Tag: Blackstone

North Rim, Part 1

After a fabulous trip in the Uintas, we needed to move on. Because the holiday is this week, we couldn’t find a really nice place to spend a couple of days. Everything was reserved! We ended up at a Love’s Travel Stop in Salina, UT, just off I-70. Good things: it was close for travel, clean, concrete patio, and amazingly quiet. Not so good things: expensive for a bare pull through with no trees, no landscaping, just concrete and black top. It met the need though. We did lots of laundry, got groceries, and we generally caught up with things. Not my favorite kind of place though, and it will be on my “if nothing else is available” list.

We drove the rest of the way to the North Rim on Monday. We found an amazing boondock site just off FS 22 which branches off AZ 67, the Grand Canyon HWY. Two miles up a gravel road led to a huge site surrounded by aspens and pines with a few fairly level spots.

We have since put up the Clam shelter since there are a lot of flies and a few mosquitos. Monday night we had dinner at the Kaibab Lodge, and it was fabulous! They normally offer a buffet, but it was pretty quiet so they just had a few menu items for choices. Everything was done beautifully, and it tasted great. We had a nice talk with the cook. He stays at the lodge in the summer and in Yuma during the winter. He full-times in a 27’ travel trailer.

On Tuesday we drove to Hurricane, UT to pick up the RZR we had left for an oil change on Monday. We had a bunch of engine work done before we left Iowa, and it needed an out of cycle oil change. It was a bit before the 50 hours recommended, but we would have been over the hours if we had waited until we left. I also picked up some new fabric for a quilt top I am hoping to finish during this trip.

Today we drove to the North Rim visitor center. Lots and lots fewer visitors than the South Rim! I was so proud of myself walking for 200 yards or so with a brief stop in the middle. I could not walk 50’ before my nerve ablation, so life definitely looking up. After all the driving, we both took a nap! We had pizza for dinner, made on the Blackstone. Sausage, onions, and mushrooms made a fabulous topping.

For the next four days we will be doing a bunch of UTV riding, so more to come!

Leaving Quartzsite tomorrow

I just looked at my last post, and it was three weeks ago! Time flies when you are having fun I guess. We spent the day just generally sorting and organizing gear that has been spread around inside and outside. When we stop for a night or two some place, we keep things nicely organized. But when we stay someplace for long periods, things just have a tendency to explode! We actually have never stayed this long in a single place, and things were scattered everywhere! Got that pretty much done, so we are just relaxing in the peace and quiet of a mostly empty boondock location.

As I packed I realized I haven’t posted much about our travel companions. Luna is the black one, 10.6 pounds, friendly, and outgoing. Her sister Minnie (short for Minerva) is a petite 7.4 pounds, shy and anxious. They both love motorhome life.

Stretched out on my lap
Curled up in the driver seat

I have been cooking of course. I tried to make pizzas on the Blackstone grill. I made the dough in my breadmaker. A 1 pound dough makes four personal pizzas. While I was trying for “round” I got “artisanal shaped” instead! The hardest part was shaping the dough.

Pizza on the Blackstone

We had an absolutely fabulous Valentine Day dinner. Kevin sous vide’d two steaks, and I made Parmesan and garlic asparagus. I also made light as air rolls from dough made in the bread maker, it was fabulous. The only issue with the bread maker is the power used to bake, whether in the machine or in the convection oven (the rolls). The convection oven is a real power hog!

Steaks, asparagus with Parmesan and garlic, home made roll

As expected we took more rides on the RZR, some with the SunRiders club and some on our own. I was impressed with the KOFA cabin built by the CCC. I think it is available for rent through the BLM. The stone work was lovely, and it was in great shape.

KOFA cabin

I wish I could remember the name of this fabulous site! Two arches, maybe 30’ high with a number of windows on either side. You might have to blow up the picture to see the windows though.

Double arches plus windows on either side

I took a “Ladies Only” ride with the SunRiders too. We went to Dead Horse Canyon which was rather uninspiring. Lots of sand, few rocks, and I love rocks. This was one of the sights on the way there though.

Mountains were nice

And the flowers have really stated coming out in the last few days.

Flowers were about 1” wide
Cholla and 2-3” wide Desert Gold flowers
Name??? I still don’t know

The hills east of us have really turned green, or at least as green as the desert gets.

Green in the hills

I have also done quite a bit of sewing. I finished up all but the binding of the donation quilt I am making for the FMCA convention in March. I am quite happy with it, though the final result was quite different than the initial plan. I thought I had carefully calculated that I could get four cuts from each fat quarter I had, but it turns out I could only get four cuts on the fat quarters without selvedges! Oops! I bought some more yardage and found the fabulous print to tie everything together. And yet more serendipity happened when the variegated thread my daughter got me for Christmas as a perfect match! It just got a simple all over meander. I might do some more quilting in the border, but I will decide later. It will only be if I get time.

Circle in a square

I also finished my class samples for the sewing class I am doing at the FMCA convention. All of the project kits are completed including the binding all cut. I have 10 spots open, and I cut 12 sets so the students have some choices. And since I like them all, any leftovers will be fine with me! I also finished 100 triangle in a square blocks out of the remnants from the quilt. I will put them together for another baby sized quilt which will be fine when I add some borders.

I will end with this morning’s fabulous Arizona sunrise.

From my front door this morning

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, part 1

Warning: picture heavy!

We left Willcox to head to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Like Joshua Tree, Organ Pipe was protected specifically for one type of cacti. Organ Pipes grow mostly in Mexico, but the almost all of the US ones are protected in the monument. As we drove into the Sonoran Desert, I noted again just how lush this desert is compared to the Mohave or the Great Basin deserts I am more familiar with. We drove through some lovely mountainous country and reached the campground about 3:00. While I had reserved a nice long site, we had the devil of a time getting into it. The entry road is only one lane and the pad was only one lane, but my motorhome take 2 1/2 – 3 lanes to turn right! We ended up going to the other side of the pull through site and backing in. The resulting location is wonderful though with decent screening by native plants all around us. We have saguaro, organ pipes, mesquite, teddy bear cholla, and brittle bush just outside the door.

Organ pipe at the edge of our campsite. I didn’t it it, but someone did.

We generally just got set up and relaxed. We had shopped in Willcox, so Kevin made smash burgers on the Blackstone grill for dinner. Yum.

Today we drove a wonderful interpretive nature trail – the Ajo Mountain Loop. It is just over 20 miles, and we took a leisurely 3 hours, stopping a lot for pictures and to read the information about each numbered stop. I am just going to drop lots and lots of pictures with captions.

There were windows/arches. These two had a trail to them.
This little window was more hidden
You know I love rocks, this is Ajo Mountain
Baby organ pipes use other plants to protect them
Baby saguaros also nestle in other plants for protection
This shows all the spikes on a mature organ pipe
There are other plants. These yellow flowers are blooming next to a brittle bush
A dead saguaro showing the substructure
A dead cholla showing its structure. Interesting shapes!

There were a few birds out and about.

The nest of a cactus wren
Some kind of hawk
Another hawk
A small bird that visited the campsite. Great camouflage!

We got gas at Lukeville, 5 miles away right on the Mexican border. The gas station was actually closer to Mexico than the entry to the border crossing! We had fajitas made on the Blackstone, and generally just relaxed until we’ll after the sun went down. Tomorrow is another scenic drive, so I hope to post more pictures then. We head to Quartzsite the day after.