2 Months in California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

Susan and I retired a couple years ago and after three or four winters of heavy snow and the same of mostly rain in the summer we wanted warm, sun and dry.

We got on the ferry to Prince Rupert, B.C., on the 4th of November and headed south to find a camper and explore the southwest to see if could find a more winter base there.

We looked for a used FWC that met our short list requirements but didn’t have any luck. One was sold, one didn’t return our call and we found out one didn’t have the extended cab-over. When we stopped at the FWC factory in Woodland on December 3rd, Stan and Chicali offered the Grandby model they had on display and when we agreed Chicali, Lloyd and crew had it polished and on the truck that day.

Our shakedown trip lasted a little less than two weeks. It’s posted at:

(http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2041 and http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2044 )

We flew home to Juneau to spend Christmas with Darling Daughter in mid December, then came back south in mid January ’09 to wander in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and California, usually with no plan until we had our morning coffee.

We left Ellensburg, WA, on January 28 and stayed the night at Pass Creek County Campground on I-5 just south of Cottage Grove, Oregon.

It was wet and windy. Pass Creek sits between I-5 and a set of railroad tracks, but there are nice showers and it’s convenient when you’re on the road late and don’t have time to spend looking for a spot.

The next day Mt. Shasta came out to welcome us to sunny California.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

After a good, inexpensive, steak dinner at The Cattlemen’s restaurant in Redding, we backtracked to stay at USFS Lakeshore East campground along upper “Lake” Shasta. The water level was way low and it was a river at the campground.

Lakeshore East has some nice campsites with views of the “lake” and is further off I-5 than Pass Creek, but still pretty close to the railroad and there are some houses and RV parks that can be seen from the campsites.

Next day we docked with “The Mothership” (FWC in Woodland, CA) to get some edge banding replaced and a door installed on the opening at the bottom of the cabinet under the sink. It was nearly noon when we got there and I thought we’d probably have to wait but Chicali and crew jumped right on it and we were out of there in about 45 minutes.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

We stopped at San Luis Reservoir campground that night. It’s far enough from the road to be quiet but close enough to be convenient with good views of the reservoir.

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In the morning we saw 14 Mule Deer along the road.

captainkettel stayed at San Luis after we did and included photos and write-up in his trip report at: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?p=20441

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

After driving the San Joaquin Valley in heavy smog we were happy to get to Hole-in-the-Wall campground in the Mojave Preserve. Even though part of the campground had been burned and we had strong wind part of the night we still liked it there. Coyotes sang to us from under our window.

There were a lot of tent campers and few big rigs. The folks in this Sportsmobile had a tent set up in the tents only area.

Boondocking in disturbed areas of the preserve is allowed and, from what we saw, there’s good FWC habitat in the Mojave Preserve.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

We stopped at the RV park in Yuma where good friends (and Darling Daughter’s Godparents) R&R were spending the winter to get some medical work done in San Diego. This was not the natural habitat of a FWC.

We made a day trip to Algodones, Mexico, the next day and enjoyed our first border town experience but it’s not something either of us need to do again. The next time we cross the border we’ll keep going south.

Temperature in Yuma was 70 to 80 and that’s a warm summer day in Juneau. It was hard to imagine it was still snowing (a lot) in Juneau.

We wanted to investigate southern New Mexico and maybe do a little bird hunting there, so, after a 2 day visit in Yuma we headed east.

After a stop in Lordsburg for gas, hunting license and lunch at McD’s we ran south to the Coronado National Forest on the AZ/NM border.

Lots of Border Patrol rigs on the road and we thought this must be a big focus area for them. About 30 miles south of Animas headed for the hills on a dirt road that runs west into the Coronado National Forest and across the Arizona border.

The area looked great but we found heavy ice on the creeks and ponds as well as a sign warning of smuggling and illegal immigration in the area.

Since we weren’t looking for cold or trouble, we bailed out to find a warmer, more secure, spot.

We stopped to talk to a USBP officer and he said in the seven years he had been patrolling the area he had never heard of any violence in the area by smugglers or immigrants but had heard of many cases of theft, mostly food, clothing (especially warm coats) and guns, when they were left unattended. He also said locking stuff (especially firearms) in a vehicle in plain sight is an invitation to break a window to get at it. Then he pointed us toward a decent bird hunting spot he knew****smiley***. Nice guy.

