As you may remember we gave spent the last 6 months at the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.
This area is located between Sierra Vista to the west and Bisbee to the south east and not far from Tombstone to the east. This has given me the opportunity to explore these areas, learn some of the natural history and geology of the region and just have fun. When my father and I were making jewelry, we were very partial to the turquoise from the Bisbee mines. The old town of Bisbee is still a living community, but mostly lives on tourism and the last remaining copper mine for its existence. The town has been preserved and caters to the tourist as well as the community. It is quaint and nice.
Basically all I did was to unlock the gates to the three sites in the morning and lock them at sunset. I occasionally checked the trails periodically and did some minor maintenance that was needed, raise and lower the American flag at applicable times. Easy and fun meeting and learning from the volunteers here. I have met several of the Friends of the San Pedro River (FSPR) volunteers and have enjoyed the 'Interpretive Walks' and other educational activities. I have yet to become proficient in naming birds and other creatures or rock formations, but at least I try.
The biggest attraction here are the birds. The combination of deserts and sky of southeastern Arizona, at the northern edge of the Sierra Madre mountain range, makes for one of the best places to watch birds in North America. In the winter when much of North America is covered in snow and ice many of the sparrows, blackbirds, hawks, ducks, owls, and other species come here to nest. In the Spring and early summer, thousands of neotropical migrants from Central and South America travel along the San Pedro River flyway to settle in this valley between the Huachuca, Patagonia and Santa Rita mountains to breed and nest. It has been fun, but I haven't been successful in taking good photos.
I was able to get a few photos of some birds. The other wildlife eluded me, especially when I was without my camera. I ran across a small band of Javelina, several coyotes, lizards, and several other birds.
Below are a few photos of some of the sights we've enjoyed during our time in the Sierra Vista and as we travelled to San Diego.
The second biggest activity in our area was watching the illegals sneak through the area and the Border Patrol chasing and catching them. A helicopter came and landed near our home site a couple of times along with a plethora of Patrol cars and officers.
Speaking of the Border Patrol - we went through 6 check points between Sierra Vista and San Diego. You can see the high wall that denotes the border at many spots along Interstate 8.
Basically our weather had been getting progressively warmer since mid March. Molly and I are happy that we can spend a little more time outside. We did have a few days in the high 70's last week, but we expect only low 80's for the rest of the month as we move on to California.
I visited the Ice Age Mammoth burial site as well as the ancient petroglyphs and ghost towns around the area. The photo ops were meager. There really wasn't much to get photos of.
I have been investigating some areas where I can act as camp host for next winter. The choices included some Bureau of Land Management areas, specifically the thousand acre areas near Blythe California and a few locations near Yuma, Arizona. I left Sierra Vista and spent a couple of days in Tucson, after enjoying some time and a dinner with our friends Sandy and Bob who live in Tubac. It is always great to spend time with them.
From Tucson we headed northwest to Blythe, California. We found the Midland Long Term Visitor Area by late afternoon. We spent the night and hoped to meet the existing camp host the next day. Since the area is only open from Sept 15 to April 15, she had already departed. I did talk to one of the remaining campers and was told that the area does get crowded during the winter months.
I had communicated with the BLM area manager and he explained that there were 2 other sites nearby. I followed the directions and found a 9 mile long heavily rutted gravel road from the local state penitentiary . I drove down the road for about 1/2 mile and elected to forgo any further investigation. I will not apply for these posts. And so the saga continues.
From here we headed south to Yuma to check out another BLM area near the Imperial Dam and lakes near the Colorado River. I met the camp host at the main site and was told that they would be returning in the winter, but that some of the other, more secluded areas may have a vacancy. I will investigate this option.
In our travel from this site we passed through the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. There may be a camp host position available here. Hmmm? We enjoyed our time there and took our time getting to San Diego. Saturday afternoon we pulled into a favorite RV park at the Chula Vista Harbor area just south of the city of San Diego. This is a nice resort with good amenities for people and the dogs.
I will have the opportunity to visit with my daughter, Brandi and family here and then on to visit my cousin in Chino, Terri and family in Bakersfield and then head north to Lake Tahoe by May 4. Bye for now.
Bruce and Molly
Link back to my "Bruce The Nomad" page.
I have updated this page and added my "2009 Travel Plan".