A Desert Trek - Part 1

January 7- 24, 2009 (With a mini-rally in Quartzsite in between, more on that later)

Tonopah, Arizona

Tonopah, Arizona is about 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix, AZ. It's in the middle of nowhere - we loved it!  Three gas stations, a restaurant ...

(How often can you find a restaurant with the winning combination of Restaurant/Notary Public/Bee Cap purveyor?)

... a post office, a scruffy land and ranch office, and some kind of hot spring motel. That was it, beside a "market" (read: the saddest of yard sales) on Saturdays. Mind you we had an escape from parched land - we stayed at the immaculate Saddle Mountain RV Park, which we highly recommend for our RV readership.

Desert and mountains surround Tonopah - quiet, warm, natural, perfect for exploring the arid landscape. We started with a >4 hour hike to Saddle Mountain run by members of the local preservation society.

Pamela, what are you doing?

Okay, before we get to the hike, some 4x4ing over rough terrain was in order. We stopped for a view of Angel Mountain, but most of us were immediately distracted by sparkling aggregates. So now you know I was scrounging for "desert roses", "a flowerlike aggregate of crystals of a mineral occurring in arid areas," and red agates:

Angel Mountain in the background (see the angel?):

Peace, Saguaro:

A flash flood carved a trough through the landscape:

They say, within a month, desert blooms will overlay the land with colour. Here, the yellow of Mexican Poppy will prevail.

Paul, our trusty guide clambers in the remnants of an ironwood tree:

"Ironwoods ... are known to live as long as 1,500 years." Apparently the wood is so dense it won't float in water.

A saguaro cactus has waxy skin and can grow up to 50 feet. The ones with multiple "arms" can be as old as 200 years. Birds often carve away spaces inside for nests.

Just a quick post. 'Til installment two...

Peace,

-P