Our twelve day stay here is almost done as we continue to relax and enjoy the quiet Sonoran Desert surrounding us. The sun rises over the Kofa Mountains and sets behind the mountains of the King Valley. We watch the sun illuminate and shadow the deep crags of the Kofas and the highest Signal Peak at 4,877’. The volcanic rhyolite rocks rise out of their lava-formed base and their hues change throughout the day from oatmeal and coffee to ginger, pink-peppercorn, “fifty shades of gray” turning fiery salmon with the setting sun, then draining to a soft burgundy. Note that none of the colours in the blog photos have been enhanced.
We take walks and hikes checking out the many Saguaro, Cholla, Prickly Pear, Ocotillo and Hedgehog Cacti. The hills are covered with semi-gloss, charcoal-coloured rocks, softened by a quilt-like pattern of small bushes that glow sandy-gold, especially at sunrise and sunset. Throughout the wilderness, clumps of Mesquite, Acacias and Palo Verde trees charge their beige surroundings with vibrant greens.
It is quite windy most days, much to Dixie’s delight.
Skeletal remains of a Saguaro
Amazing how a tiny seed grows up on a square mile of gravel.
I only have eyes for you!
Saguaros' favourite place to grow up, beneath a Palo Verde tree.
3 amigos search for a friend…
Yay, they found a buddy.
98% of Ocotillo are crispy dry in winter
One lucky fresh-green Ocotillo grows in a ditch where moisture collects.
When a cactus falls in the desert, does anybody hear?
Palo Verde trees, branches and leaves are a wonderful avocado green.
The park pamphlets and maps talk about the numerous bird species, endangered Pronghorns, Desert Bighorn Sheep, Desert Hares, Tortoise, Kit Foxes and Coyotes. All we have seen are a handful of Ravens (a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush) Vultures, one huge Hawk and many Kangaroo Rat holes in the sand. We have not even heard any coyote howls in the night!
Less than a minute after spilling a bit of soda, 2 honey bees arrived and within 10 minutes there were fifty of them! So amazing. I doused the pop with vinegar and the bees eventually lost interest and vamoosed.
We have been treated to a different sunset each evening folowed by the gleaming, waxing moon that will rise full on January 31 as a Blue, Blood Moon. The space station arcs across the sky each night just before the stars appear. Aircraft leaving L.A. and flying in numerous directions provide daily sky-art with their crazy vapor trails.
Looking up into the canyon as the sun’s shadows creep along.
Goodbye ole Sol…
Lion cloud swallows the sun.
Deep orange afterglow lasts an hour every night.
January 29:
January 30:
January 31: My camera is too small to capture the darker pics.
We drove south to Yuma one morning to pick up a few groceries and do some laundry. The highway there and back was packed with RV’s travelling north and south.
We passed the Yuma Proving Ground, a Military Compound, opened in 1943 to test and assess military equipment. A tethered Aerostat Balloon provides surveillance data along the border detecting planes smuggling drugs. They gather information day and night using low level radar.
Castle Dome Peak 3,780’
Close to Yuma, were green fields with young plantings and growing lush salad greens. At the back of one field, pressed up close to the mountains stood a tiny chapel with an invitation for passersby to stop for rest and worship, so quaint!
new citrus orchard
A number of jeeps and ATV’s approach the Kofa Mountains each day and we assume they are heading to see the Palm Trees. A 1/2 mile, steep, rocky hike up Palm Canyon Trail leads to a rare sighting of a cluster of California Fan Palms growing in a hidden niche of the mountains.
Two theories exist as to the origin of the palms, one is that they are descendants of Date Palms formerly growing in the region and another suggest that seeds were carried there in the digestive tracts of coyotes or birds. The trees survive due to a unique micro-climate where direct sunshine and limited moisture are available in the protected canyon. The palms are in sunlight only a couple of hours a day. There are a few single palms scattered in adjacent Fishtail Canyon. We have hiked up twice now to see the forty plus Palm Grove thriving in their unexpected location.
There are many caves in them there mountains.
This rock slab looked like a giant, well marbled steak.
It would be easy to miss the Palms if one did not know they were there!
Looking down on Palm Canyon Road and CC where we are camped.
Another spectacular spectacle on our departure eve, January 31:
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