Day 5 - To Caballo State Park

Thursday - Day 5: 

I woke up around 4:30 am and drove to the showers. I was already packed up and ready to pull out at first light. I realized I'd lost my coffee filter and had to return to the campsite, where I found it lying in the dirt next to a big rock. 

Today I had two choices in getting to Truth or Consequences; 1) Hwy 180 to Deming, then I10 to Las Cruces then I25 up to TorC (120 miles and 1.5 hours), or 2) Hwy 180 to Hwy 61 to Hwy 152. (80 miles and 2 hours).  I took the short distance/longer time drive and was glad I did. I really enjoyed the drive. It took me up to Emory Pass,  8228 ft elevation and a bit of snow, then back down into Hillsboro, a quirky tiny town, and dropped me off right at Caballo, with the State Park just 3 minutes to the right.  My GPS, by the way gave me WRONG directions, telling me to turn LEFT.  I just happened to see a road sign telling me to go RIGHT. 

Highlights of the trip included seeing 2 separate herds of deer, a flock of wild turkeys, and a hawk trying to lift a rabbit as big as itself! Also, somewhere between mile marker 25-27 PAY ATTENTION and go very slow because it's like you pass into the twilight zone, as you suddenly find yourself on a drop-dead gorgeous road between two steep rocky cliffs - mind blowing! It all happened so fast! I should have stopped, but my phone photos wouldn't have done it justice. It's one of those things you have to see for yourself.

Here are some photos of my drive:

These deer weren't afraid at all. They just moseyed off the road and stared at me! 

The highest point of the drive.

On the drive up, I was surprised at all the DEAD pine trees to my right.

I wondered what killed them all? 

Was it a fire?

Disease?

Pests?

A shame, whatever it was, but it does look like the forest is coming back.

View at the top of the pass was incredible. I wish my iPhone took better photos

I thought this was a red candle in a niche. About 30 feet up a cliff!
Turned out to be a piece of red plastic that had blown into the crevice!  

This was a pretty cool piece of old road. So NARROW!

The black dots are cows! These rocks are HUGE!

Temp at the summit

Temp 1/2 hour later

 I stopped at a tiny pull out park to have breakfast on the way down the mountain and was pleasantly surprised by this large flock of wild turkeys. They weren't frightened by me either, and just slowly pecked their way down the stream, having THEIR breakfast!

I passed through a sweet little town called Hillsboro. It was like going back in time. I had to stop to take a photo of this gas pump. We had one just like it when I was growing up to gas up our tractors and trucks on the ranch.

This was a very artsy little town

The Enchanted Tree B&B.
I probably wouldn't want to stay here!

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I thought I might stay at Caballo State Park, but after driving into it, I decided the camps were too close together. Instead, I chose to drive another couple of miles into Percha Dam State Park. I kept driving back, back, back, and ended up at the very end of the road, RIGHT on the river. Beautiful spot with plenty of space between camps. Picnic Table, barbecue and a fire ring, though I won't use any of those in this high wind.

I did have to dig out the stove this afternoon and cooked up some burger that had to be used. I made taco meat, putting the leftovers in a freezer bag for tomorrow. They sure were good!

I will stay the night here, then went to TorC early in the morning to get coffee and see the village. I have no desire for hot tubbing, so will probably head back down toward Las Cruces tomorrow and maybe even try to make it to White Sands.

I'm feeling like I'm eating right and losing a bit of weight. Walking has been painful as I've developed something weird in the middle of my right foot pad, right behind my middle toe. I've been massaging it, but it hurts when I walk, which sucks big time. Hopefully somewhere along the way, I'll find a practitioner who deals with hurt feet.

Guess that's all for now.

Happy Trails!

Annie

A SPECTACULAR Sunset at Quartzsite!

Generally, one would begin talking about the day in the morning, then end with the evening, but THIS was THE most spectacular sunset I've ever seen in my life.  This is a photo of our friends' brand new rig, parked next to us at the Hi Jolly Campground, in Quartzsite, Arzona.  It could be a Chamber of Commerce photo for the city!  This photo is not retouched at all, and I couldn't capture the true essence of the color with my iPhone. If only I'd had a "real" camera!

Hi Jolly Campground, Quartzsite, Arizona

Mind blowing! 

It was all we could do 

to stand with our mouths open 

and drink it all in.

Yesterday morning, my folding solar panels arrived!  I had been trying to charge my laptop on my car battery via an inverter, but it was really too much of a drain on my battery. So I ordered a 100 watt solar suitcase and an AGM battery.  I had them sent to a little shop in Quartzsite, Arizona that receives packages for snowbirds. Holy heck, that battery was heavy!  I had it placed it in the passenger seat floorboard, and hooked up the cables, and VOILA!  I had electricity from the sun, like magic!

My 100 watt and my 30 watt solar panels

The battery sits in the passenger floorboard along with my laundry bucket

Two of my favorite camping companions also showed up!

PICKLE

And Pickle's mom, Merle!

We hung out and waited like vultures for my favorite campspot in the Hi Jolly park to become vacant this morning, and moved right in!   Once we were settled in, it was laundry day!

The warm wind dried our clothes in no time!

We hung three clotheslines of paracord 

A girl can't have too much paracord! 

