2025 Airstream Travels

We left Buckskin Mountain about 8:30am, heading west to JTNP, about a 3 hour drive. It’s a beautiful morning and traffic is light as we drive south first to Parker, then turn west on 95. As we leave Parker, we cross the Colorado River bridge which is the boundary to California – fist bump, we made it to California!

We turn onto State Route 62 which is a two-lane highway through the desert. There are no homes, roads, or telephone lines for most of the 58 miles we travel. The only hint of civilization is a railroad line that runs parallel to the road and we start to notice that there are names and other words written with colored stones beside the tracks. The words and names are large, most are in stone but some written with railroad timbers along the tracks and it goes on for miles and miles. With no towns in the area as far as we can see, it’s mind boggling on how so many different people took the time to stop here and create their names in the sand with rocks. There were also some other unusual sights on this route including a huge solar farm with thousands of panels. It looks like the solar company must have bought up a town that is now a ghost town. Ron was itching to get out the metal detector!

Our plan is to dry camp at Chiriaco Summit at the General Patton Museum. We had read reviews about it and sounded like the campsite is fine for an overnight or two and the museum is a worthwhile visit. It is located near the south entrance of JTNP, too making a great location with the added bonus of free camping.

It’s a first come / first serve campsite and when we arrived, we were able to pull into a decent site that was level. The camp host was not at his site but we set up and planned to check in with him later, after our visit to the park. We chose to visit the park today as there are high winds forecasted for Sunday and will visit the museum then.

JTNP – wow! What an amazing landscape and it’s huge. We stopped at the Cottonwood Visitor’s Center to get our passport cancellation stamp before driving into the park. Dogs are not allowed on any of the trails but they can visit the picnic areas and stay within 100 feet of the roads. The park is busy, and we agree it’s the busiest national park we’ve visited yet. Not sure if this is typical but we wonder if its because of the snow they received last week and still in evidence.

I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story but suffice to say, we are so glad to be here in this awe-inspiring National Park.

After yesterday’s wind and rain, the air is crystal clear, and skies are blue. It’s also warming up as the days goes on and it’s one of the nicest days we’ve had for several weeks. Justice went for a dip at the dog beach, and along with us, relaxed at the campsite all afternoon.

We soaked up the rays and read our books. On occasion, a camper neighbor stopped by the chat. A couple from the State of Washington who also own an Airstream, stopped by to compare notes. Later, a giant Class A pulled in across from us and after talking to the couple, we learned their camper was formerly a Greyhound bus that was gutted when they bought it. They finished the inside and had the outside painted too, it is massive, and we can only imagine what the inside looks like. They are from the Sedona area of Arizona (wealthy community) and are camping at Buckskin Mountain. Sedona and north of it, are currently blanketed in snow and most offices, schools etc. are closed for the day. They also told us that since their camper is 45′ long, it limits the campsites that are available, and they have to make reservations 1 year in advance at select locations. They also have a dream of buying an Airstream and remodeling it – at some point.

We talked to another couple who camped at Joshua Tree National Park last week when the snow hit the region. They woke up with 6 inches of snow on their camper and said most of the campground was deserted.

Ron was able to capture a couple photos of Tree Swallows in flight. Those little birds are really fast and are constantly flying, never landing! We also took a few more of the Vermillion Flycatcher, it’s orange red feathers are so striking!

Without connectivity it’s early to bed to read before we fall asleep. Tomorrow, we head west to California and Joshua Tree National Park – one of our bucket list campgrounds!

More wind! It’s a windy year is the southwest and chilly for the area with periods of rain throughout the day and overnight. We, along with the other campers are hunkering down for the day and evening. Overnight it rains and in an Airstream the rain makes a pleasant and relaxing sound on the roof, the perfect recipe to cuddle up and sleep in.

