Back to Ajo AZ

March 14, 2019

After waiting out the storm south of Casa  Grande, AZ we headed south west, back to Ajo, AZ.

High Chaparral RV Resort Campsite, outside Casa Grande AZ.

Looking at the map, we saw Indian Route 15  that avoids I-8 and cuts the corner through the Tohono O’Odham reservation. Always looking for “a road less traveled”, we headed out on a bright sunny day.  

The consistent rain this winter has turned the Sonoran Desert (known as the green desert) into an exceptionally vibrant green desert.

IR 15, heading southwest toward Ajo.

"The green desert"

While visiting Ajo last December,  we scouted a lot of potential campsites along the Scenic Loop south of Ajo. We had our sights on a particular choice spot, the only question, would it already  be occupied.

BLM free dry camping, first come first serve with a 14 day limit.

We call it “the garden spot” with rock borders placed around the natural foliage by previous residences giving it a garden feel. Luck was with us, we pulled right in and stopped for lunch before setting up.

"Garden spot" campsite.

Panaromic view, late afternoon, North to South ...

... early morning, South to North.

The PLAN was to stay 5 days.

During the Saturday Farmers Market at the Ajo plaza, we saw a friend we met last December at the Winter Solstice party.  

Saturday Farmers Market, Ajo plaza

She invited us to the Spring Solstice party on March 20, 2 days after we’d planned to leave.  

New plan!

Move the camper to the party site (BLM land a stones through outside of Ajo) and leave the day after the party.

Party site camp.

As the Sun set in the west ...

... the Moon rose in the east.

During the party we learned of the "Ajo Arts Weekend" coming up this weekend with gallery and historical tours, new mural painting, food and dance events.

New plan #2!

Stay through the festivities on Saturday then head out on Sunday, March 24.

Stay tuned!

Gilbert Ray Campground

March 5, 2019
Gilbert Ray Campground is a gem in the Tucson Mountain Park. It's an older park with smallish sites, 30 amp power and no other services at the sites. There's water spickets every few sites and nice restrooms but no showers.  For $20 a night, during the high season (winter) the park is in high demand with a 7 day stay limit and you must stay away 7 days before you can  start another 7 day stay.

You can't beat the scenery.

View from our site, #58.

The Tucson Mountain Park is loaded with hiking trails.

Joan (upper left) enjoying the view from Gates Pass in the Tucson mountains, west of Tucson.

Met up with friends from Tucson Meadows to hike parts of the Kings Canyon, Sendero  Esperanza and Gould Mine trails, forming a nice loop.

Checking out the Petroglyphs 

The next day Joan and I hiked part of the Brown Mountain trail. The trail head was right outside the campground so we just started from our site.

Colorful rock

The volunteer at the campground said there were some very old Saguaros.

We spent 6 of our alotted 7 days at Gilbert Ray and throughly enjoyed it, we'll definitely be back.  With some weather moving in, we moved to High Chaparral RV Park outside Casa Grande AZ to visit friends in Mesa, AZ and wait out the rain.

Whitewater Draw State Wildlife Area

March 1, 2019

We left Tucson after a 2 month stay at Tucson Meadows RV Resort heading to Whitewater Draw State Wild Life Area.  The attraction is the thousands of Sandhill Cranes that spend the winter here in southeast Arizona.  There's also about 6 free dry camping sites near the viewing area. When we arrived there wasn't enough space for us so we setup at the overflow area, about 1/4 mile away.  It wasn't much of a tragedy, we were all by ourselves with none of the traffic coming into the viewing area. Don't get me wrong, we'd like to come back sometime and stay in the main camping area for the convenience, but this time we were perfectly happy where we were.

First afternoon at the viewing area, lots of birds but not much activity

Beautiful sunset over the Mule Mountains.

March 2, 2019

We had a leisurely morning, getting over to the viewing area about 9 am.  Again not much happening.  We knew the major activity happens a little before sunrise but we weren't ready to get up that early today.  Besides, the plan was to spend the day visiting  Bisbee, AZ, about a half hour away. Bisbee is an old mining town founded in 1880. It's become a big tourist stop since the mine closed in  1975. More on Bisbee in a future post.

Another colorful sunset.

March 3, 2019

Our last day, we braved the 31 degree morning and got there about 1/2 hour before sunrise.  The Cranes had already started heading out for the day's feeding.  It sounded like they were all squawking at the same time, the sound was amazing.

Here's some Sandhill Crane pictures and maybe some videos (I've had mixed results trying to add videos in the blog)

See waves of Cranes on the orange horizon.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds

Cranes returning about 10 am.

A trifecta... 3 days, 3 beautiful sunsets out our back window.

99% of our photos are taken with our cell phones and the wide angle views just weren't good enough for this action.  The above videos were taken with a little point and shoot camera.

The below YouTube link is a blogger we follow who has much better photo and video equipment. They preceded us at Whitewater Draw by only a few days.

https://youtu.be/0msXXBG7NgI

Bisbee AZ

March 2, 2019

Almost everyone we talked to in southern Arizona said "...you've got to go to Bisbee".  It's an old mining town established in1880.  Since the mine closed in 1975 the town has transformed into a tourist stop. After spending time in Ajo, a charming little community in the Sonoran desert, I wasn't really expecting much more.  Bisbee, however, has a lot more going for it.  It's situated in the Mule  Mountains at 5538 feet with a lot of quaint old architecture that's been turned into a eclectic mix of color and texture.  

They grow'em big in Bisbee!

Castle Rock in the middle of Bisbee.

Ironman statue, not the triathlete, the guy who mines the ore.

Before we had the below map, we came across this series of multi level steps.  Thinking it would be fun to see where it went, we started climbing.  When we reached what we thought was the top, there were more steps with no visible end.  Not knowing where they led, we decided to go back the way we came.

After geting the map we decided to approach the steps we'd climbed (#3) from the top.  As it turned out the top step was within site when we turned around, only 47 steps away out of 181, if we'd only known.

Royale theater, offering live stage performace as well as films.

To top the day off, we stopped in the Old Bisbee Brewing Company for a glass of Mayan Stout.

We really enjoyed our day just walking around Bisbee.  I'm sure we'll be back someday to explore more of it's history and culture... and more great beer!