HagaFinn's BlogSpot: Two Drives in Desert

Tuesday was another sunny and nice day, so we decided to take a drive up to Wickenberg and Congress, Arizona. It was a moderate drive up highway 60 across some wide open spaces. We stopped and did some shopping at the Safeway and auto store in Wickenberg and then drove up to the Escapees RV park at North Ranch. We got into the Escapees RV Bootcamp there in early February so wanted to check it out before we go there. We got a tip on a place to eat and stopped at Nichols in Congress, Arizona. We had a good late lunch there with fifties music and good food and service. Then it was back to the RV park for a quiet night of TV.

Wednesday Afternoon Was a Good Day for Four Wheeling in the Desert

On Wednesday, we took a different kind of ride in the desert with Pamela's cousin Gordon. He borrowed a two person four wheeler and we went for a short ride on to BLM lands. The weather was sunny and in the seventies, so it was a great ride. It opened our eyes to the reason that so many people ride in the desert here. We are not sure that it is for us, but it was a good day for a ride.

Neil and Pamela in Front of the Hugging Cacti

We drove over to the Black Beauty Mine, across some of the same landscape that General George Patton trained his tank troops before World War II. There are a lot of roads and trails from the mining and exploration, as well as the four wheel riders. We only saw one cacti in bloom, but it is still very early for spring in the desert.

Cholla Cacti--Best Viewed from a Distance

Gordon took us up on a bluff where we had a good view of the desert around us and where he has seen bighorn sheep in the past. We did not see any, but it was a great introduction to the desert here. We had a great time, and even saw some of the Octotillo Cactus in bloom.

Another Desert View

Ocotillo Cactus in Bloom

Thursday will be our last day here for a while. On Friday, we move the Fiver to the storage lot here in Desert Gold RV park, and drive to Anaheim before we head to Mexico for a week. We may not have a blog during that time, since we will be in Mexico, but we shall see.