So far, we’ve visited 5 National Parks: Hot Springs, Arkansas; Big Bend, Texas; Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands, New Mexico; and Seguaro, Arizona. On Friday, we are leaving Arizona to travel to Joshua Tree NP in southern California, for our 6th National Park in 3 months of travel. Not too bad for a couple of newbies.

Depending on the weather, we may be able to visit a couple others NP’s on our return trip home, fingers crossed. Ideally, we hope to travel I40 from JTNP but it looks like northern Arizona is blanketed in snow and cold temperatures. I think we may adjust our plans accordingly and travel the southern route on I10 to El Paso, Texas before heading north on I20. Regardless, we are on our way to returning to Ohio and warmer weather!

JTNP area recently has had snow but this weekend the temperatures are forecast to be in the 50s during the day and 30s at night. Our plans are to park at the General George Patton Museum in Chiriaco Summit to visit it and the NP. The museum offers dry camping spots free of charge and are conveniently located to visit the park.

We slept well and the sun is shining this morning. There’s a breeze off the water that is a bit chilly, but the forecast is calling for 62 degrees – we’ll take it! Ron and Justice are intrigued by a nearby hike that leads up to a mountain overlooking the campgrounds and decide to give it a try.

Justice loves it and has figured out he’s to stay on the trails, so Ron lets him off the leash. He runs up the hills, then stops and waits for Ron to catch up before taking off again. He has more energy and in better shape since we started our trip. I think he’s getting a lot more walks in plus we changed his dog food and eliminated all chicken from his diet. We think he may have an allergy to chicken but definitely his digestive system is improved.

The hike leads up the mountain and has a bench at the top and Ron gives me a call. I took a picture of him, and he took one of me :)! The hike then travels over more hills and dips before looping around and connecting after nearly 2 miles. Ron said it was a workout and they both were ready to get back and relax. I walked up to the Ramada for Wi-Fi and was able to connect very quickly.

The view is relaxing with birds in abundance, including a few we do not have photos of the Vermillion Flycatcher, both male and female, the Brown Headed Cowbird, and the Black Phoebe. We have an Eastern Phoebe at home, but this is bird is black with white underbelly – very pretty. I always wanted a photo of the Vermillion Flycatcher. It’s a pretty little bird sporting bright red feathers and black wings. The female version is grayish brown with an orange belly so not nearly as colorful as its male counterpart.

Ron was able to capture a photo of the Great Egret. We saw it several times but it’s always on the opposite side of the river. I guess it’s a California bird! The state line is right over there and for whatever reason, both my iWatch & phone have shifted to Pacific time, but Ron’s phone is on Mountain time?? It can get a bit confusing at times.

After work and supper, I took Justice down to the dog beach and je went swimming for a few minutes. He enjoys the cold water more than anything and really doesn’t swim much. I think he’s a bit unsure about the river currents.

Without much connectivity at our camper, it’s no TV and we read our books before going to bed.

Photos: Campgrounds from bench on mountaintop; Views from the trail Ron & Justice hiked.

Bird Photos (clockwise): A Mallard & an American Coot getting lunch; Black Phoebe; Yellow-Rumped Warbler; Lesser Goldfinch; Male Vermillion Flycatcher; Female VF; Brown-Headed Cowbird; and Great Egert.

Happy Birthday Noemi Washington – 10 years old! We are so proud of you!!

Today we are travelling from Lake Havasu to Buckskin Mountain. It’s only a 30-minute drive and we plan to leave near checkout time at 12:00n. Upon arrival, the camp hosts check us in and we are able to go to our site.

The campgrounds are located below Lake Havasu dam and beside the Colorado River. It’s a lovely setting at the bend of the river with large trees and green grass! The campsites are located pretty close to each other but upon arrival both neighbors on either side, greeted us and we soon found everyone is friendly here. Most of the campers are our age, too and a lot of them have electric bikes and the majority have dogs. There’s a dog park and a dog beach here too and a few hiking trails we’ll have to check it out once we are settled.

