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1 to 15 February 2023   16 to 28 February 2023



Wednesday, February 1st, 2023.


Gaétan and Éric are helping us to move the shed with Gaétan's trailer.


One of the residents helped us when he walked by.


Down on the ground for now. It will be moved again when we will lay down the patio stones.


In Arizona, you have to tie down your shed to post in the ground because of the high winds they have here at times.


After all the hard work, we had many well-deserved beers.


Once the sun was too low on the horizon, and it got cold at our place, we moved to Gaétan and Michelle's place.


A big thank you to Gaétan and Éric for your help.



Thursday, February 2, 2023.


We made plans to go to Ajo with Jannie and Jan back in 2019, but COVID has changed all those plans.
This time we are going to Ajo to join Jannie and Jan.


A German MH and it has travelled a lot.


After we left the RV Park, we made a quick stop to refuel the MH.
Then it was on to Interstate 8 east and going over the Gila Mountains.


We are going to Gila Bend.


This is one rocky desert.


I am not driving at that speed with the MH.


After one hour and thirty minutes, we arrive at Gila Bend and leave behind the I-8 to take State Route 85 south towards Ajo.
 

We stopped for a good big Mac before we continued.
 

One more Border Patrol Inspection Station.


We saw some pretty strange rock formations along the route.


After a little over two hours of travelling, we arrived in Ajo.


We have this beautiful cactus on our site.


We are very happy to be camping with our friends Jannie and Jan for the next few weeks.


What did we play? Jok-R-ommy.


They really liked the game.



Friday, February 3, 2023.


Number 14 is our site.
   


Why are we in Ajo?
Back in 2019, we made plans to come to Ajo so Jan could take me in the desert with his side-by-side.
Well, you know what happened in 2020, COVID!
So, this year is the year Jan is taking me for rides in the desert with his side-by-side.
This is my first ride in Ajo.


The group we are riding with is composed of three side-by-side and two jeeps.
Our first stop is at an abandoned corral.
   


The scenery is just breathtaking.


A saguaro with a cristate head. It is a deformation that happens on very few saguaros.


The photos do not compare to what I see.


Can you see the two donkeys?


Here they are!


It is so vast.


To go over some passes is pretty steep.


We are just taking a break.


This is free range in this area. We saw a total of 5 bulls.


Our destination was Marble Mountain, but it is only a small hill.


The group is seen from the top of Marble Mountain.


Yep, it is just a hill.


We are all looking for marbles.


These are the marbles I am talking about. How do they form? It is very complicated and it happened a very long time ago.


It is breathtaking at times.


Meanwhile, Michele is getting ready to go with Jannie to a fiddlers concert in town.
 

They enjoyed it.

We are back.


We travelled 80.7 km in 4 hours. I really enjoyed my ride with Jan. Thank you, Jan.


Jan picked up some desert melons in the desert. They are for Jannie. They are not good for humans consumption.
Once they are dry, they make nice decorations.


Every one of us had a good day.



Saturday, February 4, 2023.


Michele and I decided to go revisit the center of the town.
The Plaza of Ajo was built in 1917 by the mice owners.
We are looking at the train station. It is an information center as well.


As I mentioned, this is a mining town. The mine own pretty much the whole town back in the day.
Because it was an open pit mine, you have a lot of tailings. No matter where you are in town, you (almost) will see tailings in the background.


The last train came here in 1985.


The north and south sides of the plaza. It is very pretty here.
 

Across the street from the plaza, you can see this.
 


The Federated Church of Ajo was built in 1926.


In the centre, the Curley school.


And to the right, the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church was built in 1925.


Next, we go to the Three Nations store. It is like a permanent flea market.
   


We had Jannie and Jan over for supper. After a good meal, we played more Jok-R-ummy.


They love this game.



Sunday, February 5, 2023.


We are going on another ride today.


Off we go!


This time we have only one jeep and one other side-by-side with us.


We stumble on this monitoring station in the middle of nowhere. They are looking for illegal aliens, drug runners and human traffickers.
The camera follows our movements. Notice the Skylink antenna?
 

We are in a bombing range right now and we sometimes come across unexploded ordnance like this one. We do not touch it.
 

Our first look at our destination, Tom's Thumb.
 

After a good break, we check out the next section of the trail we will be taking.
We are going to Javelina Ranch.


It is just beautiful.


This is Javelina Ranch.
 

In the building, you can read a little about who lived here at one time.


Ah, the things you see in the desert.
 

WOW ! we travelled 110.2 km in about 5 hours today.


Another great day in the desert.



Monday, February 6, 2023


We are back in the Plaza, but this time, we are with Jannie.
We are doing a walking tour of downtown Ajo.
The start is at the train depot/information center.
 

The Plaza is viewed from the train depot. The depot was built in 1916.


