Before Wickenburg - catch up

 This year we decided to take a different route from Spokane back to Wickenburg.  I wrote about some of the things that we saw and did on that route in a previous blog, here is the rest.....

After Wells, Nevada we continued south on rt. 93 into another small rural town, Ely where we stayed at the Valley View RV Park.     Our site was beautiful, backed into a grove of HUGE trees and looking out at the distant mountains.    The back section of the park, however, was a little run down and....sort of scary.   It served our purpose, though, and I had a delightful conversation with the woman in the office.    She suggested, since we only had one day in the area, that we take lunch and drive up the nearby Success Scenic Loop.      We were so glad we took her advice.    It was a beautiful drive on a well maintained gravel road that began at 7500 ft. and climbed up into the Schell Creek Mountain range.  

The weather was threatening, as it seemed to be on every single off-road drive we took in Nevada this trip, but we found shelter from a brief rain/wind event in a deep grove of Aspen.     We're glad we brought our lunch, this was a perfect spot (inside Rocky, of course).

 

Once again, we enjoyed our turkey sandwiches in a beautiful, quiet spot that needed no reservations.     We were surrounded by hundreds of arborglyphs of varying age and creativity.  

  

We had the entire road to ourselves, although we did see one camper in the distance....can you see them?

The road took us through miles of blindingly white Aspen, beside racing little streams and huge views.

And even a few late blooming patches of flowers and interesting remnants of flowers....

The loop ended about 40 miles from where we started in the small mining town of McGill.    We had no time to explore it but perhaps next time?

From Ely we drove south once more on rt.93 to the next town of any size, Caliente.

Once again, the campground was nothing to write home about but, after walking the grounds, we found a site to our liking and settled in for a day of exploring.

We headed into Rainbow Canyon on a paved road, stopping briefly at pretty little Kershaw-Ryan State Park.    Once again, we were the only ones there.   I love it!

Actually, I lied.  There was one man at the park, repainting NO PARKING signs along part of the roadway.    He smiled pleasantly as we drove through one of the recently painted areas and left white tire tracks behind us....sorry.    The scenery was just so beautiful....

fall was just beginning to paint

We did get out and walk around the beautifully landscaped park.   It seemed to have some nice trails also, but it was SO HOT that they didn't look inviting.   We even took refuge under a huge tree covered with vines (until bugs started raining down on us),  Ah well.... 

oh Dave

We left the little park, and continued along our way further into Rainbow Canyon, leaving telltale tire tracks trailing behind.

The drive was phenomenal.   We followed the path of huge, violently green Cottonwoods trees that lined Meadow Valley Wash.    A train track ran along the entire way, crossing from one side of the road to the other.    Not a train in sight, however.

 We stopped for lunch beside the Wash, we always enjoy the sound of rushing water and silence....yes, silence has a sound!

sheer walls looked perfect for climbing

This was not a loop drive so we returned the same way we came, continuing to enjoy the views.      We did see a sad but very interesting (to us, that is...) thing on the way home.

It appeared that a juvenile Great Horned Owl had gotten caught in a barbed wire fence on a nighttime hunting expedition.    It was long dead but made us very sad to see such a majestic creature in such a situation.      Interesting to us, in that we could examine it very closely.     We touched the beak and talons, looked closely at the leading edge of its flight feathers, touched the down along it's chest - not something that most people get to do.    The beak and talons were razor sharp; mice beware!    We took a feather to remember it by and drove away.

Our next, and last stop before Wickenburg, was Boulder City, Nevada.   We got a nice spot at the Elks Lodge and had a couple days to visit with dear friends Pam and John before they left on an adventure of their own.

site 4

Food, Friends, Familiar and Favorite places.....our last stop!   We hadn't seen them since February, so we were busy talking and eating and catching up, that's why there are no pictures. 

One day we went to a new to us place, recommended by Pam.    I'm a sucker for good ice cream and if it comes at the end of an interesting drive, all the better.    Our destination was in Tecopa, California - The China Ranch Date Farm.

Date milk shake - here we come! 

The drive took us through the stark Mohave Desert near the southern end of Death Valley.

Lunch this day was not in a riparian setting, as you might have guessed.  

The Date ranch turn off was not what we expected.   It wound off the paved road down and into a moon scape.   Pam said there was a date farm ahead, she showed pictures.   

it begins to look promising....

She was right!    A sweet little bakery and date shop sat at the end of the dusty road and....they had date shakes!

I took no pictures inside, my picture taking hand was wrapped around a delicious, cold date shake.      We came home with a couple of highly recommended date/nut muffins also.   Don't judge.

I'm always taken by the difference access to water makes in a landscape.   One side of the road, above, gets water, the other doesn't.

