DEPARTURE DAY IS ALMOST UPON US

Yes, another winter season in Caliente and Southern Arizona is about over.  We plan to depart Saturday morning.  We are going over to Quartzsite for a few days then plan to head north on Tuesday.  If all goes well, we should be crossing the border at Osoyoos on April 2nd.
It had been busier than usual around here lately with last minute visiting and packing things away.  I led my last Monday ride and we had our last ATV potluck that evening.   My friend Richard J and I snuck away for a last ride today.  We wandered our way to Box Canyon then parked in a side canyon and walked about a mile and a quarter up it, clambering over big boulders often.  We were surprised to find a couple of new ladders in place to help.  With Box Canyon so busy with Jeeps and ATVs, it was great to be off in this canyon and hear nothing but natural sounds.  It will go on the list to do again next year and I plan to go further.  It didn't help that today was our hottest day, getting above 90F.  There will be photos from today's hike in my next post.
Aileen is finally getting some improvement in her legs, too bad we are leaving as she has been walking in the pool at night.  Tomorrow will be busy.  We need to go for some groceries first thing then the RZR will go up on blocks and have a cover put on.  Our outdoor stuff has to go in the shed then we are meeting Ken and Marie and Richard and Judy for lunch downtown at Mt Athos.
Til next time.

The neighbours admiring one of our sunsets

Morning light

Cottonwood Canyon petroglyphs featuring a lady

Box Canyon Ram

Box Canyon

Looking spring like in Florence Gardens, our adjoining park

The moon and Venus, I think, out behind our park

Prickly Pear in a yard in Florence Gardens.  Even the domestic cactus are late blooming this year.

Out on an ATV trail east of Florence, AZ

Some Ocotillo blossoms

My Monday group on what I call the roller coaster

Linda's pretty eager to get her dog done

About 22 of us having lunch on Monday

Taken from the hill above our Monday lunch

Awhile later, we came upon this John Deere Gator on its side.  With all the manpower in our group, it was easy to get it upright again.

Then they slid the back end around to facilitate getting it down the hill.

Matched pair of desert bighorns

Box Canyon

Gambel's Quail out behind our park when Mitzy and I were on our morning walk

Yellow Prickly Pear in Florence Gardens

Yesterday, Aileen and I took Ken and Marie for a drive up the Montana Mtn trail

We had a Mesquite fire to cook our hot dogs 

Some back country horsemen went by

I hiked up to this natural arch, you can see the car way down through the arch

A couple of the arch from below

We didn't go too far before turning around, this is on the way out