sandhill surprise

October 2007, Whitewater Draw, Southeast Arizona


Speaking of migrations, seeing all those tarantulas on the move last week reminded me of another epic journey we were lucky to witness several years ago. After visiting Bisbee, Arizona we wandered in the Sulfur Springs Valley just a bit further East. There we stumbled upon Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area and its seasonal wetland.
The wetland is a stopover point for many migrating birds making their way along the dry valleys. Among the most spectacular mass visitors are the Sandhill Cranes. We found our selves at Whitewater Draw a bit late in the morning and we didn't expect to see a bonanza of birds as most activity typically happens in the cool mornings and evenings. Boy, were we surpised when shortly after making our way to the short boardwalk the Cranes started to arrive from the North in wave after noisy wave. Here's mrs. a-go-go's short sound bite of the squadrons arriving:

Crazy luck! The short fuzzy video doesn't do it justice. The sky was quite clear and we could see far to the north the narrow bands of more birds following in the wakes of those already partying in the shallow water. Surprisingly a few groups of birds decided to start the next leg of the journey within the hour or so that we were there. More were still arriving from the North while small groups began to wade away from the mob and take off for the South, chattering and squawking the whole way.

In addition we had a fleeting glimpse of the Vermilion Flycatcher. Now I'm no birdwatching expert, but I hear tell that the little fellow is rather elusive on most birders lists.
The photo really didn't catch the color. When he flew it really was a vermilion flash.

If you're a bird nut and you are traveling this part of Arizona in the Fall or Spring, don't miss Whitewater Draw. It may take a bit of dead reckoning to find it. Some of the lonely straight roads in the valley are poorly signed and we took a route requiring some dirt road. So, do a bit of map research before you go, and bring plenty of water.

hot saguaro and a new state

3/17 Cave Creek, AZ to Silver City, NM
After a swell relaxing weekend with Tara Anderson and family it was time for us to find our way to Interstate 10 and head for a new state. The next destination on the itinerary was the Gila National Forest and the Cliff Dwellings National Monument, but we had at least six hours of driving ahead of us and the Saguaros were blooming. Tuscon and the Saguaro National Park were on the way so in spite of the heat we thought we'd stop by for a lunch break (and maybe catch some prickly plants making flowers). There were lots of Saguaro in bloom near Cave Creek but few in reach for a photo op. By the time we made it to Tuscon the blooms were shrinking in the heat. We learned at the national park visitor center that the Saguaro bloom at night to be pollinated by bats and by the heat of the next day the flowers shrivel. Hmph. So we'd have to search for blooms at dusk or very early in the morning. Ah well, there were lots of other prickles with flowers.
We sat for lunch at Javelina picnic area and the critters immediately came to look for hand outs. Clearly they were used to getting hand outs. Chipmunks, squirrels, cactus wrens, and even the normally shy quail came out of the desert scrub in twilight zone numbers.
The chipmunks competed for a front row seat. No sooner would one leap into prime crumb catching position when two or even three would arrive to challenge and chase the others in circles. When one would find a spot of shade under a picnic barbecue it would lay belly down until another chipmunk would make a challenge.
The quail mostly stuck to the underbrush and kept out of sight, but occasionally they would dart in pairs across the open space between bushes chirping. mrs. a-go-go tried her best to catch the menagerie in action but the competition and jockeying for position was fast and furious. We did not contribute to the handouts. We figured there would be plenty of other folks to break the rules and no squirrel would go hungry.

Back on the road east things became a bit grim and dust storms threatened. Then out of the bright haze came the new state sign.
Our second state at last.

Originally I thought we might be able to camp at a place called scorpion camp near the cliff dwellings but after some confusing on-line info and failing to get a ranger on the phone it looked like the camp ground might be closed due to high water bridge damage on the Gila River. It was getting late when we arrived in Silver City, New Mexico so we opted for an inexpensive motel offering wi-fi. The morning drive would be two hours of winding road to get to the cliff dwellings.
We checked in at the Copper Manor half a block from highway 15 to the national forest. At the front desk Fred, more than your average mild mannered motel clerk, sang the praises of Silver City and its wild west credentials. He pointed us to a hot spring where none other than Billy the Kid soothed his saddle sores. When asked if we had been to New Mexico I said, "Only Albuquerque." Well, that would just not do. Silver City and its corner of the state was the real New Mexico for this booster. With Fred's colorful assistance we were checked in and had an OK rest (the lights outside were so bright that every hour or so we woke thinking we'd over slept until noon) to prepare for exploring the Gila Cliff Dwellings.

