8-QUARTZSITE, AZ: Part 2 & GILA BEND

After we left the Desert Bar and got back on the highway, we drove north to where we could cross the Colorado River over the dam.

They have barricades on the lanes to make sure you don’t drive a truck or motorhome across the dam. It will rip your sides off if you try.

The road back along the California side of the Colorado River comes with some interesting distractions.

The burros are definitely on the road and one needs to be careful. They seem to think they own the roadway and have no fear of cars whatsoever.

If they are not IN the road, they are right next to the road, hoping for an apple or carrot from passers by.

Back at camp we still had another day to kill waiting for the crowds to lessen before we attempted our own foray among the masses and into the RV show .

There was a sign on the highway near where we parked on the desert that said “Bouse Community Park, 17 Miles.” Our friend Ron said it was a nice drive which it was.

There were rolling hills with blue mountains on the horizon.

 

There are a lot of saguaro cactus standing like sentinels from Quartzsite eastward.

When we finally reached the park, there was nothing of which to even take a picture besides a few RV sites and a couple picnic tables. I didn’t think that would impress you very much.

Just beyond was the tiny desert town of Bouse. (We don’t know if it is pronounced like “booze” or more like “Boise,” so take your pick.)

At one time it was a mining town but we didn’t see any sign of current activity.

On the way back we saw a side road with a historical sign about a mine that had been back in that area and turned on to it.

Understand we were in the Jeep, not in the motorhome. We didn’t get far on this road until we determined it was not for cars, probably not even for Jeeps. It was an ATV road where the roads on the hills go almost straight up and down.

We heard engines roaring and saw a group of ATV’ers driving down precarious roads across the way. As we passed them back on the highway, I noted they were mostly senior citizens. A gutsy bunch for sure!

There was a serene view ahead of us as we drove back toward camp.

Back in front of our motorhome, some of our neighbors had brought out their Ultra Light and soared off into the wild blue yonder.

One of the things we always enjoy about Quartzsite is the sunsets we see here. They are always spectacular and this time they once again did not disappoint.

The next morning another one of our neighbors broke out his hot air balloon and lifted off into the cool desert air.

Again, as we were “treading water” in order to avoid major crowds, we headed over to Blythe, just across the border into California, and then down the Colorado River to the Cibola Wildlife Preserve.

We were hoping to see huge flocks of Snow Geese that we were told were there. It seems we didn’t get to the right place so didn’t see them. We did see a lot of Sandhill Cranes.

They were very skittish and wouldn’t let us get near them.

We also saw a roadrunner run across the road. I grabbed the camera and got…

…a picture of his TAIL!! He was so fast!! No wonder Wiley Coyote could never catch him.

On Monday we headed to the RV show and the Big Tent, forgetting that it was the MLK holiday and so the crowds were still quite dense. Most things we found we either didn’t need or had already seen (and probably bought) at previous RV shows. Then we walked through some of the other booths and decided we had enough and called it "Done."

Back at the RV we prepared to leave on Wednesday morning. Our farewell came in the form of a gold speckled desert sunrise.

We are now on our way to spend some time in Tucson, so since it is on the way, we stopped off in Gila Bend. This is a town best passed through at the highest possible speed you can go without getting a speeding ticket.

We parked the motorhome in a truck stop parking lot and drove about a half an hour to find the Painted Rock Petroglyphs. Just to clarify, petroglyphs are carved into rocks and pictographs are painted on rocks. We have seen both in different locations.

Once again we are trying to “Go Back.” We were here several years ago but neither of us can remember when.

We walked across the flat desert and saw this large pile of rocks. (No doubt full of rattlesnakes!) There is a path that circles around it. About three-quarters of the way around we saw hundreds of petroglyphs on rocks everywhere.

A sign said this is a turtle and a quail…

…and that this is the sun.

There were so many and we didn’t know what any of them meant.

We have always enjoyed finding petroglyphs and pictographs in our travels and there are many in the Southwest. We always keep an eye open for them.

The next post will be from Tucson, AZ.