The sun is shining and it’s a bit breezy, but a lovely day and we take several walks around the park. Connectivity is a bit limited, but they have public Wi-Fi located at the group Ramada nearby and I can work there. It’s a beautiful spot with trees and picnic tables, located near the river with birds flitting about in the trees and on the river. It’s a tough job but someone has to do it!

After the rain and winds yesterday, this morning was spectacular. The air was crystal clear with blue skies and a few white puffy clouds. It’s the best weather we’ve had for over a week or more and we took full advantage of it.

We’ve been wanting to walk over to the nearby lighthouse and get some photos and with the perfect morning, it was an opportunity to not let pass. This is a small-scale lighthouse and was placed there by a local couple who enjoyed Lake Havasu over the years and wanted to commemorate their love of the area.

Afterwards we headed over to the London Bridge which is located less than a mile from the state park. It’s a beautiful addition to the city and although it’s a short span, it connects the island to the mainland. The bridge is the original bridge that was built in London in the early 1800s but as the song goes ‘London Bridge is falling down’ it was falling down or rather sinking down, and the city of London decided to auction it off rather than fix it. Robert McCullough of Lake Havasu decided he had the perfect location for it and made the winning bid of $2.4 million but that was only the beginning because the bridge had to be dismantled, transported across the ocean and since Arizona is landlocked, across land, and then reassembled at it’s new location. It cost another $5million, bringing the total to over $7m. I am certain that today that cost would have been billions and certain it’s generated more than enough money over the years to cover it’s cost and then some for this community.

We read about US soldiers in WW2 who carved their names in one of the stones on the bridge and we wanted to check it out. The lamp posts have a neat backstory as they were cannons Napoleon Bonaparte deployed in his battles with England and were melted down and made into lamp posts after he met his Waterloo.

Upon entering the gated area, there is a large fountain with 4 lions spewing water into the base of the fountain. It is very British-looking as is the architecture of the shops along the lake’s edge in the shadows of London Bridge along with the some of the apartments and condos in the area. It is a unique feature of this community and the State of Arizona, coming in 2nd place to the Grand Canyon as the most visited area in the state.

It was busy and as the day progressed, the crowds began to get bigger, and we decided to head back to the campgrounds. We wanted to take Justice down to the dog beach and hike to the desert garden area again to hopefully catch some bird photos. Justice loves the water and getting to cool off before we head over to the park to check for some new birds. We captured photos of 1) Yellow-rumped Warbler 2) American Coot 3&4) Verdin

The skies are blue with light winds this morning but unfortunately, the forecast is calling for winds to increase as the day progresses and by nightfall, gusty winds of 40 – 50mph and rain.

This morning we are doing laundry nearby the campgrounds. Enroute, we noticed a car wash and decided to hit it after we get laundry done. The car wash includes free vacuuming, and we get the truck swept out too after going through the automatic wash. It feels so good to have clean clothes and a clean truck!

After getting back from our errands, we decided to take a hike here on Sunset Trail. It follows the shoreline, goes through the desert garden, and climbs a couple hills before we reach the end. The winds are picking up and we especially feel them on top of the hills and have to hang onto our hats or they will blow away! It’s warm though at 72 degrees and the trail meanders through dense, brushy areas that blocks all the winds. We find a small picnic area with a small beach area, and since Justice was getting hot, we let him get into the water here to cool off. He went in chest deep and stood there for a bit getting cooled off and refreshed.

We were able to capture a couple photos of new birds on our hike before we turned back around to return to our campsite. It was about 3.2-mile hike in total and we were glad we were able to get it done before the winds picked up and the rain started to fall.

The winds buffeted the camper but not to the level we’ve experienced previously on our trip, and we feel cozy inside the camper with the rain falling. The wind and rain stop late in the night, and I think I heard coyotes sometime during the middle of the night.

It’s windy again today and we wonder if wind is typical in the desert during the winter. Too windy for a campfire and tomorrow is calling for rain with winds 35 to 45mph and gusts up to 50 – wow!