fantastic sky and parking lot on the highway

5/14 Sedona to Cave Creek, AZ
Friday morning popped open with the puffy clouds in a dazzling blue sky that Thursday’s solid over cast lacked. We packed up camp for the drive to Cave Creek, just north of Phoenix, and struck out to the south with lots of stops along the way to catch the red rocks on their best backdrop, and a good cold dip in the river at Slide Rock State Park.We had to choose between Jerome or Prescott for a detour destination on our way south. mrs. a-go-go had been to Jerome before and so voted for a visit to Prescott, “everybody’s home town.” After the drop from the towering sandstone cliffs of the Kaibab formation we drove across the rolling hills of dry scrub and up the Prescott valley while the big clouds sprinkled big drops on our path. In Prescott we had lunch at Shannon's cheese cake and deli shop, but that will be in mrs. a-go-go's post. Our afternoon was rounded out with a long wait on the interstate. Due to construction the road turned into a parking lot so we took an unknown off ramp after two hours of crawling. Luck was with us and we eventually found an alternate route to Cave Creek where Tara Anderson welcomed us for a weekend visit.

red rocks, a whole lot of red rocks!

5/13
Thursday opened with an overcast sky that kept mrs. a-go-go from making her favorite red-rock-against-blue-sky-with-puffy-clouds photographs. On the plus side the overcast kept the temperature mild. After a lazy breakfast we drove down Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona for a Circle K stop for bananas, water, and a Red Rock Pass.
The pass allowed us to park legally at Midgely Bridgley for a hike to Wilson Canyon where we took some time along the trail to stage photos for one of mrs. a-go-go’s side projects. The trickling creek was loaded with tadpoles and the canyon is probably ridiculously picturesque when there is more water.

Back at the trail head we took advantage of the covered picnic tables provided by the park service for an early lunch and watched some heedless youngsters trample the vegetation off the trail to pose for a romantic photo with a red rose (until the young lady tripped and the rose itself was liberated from its thorny stem). Our legs were hiked out for the day so it was in to town to seek out some free wi-fi. The Starbucks oddly enough didn’t have what we were after so we just used their electricity to write a few posts for later and do some craft projects (about three hours worth).

The late afternoon was spent peering at the wild array of colorful unidentified birds along Oak Creek near stink butt campground. After touring the creek side reservation only sties we figured that was the place to camp if we ever return to Sedona (but only if we couldn’t get into Manzanita).The sun dropped behind the high walls of the canyon early, so it was time to make dinner and then to sit reading by headlamp until a reasonable bedtime.

thank goodness for birds

stinkbutt or no stinkbutt we still had to set up camp and make ourselves at home for the next two days. the tent was set up and mr. a-go-go went to crop circling a trench around the tent to keep it from getting flooded if the rain continued because of course we would have rain after already experiencing freezing temps and torrid winds. so mr. a-go-go got out his handy dandy folding shovel while i pulled out the camera to document it all.

aside from setting up the tent and making the bed, we need to plan for meals and make sure we have something to do after all the set up is done. reading, sewing and sudoku are done by the light of our headlamps. if it is too cold or windy we hide out in Rodney until it’s late enough to declare a justifiable bed time. mostly we just noodle along and explore the landscape that surrounds us. at camp stinkbutt though, there wasn’t much to explore save for a dash past the stink to the reserved campsites that were creekside. the water was pretty and gurgling away or maybe it was babbling, i’m not sure. there were all sorts of birds just like mr. a-go-go said. so we sat and watched and enjoyed the view.

as crowded and stinky and cold as the campsite was it wasn’t all that bad. the saving grace of the whole place was the birds. all kinds of birds! from the get go there were the birds. robins scurried about the campsite in search of critters and crumbs. woodpeckers, peck, peck, pecked away at the lanky ponderosas that surrounded us and unidentifiable birds in grey and brown peeped peeped under foot, car and camp bench. the niftiest of nifty however were the hummingbirds. camp stinkbutt was void of anything flowering but still i heard the cartoonish motor motor of hummingbirds whizzing by. i couldn’t figure out where they were coming from or why as not a speck of color was in sight save for the eye popping yellow of our tent and the happy pink & orange picnic throw i had tossed over my faded camp chair. all night the first night i would hear what sounded like hummingbirds hum around us, it wasn’t until morning when one wee fellow flew fast and furious into the yellow cereal bag we had floating about our camp deftly jabbing at it hoping for something sweet to snack on. ah-ha! i knew there were hummingbirds.

the mystery of the hummingbirds was solved when i wandered away to find a less stinkified bathroom to take care of business in. i thought for certain that the pit toilets near the camp host would be clean and so i headed that way. as i walked i began to hear more motor motor motor and the closer i got to the camp host, the louder the humming buzz biz got. there before me, outside the RV of the host was a small thatch of birdie paradise. feeder after hummingbird feeder peppered the area and boy howdy were there birds! some of the feeders had five or more wee nectar lovers perched upon them and they didn't fly away when i appeared. i didn't have my camera with me and it wouldn't have mattered if i did, i don't think i could have adequately captured this lovey yet surreal moment. so yeah, it may have been a stinky two days but the birds provided a lovely soundtrack.

scenes from camp a-go-go

a long walk on the rim and, “what’s that stink?”

