty neat isn't it!

Our destination is the Quitobaquito Spring.
Again, the fence between the two countries.

The ranger giving the tour was very good. He explained the importance of the spring and how it has changed over the years because of human activities.

The spring with its small pond is the only place where you can find the Quitobaquito Pupfish.

The ranger talked about the native plants and plants introduced by man over the years.

We went to the place where the spring actually comes out of the ground.

On our way back, we had to stop at the checkpoint, but nobody was there, weird!

As we get closer to Ajo, you can see the slag and overburden from the open pit mine in Ajo.
We will visit the mine next week.

I like this old truck.

We had a very good days at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Saturday February 18, 2017

We are taking a slow day today.
What do I do at 10:45 in the morning?

A well deserved nap.

It is also a rainy day. Between two rain showers, we headed north to look for some geocaches.
This is some weird looking, small, mountains. They were formed by volcanic activities a long time ago. It almost looks likes a moon landscape.

Michele going back to the car after finding a cache.

We saw this "bottle tree" on the side of the road, but we have no idea why it is there!

Open range, as in shooting range?!

This railroad has not been used in a long time.

Michele signing the logbook. this is where the cache was located.

We found 5 caches today, but the rain made us stop!

Sunday February 19, 2017

We had rain all night long. Water everywhere!

While Michele was having a sleep-in morning, I went out to get a cache located a long way from home. Again, the volcanic mountains

I found the cache easily.

On my way back, I notice a cross on the side of the road. I turned around and found this pet cemetery.

Really! A sign to let you know that you are on a dirt road!!!

As you can see, the Sonora desert is a green desert. Winter brings cooler temperature and light rain. In the spring, everything starts to turn green. Summer is divided in two, first, the dry summer followed by the wet summer with its monsoons, temperature often stay in the 120°F for weeks on end. Fall see the desert going back to a hibernation like state. With the exceptional amount of rain we got this winter, the desert is very green at this time.

Monday February 20, 2015

We have some fog over the mountains this morning. It is actually pretty.

Once again, we drive through Why.

We are back in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to do the "Ajo Mountain Drive Guided Tour" with the rangers in a van.

Michele having some fun with her shadow.

We hopped on the van with 9 others people and left the visitor center by 9 am.
The Ajo Mountain Drive is a 34 km long loop going around the Ajo mountain!
There are 18 stops that you can make along the drive, but with the rangers, we will be doing only four stops.

The ocotillos are blooming.

The sceneries are just spectacular.

This organ pipe cactus is probably the most photographed cactus in the Monument.

It even has a malformation!

Ranger Bill explained the desert lives of plants and animals.

We are near a wash. A wash is probably the place where you can see the most living things in a desert.

Here I am with my little book identifying cactus.

We are in the Arch Canyon, but we will not have the time to hike the trail.

There are two arches, one on top of the other. The top one is very small.

A view of the valley.

It is so beautiful that it almost looks un-real!

A small gecko warming up in the sun.

We got back to the visitor center just before lunch.
We really enjoyed our tour with the rangers.

Before we left, we hiked the little trail behind the visitor center.
A small pond with some "Quitobaquito Pupfish".

A barrel cactus.

The skeleton of a saguaro.

This one looks mean, it is a Ford Barrel Cactus.

An ocotillo's skeleton.

We had a good day at the Monument. Of course, we have to go through the checkpoint again on the way home.

Tuesday February 21, 2017

I add a little gasoline before our next drive...

We are doing the "Ajo Scenic Loop". It starts downtown Ajo.

The first part of the loop is in town.
Why not have a gecko on your wall? Look at the post holding the roof over the porch?

This drive is only 17 km long and as usual, on gravel...

Can you see the cross?

It was put up the mountain in 1926 in honor of the first superintendent and founder of Ajo when he passed.

Of course, we are also doing some geocaching. One cache is located in these two weird looking trees.

It might be a little difficult to see, but a saguaro is growing next to a tree. It looks scary!

The Ajo Scenic Loop was kind of ordinary.
Next stop is at the Ajo mine overlook.
The name of the mine is "New Cornelia Mine". It is an open pit mine.
What they mined for was copper.

Michele noticed the warning about snakes...

The mine was in "modern" operation from 1916 to 1983.
Each "bench" in the pit is 40 feet deep. The pit varies between 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 miles across.