We moved from campsite #21 to #38. Our new campsite is right on the beach with a spectacular view of Lake Havasu. There are only a few campsites adjacent to the beach and lake and we are fortunate to have gotten one. There’s lots of palm trees in the park and Lake Havasu City, but in looking it up, we found out that most are not native to Arizona and come from Mexico, California, as well as other countries. There is one palm tree that is native, but they think birds eat the seeds of trees in California before depositing them in Arizona. Regardless, the palm trees add a nice ambience to the setting, making it feel rather tropical.

After checking into our new site, we visited the park’s garden area. It’s a lovely setting with walkways, cacti, and trees with bird feeders and hummingbird feeders placed throughout. With the windy conditions, there isn’t much bird activity, but we take a couple photos of the garden and hope to return here again before we leave the area.

Justice and I took a walk to the dog beach, and he got in but is not sure what to think of the choppy lake water. There are some ducks swimming nearby and he thought about going after them but decided against it and soon got out. I think he enjoyed it and always likes to cool off in the water. With the wind, he dries off fairly quickly and we get ready to go to the store.

Our grocery pick up is at 4:00pm and Smith’s grocery is a busy store at this time of day. While waiting, one of the workers tell us it will be a little while before they can get to us as they are running behind. We aren’t in any hurry and thank her but its only 15 minutes and they brought our groceries. The worker told us they were giving us a $15 reduction on our groceries since we had to wait! Kroger’s (Smiths) is the best!

Our next campground, Lake Havasu State Park is 30 minutes north of Cattail Cove. Checkout time is 12:00n and check in at LHSP is 2:00pm and with a 30-minute drive, we may not be able to access our site upon arrival. Some campgrounds will let you in if the site is open, others have overflow parking for you to wait until your site opens. LHSP does neither and offered there’s a large parking lot down the street at Hampton Inn where we can wait until about 1:30pm before returning to check in.

It’s windy again but not as high as the other day and it’s an easy drive to Lake Havasu City. The city has a population of 58,000 and located adjacent to the lake. The state park is located right on the lake and has white sandy beaches and palm trees.

Our site was at a quirky angle with a stop sign on one side and another vehicle on the other. So, it took some maneuvering, but Ron handled it like a champ, and we were set up in short order to the electric and water. Most state parks do not have full hookups, only electric and water, but they have a dump station to use on the way out or in.

We took a quick walk with Justice to check out the dog beach. In the windy conditions, the water is really choppy today and Justice doesn’t quite know what to make of it. We decide to wait until another day.

After the busy day, we opted to order pizzas from a nearby restaurant. Unfortunately, not the best but we managed to get full. There is a Smith’s Grocery store nearby and they are owned by Kroger’s, and you guessed it, I put together a click list to pick up tomorrow. This is so convenient any time but especially when traveling. If you’ve ever shopped a different store, it’s difficult to find what you are looking for but with click list, I complete my order online without having to navigate a new store, plus it saves me time. Someone should include this in a YouTube video for RV’ers!

The winds continued to blow overnight and into the daytime hours with temperatures in 50s for most of the day. But the sun was shining brightly, and the winds began to die down towards late afternoon.

Other than briefly taking Justice on a walk, we stayed inside most of the morning and afternoon. I got out the Dutch Oven for a meal of pork chops smothered in scalloped potatoes. It baked in the oven for a couple of hours, filling the camper and surrounding area with comfort food aroma.

After eating, we decided to take a hiking trail that follows the lake. Justice was loving it, too and we hiked the sandy trail for about 3/4 mile before turning back. The trail is on the side of the hills and has a steep drop-off to the water below on one side and the hill on the other, but it’s wide enough to pass another person. There aren’t many people out, but we did meet a man with his dog and later on our way back, a dad, his son, and their dog. We had the camera with us and saw a couple hummingbirds and got a few photos. There were some interesting-looking ducks and Ron got a couple photos of them, too.

