My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Arjan.....thanks.....



We awoke the next morning to a beautiful sky. I began to brew my coffee as I do every morning, and then took the dogs out as I do every morning. We walked up this small hillside to gather in the countryside and then we heard the barks and the howls of the coyotes. It was like nothing I had ever heard before.....the sheer volume of the sounds was overwhelming. I've heard plenty of morning barks and howls of the coyotes over the years, but I'd never heard anything like this before.....had I witnessed something extraordinary ? Or was it typical for where we were ? Travelers really never know the answers to this question.....

Still to this day I can hear those coyotes in my head.....just last night as I lay in bed I swore that I heard them. I opened the skylight and there was nothing.....just the sounds of a quiet desert campsite at the base of yet one more mountain.....there was nothing.....



I grabbed my map and once I knew where we were, I made plans for the day. We passed through the small town of Arivaca, Arizona (population 524).....there was nothing to see here.....




We drove west out of town and we happened upon a trailhead that led into the eastern boundaries of the Buenos Aries National Wildlife Refuge.....



This place turned out to be phenomenal. And since it was still early morning.....the air was cool, actually downright chilly. The birds.....so many birds.....I forgot how much I missed the singing of the birds.....




We spent the entire morning walking the trails here.....




I'm not sure what I photographed here.....maybe the remains of a homestead abandoned long ago.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We continued driving west.....I couldn't help but admire Baboquivari Peak (7,730') as we looked to the west into the Tohono O'odham Nation Reservation.....



We connected with Highway 286 and took it due south.....now headed back towards the border wall (again).....

Our plan was stop at the Visitors Center for the Buenos Aries National Wildlife Refuge.....a short drive south down the highway.....



Here I met a volunteer that was spending her 5th winter volunteering at the place.....she absolutely loved it here. I watched a 20 minute video but before I did she warned me that the video was old and everywhere that it showed water flowing, it was no longer there.....climate change appears to be destroying (changing ?) the local habitat.....



The Visitors Center was located in an old homestead and it was surrounded by well groomed trails lined with small stones which of course we walked along.....




I admired the ancient fencing and the resourcefulness of man.....




I saw this sign posted on the barn.....never seen that one before.....



I saw enough now to know that we wanted to spend a few days here.....



So we drove down one of the lonely roads to find ourselves a campsite where I knew that we'd hear more of the barks and howls of the coyotes.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The campsite I chose was the one closet to the border wall that was available. For "safety reasons", several closer campsites had been closed until further notice (forever ?).....



We ended up spending 3 days and 3 nights here.....and really didn't do much of anything.....and that sure felt good.....



When we got bored we'd jump into the Jeep and head out to explore.....




There seemed to be a never ending network of sandy roads that crisscrossed the 117,464-acre Buenos Aries National Wildlife Refuge.....




This place was so calm and chill.....I mean, seriously, it was unreal.....



Since I don't really enjoy bouncing around in the Jeep all that much, often we'd head out into the bush to see what we could see.....the simplest of things caught our attention.....



Even something as simple as an old coil of barbed wire became interesting here.....it really was thousands of acres of nothing.....



Watching a falcon on the hunt was fascinating.....this one I watched as it swooped down into the tall grass, disappeared for a minute.....maybe two.....then flew away with it's claws empty.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We never saw another person here during our 3 day stay.....we did head out on Day 2 to visit the small border town of Sasabe, Arizona.....



The volunteer at the Visitors Center said that I had to try the burritos and tamales at the Sasabe Store.....



So I did. Now there's not a whole lot going on in this tiny town. I ate my lunch inside the store and the woman owner chatted with me the entire time. She's a fourth generation living & working here.....in this town with a population of 3.....she said.....




There's a border crossing just beyond the town and I kind of wanted to drive along the border wall (there's a road that parallels the wall) but I wanted to speak with Border Control first cause my Jeep is loaded with one gallon water jugs.....I did not want to be mistaken for being one of these guys.....



Border Control was nowhere to be found and Customs Agents said that they couldn't help me out.....so it was back to our lonely road in the Buenos Aries National Wildlife Refuge.....




Clouds began to build in the west that evening as an impending storm was on its way.....the first of the trip.....



