Day 3 Gila Cliff Dwellings, New Mexico

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

I got up early and made coffee, then into Walmart to do my business. I drove to the Visitor's Center in Silver City and parked. I walked the streets of Old Town and returned in time for the Visitor Center's opening. The lady there was funny, not real helpful. It was going to be only 20 degrees up at Gila Cliffs, so I said, "I'd like to find a campground at a lower elevation because it's cold," she responded, "You must not be from the desert. It's always cold at night."  I said, "Actually, I'm from Desert Hot Springs, and it's in the high 30's there, not the low 20's."  I asked about State Parks. She didn't know anything. I asked if there were campgrounds nearby. She didn't know. I did manage to nab quite a few brochures, so I'll answer my questions myself. I did ask her how long it would take to get to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. She said about 2-2.5 hours. Yikes!

I drove up to the Cliff Dwellings. The trip is only about 40 miles but the road is very narrow and winding. It ended up taking me about 1. 5 hours. The Visitor Center movie was very good, explaining why they thought the natives moved into the cliffs and why they left after only about 25 years. The walk to the Dwellings was short, maybe 1.5 miles round trip, but steep. I went up counter-clockwise to avoid the 185 stairs. I came back down the way I went up. It wasn't too hard but I am WAY out of shape and had to stop twice to rest and let my heartbeat slow down. 

I took a lot of great photos. Here are a few.

The "T" shaped windows were explained to us as a way of identifying at least one man who lived there. The window represents a man with a haircut particular to a certain tribe, with bangs, and cut at the chin. I'm not sure if this is true, I haven't been able to find anything online about it, but it was an interesting explanation. 

On the way up, I stopped at Gila Hot Springs. Wonderful, beautiful place. $8/night to camp and use tubs. About 12 places close to 3 tubs right on the river. This is a working farm. The lady raises goats so there were hundreds of goats, and lots of cute babies. I thought about Michael, my son-in-law, who loves goats!  He'd like this place! I decided 20 degrees was just too cold, so I didn't stay the night there, but it sure would be convenient if a person was there in a little warmer weather. You could stop and reserve your spot before going up to the Dwellings. The camping spots are nicely spaced, and all are right on the riverbank. A very sweet place!

This beautiful cliff is the first thing you see to your right driving up the highway.

A wonderful sculptured fountain!

The pools are VERY clean and right on the river

It's nice to have shade!

 Coming down, I took a different route, passing by a pretty lake and several campgrounds which were still closed for the season. Apparently they all open in April. The road was MUCH better.  Route 15 going up was VERY narrow and curvy, though beautiful. I think if you had an RV it could take up to 3 hours to get up there.  Route 35 and 61 coming down was MUCH easier and if I were going up again, it is the route I would take. I actually drove about 50 mph most of the way. It took about 1.5 hours to get down to City of Rocks State Park.  

I bought a non-resident yearly pass for $225. I figure I'll get my money's worth by staying in NM a good 6-8 weeks until time to head back to the Pacific Northwest. I wanted to at least try it to see if it was a good deal and based on what I'm seeing at City of Rocks, I think I'll be really happy! There are toilets, garbage cans, and hot showers here. The dry campsites are nicely spaced apart. The electric ones are much closer together - but I don't need electricity. 

They actually give you TWO passes, one for your vehicle and one for your trailer. I made the mistake of putting the trailer one on the car. In fact, I should have done what one of my friends later suggested, and that would be to laminate BOTH. Then I could have given the passes to someone when I got back to Arizona.  I'm not sure I'll use this long enough to make it pay for itself, but I wanted to see as many of the state parks as possible to decide if this was an option for me.  Thought I'm having a great time, I think there's nothing here that's any better than Quartzsite, Arizona, for me, anyway. I plan on spending summers in the Pacific Northwest and winters down in Quartzsite area. But this trip was on my bucket list, so I'm happy I'm doing it now.

There really isn't much of a cell signal here, which sort of suck and is sort of good.  I'm wanting to be alone, so I'm fine with no internet now and then. I reserved my spot for 5 days - until Sunday - though tomorrow night I'm camping at Faywood Hot Springs. Gonna just leave my chair and a few other items here and hold my place.

I'm feeling a little better after my meltdown. It felt good to get a lot of that off my chest - I really do feel better when I'm living out of the van - out in nature. My mother called the 2nd night and I had to spend time on the phone with AT&T.  It was a little stressful. When I told her I was thinking of buying an RV, of course, she said "I wish you wouldn't spend your money on an RV!" But honestly, I think the reason she wants me to buy a HOUSE is so she can buy one near me in Desert Hot Springs, and I'm not sure that's what I want. I think it would be too much stress for me to have to deal with her constant negativity. I am very sorry that her life isn't what she wants it to be, but it's HER life, and I don't want to live it. I'm VERY happy living my own. I told her I was happy traveling. I've told her many times. 

I put my angry post back into draft form. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I had a bit of a meltdown on my first night, and shared things that probably shouldn't have been made public, though I had a LOT of support and that really helped me.