The total depth is 1100 feet and the water rises about 90 to 100 feet from the bottom.
The little shelter at the bottom measures about 90 by 45 feet.

Every day, between 10 am and 2 pm, Bon J Hightower and his wife are at the little museum/gift shop at the mine overlook. Bob worked at the mine all his life. He is very knowledgeable about the mine and the town of Ajo. He was very good and so interesting to listen to.

Here is a view of the mine and town of Ajo from space.
Number 1 is the open pit mine, a mile and half across.
Number 2 is the overburden crated during the mining process.
Number 3 is the slag left over from the melting of the ore. From the lower left corner to the upper right corner, it is 3 kilometer long.

Another good day.

Wednesday February 22, 2017

One of our friends from Cold Lake, Alberta, has been following our blog since it started. Somehow he found an old photo of our second MH when it was for sale.

I have to tell you, this photo sure brought a lot of very good memories.

It was a stay at home kind of day.
We are doing some of the preparation to turn the MH in "travel mode" for tomorrow.
For our last night in Ajo, we have a nice sunset.

We really enjoyed our stay in Ajo. If we have the chance to come back, we will.

Thursday February 23, 2017

Moving day!
We leave Ajo behind us to go to Benson.
This was our site at Belley Acres RV Park in Ajo.

We chose to take the back roads to go to Benson.
The road is nice and we can drive 55 mph without bothering other drivers.

You can see the Kitt Peak observatory on top of the mountain at an altitude of 2000 meters.

As we got closer to Tucson, we had to go through another checkpoint, this one even had a dog working.

In Tucson, we had to get back on the interstate 10 towards El Paso.
It was very easy to go through Tucson.

A little taught for my Mom, Rita, who passed away a few years back. I think of you often Mom.

We have to go up a few passes and deep valley's during our travel.

Benson, here we come!

Hummm! A railroad close to the RV Park!!!

We have a little problem with the MH. The heater blower motor is slowly dying and it is making all kinds of noises. Even with the music full blast, we can still hear it. Bad luck, no Ford dealer in Benson! We will have to wait until we get to Las Cruces, NM.

Friday February 24, 2017

Our RV Park is part of a motel, nothing special here. The price is good with the Passport American club membership, only $25 per night.

Our site. In front of the MH, on the other side of the road, the railroad where a train passes every 30 to 60 minutes...

A view to the left and the right.

At the information center, we got a lot of information about the area.
Next, we started geocaching.
Here is a cache hidden in a fake bubble gum.

Another cache told us we would be watched...

Pretty neat cache!

On our way back home, we saw this very short tow truck.

We found 7 caches in Benson so far.

Saturday February 25, 2017

When we were at the information center, they told us about Gammons Gulch. It is a museum/movies set for cowboy movies.
This morning we are going to Gammons Gulch.
You may think the south-west is bland, but if you take the time to really look, you will find small treasures. Like this homemade jeep.

Everything is so big in the south-west.

Here we are at Gammons Gulch.

We are the only one for this morning's tour.
Our guide and owner of this place is Jay Gammons.
Jay rents this place to movies producers. Sometimes they want a certain building and Jay does not have it. Jay works out a deal with the producer and reduce the rent, but they built the building they want on his premises.
Like this saloon. It was built by a movie crew and left here after the movie was done.

Over the next few years, Jay had to find furniture for the saloon.
Two other visitors came and joined the tour.

Jay showing us the movies he was in as an extra.

Jay also plays the banjo and the piano.
To see Jay play the piano, click here.

Some of the building are just facades while other are real building.
We could not go in the Town Hall because a skunk had done his business inside...

A store.

The barber shop.
If you want to know more about barber pole, click here.

This church can be used as a school simply by removing the cross at the top.

This well can be displaced and put anywhere in the "village" for the movie being filmed at the time.

As my brother would say, some car wrecks.

They even had an old mine on site.

A view of the valley with the "village" in the forefront.

The tour took longer because Jay is quite a talker, but so interesting. For only $8 per person and a tour of 2 hours, great.

After we were done with the tour, we took time to look for geocaches near Gammons Gulch.

On our way in to Gammons Gulch, we saw this sign. Hummm!