5/12 Williams, The Grand Canyon, and stink butt camp




The morning was indeed frigid and the warm bed kept us from the road north to the Grand Canyon until 7 am. We didn’t see the sunrise over the big river in it’s deep red cradle but we were early enough to have the Rim trail mostly to ourselves for the morning. What can I say about the big great cleft that would be new? This was mrs. a-go-go’s first visit so I’ll let her photos make their excited disbelieving overwhelming describing.






Later we took the park shuttle to the end of the line at Hermit’s Rest and walked more of the Rim Trail back toward the main park village. By this time, after lunch, the crowds were upon us. Nothing like the summer rush I’m sure, but still a bit trying. People get pushy, and impatient. It’s a really special place so I understand so many coming to see it but it makes me worry about how many of us hairless house apes there are. On the plus side, we listened to German, Korean, Portuguese, Hindi, Italian, French, Japanese, and a mess of languages and accents we could never recognize. Jeepers, the world comes here…and almost gets along without arguments and tension.

By 1pm we were walked out. Back to our hot car on an hour-long shuttle ride, and we were on our way to Flagstaff and Oak Creek Canyon north of Sedona, AZ. The weather south of the canyon was a little daunting with short flurries of big raindrops and sheets of distant rain hanging from big white anvils. Flagstaff briefly confused our directions and we had a quick glimpse of the old town where we’ll have to visit on another trip. I had hoped to score a campsite at a tent-only campground north of Sedona. Rodney did his best to grip the road on the twisting Oak Creek Canyon Road as we scanned the brown signs for Manzanita Campground. Full!? Really!? On a Wednesday afternoon? Well, the camp-out season starts early in the red rocks of Sedona. So we backtracked to another campground that is heavily used (and I mean USED) and frequented by lots of RVs. I won’t mention the camp’s real name, but we call it stink butt. We took a site for two nights in spite of the stinky pit toilets that waft the valley with a grey brown smell and the badly abused surroundings. We needed a place to stay so we could do some hiking in the area and stink butt would have to do. The local inns were way out of our budget so we sucked it up and decided to accept what was available. Chiggers can’t be boozers, and our day peering into and across the Grand Canyon left us needing dinner and a dry tent. Yes, a few more spatterings of rain fell, but we were dry for the night; dry but with wrinkled stink-noses and the headlights and “mon-back” calls of the late arriving RVs until midnight stilled everything but the hum of the pit toilets’ stink-vent fans.

the first long stretch

5/12 Joshua Tree to Williams, AZ Sorry that this post is a bit redundant and rehashes stuff that mrs. a-go-go already posted about.

So I’ve done my best to plan our trip to avoid driving more than four hours in a day, but getting from Joshua Tree National Park to the Grand Canyon called for a six and a half hour stretch. We’ve done much more than that in a day on other trips but after four hours at the wheel I get cranky. With a full bellies from a fine breakfast at Crossroads Café in the town of Joshua Tree we headed through Twenty-Nine Palms for the first lonely road of the day. Well, not totally lonely, Amboy Road is part of the route frequented by the denizens of the Palm Springs area when they make the journey to Las Vegas. So most of our company on the road were in a big hurry to get through the open sky territory and back into buffet heaven. Few of them have patience for people who noodle along looking at the stunningly blue chloride pools.Amboy Road took us past Roy’s Café, a favorite stop for the Las Vegas commuters, the now dead and tipped over shoe tree of Amboy, and delivered us to a stretch of old Route 66. The flood control dikes along 66 are a favorite place for people to spell out their crushes and undying loves in pink and white spray-painted rocks. We joined Interstate 40 East, crossed the Arizona border, the azure Colorado River, and began a long series of uphill climbs to the 6,000+ foot altitude Kaibab Plateau, the source of the Grand Canyon’s sedimentary layer cake of geology. We took a quick free wi-fi break under the Golden Arches in Williams, AZ south of the Grand Canyon. There we found the latest forecast called for subfreezing overnight temps. We had planned to camp out but not wanting to be popsicles in the morning, we blew $70 for a motel in Williams, and that was the day. More than six hours on the road, a hot shower, and a plan to get up early to see the Grand Canyon in morning light. Bonus, mrs. a-go-go got to have her Lost fix for the week.

the first stop

hullo all...wow, the countdown is on and things here seem to be picking up speed! we still don't have a car but we're working on it. so for now, we're pack, pack, packing up the tiny casa and sending various emails off to all sorts of people to see if they will have us for a visit. our first stop is Arizona where we will get to meet this awesome gal (and family), camp in Sedona and hit the soutwest rim of the grand canyon. any Arizona folks wanna meet up, hang out or otherwise spend some time with us? got any suggestions on where to go? from here we set off for Texas...yeeee-haw!