Sierra Vista in Arizona, March 2024

We have driven through Sierra Vista before, but this year we stayed for a couple of weeks because our friends, Tom and Dianne, have bought a house here, so we came for a visit and to explore the area. Due to its higher elevation of 4,623 feet (1,412 meters), Sierra Vista can be cooler than many other parts of Arizona. It is also surrounded by mountains peaking at nearly 10,000 feet (over 3,000 meters), providing for beautiful views especially when they are snow-capped as some of them were while we were here.

Ramsey Canyon
	On the way into Ramsey Canyon, we visited the Brown Canyon Ranch. Now an historic site with nature trails, it was built in the late 1800s and has been occupied by many ranching families over the years. On the property is the well-preserved adobe house, water system, corrals and a pond.
	There is a small fee to visit the Ramsey Canyon Preserve-Nature Conservancy at the end of East Ramsey Canyon Road, and we felt it was worth it. The trail follows the creek up into the canyon, where it connects to the Hamburg Trail which is steep and moderately difficult. We didn't do that. Usually there are many hummingbirds in the preserve, but we didn't see any as it was still a bit early for them to arrive. There were many other birds though, as well as historic cabins, and it was a very nice, easy walk.
Carr Canyon
	Brad at the Carr Canyon Waterfall Overlook. There is no water flowing now (even though there had been snow in the mountains a few days earlier), but the waterfall itself is at the top middle of the photo where you can see a small gap. The road goes to the top of the waterfall as well, although it is fenced off and sign warns of the dangers getting too close to the edge from where several people have fallen to their death.
	A view of Sierra Vista from an overlook on East Carr Canyon Road.  You can see the brown line which is the road winding up the canyon.
	Part way up the road is Reef Campground, which looked like it would be a really nice spot at any time of the year. We stopped for lunch in one of the campsites in the Ramsey Vista Campground at the top and the end of the road.  There was still a bit of snow up here, so maybe not a good spot for winter camping.
	After lunch, we hiked the Carr Peak Trail from the Ramsey Vista Campground for about a half-mile, just to get a nice view of the Peak. There are many trails around here, including a trail connecting to the Hamburg Trail and Ramsey Canyon.
Miller Canyon
	We drove up East Miller Canyon Road to the Upper Parking area. There were hiking trails from here, although we simply walked down to the dry creek and admired the open oak/juniper forest. This photo was taken somewhere part way up the road. The cliffs reminded us of Chiricahua National Monument, which is just to the northeast.
Coronado National Memorial
	During our first winter in the southwest, we passed through this area and spent a day at Coronado National Memorial. We came again and this time I hiked the Coronado Peak Trail at the end of West Montezuma Canyon Road in the park. In this view from the parking lot looking southeast, you can see the border wall (thin straight black line near the center of the photo).
	This is the view from Coronado Peak looking south into Mexico.
	The fruit on the cholla cactus is a beautiful bright yellow, and is edible. However, the thorns on the plant are pretty darn sharp!
Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary
Photo enhanced	We only visited the Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary just off of Highway 92 because I saw a pin on Google Maps. I am really glad we did. Benches are arranged around several small gardens, so we just sat and waited for the birds to arrive. I wish I could have gotten better photos, but I did see some birds I had never seen before. This is a Scott's Oriole. He is bright yellow, whereas I am used to our Baltimore Orioles which are bright orange.
	Here is an acorn woodpecker ensuring the stash of acorns is secure in this tree. Yes, almost every hole has an acorn in it. There were several of these woodpeckers working together to keep the stash full and safe. They are very interesting birds.
	Hummingbirds are my favorite birds, simply because they are fascinating to watch, and the males can be so colorful. This is a black-chinned hummingbird flashing his iridescent purple band. The docent said he had just arrived, as that day was a first sighting. Lucky us!
	A Mexican Jay perching on a dead yucca stalk. Although these birds are pretty common, I love their soft grey-blue coloring.

 

Phoenix Area in Arizona, January 2024

For a busy city, Phoenix has several lovely parks which we have never visited in our 13 years of exploring the southwest. So we headed east after Christmas instead of going straight to Yuma like we usually do. We found free camping just off Highway 74 (aka Lake Pleasant Road) on the east side of North New River Road. Lots of space as well as many other RV campers.