Our next stop is Triangle Park, also known as Memory Park.


The murals looking from the park celebrate the Mexican Town and the Indian Village.
Until the 1970s, they were separated neighbourhoods (read segregation).
   
 

The walking tour explains the different architectural styles found in the town.


The Curley School. It is named after the mine manager Mike Curley. After the renovation in 2007, it was turned into an arts venue.


The architectural design is the Spanish Colonial Revival. Notice the medallions.


And the wise old owl over the doorway.
 

The Catholic and Protestant Churches.
 

Javelinas as decoration in a front yard.


Our next stop is in the Art Alley. This area is more colourful and less historical.
 

This is a colourful alley done by local artists. Here are few of them we liked.
 

Different times in Ajo.
 

   

 

 

Ajo, the heart of the Sonoran Desert.


After the walking tour, we stopped at a local café in the Plaza.
The things you see sometimes! Look at this repair on a car.




We got back home in time for Happy hour.


It is the full moon tonight. Even with the cold, we went out and howled at the moon.
 

It was a good day.



Tuesday, February 7, 2023.


I am going with Jan on his side-by-side. We stayed close to the town to keep within cell phone coverage. We are by ourselves.


Last year, Jan found this spring in the middle of the desert.
 

At one time, this area was the top beef producer in Arizona. That is the reason you see so many corrals with water tanks.
 


We did 69.44 km in about three hours.


At home, I was filling the fresh water tank. I discovered a water leak. After investigating the source, I found it was the hot water tank leaking. I will fix that tomorrow.


We have a potluck at the park tonight.
 

 

I sure hope I will be able to fix the water leak.



Wednesday, February 8, 2023.


I have to take the hot water tank out to find the leak.
 

I finally got the tank out.
 

I found the source of the leak. It is on the tank itself. A small, little hole.
I could probably get someone to weld the hole, but what is the condition of the tank.
Will I fix it and have another leak in two months?
 

I had to make a hole in the floor of the compartment to access the plumbing of the tank. I had to cut the plumbing to remove the tank.


I need a new hot water tank. Ajo does not have many RV Parts Stores.
The NAPA store, next to the RV Park has RV Parts.


We leave the NAPA store twenty minutes later with a hot water tank on order and $815 poorer.
The hot water tank should be here Saturday morning.



Thursday, February 9, 2023.


A few days ago, Jannie and Jan were talking about going to Mexico at Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point).
We are going today. The first thing you need is Mexican car insurance. Your Canadian car insurance does not cover you in Mexico.
We stopped at this insurance store and bought insurance for the day for $44.00 for coverage of $300,000.00.
Why $300,000.00? That is what the Mexican government ultimately value the life of its citizens.


We take our car to go to Puerto Peñasco (P.P.).


At the border, we can see the "Wall" and the Mexican custom.
They search all the vehicles, but not ours! They noticed the Canadian plates.
 

The Mexican town of Sonoyta is next to the border.


We take route 8 south to P.P.


No stop signs here.


Once out of town, the following sign basically tells you if you are from the USA, you can speed if you want. We are not going to arrest you.


The Sonoran desert.
 

Why here, in the middle of nowhere?


After about two hours of driving on a nice road, we enter Puerto Peñasco.


If my conversion is right. It is more than $5 per gallon.


Michele found this place, the Tequila Factory.
 

The Tequila Factory is not a tequila distillery.
It is more of a tasting room.


Fernando is our host.
He is an entertainer. He explained the whole process of making Tequila in a way that made us laugh and learn at the same time.
He had us listening for over 30 minutes. We tasted the subtle difference between different tequilas and how to drink and enjoy them.


The gang.


Fernando, the master!


Some posters explain the process to make Tequila.
Tequila can only be made with Blue agave.


They only harvest the heart of the blue agave.


Next, they cook the agave to concentrate the sugar.


Once cooked, they mash it.


Ferment.


Age the Tequila in barrels.


And bottled.

It was fun.

Our next stop is in the old town of Puerto Peñasco.
It is time for lunch. We picked this restaurant.


We go to the second floor and sit outside.
   

 

We had BIG Margaritas and the Fisherman's platter.
It was delicious.


Thank you, Jannie and Jan for this good meal.
We walked along the main street lined with shops and restaurants. The tourist street is not very long.
Another restaurant with a slide to exit.


The girls each bought a hoody. Jannie negotiated the price down to $22.00 each.


And the craziness starts...


Happy people.
 

The tourist street and the malecón (boardwalk) in the distance.
 

A statue to honour the lost shrimp fishermen.


More photos of the malecón.
   

Our last stop in Puerto Peñasco is at the 3 boys' fish market.


We all bought many kilos of fish and giant shrimp.

But before we go back home, we had to walk on the beach.
 

Construction is booming in Puerto Peñasco now.
 

