journal entry #3245

Wednesday, Day 3,245

March 2, 2011

BLM land near Bouse, Arizona

It's been a good week of visiting our friend who spends his winters near Bisbee, Arizona. Bisbee is an interesting, artsy old mining town with a definite desert edginess.

the residents are as colorful as their homes

a storefront

interesting mixes of old and new

walking by St. Elmo's bar

love love love the cardinal's fine plumage

This morning we hit the road for some real desert camping. It's a familiar drive through Tucson (sigh, not this year) where close to half the palms seem to have survived the 3 days of 24-hour freezing weather. As we drive past Piccacho Peak we wonder about the sanity of those who hike to stand on the top. We stop at Tonopah for $3.89 a gallon diesel and a Subway sandwich. We can see that the hot springs huge old palms have not been hurt by the cold weather of the past month. Saddle Mountain appears empty of campers and full of spring green. We leave I-10 at Vicksburg and drive past it's inviting BLM track-side camping. At the Bouse county park, the guy takes our $2 for water and warns us of hungry coyotes and even a puma with two cubs sighted last week. As we're driving the four-wheel road into our favorite Bouse Hills campsite, a coyote crosses in front of us, sort of hovering. He runs when Dick gets out of the truck and yells at him. We'll still keep Hilldog close. Camp is set up, naps are taken, jewelry is made, firewood is gathered in the wash and for the first time since Lone Rock on Lake Powell (over 3 months ago), we enjoy a sunset campfire. It's like coming home when we are in the Sonoran Desert. The evening stays warm and we sleep with open windows. It's good to be back in the desert. 

 

good fire, good wine, good dog

it's nice to be able to camp in the desert without a campground

I can't explain it, but I feel a kinship with the Saguaro cactus