Crater Range and Ajo

I must apologize for telling everyone that there was lava rock on the road near Organ Pipe. My mistake! What I was remembering was Crater Range a little north of Ajo. My pictures aren't that good, because it was the wrong time of day. Maybe this picture will give the feeling of craters on the moon?

Next to flowers, I think dead trees are a photographer's favorite.

Old habits die hard. I found a fresh survey marker and had to take a picture.

The Ajo Heights RV Park was very clean and well-run. This a garden/horseshoe area with lots of trees and cactus. The birds were singing, but I didn't get any pictures, just the two unoccupied birdhouses and a rustic wagon.

The wind was blowing one day, so I toured downtown and took some pictures of Immaculate Conception Church. I couldn't resist the architecture and the bright blue sky.

Blogus Interruptus

Sometimes Blogger gets cranky! On President's Day we continued on to Felicity, CA, just across the highway from Pilot's Knob that I've hiked twice. Felicity's claim to fame is being the center of the Universe. It's a beautiful work in progress of an etched in marble History of Mankind. This me with my foot on the mark.

This the building from the outside. I actually have a certificate showing that I was there.

Here's my friend Bernie. She asked the photographer to do a close-up. We found one of the etchers at work, and he shared some insight about his job. For instance, he has a second job as cook in a restaurant for the necessities of life.

I watched this church being built over the years. It sits on a man-made hill with a tremendous view. Supposedly non-denominational, but it has a Catholic flavor and a graveyard that says "consecrated" ground on a nearby sign. The church was dedicated by a priest and bishop.

This stair portion has something to do with the stairs going up to the Eiffel Tower. I think this too is a work in progress.

The next day I took Bernie to Martinez Lake because she had never been and I'm a sucker for acting as a tour guide. Here's one or some of my flower pix from there.

On my last 4-wheeling trip, our last stop was Baker's Tanks. Norma and Bernie posed to add some significance to an otherwise uneventful trip.

Next stop Organ Pipe National Monument. Right now, I'm off to a photography club meeting.

Blog Police

Well, it's a good thing there is no such thing, I think! I had so much fun last month that I just didn't have time to post. Fortunately, I downloaded the pix in a timely manner. Here are a few to re-cap my adventures, mostly done on four wheeling trips. Here's a shot of my friends Quinten and Norma at the Betty Lee turquoise mine.

This the group at lunch time. Then we hiked up the arroyo to another abandoned mine.

I always wanted to go to a Renaissance Faire and they just happened to have one at the Wetlands Park in downtown Yuma. These are my friends Doreen, June and Curtis. I guess I don't need pictures of what's going on around us. Just look in the reflections on their sunglasses.

I just loved the clothes and butterfly whatevers.

We had a surprise birthday party for our friend Bud who celebrated his 91st birthday on February 1.

That's his son from Deming, NM. Bud's getting ready to give Barb Thompson a big hug. You got to watch these young guys!

For years, everyone had been talking about what a great tour the Yuma Territorial Prison had. My friend Bernie and I went there one day and were not disappointed. The tour guide was great.

This is a roadrunner trying to get on the grounds. You can't tell but he's outside an iron fence.

I had been wanting to go to Talking Rocks forever. It's an area on the Indian reservation where people go four wheeling and on up to Slot Canyon. At Talking Rocks, people use big rocks to make their names or whatever on the desert. We didn't go up to Slot Canyon, because we didn't have enough manpower in the group. It was just Quinten escorting Norma, Bernie, June and me. Here's June and Norma's claim to fame.

This group Desert Ratz has their own monument out there. I had to dress up the picture with some pretty ladies.

President's Day, Bernie and I went out to the Dunes to see how many funsters were still there for the long holiday.

To be continued.....

Fun Times

Norma and Quinten wanted to give me my birthday card before they left for Hawaii, so we joined Barb and Bernie for burgers at the VFW a couple Monday nites ago. This was my card and gift.

She does such beautiful work! On my actual birthday, Bernie, Barb and I went shopping and then to the Chinese restaurant.

I signed up to go 4-wheeling last Friday and invited Bernie to go with. I warned the group that I had never done it before, but they told me not to worry; they'd help. On the way out, we stopped for a potty break, and I got a picture of a skyscape that I dubbed "cotton balls."

Then there was this memorial in the middle of the desert and some fields. Someone put a lot of work into it.

Not too far from there, we switched to four wheel drive. On the first arroyo crossing, the leader came back to  make sure that I negotiated it with no problem. When I pulled up behind the jeep in front of me, the ladies jumped out  and yelled, "Woman Power." Too much fun! Our first stop was a hike up to a cave that had crystals on the ceiling and walls. Here's part of the group at the entrance. You'll notice we had a four-legger along.

This a mine entrance that has been well-marked.

Then we went to another mining area, but what I found so interesting were these rock formations. The first one looks like someone's bare butt :). The other one is the result of major water and wind erosion.

After lunch, I realized that most of our group were serious rock hounds. I found some pretty rocks, and naturally took some pictures. Here's a saguaro with a twisted arm.

Is this an example of siamese twins?

Several of us held up the procession to take a picture of this crazy-looking guy.

When we went through our last major arroyo, several people jumped out to take pictures. As Pam says,
"This doesn't the half of it!"

I don't know if Bernie is getting ready to laugh or cry. Here's a shot of the guys behind climbing out.

I'm off again this Friday to Baker's Tanks with the group from Pioneer. I drove into the base this afternoon to get the permit for Barry M. Goldwater Range. Stay tuned for more adventures!

The New Year

The trip to Chandler on December 30 was uneventful and the weather gorgeous. We went to the Elephant Bar for lunch, and I got to open a late Christmas present from Tammy and Bob which was a velour stylish warm-up outfit with matching earrings. I wore it for New Year's Eve. On Saturday on the way to Scotsdale to visit Jim and Alice, we stopped at the Fashion Mall that had free garage parking. The Z something store was fun. If I were still into decorating, I would gotten these glass flowers.

This guy doesn't need to be walked or fed and he was so-o soft.

Jim, Tammy's boss from year's ago, and Alice's home was beautiful. They had friends visiting from Las Cruces, so we had a lot of fun swapping travel stories. That evening, Tammy had made a 7 o'clock reservation at Carrabas, but when we got there, it was so noisy, that we opted for some goodies and drinks to be consumed in Bob's room. We made it to where they drop the ball in Times. Tammy was a big help walking the dogs and loading up the next morning. The saguaro cactus west of Stansfield were some that I always wanted to get a picture of.

I made a trip to Niland, CA and the Slabs by the Salton Sea, and to bring my friend Bernie her mail. She had been boondocking in her Scamp since Christmas.

Before you enter the area is a world-famous man-made mountain that I just had to get a picture of.

Yesterday I went to the Bikers' Beer and Burger Bash at the Palms RV Resort. They had a good band from Prescott, and we all had a good time. This was Norma and Quinten's idea, and as you can tell by the pictures: a damn good one.

In the first picture, Norma is negotiating the poolside on her way back from the bar. Here she and Quinten are chowing; I think she's saying, "Yea, the sun is shining." It was unusually cloudy and cool.

This is the group complete with jackets to keep warm. Good friends, beer, and burgers. What more could you ask for? Probably pictures of the bikes that I didn't take.