Vulture Peak and Hassayampa Preserve

Vulture Peak and hike to the saddle

Vulture Peak Trailhead Camp

 After our Border adventure we decided to move north for a while and check out some places around Wickenburg. We camped for several nights off the Vulture Mine Road at the Vulture Peak Trailhead where we hiked to the saddle and sat out another wind storm. We then spent another day visiting the Los Cabelleros Museum and seeing lots of Western art including original paintings by Remington, Russell and Moran and also many of their bronze works. What a great little museum and we really liked the small town. We also went a little south to the Hassayampa River Preserve where the underground river is above ground just for a short time and this Nature Conservancy protected area is home to some huge willows and cottonwoods, a spring fed pond, palms, and several hundred birds. It was nice to be in an area that is so green after all our desert hiking.

The Wall and the War Zone

Well .... first of all "The Wall" is a joke. While there are 3 miles of 16' high metal fencing installed ("The Wall") ... they have it going over the top of a hill that no one in their right mind would choose to cross when the valley floor is so easy to walk on ... and the valley floor has these wimpy little metal posts with 2 strands of barb wire. Really .... that is the best we can do??  Three miles of mountain top fence and 27 miles of nearly nearly nothing right next to a major Mexican highway ... And you want to know why there is a problem??? Apparently this can't even keep the cows on their own side as they kept telling us about all the time the Park Service has to spend chasing them back over the highway.

So we spent an hour bumping along a dusty dirt road in a caravan with the ominous looking black SUV with armed Park Rangers in the lead and our two white vans (with targets painted on top??) following.  We were told in our mandatory 'safety' meeting before departure that any 'activity' in the area would cancel or delay our trip and to please not take photos of the guards as that can cause issues with their future safety. We figured that all would be fine even though this was a new venture for them as we were the first vans of tourist to go. Our guides said that last week's dry run had been delayed for an hour when there was an issue on the border so we needed to be flexible.We figured
they have it covered.

We pass two Border Patrol vans coming our way and one weird Border Patrol 'station', and have two Border Patrol/ Park Rangers (hard to tell the difference) on separate ATV's pass us like kids out on a joy ride but going our way. So, on the way out, about half way into our trip, the radio our driver carried started talking about activity and we come around a corner and there are two Law Enforcement types with bullet proof vests, fully loaded strapped on other weapons, and carrying large automatic weapons, walking behind two Hispanic men with their wrists tied in front of them. They are marching these prisoners towards our road maybe 150ft from where we drive by. OK. So ... granted they don't look very scary ... as a matter of fact they look like teenagers or young adults and they look very poor. So we decide that it wasn't really such a threatening situation and I guess we should not be concerned. They are probably just some 'kids' trying to come across for a chance to escape poverty. A little uneasy, as this was obviously "activity" in our opinion but hey ... what do we know? We are in the care of Uncle Sam.


















When we got  to our destination there was another SUV parked there with 2 armed/vested guards with automatic type weapons waiting for us and then we saw two more armed/vested guards on the hill behind us watching the small bowl we were in. While we toured the site they hovered in front and behind us watching the surrounding areas. Lots of radios crackling with code numbers and we felt like we were in a low budget, barely believable premise spy movie and we were the stupid tourists who did not know if the CIA was the good guys or the bad guys. A little hard to concentrate on the Naturalist guided tour, but we tried.

  Quitobaquito is a historic site within a few hundred feet of the border and this place is a traditional crossroads and trading site for the Native Americans because of it's rare spring fed oasis in the middle of the hot dry desert. The endangered pup fish and desert turtles are here and several species of water fowl, it was very beautiful and peaceful, (except for the spy types lingering on the fringes supposedly protecting us). It is still used by the local natives as a place to honor their ancestors with stone circles and offerings that are left on a regular basis. There are a lot of artifacts and graves in the area and there needs to be digs but it's location makes it nearly impossible to have crews there safely.

Our return trip becomes even more perplexing. We are in the last van in our caravan and the guards that were at the oasis with us are now in the lead and the team that was on the hill is supposed to be following somewhere behind us, but we haven't seen them. Suddenly one of the earlier ATV guys comes out of nowhere and goes speeding by us on the left and goes to the front of our caravan and the other ATV guy goes screaming by on our right along the border fence and off into the distance. The first one pulls up even with our lead car and motions to them and we all stop.... in the middle of the road ... right next to the border and this busy Mexican highway. The guys gets off the ATV and the lead car guards get out with their guns and German Shepard dog who proceeds to sniff all over the ATV and he finally 'sits'. Our guards go over and give the dog a reward as we gawk at this scene ....the  ATV's both have the backs loaded with burlap covered parcels that they appear to have just picked up in the desert. 
Ok ... so we definitely think that this was "activity" that we should not have been exposed to ... I don't understand all the security hype telling us Uncle Sam has our backs and then they allow us to be in this situation. Even our driver is thinking this is strange and there was no warning about it on the radio he carried. Maybe it is not dangerous to be sitting in the middle of a caravan by the border when the cartel guys just got their expensive shipment confiscated and it is sitting in a hot little mess right next to us ... who says they aren't watching too??? What if they decided they wanted to take it back? We think this is just a bit too much.