I took a few photos of a butterfly garden they have in the campgrounds. It also has an amphitheater with seating – pretty cool. The park also has a lot of trees, unusual for us to see! They have plaques naming the trees and have a few Valencia orange trees too! The butterfly garden is lovely with various cacti varieties, trees, benches, and birdhouses perched on the fence posts. It is was better weather, I can see sitting here watching the birds and butterflies.

Tomorrow, we move to Lake Havasu State Park which is a top-rated campground. We have 2 campsites there, our first night is at site #21 for one night and our next 3 nights are at site #38, which is right on the beach. They have a dog beach too and it’s located right next to our site – Justice going to love it! I think we will too. Arizona State Parks are amazing!

It’s a beautiful morning, clear skies with moderate temperatures and no hint of the stormy weather on its way. We are headed out of the Quartzite area north to Cattail Cove State Park on Lake Havasu for a 2-night stay. This area is forecast to receive winds too but at 35 – 45mph rather than the 55mph in Quartzite area.

We pack up early and head to RV Relief in Quartzite to dump our tanks and fill our propane. It cost $10 for dumping and $10.80 to top off our propane tank, so very reasonable. It’s a busy place with campers in all 4 lanes to the dump stations and some filling their potable water.

Cattail Cove State Park is located north of our location on SR 95. Check-in time is 2:00pm but we arrive early to beat the wind and fortunately site #7 is open for us to move in upon arrival. This is a lovely campground right next to the Lake and it’s a beautiful setting. We were surprised to see how blue the water is – it was unexpected in this desert environment.

The Colorado River fills Lake Havasu, and the lake is located at the foothills of the Mohave Mountains in an area described as ‘lowland desert’. It is a unique landscape of desert and the blue waters of Lake Havasu – very beautiful.

We get set up quickly and check out the area. Nearby is a large dog park and a dog beach! Justice was ready and made a beeline for the water. It must have been cold because he came out invigorated! There’s a trail beside the lake heading up small hills and Justice is running up them, dragging Ron behind him. It was so funny, and it was so good to see him so energetic and happy. It reminded us of when we were at White Sands – I think he would love to live on the beach!

Our next goal after setting up is to get showers and we, like Justice, felt invigorated afterwards. We fixed a couple of steaks on the Blackstone and had a great supper of salad, sweet potato, and Strip Steak. The winds are picking up, curtailing additional exploration tonight and after cleaning up the dishes and since we have great cellular signals here, we decided to watch some TV before heading to bed. Overnight the winds blew hard, and it rained off and on. The forecast is calling for windy conditions tomorrow as well before calming down Wednesday evening.

We move to another site on Wednesday, then leave the campgrounds on Thursday morning. From here we travel north to Lake Havasu State Park beginning Thursday, Feb 24 through Monday, Feb 27. It’s got great reviews and we are excited to visit it. London Bridge is located there and many other interesting things to do and see. On Monday we move again to Buckskin Mountain, also in the area but further south of our current location and located on the Colorado River.

Happy Birthday Alexis Birt – 23!! We are so proud of you!

It’s warmer overnight in the upper 40s and the forecast is for a high of 72 degrees. Ron spotted some birds and after getting a few photos, determined they were the same ones we saw yesterday. But he got some great shots of both the Mountain Bluebird and the Yellow-Rumped Warbler.

Originally, we were going to stay here until Friday, then head to Joshua Tree National Park in California. We found a free campsite near the south entrance of JTNP at the General George Patton Memorial Museum and planned to stay there until Monday before heading to Lake Havasu in Arizona. Unfortunately, the weather forecast is for high winds beginning Tuesday and continuing through Thursday, followed by rain and near freezing temperatures overnight on the weekend.