Cave Creek Regional Park
	Our first hike was at Cave Creek Regional Park on the Slate Trail, to see the Michelin Saguaro. The trail was verdant with palo verde, cholla, and other desert flora.  We were told at the Visitor Center that this is one of only 3 known saguaro of this type, and no one knows why they grow this way.
	We then backtracked to the connecting trail that joins to the Go John Trail, and looped back to the parking lot. The Go John Trail has wonderful views overlooking the valley and outlying cities north of Phoenix.
	All trails are multi-use and we did see several other hikers, cyclists and horseback riders. It was a pretty hot day, even for January, although the elevation helped a bit. Even the horses were sweating!
White Tank Mountain Regional Park
	We hiked one day at White Tank Mountain Regional Park, taking the Black Rock Trail to the Waterfall Canyon Trail. As you can see, there is no waterfall now, although a small pool at the base remained. Due to the shade, the area at the "waterfall" is incredibly cool since the rocks act like a refrigerator.
Watson Lake in Prescott
	It has been 9 years since we have been to the Granite Dells, aka Watson Lake near Prescott. But this year, we have kayaks. Even though it's a one and a half hour drive north, we pack up and spend a day kayaking the lake. I'm so glad we did, as the water was so calm, great for kayaking.
	We both took a lot of photos here, but sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy the scenery as you float by.
	A view of the lake and the granite rocks from the parking lot at the top of Watson Lake Park Road. The snow-capped San Francisco Mountains and Humphreys Peak above Flagstaff can be seen in the distance.
Agua Fria National Monument
	We hiked a short, easy trail from I-17 (with very dangerous parking right on the side of the interstate!) to the abandoned Richinbar Mine which sits above Agua Fria Canyon within the Agua Fria National Monument. When you get to the canyon, the trail turns right or left. Follow up to the left and look on the backside of the rocks at the small peak to see petroglyphs.  The trail to the right goes to the mine.
	Remnants possibly of the head frame at the Richinbar Mine site. Brad loves abandoned mines, although there wasn't much to see here. Honestly, the terrain along the trail is very open and not very interesting, although the view into the canyon is nice, and came as a surprise. I think we might have enjoyed the hike at Badger Springs, just a few more miles north on I-17, where there are also facilities and proper exit/on ramps.

 

Ridgecrest Area in California, December 2023

After Point Reyes, we spent most of the month of November on the California Central Coast, first at Oceano Campground in Pismo Beach State Park for 2 weeks, then at Washburn Campground in Hearst San Simeon State Park for 10 days, both the maximum allowed camping stays. I have blogged about these spots before, and we really didn't go anywhere new, so I won't repeat. We did get to visit my California cousins, so that was special. When we left Cambria and headed inland, our intention was to go to Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills to hang out for a couple of weeks before going to Lake Havasu City for Christmas. But, our truck broke down along the way, and we changed plans to have the truck fixed at a diesel shop in Ridgecrest, California. Luckily, we were never stranded, but all the fuel lines needed to be replaced, and the truck would go into a reduce power mode every time it was under strain, like when climbing the coastal mountains!

Last Chance Canyon and the El Paso Mountain Wilderness
	While we waited for the parts to arrive, we found excellent BLM desert camping on Last Chance Canyon Road, between Ridgecrest and Mojave. There are designated camping areas along both sides of this dirt road at various intervals, bordered by a wooden fence to prevent people from driving all over the desert terrain. While there were always other campers nearby, we had this area to ourselves for the 2 weeks we were here.
	We took a drive along Last Chance Canyon Road into the El Paso Mountains directly from our campsite. This road becomes VERY rough for a 4x4 truck, even with the tires aired down, and I vowed I was DONE with bumpy roads after this day! (I wasn't.) Our first stop was the Holly Ash Mine, an abandoned pumice mine. There were several holes dug back about 50 or so feet into the rock face.
	Next we came to Bickel Camp, an historic outdoor museum now, once home to Walt Bickel. Walt built a rugged life here, 30 miles from the nearest grocery store, but with beautiful views of the mountains and canyons surrounding him.
	Farther into the mountains we drove to our destination, the Burro Schmidt Tunnel. William "Burro" Schmidt was an eccentric who spent 33 years digging a tunnel through a mountain to ... nowhere! He told people he was digging the tunnel as an easier access route for ore he would mine, but he never mined even though there were some good veins of ore in the tunnel, and the tunnel, when completed, ended atop the mountain at a steep ledge overlooking the Fremont Valley.
Red Rock Canyon State Park
	Not to be confused with Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area outside of Las Vegas in Nevada, this California State Park had never been on my radar! We happened to pass by it on our way to Ridgecrest to get the truck fixed, and decided it was somewhere we had to explore. We ended up spending several days here. This formation is called Turk's Turban and is visible from the main park road, or by hiking the Hagan Canyon Trail.
	More rock formations on the Hagan Canyon Trail, showing layers of sandstone and mudstone, and the difference in their erosion.
	This rider was taking her horse on a walk to Nightmare Gulch from the Red Cliffs area.
	From the Red Cliffs Nature Trail, we followed a trail across open desert that led to Nightmare Gulch. This view is of a side canyon.
Lake Isabella
	Lake Isabella itself is a reservoir in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was a beautiful drive from our campsite, and took about one hour. After lunch on one of the beaches there, we found the Kern River, pictured here from the Keyesville River Access on Keyesville Road, where there was a kayak/canoe launch.
	We are always looking for new areas to camp, and there were many dispersed campsites on both sides of the Kern River, although access could be a bit potholed. Not all sites would fit our trailer, but a few would. There were folks camping here, and they told us the area had just reopened a few weeks earlier after cleanup from damage that occurred during flooding in March 2023. This view is from one of the smaller sites that had a lovely beach.
Jawbone Canyon OHV Area
	The Jawbone Canyon OHV Area is a huge area of dirt roads winding through canyons and over mountains. At least these dirt roads were better than Last Chance Canyon Road. This was the view from the top of one of the mountains on the loop drive we took.
Trona Pinnacles
	We have visited the Trona Pinnacles east of Ridgecrest before, in the winter of 2013, but I wanted to repeat a couple of photos here. Brad and I had lunch overlooking these tufa formations on the loop road drive.  Note the wildflowers were already in bloom.
	Right after lunch, we had a visitor who definitely seemed to know where she was going. We took many photos of her, but she paid us no attention. (I only assume it was a female, for no particular reason.)
	A view of some of the pinnacles from the loop drive.  From Wikipedia ... Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertine.