As we were looking for a cache near a driveway, a woman near the entrance told us the cache was hard to find. We had seen one like this one before, so we found it quickly. The woman then invited us to visit the rescue/sanctuary for donkey and it is free.
Why not.
Doug and Linda are volunteer at the rescue/sanctuary during the winter.
They have a passion about donkeys. They shared their love and knowledge of donkeys. They told us about the different personality of each donkey.

More donkeys coming our way.

Some donkey have like a cross on their back. To know more about the legend of this cross, click here.

This tour was not planed, but that is the nice thing about our lifestyle, we can change our mind on a dime.
An hour later, we are back on the road going home.

An old truck.

A mailbox on an arrow point and the back of the arrow behind.

On our way back, we did look for caches!

That is a good idea for a cache.

We had a very good day and we found 9 caches.

Sunday February 26, 2017

After the visit at Gammons Gulch yesterday, we were supposed to have gone to the ghost town of Fairbank, but the visit at the rescue/sanctuary changed our plans.
So, today we are going to Fairbank.

Some snow on the highest mountains.

Here we are!

The first school of Fairbank was built in 1884, but the wooden building burnt down in 1920. The new school structure was made of pressed gypsum blocks. The floor is original, but the furniture is from other schools from around the county.

The general store and the small house. They are not open to the public right now.

The outhouse for the school kids.

There was not much to see in the ghost town of Fairbank. With the visit finished, we decided to hike the "Loop Trail". Our first stop on the trail was at the cemetery.

Because most of the crosses are made of wood, we can no longer see the epitaph on them.

What a weird looking tree.

The back wall of a stamping mill.

The San Pedro river.

Some nice scenery along the trail.

The hikers.

My official photographer.

We also looked for some caches on our way back home.

Here we are in Benson!

Tomorrow morning we will be leaving Benson for Las Cruces, New-Mexico.

Monday February 27, 2015

We left Benson by 9 am.

We saw many of these billboard on our way to Benson and we keep seeing them.

I guess we will have to stop and check it out.
We know it is tacky, touristy, but hey, we have to stop!

It is a souvenir shop in the middle of nowhere and all about southwest souvenir. The prices are not too bad for a place like this one.
I am sure you always wanted a toilet brush with a rifle handle and a shot gun shell to hold it!

We finally break down and paid the $1 entry fee to see the "The Thing" !
The first building displays many artifact from source unknown and not verifiable!

We finally made it to "The Thing?".

I guess you will have to pay the $1 to see "The Thing" with your own eyes!

They sure have a large parking lot, but not many tourists.

After such a sight, we get back on the road a little shaken by what we had seen!!!

Every 30 to 40 miles you can see some kind of tourist trap.

The I-10 is really nice and not as much traffic as anticipated.

We do have a high wind warning for today.
Even the possibility of a sand storm.

New Mexico, here we come!

Hummm! Really!

Lucky for us that the high wind is coming from the west, on our tail.
This will help with the gas millage...

I do not know how many times we have crossed this Continental Divide in our lifetime, but many times for sure.

Las Cruces is in our sight.
Notice the road sign, one day we will have to go there just to say we have been there.

One big Roadrunner by the information center.

We are almost there. Such a nice scenery.

When we got to our RV Park, we parked the MH and left with the car to go to the Ford dealer.

We booked an appointment to get the heater motor changed and have a look at the front suspension's noise.
The service manager and the mechanic want to see the MH to make sure I know what I am talking about when I say the heater motor is bad! I can see in their eyes that they think "he is a pencil pusher and he does not know what he is talking about, we know more than he does!"
So, we do come back with the MH and lo and behold, they acknowledge that it is the heater motor that is bad!!!
I let it slip that we were aircraft mechanics and we do know a little bit about mechanical thing!
Everything should be covered under the extended warranty we bought for the MH.
We should have news tomorrow.

Back at the RV Park, we settle in slowly.

Tuesday February 28, 2017

The weather forecast is for very high winds starting at 10 am this morning until late tonight.
Well, at 10 am, the wind sure started to blow. Winds in the 55 mph range with dust and sand in the air.
The visibility is down.

We even had to close the driver side slide because of the noise the slide awning was making.
Check out the sliding tracks of a chair coming from our neighbor to our MH.
The chair did not touch the MH, but kept sliding past.

The cloud you see is actually the dust kicked up by the wind.

We had a quiet day at home today.

Until next time.

Life is good...