MOVED AGAIN, JUST CAN'T STAY STILL!

 I went for a ride with our friend Richard J yesterday with five other machines joining us.  We headed south from Florence and turned in by the Greek Monastery then worked our way south via old narrow roads/trails until we came out on the 96 Ranch Road just up from our motorhome.  We swung down and surprised Aileen with a visit.  She quite enjoyed seeing more friends.  We carried on for a rather long ride putting on at least 85 miles.  I quite enjoyed getting to see some trails and country that I had never been to before.

We moved out of our nice 96 Ranch Road spot this morning and stopped at Rancho Sonora to dump our tanks and take on more water before carrying on to our friends in Glendale again.  I will mention the reasons for coming here in my next post.   After Aileen had a good nap this afternoon we went grocery shopping as the fridge was getting rather bare.  It is now overflowing.  We hadn't shopped since leaving Glendale the last time.

I took this photo of an Antelope Ground Squirrel through the motorhome windshield at our 96 Ranch Road camp.

Hand held shot of the moon the night before full while at the ATV cookout.

Part of the Greek Monastery south of Florence, taken from another hilltop.

These ravens let us approach quite close as we were driving the ATV along a fence line trail.

96 Ranch Road camp scene.

ATV cookout fire.

Waiting for the parade to appear in Caliente last Saturday morning.  Four years since we were last there for it.

The ATV club made an effort this year to participate.  That was nice to see.

A large crested Saguaro on beyond the 96 Ranch buildings.

Interesting rocks between 96 Ranch and the Barkerville Road.

WE HAVE LANDED BACK IN THE FLORENCE AREA AGAIN.

And we are parked in the same spot on the 96 Ranch Road but only until Tuesday when we're heading back to our friends in Glendale.  I rode with Richard on Thursday and will again on Monday.  We went to the ATV club annual cookout last night and met some old friends.  This morning we attended the annual Caliente Spring Fling parade and met more old friends

At lunchtime on the ATV ride I climbed up to an area I had looked at for years but hadn't made the effort.

At lunchtime on the ATV ride I climbed up to an area I had looked at for years but hadn't made the effort.

I spotted this little patch of poppies along the Top of the 'world trail and made a quick walk out to them.

On the way back from the poppies, I spotted this pink Fairy Duster blooming.

Steve coming through a rough spot.

Desert Anemones.

This little guy wasn't going to be interrupted in his snack.

I spotted this Red-tailed Hawk circling above us while we were taking flower photos.

Poppies and a lupine.

Poppies.

Desert Chicory.

We got lucky and spotted some bighorn sheep.

Some were taking their leisure.

A female Phainopepla.

We found a few Ocotillo blooms.

So far, I am unable to identify this pretty little flower.

So far, I am unable to identify this pretty little flower.

So far, I am unable to identify this pretty little flower.

At the meet up before the ride Thursday morning, my friend Rick mentioned an owl that was a regular visitor near his house in Florence Gardens.  After the ride, Aileen and I drove by there to see if we could see it.  As you can see, we did!

MOVED A BIT WEST OF GLENDALE, AZ

We headed a little west of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area yesterday looking for more peaceful surroundings.  I unhooked the car just before I-10 on the Sun Valley Parkway and while Aileen had a nap I went looking for our new home.  I found us a spot about ten miles north of the I-10 freeway on the road to Wickenburg.  We have a few RVs about a quarter mile away but don't hear anything from them.  The road is very quiet at night so super peaceful.  

I did some geocaching on my own yesterday after we were set up then today Aileen drove while I got out and signed the geocache log sheets.  We had a good day starting after ten and quitting by three.  I found a few more close to home while Aileen had her nap.  I also dragged over some dead mesquite branches and later we had hotdogs for supper while sitting around the fire.  I think that was our first fire in over two years and our first mesquite cooked wieners since Covid screwed everything up.  I hope to get out caching again tomorrow then on Monday we have to move over to Quartzsite as we have an appointment to get a bit more done on our solar setup Tuesday.

While we were parked on the Sun Valley Parkway near I-10 yesterday. some planes were practising for the Tonopah Air Show that was on this weekend.

First a smiley face then a heart.

And then maybe a four leaf clover.

Sunset last night while we were out walking.

While we were caching this afternoon, I thought I saw a fruit tree in bloom.  When I walked over to check it out, I discovered it was some clematis in a mesquite tree.

The master chef preparing supper.

BACK TO THE MOTORHOME IN GLENDALE, AZ.

We left Clifton, CO yesterday morning just after 9 am and spent the night in Tuba City, AZ at the Navajo Land Hotel.  Nice hotel but the lumpiest bed I've slept on in a long time.  We took a slightly different route home going by Monument Valley.  We didn't stop as we were out of time with all the other stops I made for photos.    We had a shorter drive today leaving the hotel at 8:30 and getting home to the motorhome about 12:30.  We had a small amount of snowfall in Clifton one morning but we had dry roads the whole trip!

We had a great time visiting our friends in Clifton/Grand Junction and lots of card games and meals together.  The memorial for our friend Ken was a great tribute to him.  I cropped a photo of Ken out of a larger group photo I had taken last fall and enlarged it to 11x14 then framed it and they put it up front during the service.  I took quite a few photos during the memorial and put them on a flash drive for Marie and she has them displaying on an electronic picture frame in her house

At the first rest stop after leaving Grand Junction we could see a bit of snow up high.

The further west along I-70 we went, the closer we got to the snow.

A dusting of snow on the red rocks north of Moab, UT.

No, he's not about to plunge off the cliff.  This old Jeep is well anchored to the rock but it does make you wonder at first.  Right below it is a tourist attraction called Hole in the Wall.

At a rest area south of Moab, UT.

At a rest area south of Moab, UT.

The La Sal Mountains south of Moab, UT.

The La Sal Mountains south of Moab, UT.

That isn't a Highland bull in Wilson Arch, it's a couple taking a selfie.

I zoomed in to show the people better.

Peeking into Valley of the Gods State Park from the highway.

Peeking into Valley of the Gods State Park from the highway.

Mexican Hat, Utah's namesake.

Zooming in tighter with my camera, you can see that there isn't much holding it in place.

If you saw the movie Forrest Gump, you might remember this spot just north of Monument Valley.  Run Forrest Run!

Just north of Monument Valley.

Just north of Monument Valley.

South of Monument Valley.