 

Point Reyes National Seashore in California, October 2023

The quiet, pristine Point Reyes National Seashore is about 1.5 hours north of San Francisco. There are no RV campgrounds in the park, so we stayed at an RV Park in nearby Olema on Highway 1.

	It's a long drive to the end of the road that takes you into this nature preserve. This is the view of the 11 mile (18 km) long stretch of beach from the parking area, looking north towards Tomales Point.
	This skull of a female gray whale was found at Vandenburg Air Force Base in 1985, but is now displayed outside the gift shop near the stairs to the lighthouse.
	Me at the top of the long flight of stairs down to the lighthouse. We stayed at the top and watched the whales, and there were many to be seen from this vantage point. They were small whales, perhaps minkes.
	Me under the Cypress Tree Tunnel. At the end of this drive is the Historic KPH Maritime Radio Receiving Station which was built between 1929 and 1931 to help communicate across the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, it wasn't open when we were there.
	From the Chimney Rock Trail, the Pacific is on the left and Drake's Bay is on the right. On the beach below, seals bask in the sun.
	They look pretty comfortable, don't they?  Brad was able to zoom in on them from the bluffs.
	At the end of the Chimney Rock Trail, seals were roiling in the surf. It's hard to make out, but that black dot at the bottom right of middle of the photo is a seal poking his head out of the water. The waves were crashing through the hole in Chimney Rock.
	I have to say, though, that the most entertaining wildlife at Point Reyes were the elephant seals in Drake Bay. Only dominant males have the right to mate, although the sparring we witnessed didn't seem very serious. These may be young males practicing their skills. Read more about the Point Reyes elephant seals here.

 

Trinidad Area in Northern California, October 2023

We really loved this area of the Northern California coast. Maybe because we had perfect weather, and because it's close to the giant redwoods, but mainly because it's just so beautiful.

	Not far south of the Redwood National and State Parks is the small coastal town of Trinidad. For $20 for three nights, we stayed at The Heights Casino in the upper parking lot, which was very quiet and gave us this view steps from our trailer door.
	The Trinidad State Beach was a popular spot for dog walkers and enjoying the surf. The Trinidad Head Trail starts in the parking lot.
	These banana slugs were everywhere. I understand the residents are not fond of them.
	Just north of Trinidad is Sue-meg State Park. We hiked the Wedding Rock trail and drove to the Agate Beach overlook, pictured here, looking north towards Big Lagoon.
	On the beach at Big Lagoon, looking south with the pampas grass shimmering in the sunlight and salt spray. You can see the remnants of a road that has been washed out by ocean erosion.
	We were delighted to be in the right place at the right time to see this glider land on the beach. The beach at Big Lagoon County Park has numerous signs warning of sneaker waves that have drowned several people here.
	A view from Luffenholtz Beach looking towards the town of Trinidad.