Our friends that were with us think the whole thing was a set up to impress the "tourists" with the effectiveness of our Homeland Security. I suppose it is possible....it seems like a real waste of money and resources to try to impress a few unconnected dumb sightseers who have no authority or status.
We think maybe the 'good guys' are just delighted when they actually find something and could not help being show-offs for us. Who really knows ... The whole thing to us was more than a little creepy and we are still trying to digest the entire bizarre experience.

So today we stay in the campground and read books and think about moving on to someplace else in the next few days. Too bad. It is 80 today and beautiful.

Ajo Mountain Drive

Mondays van tour on Ajo Mountain Drive in Organ Pipe was well worth it. The road is 21 miles long, one way, and very bumpy with lots of tight turns and washboard. Not something we really wanted to take our van on when these free tours are available. We only wish that they would allow time to hike, or offer a drop off/pick up service as we really wanted to get up into Estes Canyon.
But the flowers are in bloom and the rain of last week has really greened everything up. They say that is is a little early and many more plants are blooming than last year. The hills are covered in Brittlebush, a yellow daisy like plant, and the weather is spectacular. Nights are now just right in the upper 40's.

Organ Pipe ... Part Dos

Cool and rainy unsettled weather has sent us back west to Organ Pipe National Park for the warmth. Although it was raining when we arrived and some very dark clouds eventually overtook us, it is right on the border and will be missing a lot of the cold nights. It should be sunny and warming up as we go into the next few days. 


Went to a Superintendent Chat program this morning and got the real story about security here. I think our ignorance was maybe better.
We will be more cautious about our solo hiking this trip. We have signed up for a Park Service van tour on Mon thru Ajo Mountain Drive and again for Tues for a "Special Border Patrol Escorted" van tour to Quitobaquito on the border, an area that has been closed for years. Sounds like the park service has not offered that before so will be a new experience for all.  This will be our first real visit to the wall and war zone. Had to sign waivers for it. We may chicken out before Tues if things get crazy or we get out of the sun long enough for our brains to cool off and start to work again. 

Campground is less than 1/2 full. They say visitation has dropped ...  might be the 22 dead bodies they found in the park last year?? ...  Or maybe it is the guns and drugs they regularly find stashed on the edges of the road??  ... Or maybe it was the 4 guys they arrested in the campground last week??.... Or possibly the 2 dead bodies that were executed and thrown over the border fence.
You know ... it is probably the 450 Border Patrol agents that are assigned to this area, and the cameras watching you when you step off the trail to pee that has really put everyone off.


This is such a beautiful place ... such a shame ...flowers and shrubs are starting to bloom and the desert is green ...... and it doesn't feel scary at all.

A Little Winter Blast & the Twins

 

We have a weather radio that we listen to often and knew that a major weather change was coming so when we awoke in Ironwood to dark clouds looming over us we broke camp early and got back up into Gilbert Ray in Tuscon Mountain Park adjacent to Suguaro National Park just west of Tucson. It is a little more protected and a favorite place of ours, but we barely got set up before it started raining, then blowing, then snowing. Not a lot of the white stuff stuck where we were but just above us on the hills that we have hiked in shorts and sun hats over the last month or so there was a good covering.

We spent Valentine's day on a 'double date' with Doug and Frankie to a cheap taco stand for one of our very rare meals 'out' and then hung around for a few more days to restock.

We ran into another couple from Colorado that have a slightly older but otherwise nearly identical rig to ours. We parked nose to nose for a while and spent a lot of time comparing notes and trading tips, storage solutions, and adventures. They are great folks that are newly retired and we hope to meet up with them again sometime in the next few weeks as we all wander in the desert.

Ironwood National Forest

 Ironwood National Forest is west and north of Tucson and we went in on a bumpy dirt road where we met up with Doug and Frankie again and camped for free in the middle of the Suguaros. Great spot, peaceful and quiet. Solar is working well and we are so glad we did it.
The threesome with good knees did a day hike to one of the peaks off trail and just through the desert. And we again had lots of fun sharing meals, evening games, and laughs for a few nights in the

middle of nowhere.