There was a warm gentle wind most of the day 

and it dried the clothes out quickly. 

While the clothes were drying, I had a light lunch of fruit and home-cured olives, a gift from Joe, who processed several gallons this year! Thanks Joe! They are mighty tasty!

The day ended with this gorgeous freaky sunset!

We stood out and watched it for a long time,

until it completely faded.

What a joy and a blessing

to live so close to Mother Earth!

It's now 1 am.

The wind outside is blowing like crazy,

rocking the van,

and it woke me up!

The dust from that wind

could be what caused the sunset...

though people all over the USA got the same gorgeous color tonight.

Whatever the cause,

it was amazing,

and

I'm happy to have experienced this!

Time now to try to get a few more hours of shut-eye.

Good night, world!

Love,

Annie

Bath Time in the Van

Several people have asked how I take a bath in the van so I thought I'd do a quick blog and talk about it.

I learned to take a bath in a washtub years ago when I'd go camping with my grandparents.  Now I can do it in a few short minutes!

First, you will need a washtub of some type. Mine is an old cast aluminum washpan, clad in porcelain. Looks like this:

I love this pan because it can go directly on the fire to heat up the water. I have been saving the melted ice from my ice chest for bathing while here in the desert, since water is at such a premium. I just empty it into this pan, then stick it on the coleman stove to heat up.

While I wait for the water to heat, I get my towel and washcloth and soap ready. I use a Melaleuca Original Shampoo for both my hair and body.

Once the water is hot enough, I wash my hair first.  I lean over the pan and use a cup to dip water over my hair, catching the water in the pan. Then I apply the shampoo using as little as possible.  I pour a couple of cupfuls of water over my head and do NOT catch that water in the pan - just do it over the ground.  Then I finish rinsing letting the soapy water go into the pan.

Next, I move the pan into my van and set it on the floor.

Go inside and undress.

Start at the top and work down.

Face and neck
Arms, chest, belly and back

Then I squat over the soap water and wash my genitals.

Next I do legs and finally feet.

Once I'm dressed, I take the water outside and I wash my car down with it!

I learned this from my full-timing friend, Karylee!

Keeping your van clean keeps you from looking like a vagrant, for one.

It also keeps the dust from flying in every time you open a door!

The water gets poured on a bush or tree, and I'm done!

Every few days, I take a full shower, either in my own shower tent with my battery operated immersible shower, or I pay for a shower in town ($8 in Quartzsite or $7 if you get a 10-shower punchcard).

Yesterday, I set up my office and got all of my reservations for my upcoming Camino trip in order.  Do you like my office view?

My neighbor kindly let me use his generator to charge my computer.

I am hoping my new solar suitcase arrives today so I can do my own charging.

Yesterday I went to get an orange out of my fruit/veggie bag, which I had hanging high on a tree, and found out I'd had a visitor!

A coyote had tried to gnaw his way into the bag.

He actually got through the mesh and took some chunks out of one of my potatoes.  Danged critter!  That was a new bag!

I'm waiting for my friend Merle to show up and hoping to make a trip down to Algadones soon. I need to see the dermatologist and get some new glasses.

The weather will be in the 80's here today so it's time to get off here,

have some breakfast, and find some shade.

Have a great day!

Annie

Another Purge! Parker Strip.

After getting my new battery, I headed back to Parker Strip, hoping to nab Karylee's nice spot by the river and stay 2 weeks.  Luckily I only paid through the 5th, because I ended up leaving early.  The morning Karylee left, a crew began construction on some condos right across the river. The giant earthmovers pounded incessantly for hours, and after a while, I realized this wasn't going to stop for some days.

I packed up and left and headed back to Desert Hot Springs.
Here are some photos of my 2 night stay at Parker Strip.

Camp host Lynn paying attention to one of the many burros that visit each day.

Parker has the most stunning sunrises and sunsets!

Karylee's hummingbird feeder goes with her everywhere!

We woke up around 4:30 am to watch the Supermoon Lunar Eclipse.

I tried to catch photos, but my iPhone wouldn't cooperate, 

so I nabbed this one from Facebook. 

It really did look like this.

It was just spectacular!

I'm so glad I woke up to watch.

Once more, I said goodbye to Karylee.

Then I headed back to Desert Hot Springs for a much-needed hot tub 

and a visit with my ex and friend, Joe.  

While there I took EVERYTHING out of the van.

I washed her, inside and out.

I got rid of even more things I don't need to carry around.

A friend, Renko, gave me a rack for the tailgate,

and Joe put it on for me.

I bought a box to hold some of the items 

that were taking up space inside.

I bought a chain and lock for the propane tank, 

which now lives outside.

And I bought some straps to hold everything on tight.

Did I tell you I bought a toilet?

I got weary of dealing with the Luggable Loo disposal bags.

The toilet is so much more comfortable,

and at night I use it as a nightstand.

I have so much more room inside now!

Tomorrow I head back to Cibola 

to meet up with Vern for a couple of nights.

Then I'm not sure...

Maybe I'll go across southern Arizona, 

then back across Route 66 when it warms up a bit.

Wherever I go,

it will be an adventure!

Life is so good!

Stay tuned.

Love,

Annie