Recently we have come to the conclusion that living in the open desert is something that makes us very happy.

In our younger years we traveled extensively on the Baja Peninsula and have camped the full length of Mexico and deep into Central America passing through some rather intense desert environments.

On those trips our goals, schedules and destinations usually kept us on the move. Today we have the time to really relax and enjoy the solitude and truly experience this open and beautiful landscape.

In a lot of ways where we are camped now is very similar to living in remote Alaska.

We have been boondocking on BLM land at the foot of the Cargo Muchacho Mtns. just west of Yuma AZ. for a little over a week now.  

Our campsite is surrounded by miles of open space that is virtually cacti free. The dogs have been running loose since we arrived. This is mining country and many old mine shafts and open pits dot these hills.

LuLu finds a rather large hole in Mtns. behind our camp.

From our camp we can see forever and our closest neighbor is at least 1/4 mile away, again kinda sounds like home……

In the distance we can see the US/Mexico border and the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation area, the largest mass of sand dunes in California.

           These dunes are an ORV paradise as you can see by the tracks. We are camped in the distant Mtns.

In the early days these dunes were perceived as a danger to cross country travelers. An obstacle that was feared for its deep sand and sometimes extreme heat.

My mother crossed theses dunes in the late 1920’s with her family as they moved to Calif. She still talks about their adventures while crossing the sand.  

Nowadays the old plank road has been replaced with Interstate 8. Travelers today have no idea of the dangers that were encountered 90 years ago as they cruise by at 75 mph with their air-conditioning on high.

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/elcentro/arch_cult/plankrd.html

                       Whats left of the old plank road at Grays Well

For those of you that have never been up close to the US/Mexico border fence in this area, its impressively robust.

                                         We feel very lucky to live on the north side of this fence

Our stay in the area was punctuated by the threat of a storm. Clouds formed, the sky got very dark and dramatic during the middle of the day, we battened down the hatches.

Luckily we had set up our camp on higher ground and out of the potential flash flood zone.

Without a drop the storm moved north but the residual clouds made for a fantastic sunset.

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Eventually the full moon came out. We built a great fire from juniper wood we hauled all the way from Lake Havasu. We sipped a little red wine, munched on some aged cheese and throughly enjoyed the evening as the pups wrestled in the dirt.

Life is good……..

Soon we plan to head east to the AZ town of Ajo to visit with our Alaskan friends Jan and Rick

keep you posted…………