Going back to Ajo was uneventful. Even going through the American custom was easy. The advantage of having Canadian passports.



Friday, February 10, 2023.


We are doing "The Ajo Scenic Loop" today.
It is a 10.4 mile drive through Ajo and around Camelback mountain.
Ajo has gone artistic after the mine closed. You can see many artsy "things" around town. It is all made by local artists.


A gecko on the wall...


We will go around this mountain.


The large cross was erected in honour of John Campbell Greenway, the first mine superintendent and founder of Ajo. He died in 1926.


A nice organ pipe cactus.


Cholla cactus.


And the ever-present Saguaro.


Before we get back to town, we drive by mountains of tailing from the New Cornelia mine.


It was a nice little informative drive.

We are having some of the shrimp we bought in P.P.


More photos of the grandkids.
Natasha is sick once again.


Gabriel had a hockey tournament. He is the goalie.
   





Saturday, February 11, 2023.


Michele, Jannie and I are in the small village of Why for the village yard sale.
The yard sale was not worth the trip. But we did stop at the only store in Why, the Why Not store.


It is just a place you have to stop to say you have been there. Cute.
   



Why is kind of the last place before the border. You cannot bring guns to Mexico, so you need a place to store them.


And they have nice murals.
 

 

We received our hot water tank just before noon.


New and in the box.


I have to move some plumbing from the old tank to the new tank.


The plumbing in the tank compartment.


Jan is giving me a hand.
   

 

In no time, it is in and secured. Once everything is connected. It works as it should.


Many campers are going to the top of Childs mountain to watch the sunset. We are going.


We are 28 vehicles going to the top of the mountain. The mountain is part of the Cabeze Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.


Of course, a gravel road.


We are at an elevation of about 2,800 feet.


On the next summit, a radar station.


To the west of Child Mountain is a large valley.
 

At the top, you have picnic tables and an observation area. They had a charcoal BBQ going by the time we arrived.
 

Just some photos.
 

Michele with her "Howling at the moon" hoody.
 

Looking west at the town of Ajo. You can see the amount of tailing from the mine.
 

Ocotillo leaves, it is a rare sight.


We are waiting for the sun to go to bed.
   

   

   

 

As it gets closer to the horizon, the sun goes down faster.
   



The gang.


It is so nice. I did not know which to pick, so all of them...
   

   

   



What a day!



Sunday, February 12, 2023.


We are having brunch at the famous Ajo Country Club. One of two or three restaurants around Ajo.
 

We had a good breakfast.
 

It is a golf course too.
Not much green grass here.
 

Michele in front of the Pro Shop.


Tonight is Super Bowl night.
The RV Park supplies the shrimp. The campers bring the side dish. What a feast it was.
 

The chef is cooking the shrimp.
 

The shrimps were very good. We had lots of them.

It is windy and cold today.
We will be watching the game inside. The real football lovers left after the meal. They went home to watch the game.
 

I could not see the TV. I moved to the sofa.
 

They have a pool going for the game. They also had a different kind of pool going too.
 

I won $50 from the big board. Jannie won $50 from the second pool.


The evening winners.


We had a good time.



Monday, February 13, 2023


Today will be a long but exciting day for us.
We are on our way to Yuma, with the car, to move our 5th wheel from the Hidden Shores RV Park to Western Sands RV Park.
We left Ajo at around 10 this morning. Yuma is about two hours away.


We had rain up to halfway to Gila Bend.


But halfway between Gila Bend and Yuma, the rain caught up to us.
 

It had been raining for a while here. The desert is full of water.


A few minutes later, we could see blue skies on the horizon.


The first thing we did in Yuma was had lunch at Burger King. We had some good deals with coupons.


We stopped by our park to pick up the mail. We have received our insurance policy and our plates for the 5th wheel.

This is Patricia and David. We bought their 5th wheel.
They are very nice people. They are a little sad to see their 5th wheel leaving.


We hired a gentleman to move our 5th wheel.
When I contacted him by phone, he asked the right question about the 5th wheel. I have a good feeling about him.
Now, I see how meticulous he is with hooking up the 5th wheel. I am impressed.
 

At our Park, Josh wanted to know where we wanted the 5th wheel.


He is very patient with us. He only charged $180 for the move. Let us say he got a nice tip.
 

Michelle and Gaétan invited us over for supper. So we stied a little longer than expected. Thank you, Michelle and Gaétan.
 

We're back in Ajo by 9 pm.
We cannot wait to go back to Yuma and start moving stuff between the MH and the 5th wheel.



Tuesday to Thursday, February 14 to 16, 2023.


After such a busy week last week, this week will be pretty lame.
We had supper at Jannie and Jan's place. We played cards and the ever-present cocktail hour before supper.
On Thursday, Michele prepared her suitcase for her trip to Comox.

Until next time.

Life is good...



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