The weather here in Quartzite is calling for gusts up to 55mph and with the open desert, there is nothing to block the winds and dust. We decided it was time to leave Quartzite and I was able to get a couple nights at Lake Havasu Cattail State Park about an hour drive north from here. The forecast is a bit better there and the campgrounds may be sheltered with mountains beside it and trees in the campground to block the winds. We plan to stay Tuesday and Wednesday nights here, then decide where to go next based on weather and availability. We have reservations at another state park on Lake Havasu starting on Monday Feb 27 and continuing to Friday March 3. We then will travel to JTNP and the Patton Museum over the weekend.

Staying on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and boon-docking is a great experience and certain we will seek out these sites in the future. We’ll be on our 6th day of it and are proud we were able to ‘survive’ on solar and a few hours of a gas-powered generator. At this point our potable water is running low and our tanks are filling up and it’s time to visit the RV Relief station in town. There are many locations throughout the US where BLM camping is available, some of which have amazing scenery and are located near National Parks and looking forward to them on future trips!

The weather is beautiful this morning, sunny with blue skies and puffy white clouds. We both commented we felt the camper shake once pretty hard sometime during the night but wasn’t sure if we were dreaming. Since we both felt it, I looked if there were any earthquakes last night and there was one in Baja California which is a couple hundred miles due west of here. I think it’s a possibility we felt it.

We had a leisurely morning drinking coffee, but I happened to spot a bird and since we haven’t seen any here, Ron got the camera out to get some photos. We were so glad he did! It was a pair of Mountain Bluebirds!! The males have the turquoise blue feathers on their backs and their neck and belly are pale blue. They do not have any red on them like their cousins, the Eastern and Western birds have. The female was brown and white with similar patterns but no blue.

He also spotted another bird, and this is the Yellow-Rumped Warbler. It is our first photo of a Warbler and excited to capture a few photos of it. We thought we had captured most of the birds in Arizona but excited to get a couple more – especially these two.

We decided it was time to visit Quartzite and check out the Rock and Gem Show. We were also interested in seeing where the RV Relief station was where we can dump our tanks and refill our potable water. So far it doesn’t look like our refrigerator is using much propane here but not sure if the propane tank gauge is working properly. We have a thermometer in the refrigerator and keep checking it to make sure it’s staying at the correct temperatures.

The town of Quartzite, well, I am scratching my head on what’s the attraction. The Rock & Gem show has many tents and displays, with people who are selling their rocks and gems. I assumed these were from Arizona, but most are from other states and international countries. We are novices when it comes to rocks, gems, and crystals, but I always wanted to buy a geode with crystals inside it and thought I’d pick one out that appealed to me. I found one that was reasonably priced, and the vendor gave me a tutorial on the rarity of the black crystals on it. Regardless of if he was being totally truthful, I like the stone and Ron does too and the price was reasonable.

There were other booths and lots of crystals, rocks, gems, and jewelry but overall, it was kind of like a carnival with rather unsavory characters running the booths. We decided its not on our list to visit again.

In reading about Arizona’s oldest tree that is located in Quartzite, we decided to check it out and get a few photos. It’s an Ironwood tree that experts determined is over 1,100 years old. It’s remarkable that it can survive the desert climate with little to no water and temperatures of 130 degrees in the summer and live for a millennium.

We were glad to get back to our desert campsite and relaxed the rest of the day. I fixed some sloppy joes and red potatoes for supper, Ron washed up the dishes and we are planning to run the generator to watch TV while we charge up our devices tonight.

It’s warmer today reaching 72 degrees but slightly overcast and the wind picks up occasionally. While enjoying our morning coffee outside, we decide to fire up the Blackstone and fix a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns with tomato juice to drink. Other than a few light items, we generally don’t eat a meal until 4:00pm but today was perfect for fixing a big breakfast and enjoying the morning.