That night as the sun set, the temperatures began to drop.....significantly.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The precipitation.....it first began as a light rain.....the three of us, we watched from the warmth of the camper.....



It seems a bit odd to think of precipitation as an actual longed for event.....but I had missed it immensely. I donned my parka and the three of us went out for the last walk of the day in the cold rain.....



There were crazy beautiful clouds coming in from the west.....I was loving the change in the weather.....perfect weather days can start to get boring.....




The temperatures plunged well below freezing that night and the rain of course changed to snow.....



It's not unusual for the night time temperatures to be below freezing around here.....but the snow sticking to the ground is most unusual. A local told me that it happens at most every two years.....




We enjoyed a walk early in the morning in the cool, crisp air.....it was tantalizing to say the least.....everything covered in a light dusting of snow.....




This would turn out to be as far west that we drove on this trip.....at least up to now. When we finally left here, we drove north on Highway 286 once again, then east passing back through Arivaca, Arizona.....we connected with the interstate near Green Valley, Arizona and continued driving north. We spent a very eventful part of a night in Tucson, Arizona camped at our secret spot in the city.....I'll tell you about that night in my upcoming post.....

 

[halseyt]

cliffhanger

 

[Rockyroad5023]

What a journey bud! I am dreaming of overlanding everywhere one such as what you're doing. Thanks for sharing your journeys- they're inspiring!

 

[ITTOG]

I really like that peak you took multiple pictures of. It looks like it would be fine to climb. Great pics and narration. Thanks for letting us follow along.

 

[Groverland]

Yes, thank you so much for posting your adventures! I've been following your thread for a while and it helps me get through the winter blues dreaming about places I will go someday. Keep exploring and showing us the beauty that's both close to home and far away!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

halseyt.....I believe that the "cliffhanger" happened right after we were talking.....it wasn't a huge big deal.....

Rockyroad5023.....welcome to my thread. I love having new people (as well as old people) following along & I appreciate the feedback.....it's been a long journey......

ITTOG.....thanks so much. It's on my to do list someday. Apparently if you come from the west side (my pictures show the east side, it's climbable without ropes).....

Groverland.....I get it when you say the winter blues. I get them bad these days. Not only is it warmer here, but the sun shines for nearly an hour longer. I've been thinking of going home, but I just can't do it.....



So I don't have a lot of experience overnighting in big cities but I have spent too many nights at my secret spot in Tucson, Arizona. Now, its not unusual (not common either) for me to find drugs on the street.....I guess that drug addicts get careless from time to time.....



It's also not unusual for me to hear the drug addicts screaming at each other while camped at my secret spot.....and sometimes I've even seen them screaming at the sky. One morning I went outside and found this right outside my door.....apparently someone overdosed while I was sleeping.....



With all that being said, I've never had a single person threaten me or cause harm to my rig until that night. I heard a car door close.....it was about 11:00 p.m. I laid in bed wondering why that would be. Screaming....sure.....no problem. I opened my camper door and someone was in my Jeep. They hauled *** and I just stood there.....for a few minutes. Then I thought.....I've pushed my luck one too many times. We hit the road right then.....drove north.....in the middle of the night. Spent a quiet night camped at the base of Picacho Peak (3,370').....



The following day we continued driving north.....I had no plans to return to Tucson, Arizona. We stopped in Casa Grande, Arizona to try and come up with a plan.....



We slept in the Home Depot parking lot.....it wasn't good.....it wasn't bad.....it was safe.....



I found a new follower (just kidding.....I don't have Facebook).....



After a few days at the Home Depot, I decided to continue driving north.....we passed through Phoenix, Arizona.....I guess we all have bad days.....



At this point in our travels.....we'd been on the road for nearly two months and I was really ready to go home.....until a neighbor sent me this picture of my place and said that it was -30 back home.....



Well, I wasn't sure what would come next so I decided to go climb a mountain.....just to the northeast of Phoenix, Arizona.....



It's called Apache Peak (3,183').....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

The AllTrails Ap states that this hike is 6.3 miles roundtrip with 1,581' of elevation gain. The hike itself wasn't much of a challenge.....there were a few obstacles along the way.....



