From Mica Mine Road March 4th 2014

March 4th Mica Mine Road (N32 19.845 W112 53.311)

Seems a long time since I last jotted a few notes but the reality is that not much happens in the desert, particularly with me since there are few trappings of civilization to confuse my life.

I am now camped in the hills west of Ajo, Az, a spot that I have visited on several occasions in other years and now share with Hugh and Christine Richards, plus Penny and Katie, the dogs, we being a respectable 500 metres apart. 

As you know, I returned from Vancouver Island after visiting my mother and helping her move into a new home back in January. She is still doing fine but has goods days and some that aren’t so good. Anyway, I talk on the phone when she is able and she seems well taken care of at her new place.

 

Since sending the group e-mail in late January, not a whole lot happened over on Plomosa Road. One notable event, however, was the running of the Parker 425, a desert road race on a course looping through Bouse but starting in Parker. Some vehicles do two laps, others three, according to their speed capabilities. For spectators, this can be a dusty experience, depending on which way the wind, if any, is blowing relative to where one positions oneself. From a distance, such as where I camp up on Plomosa Road, it appears as if the entire desert fills with sand to a height of 50 to 100 feet or so. I went to watch with Paul Chu, friend of Ted Webber, who had taken his camper down the night before “to get a good spot” at one of the viewing areas near Bouse. While he said the camper was fairly airproof, it is hard to imagine not getting a coating of dust on everything. Anyway, lots of noise and excitement as specially designed desert rails and trucks come screaming by at high revs and high speed. Lots of people were wearing masks to breath, so I only stayed an hour or two and then headed back up into the hills.

From time to time, I would see Walt and Susan Brugger who were camped in sight just down the trail with their friends Jim and Patti – they of fridge cleaning fame. I gave each couple some nice steaks from the butcher in Quartzsite as a thank you for the messy job. Jim, and Patti seem to have recovered from what they reckon might have been swine flu (H1N1). This lasted several weeks and was not, from their description, a pleasant occurrence.

 

One day, I heard an ad on Quartzsite radio promoting Steve’s burgers as a greasy, gooey experience not to be missed. If this appeals to any of you, feel free to rush on down and try one out while the place still exists. There was also something about a 6” high pile of fries if the thought of the burger wasn’t enough on its own.

Once again this year, Bouse offered the outstanding attraction of Rowdy and Bandit, the miniature Brahma bull and Sicilian donkey about whom I have written before. For those in the neighbourhood, this act takes place on Thursdays at 2 pm. off Plomosa Road as it exits the outer suburbs of Bouse. The bike has been fairly stagnant this year, so I have decided that it is time to get pedalling again and have been out for a couple of short rides. After so long of me being as rusty as the bike, muscles and points of tenderness need to be worked on slowly, so it may be a week or so before I venture further afield.

There is virtually no wildlife except an occasional hummer to report in the desert this winter though anecdotal reports of a herd (maybe 3 or 4) of cattle were being bandied about by the neighbours. I did actually see them back in December, so know that they exist. What they live on is beyond me since the desert surface is bare of what I would consider to be edible vegetation. Ironwood tree leaves and other shrubbery must make up their diet though, on sighting these cattle, one has to wonder whether they are actually of any use to the rancher since there is no meat on them at all..

 

Since returning from Canada, I have been leaving the solar panels flat on the roof (as opposed to tilting them). The combination of a flat screen TV and LED lights has lowered my power consumption from what it was before I had these things to the point where I can maintain the batteries at 100%, even with the odd jolt from the microwave to heat the morning mug of coffee. Early winter (December), the sun is quite low in the sky so incoming rays have less potency. From now on, the sun is higher and I should see increases every week. All this information, and more, is measured on the Tri-Metric Monitor – first requirement for any of you considering life as a boondocker using solar energy instead of shore power or a generator.

 

Back in early February, Gerry and Heather Percy visited Plomosa in their big Motorhome. They managed to get it fairly close to where I was camped, stayed a few days and then departed for Why. I discovered that there was a new bike shop in Quartzsite so went off in search of extra-thick-thorn-resistant tubes and replacement tires. Arriving at Bill’s Bikes, I found that there was diesel fuel pouring onto the ground from somewhere up in the motor of the truck. Not sure what to do and having no mechanical recourse as it was a Sunday, I decided to drive the 25 minutes back to camp on Plomosa, hoping that the truck wouldn’t burst into flames. In fact, I even took off the seat belt in case I had to leap out. Back at camp in one piece, I looked under the hood and found that fuel was bubbling out from under the fuel filter cap so took that off and then back on and everything worked just fine – a minor miracle. While checking under the hood, I discovered a large rodent nest of moss and grass, presumably originating from home at the Shuswap since there is no moss in this part of the world. From time to time at my cabin, I have seen marmots (groundhogs)sitting on the truck tires, so having one or more make a nest is not that surprising. I went to a carwash in Parker and sprayed the whole area to see if I could get rid of the diesel smell. Trouble is, they don’t use hot water in the south so my efforts were only partly successful.

Wed, Feb 26th, I moved to Ajo (about 4 hours), and joined up with the Richards who had been in the area a week or so already.

Friend Darch, with Kiki the wonder dog, drove over from Apache Junction for a couple of days, camped in my trailer and then hurried home as he was trying to sell his Motorhome and had a hot prospect on the line.

My camp at the end of the Richards’ trail is a very tight squeeze with a small turning circle around creosote bushes and some cacti. I finally wiggled myself into position in a nice spot and got set up but will do (actually have already done) some selective pruning to smooth the progress of my exit when the time comes in a couple of weeks.

There are only a few other rigs in the general area and one is hard pressed to see any signs of life unless one climbs a hill and scans the desert for a few miles.

As you will see from the pictures, Mica Mine Road is a bit mountainous with peaks rising from the valley the better part of 1000’ in places nearby.

Even though I am surrounded by hills, my Internet signal is quite good, plus both phones have weak to middling reception and text on the Canadian one works most of the time. Tomorrow, I’m heading into Ajo for what will be my first Scrabble defeat of 2014 from friends Don and Gayle Weyers. As it is already quite late in the winter, they will only be able to crush me once or twice before I move slowly North at the middle of the month.