I need to find a Toyota dealer somewhere along the way.   My spare tire moves around - it sort of "floats" beneath the van, and I believe it should be more stable. I also want to get this fucking alarm disabled!  I hate this damned thing! I keep setting it off by accident.

The little van is doing fine otherwise. Comfy-cozy. Gas mileage has been pretty good, about 16 mph but I've been driving 80-85. Speed limit here is 75 and everyone goes 10 miles faster. There's really no way to safely drive 65 mph without pissing everyone off.

Not yet sure where I'll go from here. I'll spend some time looking into that in the next few days.

Now, it's time to get ready for bed ... after I go take a look at the stars.

I bet there will be a kazillion of them!

Sleep well, friends!

Annie

Day 2 - Silver City, New Mexico

It was a busy morning!

I woke up VERY early and watched a gorgeous sunrise from the road.

I stopped for coffee at Starbucks, then went to the YMCA for a shower. 

This is a very nice, BIG YMCA with lots of machines, 

a pool, and nice lockers. 

Take your own towel! 

And it was FREE!

You can get up to 6 FREE day passes at the YMCA - 

and I'm not sure if this is national or statewide, 

and the lady at the counter didn't know either!  

At any rate, it was a nice hot shower 

and I washed off a lot of the negativity 

that kept me awake all night.

From there, I found Charles Schwab's building 

and opened my savings account. 

Also bought a bit more stock.

Then I headed for New Mexico.

I thought about staying at Kurtchner Caverns, 

closer to the Arizona/New Mexico border

 but their campground was full and the overflow was $15 a night. 

I've spent a lot on gas these two days,

driving across Arizona from California, 

so I decided to save my dollars and keep driving. 

This afternoon I made it to Silver City, New Mexico.

The land was covered with flowers but unfortunately,

 there was no place to pull over or stop:

I had planned on stopping in Lordsburg Veterans Park, 

but the stop was so desolate and run down, 

and it was so early, 

I decided to put in another hour of driving.

I'm sleeping at the Walmart tonight in Silver City. 

The driving was long and hard, 

but I'm feeling more positive and really happy to have made it here. 

Tomorrow starts a brand new adventure!

I will explore Silver City,

then take a hike up to Gila Cliff Dwellings.

After, I have a reservation at Faywood Hot Springs,
so the Cliff Dwellings may have to wait a day.

Then I'm hoping to buy the New Mexico State Parks Pass,

and plan on hunkering down a few days

once I reach City of Rocks.
(if I can find a camping spot!)

Photo courtesy of the internet!

Hope to see you there!

Happy Trails!

Annie

Day 1 - Jim Kortsen West Pinal Park

Today was Day 1 of my New Mexico trip.  After bidding farewell to Joe and my wonderful friends, Kara and Chris Udziela, I finished packing up the van and hit the road!  I can't believe we didn't take photos!!! I stole this one from Kara's Facebook page.

I drove to Quartzsite first and delivered a pet portrait of her beloved dog, Kefa,  to Joyce Feganchick. It always feels so good to make people happy!  I was a little embarrassed, having driven in the heat to QZ and in great need of a shower, but Joyce didn't seem to mind.

Stopped by the Roadrunner market and picked up some milk and chips, 

then on toward Tucson.

Tonight I'm camping at Jim Kortsen West Pinal Park.

It costs $10/night.

More than I like to pay, 

but the free spots I checked on before this one

just didn't feel safe.

Sometimes you have to just listen to your gut.

Tomorrow morning, 

my plan is to have coffee,

then go to the Lighthouse YMCA in Tucson 

for a shower!

After that, I need to stop at my bank

and deposit a check.

I used to live near here, in Sasabe,

when I was younger 

and worked at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.

So I've seen Old Tucson Studios and much of the town.

I do think I'll take a look at the Miniature Museum

(if they're open on Mondays!)

and the Xavier del Bac Mission tomorrow.

Maybe I'll sleep at the Casino,

then continue on to New Mexico on Tuesday.

Here is a photo of my campspot tonight.

These are nice spots.

No water or toilets, but covered tables

and an official presence.

Happy Trails!

Annie

Anza Borrego and then . .

Can you see the crow?

Today, I headed to Anza Borrego to spend a day or three with Merle and Gary. It's milky haze again here today, which bums me out, but the company is good! 
Merle and Gary went to the store and there's a crow complaining on the other side of the gulch!

Saturday and Sunday, my friends Kara and Chris will be visiting at Joe's place, so I'll head back for that. And then Monday, unless plans change, I hope to be on the road headed to New Mexico.

So far, the trip ahead is looking like this for the Southern section:

Quartzsite
Sonoran Desert National Monument
Picacho Peaks State Park
Tucson - Saguaro National Park
Chiricahua National Monument
Lordsburg - Veterans Park
Gila Cliff Dwellings - Grapevine Campground
Truth or Consequences - Elephant Butte Lake
White Sands
Carlsbad Caverns
Roswell
Portales - Blackwater Draw Museum and Oasis State Park
Endee - Russell's Truck Stop
Santa Rosa Villanueva State Park

That's the rough plan going East.
But you know how plans are . . . they can change and turn on a dime!
So we'll see.