The rest of our time in Boulder City was spent revisiting some the favorite places we could see from the Jeep, on a paved road.    Pam reminded me of how dangerous it could be to explore off road in the 100+ degree temperatures they were experiencing.  

Some pretty nice sights through the windshield.      We were, once again, surprised by how low Lake Mead has gotten.

At one point  our GPS showed me that we were well underwater when my windshield view showed we clearly were NOT.    

I'd hate to pull our boat out on this ramp!

That's not to say there isn't any water in the lake.   In places you could think that it wasn't a problem at all.    Until you realize how far away from the original shoreline you are standing.

After saying goodbye to Boulder City we took a different route from Boulder City to Wickenburg, to avoid construction.    It took us through Lake Havasu City and along the Colorado River.  

 

 We had planned on stopping for a few days at the lakeside State Park, but the temps. once again foiled our plans.   Perhaps we'll go back in December to watch the Boat Parade, hmmmmm.

So, now you're all caught up.    We're here in Wickenburg and enjoying what our stationary life has to offer, but Beluga is all serviced and ready for our next adventure!

October already!

   Beluga pulled into her cozy winter home in Wickenburg almost two weeks ago.   She deserves a good rest after carrying us comfortably over 8500 miles on our Food, Family, Friends and Familiar Places tour that began last April. 

Our newest family member says "YAY", gramma and grandpa are home safe!

We (Dave) have taken care of a few jobs that crop up when leaving a house in the desert empty for months, but we've also managed to have some fun times with good friends.    

 

We helped Steve and MonaLiza celebrate their wedding anniversary, shared dinner at a new Food Truck Park in town, witnessed a mass bat departure from under the rt. 60 bridge, met a couple of rescued owls and raptors from the Wild at Heart Wildlife Rehab, Rescue and Relocation group and drove up to the T Bird Cafe in tiny Peeples Valley for some of the best pizza around. 

love

bats, millions of bats!

she wanted me to do a profile shot....

eye contact.....

waiting for pizza beneath the 100 + year old Pecan tree

You'll notice there is no picture of us from the Food Truck park.....it isn't because I forgot (well maybe), it isn't because the food wasn't good (it was good), it isn't because the weather was inclement (blue sky, sunshine, warm-not too hot) and it wasn't because we didn't enjoy the company (well, maybe not all the company).   There were millions of tiny ants on one end of our table.    I have a bad history with those little stinging devils.   When we first got back, I was moving a potted plant in the yard and received several ant bites for my trouble.   I must be extra sensitive because my thumb blew up to twice it's size and the bites filled with yucky clear liquid.   And ITCHED!!!!  So, you'll see why I didn't remember to take a picture of us at the Food Truck park table....I was busy crushing ants before they got too near.    Also, there were these folks in front of us, hogging all the attention - this is Wickenburg.

If you look closely, you'll see Steve and a slice of MonaLiza sitting at the picnic table behind one of the gentlemen, on the left of the picture.  

The weather was still pretty hot when we first arrived, but it has settled into more fall like (desert fall, that is) temperatures and we're really loving the back yard, our bird friends, the blue skies and those beautiful southwest sunsets.

I know, I've completely skipped our time between Wells, Nevada and Wickenburg. 

  I'll catch you up in another blog soon.    It's just too lovely outside and my book is calling.   

 

Through Caldwell, Idaho and into Wells, NV - we've moving on!

 We were in Caldwell, Idaho for 3 nights, which gave us 2 days to do a little exploring and wine tasting.    Didn't we taste enough at our last spot?   Maybe. 

We've stayed at the Country Corner's RV Park before, usually just for an overnight.  It's a nice, small, green park with friendly owners and good services.    We've never seen grass as beautiful, green and totally weed free as their lawns.   The park maintains a rather large vegetable garden for it's guests enjoyment and I took some delicious sweet corn and tomatoes back to Beluga when we checked in.   A very welcome perk!

tunnel of cucumbers!

I had recently heard that little Caldwell supported a number of wineries, so we set off for lunch and a tasting at St. Chapelle Winery.    It is a beautiful place, the tasting room itself is beautiful as are its expansive views.

After waiting inside, we were finally told to sit wherever we wanted and "they'd find us".      We took a nice table for two outside on the raised patio and waited.     They never found us and after awhile I went back inside to remind them.    Blah blah blah.    Finally, our tastings came without ceremony or explanation and we were left to have at it.   

 The views were spectacular, the weather delightful, the company perfect - but the wines were not to either of our tastes and we left without finishing or buying a single bottle - a first for us.       All in all, a meh experience.   Perhaps we'd had enough tastings for this trip.

On to Wells, and new route for us.    We took I-84 south to Twin Falls and off onto Route 93 into Nevada.     The weather wasn't good.   The further we drove, the worse it got.  

uh oh

The wind picked up, rain dumped on us, then retreated, then poured again.   Route 93 is a good two lane road but there are no shoulders to speak of on this section and the road itself is built up about 10 or 15 feet above the surrounding desert, making driving a bit nerve-wracking.   Not much traffic at least, but what there was kicked up a wall of water as we passed....