We spotted this road-kill bobcat along NM 9 between Hachita and Columbus.

It was probably here for the jackrabbit and cottontail dinners.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

We drove east on NM 9 with Mexico about 5 miles to our right until we got to Columbus and Pancho Villa State Park.

New Mexico parks were a better value for us than those in other states and they have an annual pass that would make it even less expensive if you planned on staying long term or camping both summer and winter.

Sites with electric and water hookups and shower access were $14/night and sites with no hookups but with shower access were $10/night at the NM parks we stayed in. The grounds at PV were maintained very nicely but the restrooms could have used a little work.

There are cactus and trees in the campground and a museum with equipment and photos from Villa’s raid on Ft. Furlong and the following “punitive expedition” into Mexico.

Villa’s surprise came from behind this little hill…the only one for miles…guard must have taken a siesta.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

The hills in the background are in Mexico.

A lot of Fort Furlong has been restored and preserved. The building on the left, with arches in front, is the museum.

The headquarters building is pretty much the same as it was when Villa attacked in 1916, except for a little wear and tear and the protective cover.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

The next morning we kept going east on NM 9 and made a loop through El Paso, Las Cruces, and back to Rockhound State Park near Deming, just north of Columbus. Rockhound was full but the host found a great spot for us in the day use area.

Nothing finer than a moonrise over the outhouse!

We’re suckers for sunrises and sunsets (and moonrises and moonsets and….). Lots of owls around Rockhound and we enjoyed hearing them.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

Back at Pancho Villa the next day we reorganized the camper and spent time relaxing and visiting the museum.

This old “armored truck” used in the punitive expedition sure looks like the genesis of our modern tanks. I bet the mules they did have along kept busy pulling that big sucker with skinny, slick, tires out when it got stuck.

This prototype “Powerwagon” looked like it needed a prototype FWC to go with it.

We were envious of the seat those guys had… “Blackjack” Pershing probably rode up there on the way through Mexico…it had to be the best seat around.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

There’s a Curtis Jenny displayed, complete with instructions for flying it. Sounds like it’s even more fun to fly than T-crafts and Supercubs.

I grilled Tilapia over the fire that night, we “wined a bit” and had a great sunset to eat by. Life is good.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

In the morning we did some exploring and bird hunting near Old Hachita. The dirt road from NM 9 to Old Hachita crossed the Continental divide trail.

Old Hachita was a mining town that moved to the present location at the junction of NM 9, NM 81 and NM 146. There’s a good write-up about Old Hachita at: http://home.swbell.net/lwsumner/oldhachita.htm .

Ghost towns and old cabins or farms always make us wonder who lived and worked there and what it would have been like to live there during its heyday.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

“Composite” construction was used in most of the buildings…adobe over stone. It’s held up better than some of our modern materials.

This pile of rock is probably tailings from the mining operation.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

We could see Hachita across the valley from Old Hachita.

The contrast in colors in this open country was interesting.

After looking at Old Hachita we headed for the area the BP officer mentioned might be worthwhile to hunt, and the old (snow)birds took to the field.

Sure enough, up went a small covey of quail, but no dinner tonight…the old (slow) bird couldn’t produce.

We tried to put that covey up again for a couple of hours then headed back to the truck. I stepped on what I thought was a nail was a mesquite thorn that went through the sole of my walking shoe and about half an inch into the sole of my foot. After I pulled it out of my shoe with a pair of pliers I found two more in the heel of my shoe that I couldn’t get out even with the pliers. From then on I took the time to put hard soled hiking boots on before I went off trail.

Spending a few hours hiking with purpose and putting up a few birds was a joy even though we didn’t produce. We will probably come back and stay a few nights here next time.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

Next day we headed to Carlsbad, NM. It was a wet and windy drive, especially through the Guadalupe Mountains. I’d guess the combined wind speed and truck speed during some gusts was around 125 to 150 MPH and I was concerned about the camper but no apparent problems.

We spent the next few days being tourists and dodging high winds by staying in motels for a couple nights and going underground in the Caverns on the worst day.

We visited Living Desert, a zoo/arboretum with plants and animals that live in the local area. I lost photos of some of the few remaining Mexican Wolves that are being cared for there, but I did get a flick of “Lena Javelina”. Fisherman's pig cooker might be overkill for this little porker.