More Power

Last week we made the decision to invest in getting us more independent from expensive campgrounds ...  so we moved north a little and then up to Casa Grande for a day where we had another solar panel installed on our roof and upgraded our charge controller. We had found an installer for AM Solar in Springfield OR who was traveling in AZ for the winter, and through email and phone calls we had him order this newest technology, narrow, thin and lightweight 100w solar panel, special mounts and controller, and arranged for him to add it to our system. We arrived at our prearranged time on a Sat morning outside his RV park where there was a nice flat place to work and he and Steve had it all done and ready to go in just a few hours. The new charge controller replaces our 12 year old technology with one that will charge the batteries completely and is more efficient and the new panel is now adjustable to the sun's angle and ties into our existing one and really brings in the power. He did a great job and it was very fast and well done and we are stoked. We now have three times the power input that we did and can go many more days without needing to drive, run the generator, or find a power hook up.

San Xavier Mission

 We stopped for an afternoon at the San Xavier Mission south of Tuscon. This was built around 1783 by Franciscans after the original church was destroyed in an Apache raid and now serves the Catholics of the Tohono O'odham Nation.

San Xavier has a white, Moorish-inspired design, elegant and simple, with an ornately decorated entrance. No records of the architect, builders, craftsmen and artisans responsible for creating and decorating it are known. Most of the labor was provided by the local Indians, and many believe they provided most or all of the artisans as well. As you enter the massive, carved mesquite-wood doors of San Xavier we were struck by the coolness of the interior, and the dazzling colors of the paintings, carvings, frescoes and statues. The interior is richly decorated with ornaments showing a mixture of New Spain and Native American artistic motifs. Local legend says that the second tower is to be left unfinished until the "Excellent Builder" appears to finish it.

Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner

We are continuously amazed at the length and expense that our government is going to to try to deal with this "Border Issue". It is incredible the number of Border Patrol vehicles and personnel that are involved in this. Lots of scary warning signs on trails and campgrounds. Giant fenced buildings with razor wire and 'holding facilities' are being constructed every where down here and the green and white SUV's seem to be parked and hiding at every intersection and around every corner watching all the cars. It is huge industry. There are balloon/blimps as eyes in the sky watching 24/hrs a day with infrared cameras every hundred miles or so, and who knows what else they have in high-tech gadgetry. At regular checkpoints we are asked where we have been and where we are going and if we are citizens and they make a quick glance into the back. If Steve is wearing dark glasses it seems to go a little slower and they are a little more aggressive. We know that we are photographed before we ever get to the checkpoint as you can see the banks of cameras on the sides of the roads. They have sniffing dogs that circle every vehicle and these road stops are on both the freeways and on small country roads in the middle of nowhere. Trying to express our displeasure at this invasion of our privacy and ability to have our freedom does not get a satisfactory response and it is very intimidating to have them with all the guns and manpower and us just trying to go where we want to go. All this and it is still pretty ineffective as there are people continuing to run through areas that just cannot be contained. Our friend saw a person slip out of the woods onto the road and flash a mirror at someone on a hill behind them then slip back into the woods. So low tech may beat high tech after all. Much like the coyote, a lot of "Acme" products are destroyed, and a lot of money wasted, and the roadrunner just zooms on. It is almost funny to see it unfolding just like the old cartoons.
Lots of locals have bumper stickers that say: Protect the Borders ... at the Borders. And we would agree.    ....... beep beep.

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Empire Ranch

 We spent over a week camping in the open grasslands of this La Cienega/Empire Ranch site. Beautiful open rolling hills, gorgeous night sky, herds of Pronghorn and very few people here. Sunny and warm days, some a little breezy, and cold frosty nights. Glad I bought some long underwear for jammies at night. This place usually gets snow in the winter and it's nearly 5000 ft elevation, on the east side of the Santa Rita Mountains is, "Sky King" country.  We will be back. Would love to see it with the grasslands green and wildflowers in early spring.
Doug and Frankie joined us and set up their new 'suitcase' solar panels and we had some great communal meals grilled over mesquite fires for a few days. Yum.
We all moved on to Patagonia Lake for showers and power and a great Birthday Celebration for me. Excellent steaks and company and lots of fun. Beautiful birds around the lake including Cardinals. Heading out again to Whitewater Draw to see the overwintering Sandhill Cranes and then to Tombstone for some fake sheriff badges. Will head back to Tuscon Mountains then to Casa Grande and spend a few more days before we head west to a little warmer nights.