We found Ajo in the ground.

No, no, don't go! I'll stop, I promise.

Old mine pit

Wandered across this colorful building.

ISDA - International Sonoran Desert Alliance

Ajo mine pit.  It has an official name, like Official Mine Pit of Ajo.

The mine is no longer active, but apparently it is not closed, either. If they close it, they will have to begin reclamation. Thanks, Official Mine Pit Company of Ajo.

The door deserves a better picture.
And, you need to re-open this diner because of this great door.
Please offer vegan options.

The Gila woodpecker has been visiting regularly, and now Annie is doing damage surveillance on the roof. Five-sixths of the cats don't notice when she's up there, but it seems to alarm the kitten who has not yet learned the catly art of blasé.

Thank you, Lynne, for volunteering some great boondocking advice for our next destination. And, those pictures are stunning. I want to go to there.

Will Robinson didn't KNOW danger.

  Please.  You call this DANGER?  I face danger like this beforeWHOA!  I almost fell RIGHT IN!

There are open mine pits all over the place here.  This miner was considerate.

Here are directions:

Walk toward the ocotillo, then turn right.

Danger from wildlife is a constant feature of our adventurous life.

When Topiaries Turn Their Back on You!  next on FOX.
[Hint:  never turn your back on them.]

  

You can't read this.  It says
Pre-Columbian Indian Trail.  Please keep off trail
 so that it may remain for future visitors.

   It was a different trail!  Honest!  This was the Post-Columbian trail not protected by a fence nor prohibited in any way.

Imperial Dunes (Glamis)

These are taken from the Hugh T. Osborne Overlook.  There is designated 14-day dispersed camping in this parking lot, and you are ON THE DUNES.  I think it's free here;  there are no amenities unless you count 'round-the-clock tear-your-doors-off wind that keeps things fresh. Also no iron rangers.

If you Google "Glamis dispersed camping," it will indicate North and South Dunes Glamis campground, but that's not this.  Those are long-term, dusty parking lots filled with other RVers.  You could stay here at the Overlook, without a lot of other RVers, and get the dust and wind for free.  Spectacular view, but I'm not sure how long it would take for the driven sand to take the canvas right off your tent, if you know what I mean.  After half an hour, Annie announced she had sand in her pockets, and I knew what she meant.

This is one of the top 100 things I've ever seen.  You should see it, too.  ATVs are rented right down the road in the "town" of Glamis, if that's your style.

Old Ogilby.  The guy on the right is taking pictures.  Meta!

This hole has garbage in it already!  Get the bags!

This was the former Ogilby schoolhouse.

Ogilby Cemetery

I think this completes the things I wanted to do here, and just in time.  The wind is blowing in some Big Hot, and we're going where it's Not.

Boondocking in California with the Africanized bees

We saw our first not-really-a-scorpion!  He was under a rock, looking like the tiniest lobster never seen, and we saw him.  Can't wait to see my first hardly-a-rattler.

Really a lizard.  Photos courtesy of Annie.
 Desert iguana.

"I am big.  It's the pictures that got small."

 ... and then I thought lentils, but lentils take too long to cook so then I said "Marge, I'll just make a nice vegetable soup," and she says to me, "Hildy, Arlene is already making a vegetable soup;  can you make that artichoke casserole..." Eldridge, it's like you're not even walking with me!  ... so I said, "Sure, but I like to get the artichokes that are soaked in brine without the citric acid, which they have at Kroger..." Eldridge, okay, that's not funny - where did you go?

Oh good, they're expecting us.

Modern ruins.

So glad to get this out of my shoe.

This has the texture and heft of Fimo.  What are they?  Probably not rocks.

Definitely rocks.

Without me there wouldn't be any Paramount Studios.

We're close enough to a railroad track to hear faint "whoos" every now and then.  Pleasant.  If you look at this area on Google Maps, you can see the blue tint in the ground, and we can see it up close.  Lots of pale blue rocks here, and few vivid blue-green chunks I'm holding above.

AFRICANIZED BEES!!!  MAYBE!

They're definitely bees.  Goldmine bees, which are meaner than junkyard dogs.  You can't see them in this picture.  Excuse me for not getting a close-up, Norma Desmond.  Annie says "Africanized bees" to keep me out of trouble.  Candy aisle?  Africanized bees!  The deep end of the pool has Africanized bees.  Don't touch that knife! - Africanized bees.

Here are some tips about killer bees from the USDA:

• RUN away quickly. Do not stop to help others.
• Continue to RUN.
• Bees are attracted to movement.
• Do not jump into water!
• Do not flail your arms.
• Drop your baklava.  
• Keep RUNNING.
• Never stop running.
• While running and being stung, attempt to bargain with the bees, promising never to eat honey or "royal jelly," whatever that is.
• Do not mention John Belushi.

The Lost Miner of Quartzsite

98, 99, ... almost done with my pushups, then we can rob this mine!

You will be mine!  (get it? Mine?)

EHNH!

The one that got away

You can throw a rock into this hole and have a conversation before it comes to rest.

Throw

Did you sleep well last night?

Pretty well, thanks, but my left hip hurt.

<tink>

Bummer!  Do you take anything for it?

<tinkety tink>

I forgot to stretch before I went to bed.  That usually helps a lot.  I don't want to get into the habit of taking something every night.  I'm not that old.

Still, you should do what helps you sleep.

I know.  I'll remember to stretch tonight.

<and ... TINK!>

When Nicole and Darlene showed Annie this mine, a truck camper was parked where we are in these shots.  When the girls got close, the camper yelled BIG HOLE!  BIG HOLE!  I thought that was considerate, and not at all insulting or inflammatory.

This is NOT a gratuitous poop shot:



I mean, it's possible that it was a long-ago dog, which sort of makes this picture gross. However, it's more likely that it was a coyote, which makes this picture all National Geographic.

You'll note the stick-for-scale in this shot. Yes, I BOUGHT a stick from the Stick Tent.  Yes, I feel somewhat bad that the stick probably grew in China, was carved by a Chinese child for 2.3¢, and was then exported to the US as another pebble in the landslide of our country's gross domestic product.  This stick represents all that is wrong with our economic system, and it keeps me from falling down in the desert, and is that such a bad thing?  

Annie likes to pose next to cacti for scale.
"Seguaro you from?"

Do any of you volunteer on the fly?  I'm bad at commitment.  I'm thinking a morning at a food pantry.  An afternoon picking up stray nails at a Habitat for Humanity site (those are my building skills).  Something I can do fast and on-the-move before they learn they don't like me, and vice versa.  Any ideas?

I liked the most recent Raptitude post.  It helps me put my fears into perspective.