At the desert gardens
I was spending a bit of time mooch docking at Larry’s place, in a suburb of Yuma called Fortuna Foothills. While I have been in the Yuma area previously, my experience consisted mostly of stocking up at the local Walmart and driving through Yuma on Interstate 8. This time, I was staying for a while, to deal with some little RV fixes, visit with Larry, and see the sites around Yuma. Continue reading
Palm jetty on Mittry Lake, at the main boat launch
I had done some initial research on free camping in the Yuma area. While there is desert camping around, and some cheap long term camping that includes use of water and a dump station, I was after some free water spots. I had previously visited Fortuna Lake. This time, I was headed for Mittry Lake, to see if I could find a camping spot near enough to the water to dip the folding kayak in. I was willing to crowd in with other people to get my time on the water – but would there be a spot available at this popular lake? Continue reading
An RV could fit down this hole.
My holiday season camping spot near Bouse turned out to have lots of backroads leading lots of mines and other surprises. There is a long mining history here. You just have to look at a topo map to see how much mining activity has occurred in the area. While I wished I could have been a little closer to the hills, there still were some things within walking distance. I had plenty of destinations to pick from with the motorcycle. Read on to see what I saw!
Continue reading
Morning Lizzy visit to my camp
I decided for my second week in the desert that I would check out a new area, but nothing too far away from Bouse, where I had some vague plans to camp with Carolyn and friends over the Christmas holidays. I had seen a promising area west of Parker on the way down to Quartzsite. It was outside of the popular area close to Parker, but looked like more of the same camping without all the people. This solitude is what I was looking for. Read on to see what I found. Continue reading
With my new solar installed, my plan was to hang out near Quartzsite for the week, at the Plomosa Road BLM camping area. I arrived back to find my spot still still available, so decided it was good enough to not move for the rest of the week. I was not planning on spending my winter close to Quartzsite. Having been here before, I have formed my own opinions about the area. For me, it’s not the desert experience I’m after. Let me explain further. Continue reading
My only real goal this winter was get my solar upgrade done while I was in the Quartzsite area. I had set up an appointment at Discount Solar, a place that has a reputation for doing good work, but not at a discount price. The Quartzsite area gets busy over the winter, but I was there a little before the rush. My base while I was here was the Plomosa Road 14 day BLM, chosen in the hopes it would be a little less busy. Read on to find out how it all worked out! Continue reading
Stick figure Cholla
I had a slightly longer drive to my next destination, as I wanted to avoid the Las Vegas area for boondocking entirely. I had scouted out a road and trailhead east of Searchlight, Nevada with the googles aerial. It had some promising looking spots on BLM land. But I did not expect the forest I encountered upon arriving there. I certainly didn’t mind this surprise! Continue reading
My week in Mesquite ended up being more interesting than I expected, like finding the old Route 91. OK, that was interesting to *me*, being a bit of a map and transportation nerd, but hopefully those of you who read my previous entry didn’t fall asleep because I found out more stuff in my continued research! Plus there are some motorcycle adventures if you read past my old road obsession!
Continue reading
At the old Riverside Gas stop
As I was now far enough south to be out of the cold and snow, I was not motivated to travel long distances to get to warmer climes. So today I had the luxury of only an hour and a bit drive to my next destination, west of Mesquite, Nevada. Good thing too, as I had to dump my tanks and get groceries. I hoped to be done by lunch so I had lots of time to explore around for my next spot. Continue reading
I left my abandoned campground, expecting that as I headed further south there would be less snow and warmer weather. That was not true, the weather stayed about the same temperature, and the snow cover got heavier as I approached Salt Lake City. How far south would I have to go to get out of the snow? But first, a stop to get a USA cell phone in Brigham City. Continue reading