There are a lot of van campers here, some tents, a couple of former ambulances converted to campers, and a couple of minivan and crossover vehicles. Our closest neighbor is a minivan camper with an older woman and her two dogs who has what looks to be a tent bathroom. There are 2 former ambulances, now campers nearby also and yesterday a station wagon type vehicle pulled up with a travel rack on top of it – we have yet to see anyone come out of this vehicle. Across the area and near the wash, an elderly man has a pickup truck with a tent set up. Further down the area is a group of 5th wheelers who are camped near Plomosa Road and have some ATVs they take out into the desert. Across the road there are quite a few larger rigs, diesel pushers, 5th wheelers etc. and we see a lot of ATVs in that area too.

We are wondering what the draw is to bring at least 250k and upwards of 1m people here each winter. The area doesn’t seem to sport a lot of hiking trails, and other than the big tent during the 2nd half of January, not much in the way of entertainment. There is a rock and gem show we plan to check out and maybe buy an interesting rock or two and Arizona’s oldest tree at 1,050 years old is located in Quartzite to photograph, but is that enough to draw this many people year after year to this area? After pondering this question all day while we sat outside on our free campsite, off grid, doing nothing but taking in nature, and enjoying the 70-degree weather, it suddenly dawned on me that maybe this is what the draw is. It’s free, we are off grid and not wired to any source other than the sun (other than occasionally running a generator) we have no destination to get to, the weather is pleasant, and are completely satisfied just sitting here with no outside distractions, pressures, and stresses – this may very well be the draw.

This evening we make a fire in the solo stove, soaking up the last rays of the sun as it sets on the mountains in the distance.

Temperatures dipped to 30 degrees overnight but as soon as we got up, we fired up the Mr. Heater and we had the camper warmed up in a short time. The cellular connection is pretty good here and I am able to work with no issues. We have both Verizon and AT&T plans but so far rely on AT&T more than Verizon. This location is Verizon and glad, so we don’t exceed our plan with AT&T for the month. We use our phones as hotspots and then with the Sure Call cellular booster, we can pretty much use data like we are on Wifi. We’ve watched a lot of TV shows and with our Roku, we can get everything we have at home. Boon-docking adds another layer because TV’s need electricity and to connect here, we need the generator running. Because streaming eats up the data, we decided to limit what we watch and are reading a couple good apocalyptic books. Ron is on book 5 of a 6-book series called After the Crash and I’m on book 2 of a 10-book series called Black Autumn. Great, we are out in the desert off grid and readying dystopian books – makes for interesting dreams!

We listen to music a lot too, especially during the day or before we head to bed. To save data (at least we think we don’t use data :), we use our iTunes library, rather than Sirius or Pandora. The speaker is Bluetooth and can ran quite a few hours before needing charged. When we start the generator, we make sure to charge up all of our devices including the speaker, laptop, the Anchor charger, sweeper, etc.

People come and go here, and many have dune buggies or 3 wheelers for traveling into the desert. Everyone is spaced out though unless they are with a group, and we see a few with 3 or 4 campers in groups. During the ‘big show’ when the RV tent shows are running from mid-January to end of the month, there are huge groups of campers and we’ve seen pictures of them in a large circle of 20 or 30 or more. These events started back in the early 60’s and certain many of the campers come back year after year, meeting up with old friends.

Ron looked up a geocache near our campsite and we decided to hike over to it and check it out. The terrain was rocky in places, and we had to cross 3 washes before reaching the hidden geocache. We took a few photos, signed the logbook, and selected what looks like a polished stone with maybe a tiger eye in the center. We also photographed a ‘travel bug’ to look up the number on it and determine how far this bug has traveled. It began its journey in 2013 by ‘capt1anclOud, starting in Montana before heading south to Arizona. The tracking bug started out with a screwdriver attached, but someone must have needed one at some point and replaced the screwdriver with a wrench.

I’m not sure what animals live in this area, and we did not hear any birds chattering but Ron did see one. Near our campsite we see what looks like a former prairie dog village but there are not any signs of recent inhabitants. Justice wasn’t interested in sniffing it so it must have been vacant for quite a while.