The first challenge that we encountered were the cactus. I kept both dogs on leash the entire time thinking that I could control the situation.....



For some reason unbeknownst to me, Trapper decided to fall over on her side just as we were passing through a section of Chollas cactus.....the same plant that we encountered last time while hiking in this general area.....



When she stood up, her head was covered with those things.....oh man, did it ever suck. Once we worked our way through that ordeal, we continued to climb higher.....



The last section of the now nearly extinct trail was through a large outcropping of rocks covered in yet more cactus..........the summit was eventually achieved.....




The views ? They were OK.....





As we sat on that summit I wondered what we should do next ? I couldn't go home, I couldn't stay here.....so when we returned to the rig, we drove south.....again.....retracing our steps of less than a week ago.....

 

[ITTOG]

That post had a lot of different emotions:

Wow-drugs,
What a crazy way to be woken up. When I go to my family property that is off-grid I almost always am there at least one night alone. I always have this slight fear in the back of my mind of people messing with my truck. Luckily, the only issue I have had was one time when I was cowboy camping and four or five coyotes came within ten feet. It was a bit alarming at first. Then a very awesome experience.

Cool-pic with the restaurant signs
I am not that keen on the desert but some of your pictures are so cool looking. You have added many desert locations to my list. That picture almost looks staged.

Smile-the woman that left the note
That made me smile, a lot. You should tell her to sign up here.


I have added Baboquivari Peak (7,730') to my list. With a note to climb the west side. Thanks.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

ITTOG.....a week after that incident, I noticed that someone had attempted to prior my camper door open with a pry bar. The metal frame surrounding the door has several bends and missing paint.....stuff happens.....



Now that we'd decided to stay in Arizona.....I had to come up with a new plan.....



We stopped again to spend the night at the base of Picacho Peak (3,370'). This peak, located in a state park, is one that I'd love to climb someday but they don't allow dogs to climb it due to its somewhat difficult nature (I feel certain that it would not be difficult for the three of us to climb it cause this is what we do). They've installed cables along the upper portion of the climb so that the average human being can make the summit.....



We went out that evening for a walk and ended up at the park entrance. A park ranger came out and the somewhat brief conversation went something like this.....

Ranger: "Oh my gosh I love your dogs". Is it OK to pet them ?"

Me: "Of course. Would it be OK if we walked into the park ?"

Park Ranger: "Yes but there's an entrance fee you have to pay."

Me: "Oh."

Park Ranger: "Nevermind. You don't have to pay. I love your dogs so much ! Plus I doubt you'll go very far." (obviously she'd never met us before).....

The power of the Golden Retriever never fails me.....



The views across the valley were outstanding.....Newman Peak (4,506') to the east might make for a great climb in the mountains one day as well.....




I couldn't help but laugh as we walked along the park road.....that comment that the park ranger made about us not going very far.....



At one point the park ranger drove by and screamed out the window "Beautiful evening ! Don't you love it ?" without even slowing down for a reply.....



We made it to the end of the road that evening.....several miles one way.....



Most of the walk back to the camper was in the dark of night (no headlamp as this walk was unplanned).....



Thanks go to that awesome park ranger ! We sure did love her a lot.....

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

The power of dogs to disarm and put at ease it a pretty good one. When I am out and about, exploring it is almost always just me. And usually not many if, any others folks around. Or just the dog and I. As a 35yr old male, I don’t think I am scary. And am usually polite and professional, smile say hi, and continue kind of thing. But I have noticed when passing a family or females on the trail I usually get a wide berth, and not even a hello or smile. When Mishka my dog is with me, it’s a different story. Folks are more likely to approach me and be friendly.

Thanks for continuing to post, I enjoy following along and adding places to my list as well.

Today I am working, I love the new job and freedom it provides. But am working from home today, looking out the window as it pours rain, and the dog is playing in the melting snow.

 

[Ace Brown]

I have not been able to get into ExPo for 2-3 weeks. Missed it of course. Good to catch up with Jerry’s travels. Always entertaining and informative.

Trapper just falling over seems worrisome.

Not having access to the Portal was very bad timing. I have my 4Runner for sale in the classifieds and couldn’t respond to questions. Well, there weren’t many anyway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk