Organ Pipe Nat'l Monument

After Quartzsite, I went south to Yuma and spent the night, then on the next day down 85 to Ajo, a small community I found disappointing. This close to Mexico I had expected some Mexican restaurants, and wanted to get some tortillas, hopefully local ones. Nada, it was all anglo stuff, so I continued on down to the National Monument and campground. In the 80 some miles from Gila Bend on 85 I saw so many Border Patrol vehicles I quickly lost count. They were at least half of the vehicles I passed going the other way. There were two checkpoints in the 80 miles, and at neither was I motioned to stop. Coming back and going away from the border, it was a different story.

The campground was large, spaces for a little over 200 campers, RV's and tents. I took a 5 mile trip on a side road before parking for the afternoon.

The desert is lovely, in a stark way. Looking out at the miles and miles of nothing, no roads, no water, I wondered about the experiences of those Mexicans who choose to come to El Norte via that route, guided and perhaps deceived by the 'coyotes', and what awaits them. It can't be pleasant, and the motivations must be strong indeed.

The campground had only about 8 campers, this included two part volunteers, affable and pleasant to talk with. The night was quiet, the moon almost full. Stars abounded, but it got nippy, down to the upper 30's, and I was grateful for the two down comforters I have. I doubt those out in the desert walking north have those.

This morning I was up and drinking coffee for the sunrise, and was on the road back north before 8am. The first border check was about 25 miles north, before the town of Why. I'm sure there are several backstories to the name. I was the only vehicle being checked; traffic was sparse, I only saw 4 or 5 going south, all Border Patrol.

6 young men awaited at the checkpoint, I stopped and one came around to the driver's side. After exchanging  pleasantries, he looked at the camper. "How many people do you have in there, sir?" For whatever reason, I started laughing. I was joined by two of the agents on the passenger side. I was going to do a witty response, but didn't. I didn't say anything. "Carrying drugs then, sir?" "Alas, no." I said. He nodded. "You have a good day, sir." and waved me on.

They all looked to be in their late 20's to early 30's, and all had a bearing that comes from military service. I could easily see my son Henry in that job. Watchful, but polite. Never turned their backs. I have mixed feelings about our border policy, but nothing but respect for those young men and women who try to carry out our policy.

From Why I went east on 86, through the Native American nation of Tohono O'Odham. A reservation I suppose. I passed through some communities, small, a few houses and huts. They would not have looked out of place in the 1940's central Mexico, and a villager leading a burro with a wood load on it's back would not have looked odd. I was going to stop and take some pictures, but then noticed that the few places that had doors all had iron bars gating them. And passing a school saw a sign that read "No guns, drugs, or gang attire allowed." Thinking about it, I didn't want to take pictures. What I was seeing was not picturesque, it was abject poverty. And despair.

So I continued on to Tucson, and am staying at a place on the east side that seems friendly enough. I'm old enough to know there is poverty in the world, and misfortune. It can happen to any of us in a heartbeat. The people who live in those places on the reservation today have no chance. They are doomed. Some lucky, rare few may escape, at least I hope so.

Not a cheery post, but perhaps the pictures were nice.

Gourmet cooking, um, not so much...

I'm near Yuma, after coming down from Quartzsite. I got here around noon, and was deciding what and where to go. A map showed me that Organ Pipe Cactus Nat'l Monument is a couple hours away, so I decided to stay here today. I found another RV park, not expensive, and again I'm the only truck camper. The others are trailers, permanent or not, 5th wheelers, and the uber-motorhomes. Ah well, they get exposed to a low-rent guy for the night.

So, I got a corned beef brisket at walmart, but didn't want to cook it here. It needs the dutch oven outside, etc, and that would be asking too much for this place. It'd be like putting up a clothesline, or a car on bricks. So, in the fridge was leftovers from last night; ribs done in the dutch oven, beans, and some biscuit dough. I wondered if the biscuits could be done stovetop, and decided sure.

So, here's the result:

Not bad, eh? It'll do the likes of me.

On tomorrow to the cactus place.

Cheers all.

Water issue fixed and heading south

The water leak turned out to be something fairly simple, the drain hose connection was leaking and he simply put a clamp around it. Presto, no more leak.

I saw on the MT Standard, Butte's paper, it was a minus 4 this morning. And the Northern AZ weather is none too warm either. So I'm heading down towards Yuma.

Cheers.

Joshua Tree Redux, into Arizona, and another glitch

First, a few pictures of Joshua Tree Nat'l Monument I took on the second visit, after staying in Indio for a couple days. The RV park was just too much for me....geezers in shorts and black socks walking their yappy little dogs. Yesterday morning I went back up into JT and spent a nice evening in a different campground. Thus far I prefer the State and National Forest campgrounds; they are quieter, more scenic by far, and the people I meet much more interesting.

I took several pictures of the cacti, here are a few:

At the campground two guys from LA who work in the film industry were tent camping nearby, and we had a beer and chatted, until one of them pulled out a joint and asked if I'd like a toke. I declined (because I didn't feel like it just then, ask me another time). Then one asked me what I did before I retired. "Law enforcement" I replied. They looked stricken.....I proceeded to tell them truth.

I was going to stop in Blythe CA, but didn't care for the campgrounds I saw, and proceeded on to Quartzsite, AZ. I'm in a rather bleak (but cheap) RV site that is a very large expanse of gravel and a few trees. But they have internet. Parking, I saw water dripping from beneath the camper. Tomorrow in the afternoon I have someone coming to look at it. Depending on what they find, I'll either get it fixed, or just buy water from now on, not a big deal.

It's windy and cool by local standards, with some chance of rain. I'm going to cook potatoes and leftover turkey I baked in the dutch oven last night. A glance at the lettuce in the fridge will do for vegs tonight.