The second night in Carlsbad we stayed at Brantley Reservoir State Park about 12 miles north of Carlsbad. This campground was well maintained and nicely laid out, like all the NM State Parks we stayed in, but it was newer than the others and the showers/restrooms were nicer.

Brantley Reservoir is an impoundment of the Pecos River. Crossing the Pecos on the way to the campground brought back memories of a book called “Pecos Bill” that I had as a little kid.

Unfortunately, we had camera brain damage at Brantley, as well as our next few stops, and didn’t take any pictures…duh. There is a nice, short, write-up and some flicks of Brantley, Living Desert and Carlsbad at: http://www.savvycamper.com/exp-28.html

The next morning we were at the caverns before noon and took a guided tour of the “Kings Room” and “Queens Chamber” before we did a self guided tour through the natural entrance and the “Big Room”.

The walk through the natural entrance into the Big Room was our favorite. The third photo above is looking back at the entrance from inside the Caverns.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

We’d been in the Caverns 38 years ago, just after we were married, on our way to my army duty station in Maryland.

We had forgotten how impressive the caverns are (these photos don’t even come close) and were glad we decided to stop again.

Leesburg State Park, just north of Las Cruces was our next stop. It’s located in a subdivision and our site overlooked warehouses. Nice facilities though.

We gassed up and had tires rotated at Costco in W. Tucson. We found Catalina State Park full and restrictions on off grid camping on state trust land so ran for Pepper Sauce USFS(?) campground about 10 miles past Oracle, AZ. It was dark when we set camp and we couldn’t really tell much about the campground. In the morning we found huge sycamore and walnut trees and a pleasant camp with a little snow around. We enjoyed relaxing here a bit while we got ready to head back to S. Arizona

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

Organpipe National Monument and the area around Why and Ajo is one of our favorite spots. The organpipe cactus (unique to this area in the US), variety of wildlife, easy access to saltwater at Rocky Point, Mexico (if we ever get that far), AND the best rotisserie chicken we’ve ever had from the Ajo IGA Downside is smuggling and illegal immigration.

We stayed the first three nights at the main Organpipe Monument campground.

The first evening there was a good talk by local volunteers and rangers on the birds in the area. We were enjoying learning about the desert plants and birds/animals. We also enjoyed learning about the stars that we don’t get to see very often in Juneau.

The second day we drove Ajo Mountain Loop. The loop is a good dirt road that runs 20+/- miles through desert at the base of low mountains.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

Ajo Loop has good mountain views and trailheads for hiking along the route.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

There are a lot of cactus and shrubs there too.

The ocotillo and desert shrubs were starting to bloom.

We always enjoyed seeing the Teddy Bear Cholla but Susan tried to give the Chain (Jumping) Cholla a wide berth, but She still managed to get wound up with a couple that drew blood when I pulled them out.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

Flowers were blooming in February (3’ of snow in Juneau).

I think this shrub is called Mexican Jumping Bean, but it doesn’t produce the beans by that name we normally think of.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

Plenty of birds too. We'd learned about this Phainopepla (silky black flycatcher) the night before.

We thought Phainopepla was a lot like a black western blue jay but with very good manners.

At the main Organpipe campground we met folks from NM with a FWC Hawk on their F-150 and enjoyed talking to them. They were retired too and traveled a lot in their FWC. She had been reluctant to travel long term but after the first trip she said she missed being out when they went home. Same here.

Rod and Karen were also FWC folks but were in their Casita trailer when we met them. It turned out Rod taught school in Juneau and lived across Lena Cove from us for 20 years. He had worked on remodeling a home 3 houses down the beach from us. We met for the first time at Organpipe. They live on their sailboat in Olympia, Washington, and travel in their FWC and Casita. Small world.

Rod told us about a small campground called Alamo Canyon, part of Organpipe NM. It was in a more remote spot and restricted to tents and small rigs with no generators. We spent the next two nights there.

No showers at Organpipe and we thought this would be a good time to try out our portable outhouse and outside shower.

Susan was a little concerned about backlighting with other camps near (there are 4 campsites at Alamo Canyon) so I checked it and found nobody was going to get a “free shot” but hung a towel on the downstream side to make her feel more comfortable anyway. It took less than a gallon each for a decent shower, and felt great after not having one for a few days.