I'd like to then head up and come back via old Route 66, more or less.
But we'll see how the weather does and how I do.

Looking forward to seeing some new places!

Happy Trails!
Annie

American Girl Mine

 I’ve had a great time camp the last few days at American girl mine. I made some new friends and met some old friends but my feet are getting itchy and it’s time to move on. I think tomorrow I’ll probably camp at Cibola or continue on to Joshua Tree and spend a few days there. I understand the flower bloom there is beautiful. I will probably go to Anza Borrego after 2 March because a very good friend is visiting that weekend and I want to spend time with her.

Today I took a little walk out to the desert here. There are some tiny flowers blooming and the Ocatillo are ready to pop!

My van is quite cozy!

My Mr. Buddy Heater keeps me warm in the mornings.

Mistletoe?

Ocatillo beginning to bloom

Targets

Found a cool fireplace, except it was built in a WASH!  Doh!

Decorated with some type of coin sprayed gold.

Cibola National Wildlife Refuge - Sunday, February 24, 2019

This morning I'm boondocking in my van on a small plateau, overlooking a sandy wash.  Beyond that is the beautiful desert, green and blooming from the rains. Here and there, a lone saquaro will break the horizon. Beyond that is a line of red, rocky hills. The only noises are the slight breeze, the occasional braying of a lonesome wild donkey, a yipping family of coyotes, and the cries of the waterfowl at the National Park pond a half-mile away.

The sky, beautifully bright blue at dawn, is now a sick milky white from chemical trails sprayed by bioengineers, supposedly trying to block the sun's rays and solve global warming. I believe there's probably a more insidious reason for their spraying, and it probably has to do with chemical warfare and controlling the weather and the food supply. Control the food, control the people. It also has been used (they admit) and could be used in the future, for population control.  Spray a community with a bacteria or virus (or a poison) and watch the old and infirm get sick and die. Scary stuff, but unfortunately, true.

From this . . .

To this in a matter of an hour!

Despite the milky skies, I love this place, Cibola, and I love being alone in my van. Some days I wonder if I'm just a hermit at heart. I've always enjoyed being alone, and though I love my friends and family, I also find strength and solace in empty places. 

As a child, I'd get my chores done early on Saturday morning, then while the other children were watching cartoons, I'd run away to the middle of the orange grove where all I could hear was the buzzing of the bees. I might climb the hills over our town and look down at the ant-like people and cars running to and fro, or hike into the middle of a corn field and lie on my back.  I might swim to an island mid-river where I could lay in the sand with my feet in the cold water, just to be alone.

Being close to nature heals me. I'd rather watch a sunrise than any Oscar-awarded movie. I'd rather listen to the braying of the wild burros or the calls of the coyote family, than listen to gossip, or empty and boring conversations about whatever is popular in today's broken American culture. 

As much as I loved walking the Camino Santiago, it's become too busy for me. Too many people with bad manners. Too much trash.  Too much partying and rudeness.

Now, my van is my escape, though I fear what will happen when the movie based on the book "Nomadland," comes out. It could be the end of van life as we know it, just as the movie, "The Way," was the end of the Camino Santiago in so many ways. Ironically, I was an extra in both movies. I have to ask myself what that says about me?

For now, for today, for this week and this month, and this year, I'll savor this van life.  The quiet gives me time to think, to reflect on my life. The beauty here in nature fills my soul.

Living in nature brings back memories of my grandmother, Ma, who reared me. Pa and Ma had a motorhome and spent the winters in the desert. They'd spend summers in Sequoia National park. She loved that life!  She also loved God's Earth!  We were kindred spirits, Ma and I. She and I would lie on our backs in the grass and watch the passing clouds. Summers, we would hike to Sunset Rock each evening, sit in silence, and watch the sun sink below the horizon, exclaiming at the spectacular colors!  

Ma . . . I miss her so much. I feel her with me when I'm alone in the desert. She's watching those sunrises with me, counting my blessings with me, reminding me to stay positive, and to give thanks for each and every day I wake up alive.

I got so depressed watching the skies milk up, I drove to Joshua Tree to escape the spray. The skies were clear and blue there. You could literally see the curtain where the spray ended.  The desert floor was blooming.  It was beautiful!

I realize some of you are following my blog because of the Camino. I will keep those posts on here. You'll just need to scroll down to posts before 2019.  For a while, I thought I'd keep TWO blogs, one for the Camino and one for my Van Adventures, but it's just become too much to do.  Instead, I'm going to bring the posts about my van over to this page, probably later this week.

I will continue to post about my simple life, and maybe if the crowds on the Camino thin out, I'll return. But for now, I plan on exploring the United States. Last winter I explored Arizona.  This year, I will explore New Mexico.

I hope you'll follow along.

Love,

Annie