Ajo, Arizona

We left Mesa on February 1st, and headed south towards the Mexican border. We spent a week in a small town called Ajo (pronounced Ah-ho); which was roughly 40 miles north of the Mexican border. While there we met up with some nice people, Pat and Phip, from Wisconsin. We shared lots of stories and a few meals with them while there.

We spent one day touring around the Organ Pipe National Park; and were again wowed and bedazzled by the beauty of the desert. I had never seen an organ pipe cactus before and it was quite the introduction to them.

At this time, we also met up with Kelly and Al, from Ontario; and decided to look into boon docking - aka dry camping. We found a beautiful place roughly 8 miles outside of Ajo on BLM land (Bureau of Land Management). This land is free; and although there is a 14 night limit; it was on day 12 before the ranger caught up with us. So we got a bonus 11 nights there. Our closest neighbour at this time was about 1/2 mile up the road; and it was so quiet and peaceful.

We only have 1 battery on our rig; and thought that we would only last a few nights. A week later, our battery was empty as well as our water tank; so off to Ajo we went to recharge and dump/refill our tanks; and then right back out we went.

We ended up spending 23 nights in total in the desert; and absolutely loved it! Mike and I used to drive deep into Northern Ontario, load up our canoe; and paddle for hours looking for peace and quiet. So this was a real treat for us. Having a nice bed to sleep in; a shower with hot water; and all the comforts of home.

We spent our days going for hikes; bike rides; wood runs; and just enjoying mother nature at her best. We were serenaded by coyotes on a regular basis; and had a nightly camp fire. The night sky was incredible there; constellations that we had never seen before; a full moon cycle; and strange lights in the night sky... which turned out to be flares dropped from the military planes flying over the desert. We were fairly close to an airbase; and during the week warthogs flew over us - night and day. Glad that we found out that they were just flares... and nothing to worry about. While there, the lunar eclipse happened and it would have been the perfect place to see it; but unfortunately the sky was overcast that night; and we missed the show.

We were also surrounded by mountains and a wide variety of cactus. Molly ended up getting some cactus spines in her; and we had to use pliers to pull them out.

We went back to the Organ Pipe national park a few weeks later; and were met with 1000's of blooming desert poppies. As far as the eye could see. It was really pretty. We also went into Mexico, just briefly; and then right back out to the desert. We thoroughly enjoyed our time while here; and would go back in a heart beat!

Take a look at the pictures that we've posted.

Christmas in Mesa Arizona, 2007

We celebrated Christmas with Mike's relatives in Mesa Arizona. We had a great time; and it was nice for us to have family to spend Christmas with.

While in Mesa, we went to a few basketball games. Pati's 13 year old son Zach was on his school's basketball team; and we took in a few games. The second game was a semi-final game which they won; and a few nights later we went to the championship game - which they also won. First time for his school. We celebrated afterwards with a pizza dinner.

Take a look at our pictures that we've posted.

Mesa, Arizona

We arrived in Mesa, Arizona, which is a suburb of Phoenix. Mike has relatives that live in and around this area. Some he hadn't seen in over 20 years.

Our home base was Apache Wells RV Resort; and it was a nice place to call home for a few months.

We took a beautiful drive through the Superstition Mountains. And what a drive that was! The first time we got as far as Tortilla Flats; when we were met with water rushing over the road. Not sure if we wanted to go on or not; we decided to ponder this over lunch.

The only restaurant was old and delapitated. There were signed $1 bills stapled all over the walls, window sills, bars, etc. And the bar stools were saddles. The food was great, but I'm pretty sure the place wouldn't pass a health inspection.

We decided not to go on; as we weren't sure if there would be more running washes or not. A few days later, we decided to take this drive again. This time we approached it from US 60; and started the drive at the Roosevelt Dam.

Now, we have been on some beautiful drives; but this one takes the cake - so far. The road was dirt and very narrow. Now keep in mind, we drive a Ford F-350. The posted speed limit for this road was 15 mph and for the most part I averaged around 5 to 8. The mountains were on our left; and there were 3 lakes on our right. First the Roosevelt; then the Apache; and then Canyon Lake.

Of course there were sagauro's and other variety of cactus all over the place. It was a little surreal though; as it was just before Christmas and we were singing along to "let is snow" "white christmas" etc.; as the sun was shining; and no sign of snow anywhere.

The drive ended at Tortilla Flats; and the water was still rushing; but not as deep or as fast as before; so we went through. The drive was from start to finish was roughly 40 miles; and took around 5 hours.

There were a few times we had to pull over for another vehicle; and hoped that our mirrors wouldn't hit each other. That's how tight it was. This is also where we earned our first "desert pinstriping". Desert pinstripping is like a badge of honor. Shows you're not afraid to take your vehicle off road. Well, we met up with a nasty looking ocotillo. The scratch starts at the headlight; and goes right to the tail light on the passenger side. It was while passing another vehicle when this happened. And trust me when I say this, it wasn't the only scratch that we got.

A few days later, December 21st, we took this drive again; and took part in a special tribute to our sister-in-law Rosie's, mom. It was a very special day.

Take a look at the pictures we've posted.

Camp Verde, Arizona

We left Page, Arizona, early December and started to make our way to Sedona. Well that was the plan anyway.

The drive from Page to Flagstaff was fairly uneventful, except for the beauty surrounding us. But from Flagstaff to Sedona, it was a bit of a challenge. The reason we couldn't bring our rig into Zion was that we were over the 50 foot maximum, but just. The highway that we wanted to take from Flagstaff to Sedona had a 50 foot maximum also, but we decided to risk it.

The road was curvy, twisty, tight; and all of my driving skills were put to the test. But since I had already done the north rim of the Black Canyon and the hogs back; I figured I would do okay. So off we went. Some of the hairpin switchbacks were a bit of a challenge; but I took my time. I'm sure that the train of cars I had behind me were wishing that I wasn't ahead of them; but I do pull over whenever I can to let people pass.

Sedona is a pretty little town. All the houses and business have a real "southwest" feel to them; and the views surrounding the town are beautiful. The park that we planned on staying in was outrageously priced; so we continued on to Camp Verde. About an hour south.

We found some really nice scenic drives to take - what a surprise - and also played a bit of poker while there. The rv resort was fairly new; and very well put together.

We then left Camp Verde and headed towards Mesa. Took a secondary highway and this is where we saw our first saguaro cactus. We were again on a twisty, curvy highway; when Mike saw a saguaro. I was in a really long curve and couldn't take my eyes off the road. When we came out of the curve, there were hundreds, maybe even thousands of saguaros! They were everywhere! And this was just the start of them.

They come in a variety of shapes, and sizes. Tall ones, short ones, skinny, fat, one armed; multi armed, it was pretty cool.

We also took a nice drive into a place called Jerome. Very small, quaint village. Glad that we only had the truck with us; as the roads were very narrow. There was a pizza "bordello"; but it was closed.

Take a look at the pictures that we've posted.