I had thought about going to the NE corner of AZ, to see things in the Navajo and Hopi area, like 2nd Mesa and Canyon De Chelley, but there is snow forecast in that area, so I may continue on south and east.

More as it develops.

Cheers

LA and Joshua Tree and beyond

Sunset comes to Indio, CA. I'm trapped in a RV park, and am pretty sure that the people coming out of the motorhomes around me are zombies...and no, Emily, I didn't  bring the shotgun. I'll have to rely on my wiles, and there's always the .45.

Yesterday I left my friend Larry's place in Rancho Cocamunga, east of LA. And no, I'm not making that name up. I had spent 5 days at my friend L's place in Westchester, near Loyola Marymount, which I posted about. But alas, technology again defeated me, and the post went on my other blog, the 'memoirs' one...

Yesterday morning, Larry took me up to a camp his church is using for a get-together, quite nice for being so close to LA. After coming back, I headed out for Joshua Tree Monument, intending to stay a couple days. It was an easy two hours east on I10, and north a bit. The scenery going in was interesting, such a contrast from the north and central California coast I'd been in. Stark, dry, other flora.

When I arrived at a campground in the Nat'l monument, I discovered the camper has had another malfunction; the propane alarm, designed to alert me to a leak, was going off. There was a leak near the tank, so I did all the right things, shut the gas off, turned the fridge off, etc and all was safe. But, alas, no cooking. Or fridge. So, only one night, cooking over the handy bbq grill. This morning, with the huge help from my good and patient friend L. (she's either shy, or in the witness protection program, but she does not want to be identified), helped me find a place that does RV repairs, and by 11am I was in Indio and watching the mechanic mutter in spanish and fix my faulty gas hose.

I would have liked to spend more time in Joshua Tree, it was a great place. Last night, a German family came around trick-or-treating, the 5 year old son dressed as a mailbox. Mom was prepared, and had been around earlier handing out postcards and small treats. It just seemed too much like backtracking to make the 60 mile trip back, so I found a RV place with wifi, and am staying for two days.

It is hot here, I mean 90f earlier. I have no shade in my small space, and the low-rent-I'm-from-Montana camper has no AC. But.....this place has pools. Swimming pools. I went to Target and got swim trunks and a pair of shorts and some jesus sandals. I can see here my daughters raising their eyebrows. 'Dad, in a pool??'. Yep. It was great, and thankfully I was alone, so nobody was blinded by my white torso and legs.

So, going to cook some smelt I got in RC, they seemed to survive the hours of no fridge, and have a salad. It was too hot to nap, so I should sleep well tonight. Tomorrow I'll look at the map and plan my next move. Probably a night or two over on the Colorado river, at the AZ border.

I can't say enough about how wonderful and generous L. was; and patient when I get testy.

Cheers for now.

The day in Morro Bay

A relaxing day, the cloudy skies didn't inspire sightseeing, so I showered, did laundry, napped and read for a couple hours. I'm reading Jim Harrison's new book "The Great Leader", and finding it vintage Harrison. I drove into town and got two nice pieces of Opah, and a small charcoal unit. I was tiring of cooking everything stovetop.

The fish market also had a squid salad, made with sesame oil, and mixed with lettuce, it is delicious.

I did take a short walk from the RV place to the beach, and took these pictures of Morro Rock.

If you expand this last picture, surfers are visible.

I'm going to move on tomorrow, perhaps to Pismo Beach or a little further south. I'll be in LA for a week or two, staying with two friends before moving on. I'm finally finding this rhythm, I'm not uncomfortable with simply reading the day away, listening to NPR, or just people watching. We'll see if it lasts.

Big Sur to Moro Bay

I arrived in Moro Bay around noon today, sunny and near 80f when I got here, it's now foggy and 55f. I'm staying in a RV place near the beach that has little to recommend it except it's clean, crowded, and walking distance from the beach. Oh, and pretty good wifi. That's enough for two days.

I stayed yesterday at Limekiln St. Park, a little south of the community of Big Sur. The three places I had stopped in the area of Big Sur were all full, and it was still late morning. This place was not well-marked, and I had to make a sharp braking turn to do down the one lane road. It is located near a high bridge where Highway 1 goes over, and spreads a ways up a canyon with a clear, fast-flowing creek.

But the first picture has to be what I saw a couple miles north, in one of the many pull-outs with views of the coastline.

Yep, it's occupy Big Sur. Forget occupy Wall Street. I talked to the two guys for a bit, the one at the drums is a musician, and had done a gig in Billings. This may be a movement without a clear goal, but damn, it's got legs.

Anyway, on to the campground and it's surroundings.

The view east:

The west:

My campsite:

And the sunset, that drew seemingly every camper in the park.

I had entertaining neighbors on each side last night, to my west were a young couple from San Luis Obispo, the young man a salesman for a garden company, but obviously destined for other things. The young woman a recent graduate from Cal Poly, was "figuring out things, but it's mostly pro bono now." I assured her she'd figure out the angles. The family on the other side was young also (everybody is young, know what I mean?) with three cute kids under 10. Over a bottle of vin ordinaire we talked literature, Hemingway and others.

This morning I was up at my usual 6am, and was driving out to discover the gate locks from 8pm to 8am. I listened to NPR for a bit until a sleepy looking young man let me out. On the way south, past San Simione I saw some nice views, including some elephant seals.

As I was cruising along, I saw a beach with what looked like huge sandbags all over. Elephant Seals. Big suckers.

While posting this, the fog has gotten thicker, visibility is around 100 meters. I'm going to cook a nice piece of Cabezon I got at a harbor fish market. A salad, and the remains of the loaf of bread from Pt. Reyes will be fine.

I'll be here two days, hopefully the fog will lift.

Cheers, people.