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I arrived in Henderson, Nevada around noon after spending the night camping at Echo Bay near Lake Mead. The temperature was almost 100 degrees at Lake Mead and the the heat was bothering me. I felt tired and irritable. My GPS unit must have sensed my mood for it stopped working. However it gave me just enough directions so I could find Susan's home once again. I knocked on the sagging gate and Susan's familiar melodic voice rang out. It was wonderful to see and hear her musical voice again. We chatted for awhile; Susan did not think I was going to visit so she was busy working on her computer. Her son Christopher was sleeping over at a friend's house. I like to keep busy so I found things to fix around the yard. I started to work on the heavy, backyard gate. I took it down, rebuilt the hanging post and re-hung the gate. I finished around 5 PM. Then Susan and I picked up Christopher and got a bite to eat.
Over the course of the next week I fixed two more gates, helped Susan with many errands and ate several delicious meals with her and Christopher.
A 100 pound gate that now opens smoothly. |
Susan's home and spacious yard. |
Susan has artistic talent and she decorated the inside of her home beautifully. The house is small; just two rooms and a bathroom but it feels much bigger. Well placed mirrors helps with the illusion of space. The kitchen is bright and easy to work in. The immediate backyard is fully enclosed and since the climate is warm, on many days we left the door open. Then the house almost doubled in size. Susan has a green thumb and carefully tends many plants around the yard. She lovingly nurtures plants and they respond well to her. Susan and Christopher collect rocks and I was able to coax a story from some of the more talkative stones. Christopher is six years old and he loves riding his bike and taking things apart. He reminds me of myself at the same age. One day we both rode bikes and cleaned up the alley in back of Susan's cottage.
The week I shared with Susan and Christopher went all too quickly. We accomplished much and created memories that I will treasure forever.
Living room wall with leaded glass and butterflies. |
A well stocked bookcase surrounded by captivating artwork. |
Leaving Susan and Christopher was difficult. I traveled quietly and reflectively past Boulder Dam and down to Kingman, Arizona on Saturday afternoon. As I climbed in elevation the temperatures cooled and I felt more comfortable. Towards five in the afternoon I saw a sign for a KOA in Seligman on the old Route 66. I stopped and settled into a cozy camp site. I did my laundry, caught up on my e-mail and thought about the wonderful week I shared with Susan and Christopher.
As the sun sank lower in the western sky I cooked a tasty meal over my propane cook stove and then settled down before a warm campfire. The night was cold and I tucked a wool blanket inside my sleeping bag.
The next morning I headed east and then south in search of warmer weather and the open desert.
Lunch stop - PB & J south of Prescott, Arizona. |
Granite Mountain - 1.7 Billion years old and 7,628 feet high. |
Smog shrouds the distant peaks. |
Vegetation is thinning as I travel further south. |
It is usually June before we see Prickly Pear cactus blooms. By Granite mountain I discovered a multitude of wild flowers that I associate with May and June in Montana. Lupine and many other flowers were poking up everywhere. When I descended the mountain and traveled towards Salome on Route 60 I was astounded by how colorful the drab landscape was becoming. Hundreds of flowers lined the road and stretched into the sandy and open landscape. Orange Mexican poppies were the most prolific flower; some patches were over an acre in breadth.
May flowers in March! |
Purple Lupine on Granite Mountain. |
Mexican Poppies are orange I was told. |
Poppies like to spread in the desert. |
A field of yellow and orange poppies. |
A mountainside carpeted with poppies. |
The Salome KOA campground is dotted with Orange trees and I blissfully slept beneath one. The night was warm and the blossom fragrance was sweet.
Just after sunrise I headed towards Gila Bend and Ajo. The country opens up with broad expanses of sandy desert punctuated by seemingly bare mountains that thrust up from the desert floor. The land is drier here and vegetation is spaced further apart. Many patches of bare ground lie between the desert shrubs. Heavy summer thunderstorms produce "washes" or broad, twisting channels in the surface sand and clay. Washes may remain wet for just a few hours before the water's fury is spent. Most of the plants have shallow root systems that can absorb moisture from even the lightest rains.
I stopped in Ajo for supplies and a Devil's Highway permit. Then I turned the Jeep on to the infamous highway that has claimed so many lives and headed for the heart of the Sonoran Desert and the Mexican border.
The Sonoran Desert starts to open up around Gila Bend, Arizona. |
Seemingly barren hills in a sea of sand, clay and gravel. |
The beginning of a 135 mile, 3 day desert trek. Note how clean the Jeep is today. |
The area is a favorite for criminals but the US Border Patrol routinely captures them. |
The dirt road starts out wide, smooth and a little sandy. I easily cruised along at 25 miles per hour. Then come the dips at every desert wash, the sharp turns and narrow, rock strewn climbs. Before long I was limited to just 1st and 2nd gear and speeds under 15 miles per hour. The Jeep shook side to side as I maneuvered to avoid the largest rocks and pot holes. For the next three days I felt like I was inside a washing machine as my Jeep and I bounced, careened and jolted across the desert landscape. Oddly I loved every minute of the experience.
The Devil's Highway was a popular path across the Sonoran Desert for Spanish Missionaries and California gold rush travelers. Now it is widely used by the Border Patrol, locals and a sprinkling of hardy tourists. In three days I met just one other group camping along the road.
Desert Beacon room service for illegal aliens. Press the button and an agent will arrive soon. |
"Humanitarian" groups stocked this beacon with canned beans and fresh water. |
Henry Gray's Bates Well Ranch raised cattle from 1920 to 1976. |
Henry's modest ranch home and property was seized by the government when he died in 1976. |
The rules for tourists are strict. The land is owned by the government but we the people really own it. As a tourist I was only allowed to use the Devil's Highway and could not access any branch roads. I could only park and camp within 50 feet of the road's centerline. I could hike almost anywhere but the temperatures were in the upper 90's by 2 PM. The area was also "gun free" if only for tourists. Conversely illegal immigrants could wander at will, camp anywhere, carry weapons and pick up free food and water. If caught they were previously given free bus tickets to anywhere in the US so they could stay with relatives. They were also "required" to report to a local court which many of them simply ignored. Many also received government benefits in the form of food stamps and welfare. Some states offered free college tuition and a multitude of other benefits for crossing the border illegally. In my lifetime the world I was born into has been turned upside down.
I settled for the night in a spot a few hundred feet from a water tank and just 50 feet from the road. There was a picnic table and fire pit already there. After the sun set thousands of stars twinkled overhead. Then a flare shot up and exploded a few miles away. Powerful spotlights mounted on high booms covered the valley floor with bright blue light. Illegals were on the move and the Border Patrol was ready. More flares exploded and then slowly drifted down to the desert floor. I felt like I was in a war zone but I also felt safe. The Border Patrol station was just a mile away. No one would dare come here I thought. Then I drifted off to sleep.
Steel road planks add stability to the ever shifting desert sand. |
Cabeza Prieta Refuge - created in part by seizing private property. |
When the sun sets the smugglers and illegals crawl out from their hiding spots. |
40 miles into the Sonoran desert and time to bed down for the night. |
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Heading for Mexico Page 1 |
Tim's Life Main Table of Contents |
Travel Table of Contents |
Page 3 Devil's Highway to Yuma |
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