I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I actually have a good reason now. Over Thanksgiving, Steve and I drove Waldo to my dad’s house in Florida in preparation for an extended trip to Quartzsite, AZ in January. We didn’t want Waldo to get stuck in the snow before our trip west. We flew back to New Hampshire to await our departure date. I drove Toad to my dad’s house in mid-January, Steve flew in on the 28th and on the 29th we headed west.
I know this blog is supposed to be about touring NH, but I thought it would be nice to share some of of my other adventures with you.
Once we reached the Bureau of Land Management land in Quartzsite, we set about finding an area to boondock in for the next several weeks. Boondocking is living in your motorhome or RV without hookups for water, sewer or electricity. Waldo has a 100 gallon water tank, a propane fridge and a generator. The biggest challenge is the sewer. The gray tank which holds shower and sink water fills up pretty quickly. The black tank which holds the actual sewer fill up a bit slower. When the tanks get near full or we get low on water, we drive into town and “dump” and refill. This is our home for the next 6-8 weeks…
Our front yard…
Our back yard…
While out on our first exploratory walk, we came across an adobe oven someone had built…
Our first evening brought us a sunset worthy of being photographed…
You can see the town of Quartzsite in the distance…
And my first try at astrophotograhpy netted me a picture of Orion. It isn’t perfectly clear, but I’m working on it…
We arrived on Tuesday and on Wednesday, I drove the 2 1/2 hours to Phoenix to bring Steve to the airport. Unfortunately for him, we own a business so he doesn’t get to hang our here with us. Hopefully, he will be able to come out and spend the last 10 days or so with us before driving Waldo home.
My dad, the dogs and I headed out for a walk when I got back from the airport. The variety of things to see always astounds me…
A Saguaro cactus next to the skeleton of another one.
You don’t want to run into one in the dark!!
Up close and personal with the spines
I’m not the only jeep out here
There are chunks and pieces of quartz everywhere you look
There are plenty of trees and bushes that didn’t survive the conditions in the desert
Luckily, the dogs found a bit of shade to rest in after our walk.
Yesterday, my dad, the dogs and I loaded up in Toad and headed out into the desert for a bit of 4-wheeling. There are countless trails to follow. I doubt we will get though all of them on this trip. We headed towards the mountains and Mitchell Mine, the trail was easy to follow and was fairly smooth…
There were plenty of cacti to see…
Don’t get too close!
Cholla cactus
Coming into bloom
We finally reached Mitchell Mine property…
We weren’t worried, the only thing I was “prospecting” was pictures. After we drove a while, we came across a sight which made the entire trip worthwhile! An abandon stone house. I’d love to know its story and the stories of those who had lived there…
I knew we had gone up in elevation quite a bit and my GPS confirmed that. We were at 1106′ when we started and ended at 1674′. From that height, we could see all of Quartzsite and beyond…
You always notice things on your way back that you didn’t see the first time though. This time it was the 2 saguaro cacti standing guard over the road…
I hope you’ll stay tuned to more of our Quartzsite adventures. If you are only interested in NH, I will be back to touring in about 9 weeks. Thanks for coming along. I promise more desert surprises in the coming weeks!
Touring NH 
Thanks so much!!! I grew up in Tucson and wish I could be there right now. Lori
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The weather is wonderful!! I’m planning lots of great adventures in the next several weeks!
Love this, Laura! It’s fresh and a new eye on the world through your lens. Keep up the posts!!
There is so much to see out here! We are loving it. Even the dogs are happy. And I hate to rub it in but I am not missing the snow!
I like the stone house but what an odd place to find an adobe oven. I wonder if you saw any actual quartzite there, which is a mineral. It would be ironic to be in a place named after it and not see any.
The desert is a beautiful place!
After reading your comment, I did a bit of research and most likely what I am finding is quartzite, not quartz. The abode oven makes sense, many people come out here and camp for weeks on end.
That looks like a great place to spend the winter. I like the close-up shots of the cactus.
I’m having an awesome time seeing all of the sights. And best of all, the days we do absolutely nothing but sit in camp and enjoy the scenery. I have another post covering my birthday I’m hoping to get out tomorrow.
Cool. I look forward to seeing it.
What a change from New Hampshire! It sounds like a real adventure and I love the desert landscape and the cacti. I especially love the stone house.
My dad, the dogs and I are loving it. Every day is something/someplace new. I’ve come across a few more stone houses but haven’t had the chance to photograph them yet.
It looks oh, so familiar! Glad you’re having a good time. 🙂
We are!!!! Something new almost every day. I think today will be a down day. We all need a bit of rest!
Love your photos of the cactus. As Jeff said I really enjoy the close ups. Such a fascinating landscape to explore.