After rockin’ in the wind a few nights in Congress it felt like time to move further south to Saddle Mountain, where there’s good rockin’ with boondock options and views.
Was really nice to have the battery and solar controller issues taken care of and I even mounted the controller on the wall. Nice easy to read LED screen and when the sun goes down the controller turns off so no blinking lights overnight wasting energy. With everything charged I was back to keeping the phone and laptop batteries topped up.
Rode to Prescott with Joann one day so she could pick up some ordered plugs for her charging system. Seemed to be a week of dealing with energy. We came back over the Bradshaw Mountains on the gravel Copper Basin Road where there are trees, tiny patches of snow—as much as I want to see—and even a little ice on the puddles.
Stopped at the Skull Valley post office for my mail, thanks for the Christmas cards including a “Secret Santa”. Also made a quick dash into my 5th-wheel for mom’s pie-maker. A blast from the past when Joann brought out her pie-maker, a wonderful way to make desert while camping. My mom would put canned pie filling between two slices of buttered bread, then with a kitchen mitt or glove on, hold the maker over the campfire. Joann and I did it on the stove instead. I’ve also made cheese sandwiches and even leftovers though it’s only a little blob of filling.
Another day we took a drive further along the nearby gravel road to the mining town of Stanton and Octave. There’s a few renovated buildings and lots of RV parking with and without hookups for modern miners. Plus there’s private land around with mining equipment of various sorts I know little about. It’s a different kind of rockin’ than I ever got into.
More gorgeous rockin’ hillsides of Saguaro cactus.
At Octave, we had to make a decision. Or so read the sign.
Congress bumper rocks
For several days and nights the wind blew hard enough to rock the camper. I spent much time indoors writing, reading, and labeling photos from November 2020. Yes I am that far behind, and just keep taking more.
Yet with the wind coming from the northeast it seemed a good time to roll to the south with a tail-wind most of the way. Left Congress about 10:30am headed to Wickenburg with a stop at North Ranch on the way to dump and fill tanks. After a grocery stop continued south on Vulture Mine Road across some pretty and desolate desert highway. Did see some side roads that might hold promise for future camps.
As we approached the dispersed camping north of Saddle Mt, parked Joann’s rig on the shoulder and explored in my truck to check out the road conditions. It’s gravel and at first smooth but as the road rises slowly towards the feet of the mountains becomes rockier, yet still doable.
Found a nice camp far enough from neighbors, big enough for two and settled in with a marvelous view.
The wind that pushed us there calmed enough to do a little rockin’ and we were treated to a colorful sunset.
Saddle Mountain rises up to 3037 feet in elevation, about 1500 feet above the desert floor. The rugged shapes formed about 24-36 million years ago during massive volcanic activity with basalt lava flows and cinders capped with ash flow and fall. Erosion created cliffs, spires, and buttes tinted by andesite (grayish), rhyolite (pinks), and basalt of dark gray to black. I’ll bet that caused some “rockin’” time around here.
The next day dawned clear with clouds increasing throughout the day.
Short walks from camp produced lots of rocks in our pockets.
Along with this period of volcanism, hot water saturated with silica and iron oxide repeatedly filled cracks and bubbles in the surrounding rock. Once lithified (turned into rock) the resulting quartz specimens produced crystals and chalcedony (sometimes called desert roses) that occasionally show an iridescent rainbow of colors called fire agates. The adularescence, or Schiller effect, is caused by alternating silica and iron oxide layers diffracting light.
Upper right shows colors
We sat oohing and aahing over the rocks with a hand lens. I actually got one tiny pinky-fingernail sized piece that shows fire.
I vaguely remember my first visit to Saddle Mt during the winter of 1996 and think the area hadn’t been picked over so much then and the rockin’ was better as I filled five-gallon buckets.
Ocotillo Chuparosa Christmas Cholla cactus
The following day held clear blue skies, light southern wind, and 72° that beckoned outdoors. A walk up the road closer to the mountains revealed several campsites with only a few occupied. I told myself no rockin’ until the walk back to camp. Of course impossible. Yet I was also distracted by the landscape, plants, and view. The most prevalent plant is the creosote bush sending out roots to clone itself into a big family and lending good locations for the burrows of small mammals. The three converging washes in the area, known as the Palo Verde foothills, create lush stands of mesquite, ironwood, and Palo Verde trees.
The Saguaro cactus can grow at least 30 feet over time and are seen in various states of life and death.
They provide a nice roost for local birds of prey like copper and sharp-shinned hawks, prairie falcons, and golden eagles. Not sure what we saw as the images are out of focus.
Yet all desert life isn’t tall or obvious. The lime-green (no bigger around than an egg), ashy-gray, and orange lichen forms a symbiotic relationship with the dark rock varnish formed by manganese oxidation.
Camp left & down from center
Joann returned to camp before me and I continued sauntering to a four-way then turned around and about half way back saw her driving toward me. We returned to the four-way and explored the right turn that quickly ended in a place for day-use folks to park while out rockin’.
Another right turn stopped us quick as the “road not taken” so we turned around. I am glad Joann likes to explore the backroads.
We took a round about drive to the town of Tonopah (population 59) where google indicated no services except the post office. We looped the parking lot at El Dorado Hot Springs that didn’t look any more appealing than the lousy TripAdvisor reviews. There are three fuel station options at the Tonopah freeway exit, one with a Subway where we had a late lunch. Drove past the chicken farm that draws the abundance of flies when there’s no wind.
And saw a different perspective of Saddle Mt with a most obvious “saddle”.
Wind slowed enough for a campfire that night. Later we used our pie-makers, with cherry filling, on my stove top, cleaner than sticking them in the flames. And we talked about another outing for the next day to look for petroglyphs, kind of another form of rockin’.
More company was entertained when Joann’s son, daughter-in-law, and grandkids stopped by for a quick visit and walk in the desert. Then I got a text from a long-time internet friend who was in my area. We’ve tried to meet up before. So after she and her daughter hiked the Hot Shot Trail they stopped by camp. Of course, they are as awesome as I’d known they’d be. I’ve watched her now not so little girl grow up into a fine young woman. Makes me feel like part of the family. I love my internet family whether seen regularly, occasionally, or never at all so far. That includes all of you.
Joann and I went for a walk and gathered firewood. But we did not wait for full dark to build a campfire, nor did we dance naked around the fire for a neighbor’s drone. Too dam cold after the sun goes down, even at almost 50°.
Joann rolled into camp about noon and we shared a Christmas dinner with her heating the mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and gravy while I fried the ham steaks and oven roasted three veggies. Delicious, delightful, delovely. Amazing the kind of meal that can be prepared in small kitchens. Though this photo makes my tiny house look huge.
My winter pattern includes not to bother with the bother of holidays, but do enjoy spending any day with a good friend.