IOur first destination after leaving Phoenix was Vulture Peak Road, just south of Wickenburg. This is a Bureau of Land Management area and we knew there was dispersed camping two miles into the road. Mike and I had hiked Vulture Peak last year and had been impressed with the wilderness there.
We hiked Vulture Peak last year when I was going through chemo.
As we drove along we saw a road going off to the left and found a good place to park the trailer and camp. It was an abandoned mining site but was now littered with broken glass and other assorted items that had been shot up including a computer! We must have picked a favorite spot for target shooting.
Mike went to work cleaning up the glass. One of our goals in this camping journey is to leave each site better than we found it. The common sign found on these lands is "Pack it in, pack it out" meaning whatever you bring in take it back out! What a shame there are so many illiterate people visiting these wilderness places. How else would you account for all the trash left behind?
Anyway, as Mike was cleaning he called me over to check something out. He pointed down to an old metal tub and there was a big, brown tarantula! I'm not a big fan of spiders but I was fascinated by this guy and took several photos. Thank goodness he had no interest in us and just stayed in the tub the whole time we were there.
We were on our honeymoon on wilderness land but we could not prevent the Jeep Tours and OHV's from interrupting our peaceful spot. One afternoon a group of four Jeeps stopped right below our campsite and had their picnic lunch. Really?! There's thousands of acres out there and you have your lunch here? They weren't the only ones to do this, another group drove right through our campsite. We figured us being there probably ruined their target shooting plans or something.
We did go hiking on some of the many trails around and had some pretty decent views. One day was a long, hilly bike ride - good fun and did we ever poop out our dog! We tried out our new "pie irons", (a gift from Mike's daughter, Yib) and made some pretty decent biscuits and eggs.
Mike built a large bonfire in one of the metal mining tubs (Not the tarantula's tub) in order to ring in the New Year. (Although we did not make it to midnight).
Ok, the biscuits look burned but they were really good.
Looking for more peace and less action it was time to move along. We packed up and drove into Wickenburg to research our options. As we searched the map we found an abundance of BLM lands heading west on Route 60. We knew eventually we would need to go to California for a wedding in mid-January. Down Route 60 we went past miles and miles of cotton fields and ranches and not much else.
Heading north out of Wenden (a tiny town with a cotton farm, cafe, store, post office, at least three churches and farm worker residences) we veered off on a dirt utility road and literally headed for the hills. I knew when we reached the base of the mountains we would be on BLM land. We finally came to a fork in the road, one way was a dead end backed up to the hills so it was a good place to camp.
I became obsessed with knowing where we were exactly. After all, I had been studying maps and researching different areas. Our cell phones were useless. We had no signal and we were in the middle of nowhere! I finally had to "let it go" and help Mike get down to business, unpacking, gathering wood and setting up camp.
We wanted a more quiet location and we certainly found it! We saw one vehicle while camped there. It was a local rancher and he provided us with our location. We were backed up to the Harcuvar Mountains - yup, in the middle of nowhere.
He also told us that during World War II General Patton had done some troop training just a little west of where we were camping. This was classified information finally released during the 1980's. Residents and visitors were cautioned that there may be live remnants of unexploded shells used during war training exercises.
Mining was big in the hills surrounding us and I discovered an abandoned mine while out walking Kilo. This mine was fenced off with a warning sign and when I peaked down into it I could not see the bottom.
We hiked, rode our bikes, cooked over the fire using our new, nifty pie irons, read books and talked. One morning we watched a Road Runner hunting on the hill above us and we heard coyotes every day but didn't see them. This was truly a remote area and feeling the need to reconnect with civilization we prepared to leave. We practically have this "pack and go" thing down to a science. What used to take us half a day is now done in less than two hours.
Soon we were on our way bumping along the rough road. Driving back into Wendon, we stopped at the post office so I could mail some notes. Mike got out to look over the trailer, walked to the back and then something caught his eye. Because one of the pins was not put in place on our Thule bike rack, Mike's bike had crashed down into the trailer, a pedal and handlebar actually impaling the front of the trailer! I mean we are talking about seeing daylight through those holes. Not only that but the fork on his bike had snapped off on impact leaving fork and tire somewhere back in the wilderness!
The way we cope with these situations is to find the humor in it - after all no one was hurt. We laughed thinking about the previous trailer's owner and how he kept it so pristine. "Just a few scratches on the upholstery from the cat" he told us. We pictured him looking at the R-Pod now with a tear running down his face and that got us laughing!
After making some very temporary repairs (using plastic grocery bags and duct tape) we were on our way once more. We decided to head for Quartzsite, Arizona home of a huge swap meet and a big destination for snowbird RVers. There are large areas of BLM land around the Colorado River Valley where we could park and camp.
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