While still at camp Congress I spent many days just watching clouds from sunrise to sunset. In fact one of many treats I enjoy during winter in Arizona are the colorful skies. Doesn’t hurt the sunrise comes late enough I sometimes even wake up in time to see them. And I love being able to just step out the camper door with camera in hand.
I also frequently awaken to carpentry sounds made by either the Flickers or Gila Woodpeckers seemingly enlarging entries in one of the many nesting holes of a huge saguaro near my door. Not sure if it’s a condo or a mansion.
I’m trying to add a daily walk to my routine. Would be nice to keep the legs I earned last summer and keep my weight down. Wish I could say I’m successful daily. Yet I make discoveries every time I get the ambition.
One day I walked south of camp Congress and in two hours barely made one mile, round trip. Yet I saw Kokopelli dancing in the shadow of a Palo Verde tree. One of my favorite desert trees with it’s twisted trunk and branches of green skin. I saw a deep wash with evidence that water flowed there fiercely, even if not regularly. The rotting remains of a shingled roof and a few pieces of wood. This area is where old Congress was built when the new mine was thriving in the 1880s.
I followed a dusty desert two-track used mostly by OHVs, rounded a bend and saw a swimming pool. OK, so it’s actually a water tank for wildlife put out by Arizona Game and Fish complete with a camera attached to a tree watching the tank. I waved. The tank was full of clear cold water but too chilly for a swim even at 81°. Would be nice to camp nearby to watch birds and wildlife, plus the signal was great, yet I suppose AZ F&G wouldn’t approve.
One morning I awoke to ratatattat on the camper roof directly above the bed. I banged on the ceiling, waking Sierra, and whatever went away. That’s carrying bird watching too far.
Another walk east of camp took me towards the boulders at the base of the Date Creek Mountains. Saw a couple nice possible camps, that were occupied, with about the same non-reliable signal as my camp. I liked all the boulders and way more saguaros but thought there would also be more snakes. I actually got in two miles in two hours that day.
I certainly don’t get up every morning for sunrise. Sometimes I just peek out the window to see if it’s worthy. But on a day I planned to go to town I was up and got lucky too.
Just has to be clouds.
And then I got lucky again for sunset that same night.
Plus throw in a sundog for good measure. And that tells me to watch the temperatures drop.
As much as I don’t like to fix stuff, I used some parts I’ve been lugging around for at least six months and finally fixed the screen door so it latches again. Goodbye awkward clip. Felt good to geterdone. Why did it take me so long?
Also, finally finished labeling my photos taken in 2019. Nothing like being almost a year behind. I’ve been OCD about labeling photos since youth. Could be, someday, I won’t remember the who, what, where, and when.
Which brings me also to a rather frantic backup when my laptop started being weird, first the screen flipping up and down, and then it just quit. Finally got it back on and backed up to current photos and documents. I try to do that regularly, but never regular enough. I really don’t want the expense of replacing the computer especially as I really need to get my eyes examined, probably new glasses, and figure out the power/solar thing on the camper.
How would you like to live in that house?
Had several visitors at camp Congress. A blog reader who lives in Congress and an old friend from just up the road in Yarnell. It’s nice to sit outside in the sunshine, distancing, and chatting away the hours. A neighbor from further down the road stopped his walk to talk. Got crazy about politics, and a noisy neighbor from the previous night with generator and loud music, which I don’t remember hearing. He pointed out wearing a National Park Service ballcap and started to go on about locals shooting on public lands when I informed him I was visiting with a friend and didn’t have time to listen. If he really worked for NPS he’d know it’s illegal to wear that hat out of full uniform.
The next night while I was out shooting sunset I heard a growl, coming from the weird neighbor. When I turned he said, “just testing your reflexes” and my reply, “a good way to get shot.” Then he started to babble on and I ignored him and went back to camp. Kind of took the fun out shooting the camera. Also not liking my location any more.
Sunrise
Between that and wind rocking the camper that night I was more than ready to leave camp Congress. Luckily, the calendars were delivered so I took care of a lot of shipping and then moved camp not far from Wickenburg to a new patch of public land.
Did I mention needing new glasses so I can continue to watch, and photograph, clouds, sunset, and the occasional sunrise. A dab of superglue fixed this problem, at least temporarily.
Beautiful “sky on fire”. Too bad the pesky neighbor showed up. Your response “good way to get shot” was right on. At least you can move to another location. All part of the adventure. Look forward to reading and seeing your next location. Stay healthy and safe.
Thanks. My next two locations aren’t showing off sky like this one, yet.
Lovely views and pictures! I found your first cloud picture especially stunning.
Though it looked like you had a good spot to camp, you were wise to pack up and move. Neighbors like that guy don’t seem to know boundaries.
Thank you. I was bummed about that neighbor as I’ve never had problems before.
outstanding pictures today, thanks
Thank you.
Very nice photos and narration, enjoyed your story. I work hard to label all my keeper photos even as far as using online maps and images to title the image of what this thing is.
Thank you. I too use maps to identify locations in labels.
Love your photos.
Always some one thinking the Know it all. They’re just full of BS.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It’s about time.
Thanks. I’m glad to be gone from that person.
Beautiful photos, Too bad you had to move to get way from a noisy, nosy neighbor.
Thanks. It was time to go anyway.
Your pictures are gorgeous but then they always are. Seeing the Saguaros is making me anxious to move on farther west to say hi to them in person. Stay safe.
Thank you for the lovely compliment. Looks like you are getting closer to saguaros.
Wow, what a great set of sky shots and I love that woodpecker. You have some strange neighbours along the way, hopefully they do not get any weirder,. Keep safe and enjoy the rest of the week, Dane
Thanks. Gotta’ love winter in Arizona. I am glad to be away from the weirdo.
Great sunrise photos, we don’t get too many of them from you 🙂
looks like camp Congress would have been perfect if not for your less than perfect neighbors.
Thanks. I do try for sunrise, occasionally. You’d think boondocking at a distance would be an indication of don’t-want-to-interact.
Like so many other places in the world, Camp Congress was a great place to stay except for some of the people. Your walks were the kind I like, meditating on the beauty, taking pictures of some of it …. just moving is good. …. crows used to love our RV roof especially when we stayed out at the lake here. They made so much noise apparently dancing on it!
All the years on the road and this was the first real asshole. Thanks, you know I like to just saunter. I figure there must be bugs on the roof for the birds, or sometimes condensation.
As far as I am concerned all of Arizona is snake heaven and not just the deserts. When we lived Payson and Eagar, brother and I encountered a lot of rattlesnakes. I am sorry to say that we killed many of them. Wish I had’t now.
I love your photos. You really are an artist.
What a groaner, being out in nature and some buttweed wants to talk about politics.
As long as I’ve lived in AZ I’ve never seen a live rattlesnake. I did eat some last winter. Doesn’t taste like chicken. 😉 Thank you for the nice compliment, you too are an artist.