Needless to say, we were happy to pull into our rv park in the small town of Wells.   It was Sunday afternoon so there was no one in the office.    A sign on the door told us to find a spot and settle in - so we did.    Gin and tonic time for sure.

We've been here for 5 nights and have been really enjoying exploring the area.  First up was Angel Lake, only 12 miles from our campground.   Since it rained the entire day Monday, we were anxious to get out and "see" so we took a chance, packed a lunch, and drove up to the lake the next morning.    The forecasters were saying that it would rain in the afternoon, so we hoped we'd get in some outdoor time before then.  

The road was paved and in good shape.   The views were beautiful and expansive as we climbed to 8500 ft and the pretty Alpine tarn.     The clouds were building, oh well.

We were completely alone at the lake, there was one vehicle in the nearby campground, we suspected it was the camp host.   Before lunch we set off to hike around the lake, with an eye to the sky.   We certainly did not want to get caught outside in a storm like we experienced recently.

the falls were just around those boulders

Our goal was to get to the waterfall at the opposite end of the lake, but decided to backtrack, eat lunch, then hike around the lake in the other direction, weather permitting.    It turned out to be a good choice.

darn....those clouds again!

By the time we got back to the Jeep, the dark clouds had definitely moved in and looked like they meant business.    We ate our lunch inside, watching the sky as we were being watched by this little guy.    His intentions were clear....we kept our windows closed!

guys, guys, I LOVE turkey sandwiches...

We never finished our hike back around the lake.  Instead, we decided to head home and were glad we did.   Just a few miles down the road the sky opened and it began to hail, or was it graupel?   I'm not sure I know the difference, but it was white, and round and bounced off the Jeep's hood.   Clouds from the mountains above seemed to crawl down the slope toward us.   It was absolutely mesmerizing to watch.

Another day we drove on the 12 mile, Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway into the Ruby Mountains.    This was an area that I was anxious to see.   I read an article about this glacier carved canyon years ago and had kept it in the back of my mind for the next time we passed through this part of the state.   The drive to get to the 12 mile long Byway was long, almost 80 miles but was totally worth it.

  We were blown away by the scenery, the rushing stream, beaver dams, the craggy mountain tops, swirly rock formations, the ribbon waterfalls, the obvious avalanche scars everywhere, aspens shimmering in the breeze....oh my.    I phone pictures just do not do it justice.  

beaver dam

glacier carved valley

The Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway ends at a trailhead to several alpine lakes and, after a short hike along the stream, we turned around and retraced our "steps".    I usually try to make our drives into a loop so we don't see the same things going and coming, but in this case, there is something to be said for seeing the landscape from the opposite direction.    We enjoyed the drive out as much as the drive in!

Once off the Byway however, we did not follow our original route home, opting instead to drive a longer, but interesting route back to Beluga.    A long, but very satisfying day.   

Yesterday, our last day in this area, we decided to find the small ghost town of Metropolis, just 10 or 12 miles away.    Pam and John had checked it out some time ago and it looked like our kind of place.     Out in the middle of nowhere, off a dirt road with an interesting story to tell.     When I say "in the middle of nowhere", I really mean it!

Was it a land scam, a serious miscalculation, a hairbrained and grandiose dream, perhaps all of the above?     Who knows, but the city of Metropolis, planned for 7500 residents with sidewalks, streetlights, a three-story hotel and large school,  ultimately died, never fulfilling its inhabitant's dreams.    If you're interested in what part Morman Crickets and Jackrabbits had in its demise, Google "Metropolis".... interesting reading!

all that is left of the beautiful school below

evidently, the town still has some residents....

We drove around the muddy dirt roads for awhile, locating the old cemetery, etc., before heading off on a BLM road towards home.     After enjoying the huge vistas, the small birds, the pretty Burnt Creek, we passed an area that caught my eye.   A large, whitish hump of ground in the middle of sagebrush covered plains.    Dave backed up (as he often has to do when he hears.... Stop!  What's that? Back Up! Please?)    No gate, no NO TRESPASSING sign, why not?

We passed a few head of cattle, faces turned to watch us, and parked near some large white humps of rock.....a strong Sulphur smell and cheerful bubbling sounds greeted us.   It was a hot spring!

small "lake" of very hot water

No place to disrobe and soak.....not that we're prone to doing that, but lots of bubbling and popping and interesting rocks everywhere.    Fun!

evidently grass loves seeping hot water

interesting mineral colors

Another day of small pleasures for us.    We leave Wells this morning, ultimately heading to Boulder City on Tuesday.   Stay tuned!