Sonoran Desert boondocking during Spring means birdwatching and walks among the cactus and flowers plus expansive and colorful sunset skies. And even a few sunrises.
After a couple days visiting Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Richard and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Granny’s in Why. He hit the road about 11am and after coming out of my parked camper I thought Paul and Gary’s campers were in the lot so I went back into the restaurant, walked up to a table and said, “you folks really have to stop following me.” Before realizing they weren’t people I know. Oops. They laughed along with me, or maybe at me.
I continued north to Darby Well Road and found a camp, exactly where I parked in 2020 while waiting to hear about returning to work at Bryce Canyon during the pandemic.
Greeted by the song of a Cactus Wren cinched the site.
Not to mention the lovely purple cast of Phacelia to the surroundings.
And at 65° I enjoyed a 360 sunset from my newest home view of Sonoran Desert boondocking.
A real surprise waking up in time for sunrise and early light on the western mountains.
Then I spent most of the day taking care of housekeeping, on the computer because I rarely do housework. The hard drive was almost full, lots of photos, so I had to back these up on external drives to clear space for more.
In the afternoon I spent time sitting outside under mostly cloudy skies reading and taking photos as the mood, and light, struck.
Finally, sunset put on a show.
The next morning my phone switched to daylight savings. What the hell, we don’t do that in Arizona, especially when Sonoran Desert boondocking. Took me a while to fix it.
Then I checked the trail-cam, and sure enough a coyote came through the previous night. I put out a pan of water and they must sniff it out.
After that delicious breakfast at Granny’s, I was inspired to make one-pan Chilaquiles for breakfast. Even took video of the process that may eventually make it to my YouTube channel. Turned out real tasty.
Spent the rest of the day writing the last blog post and watching birds through the windows from my truckcamper birdhide while Sonoran Desert boondocking.
Once again the trail-cam caught a coyote during the night. They aren’t usually out during daylight when I can see them.
Anna’s Hummingbird Phainopepla
But I do see a lot of birds during the day, especially when I get out for a walk.
Plus lots of other discoveries while walking near my Sonoran Desert boondocking.
The partly cloudy day makes for nice backdrops that turn into superb sunsets.
Sometimes the trail-cam catches nothing at all, could be the wind in the flowers and Palo Verde tree. Birds don’t set it off flying by.
However I saw plenty of birds, especially while walking in the Sonoran desert. I’d been photographing a Curve-billed Thrasher on a Saguaro in the distance when it took off in flight and headed my way.
One of the things I love about walking in the desert, I’m never far from or rarely out of sight of camp and that way my no-trail wanderings don’t get me lost.
Wonderful views in every direction and all times of day.
Cloudless in the morning changed to layers of gray as a prelude of the rainy next day predicted.
I woke to a light rain that lasted intermittently all day. And at 70° with windows open the air smelled fresh with creosote petrichor.
Even Sierra enjoyed the aroma.
Trail-cam caught coyote four times between 2-5am.
I spent most of the day working on a video and enjoying the cloudy views from my windows while Sonoran Desert boondocking.
Sun broke through late to highlight the Ajo Mountains to the distant north.
Another partly cloudy morning greeting with a pretty sunrise.
Other than a short walk around camp I again worked on a video. I like the challenge of making videos but it does take a lot of time to edit which cuts into my outside play time and reading. Plus I need a strong signal to load the finished video onto YouTube. I’m really not complaining, just stating a fact.
Once more the trail-cam caught coyote overnight, along with a spiderweb. Time to clean the lens.
Bumper rock collection from Darby Well Road camp
That’s OK, because it had to be packed away for my trip to town. I was almost out of cream for coffee and had no fresh fruit.
Plus I figured to treat myself to lunch at Tacos el Tarasco with green sauce for St. Patrick’s Day. Seems an extra treat because town is only about 20 minutes away. And while in town I had enough signal to load the next video of my drive from Owl to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Yes, I am weeks behind posting both video and blog posts. This all happened between March 10th to 17th.
Once back in camp Sierra waited her turn to get online. Then we settled in for another week of Sonoran Desert boondocking.
I will make a trail-cam coyote video soon, so watch for it on my Youtube channel. What, not subscribed yet? Why not?
How would you feel about listening to my story along with photos and video, instead of reading?