Busy in San Carlos | Sonora | Mexico

 

I have been busy since my last post, there is so much to do here.  Super moon as seen in San Carlos above, about a week ago.  I'm not sure it looked any larger to me.

 

 

Really rough living here......  This was taken last weekend at the beach.  A friend and I had snacks and were listening to live music.  Like I said, really rough living!  They have tables under the little palapas, redone since the hurricane damaged most of them a few months ago.  The photo below shows the inside, looking straight up, they look quite sturdy. 

 

My friend has a dog and I was babysitting the furry guy below, so we took them to the beach.  He doesn't get out to the beach much since he doesn't even like to get in the car with his owner.  He got his feet wet and had an interesting change of scenery.  And he was totally exhausted when he got home!

 

San Carlos is all about musical entertainment, so Mark Mulligan organized a concert with the Foresteros band from Hermosillo, a large city about 2 hours from here.  Everyone had a great time last year at their concerts, and we had a great time again this week - the Foresteros rock!  Mark plays here most weeks and is quite popular in this area, as well as in the States.  He's the only one without long pants on.

 

We had another clean-up-the-beach this week and dispatched a 2600 pound load to the dump.  This area looks much nicer, but still needs some detail work.  The Sea of Cortez (aka Gulf of California) looks very inviting, but the nights are turning cooler in this area and the water will soon be too cold to swim in.  For me anyway!

 

Fun Time in San Carlos | Sonora | Mexico

One of the musicians in our community organized a concert on the beach the other day.  Other trips have been organized in previous winter seasons, but this is the first one I have attended.  We boarded a bus to go to a nearby area called Cochorit, I love it when I don't have to drive.  When we arrived, we had a massive beach, the beautiful Sea of Cortez, multiple shaded shelters and a bar already set up. 

  

It was all very picturesque and we enjoyed the water and beach while the musicians were setting up.  We also ordered food, which was prepared in true Mexican style. 

Mark Mulligan was our leader and organizer and he played solo as well as invited a few other local musicians to join him.  The Twins, so named because they are twins, joined in; as well as the son of one of the twins. 

Susan King got into the scene to play drums, just not her usual set of steel pans - but she looks like she was having a great time.



The conga line kind of fizzled when it hit the water.......

This photo shows only a few of the crowd, with the musicians in front.  After this photo shoot, we all boarded the bus back home to our vehicles.  A good time was had by all.   I will be looking forward to the next concert trip.

San Carlos | Sonora | Mexico | Second Season

 

I arrived in San Carlos last Sunday for the winter season - it was good to see the familiar neighborhood. 

 

 

It is still warm enough that the water has not cooled down yet, so I was able to go to the beach a few days to get in the water and float around.  Great to be back in salt water again!

 

 

By Wednesday, my friend organized a trash pickup at one of the local beaches.  We collected 56 trash bags full of plastic bottles, beer bottles, styrofoam plates and containers, as well as other miscellaneous trash.  Even with all that lightweight plastic - the total weight we collected was 560 kilos!   That's 1234.6 pounds - collected by 13 people in about 1.5 hours!  We had great helpers!    Unfortunately not all of our volunteers made it for the photo. We will be doing another cleanup next Wednesday, probably at another location.

 

 

 

 

The photo above and below was just as we were finishing up this area - unfortunately, these are the only two trash cans available in this area. 

 

If anyone wants to join us in keeping San Carlos clean - join our Facebook page "Clean Up San Carlos"   - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1201345289894817/   All cleanup locations and times are posted in the group, so please join, they are typically on Wednesdays at 8 AM.  You can help as much or as little as you want with the physical work; and as a bonus, you get to meet new people.  Since we are self-supported, we take donations for purchasing trash bags and other items necessary for the work.  We are working on procuring a dumpster and will need funds for servicing it as well.  Even if you can't come out and help, join our group on Facebook to show your support!

 

 

 

 

Javelinas | And Trashy Campsites!

Just this past summer I was saying that I had never seen a javalina in the wild.  Be careful what you wish for!  I had pulled into a Casino parking lot - one that is very RV friendly in Sahuarita, Arizona.  I mumbled as I picked up a few plastic bags that were blown around the area, as well as a few other items of trash. 

That evening, as I was sitting outside my fifth wheel, 5 of these critters wandered into the area, probably about 10 feet away from me.  I had heard that they can be aggressive and that they stink.  I went inside and watched them.  I didn't smell anything that evening, but after another couple evenings, the slight breeze was blowing toward me and that time I smelled them before I saw them.

These few photos were not taken in the casino area, but at a national forest during one of my many visits to the forests.  It's just an example of things I have found in certain camping areas.

Every campsite I go to, especially boondocking areas, have trash in the area.  I usually clean up after I set up my camp.  Then I have the problem of where to take the bags of trash that I've accumulated.

I don't think these campers are RVers, at least I hope not.  At least not the ones I know.  I encourage all campers to pick up after themselves.  As a reminder, most of us know that food cans do not burn.  For some reason, they are often found in firepits - charred, but intact!

If we don't take care of our boondocking areas, whether it's forest, BLM or other - we will lose our privilege of using these lands.  I know many RVers and other campers who love to boondock in these areas - help keep them clean!   Thanks to those who leave the campsites cleaner than when they arrived!



Boondocking | Check it out first!

 

Free camping!

 

 

Most of us like free camping.  Sometimes it's National Forest land or BLM (Bureau of Land Management) where there is usually a 14 day stay limit.  The limit is not a problem for us, we enjoy it while it lasts.  What may become a problem is finding good roads into these areas you never really know until you get into it.

 

Recently, the internet was full of photos of a triple-axle toy-hauler fifth wheel that looked at least 40 feet.  It was stuck on some boulders in an area that looked way too rocky to be driving anything into!  There have been multiple photos posted of this person's problems and it was quoted that it cost $3500 for multiple tow vehicles to get the trailer to safety. 

 

I have always checked out boondocking areas before going into them with my rig.  I have seen some roads where I wouldn't think of towing my fifth wheel.  In some areas, there  is no room to turn a truck around, let alone a truck and any type of trailer.  Sometimes, as shown below, there has been a tree that has fallen on the road.  You might be able to turn around in this area, but if it happened in a forest that was more dense than this, you might be in trouble.

 

 

Sometimes, especially during rainy season you'll find muddy pools that you might be able to go around, but sometimes not.  Going through some of these muddy pools will create other issues - they may be too deep and you'll bog down or you may create ruts that will ruin the road for others trying to use the area.

 

It's not always easy to check out boondocking areas, it requires time and extra fuel cost.  I love to find a great road to get into a spot - not one that requires miles of rutted or washboarded dirt roads.  I am possibly a little too cautious where I want to take my truck and fifth wheel - but it is my home! 

So, RV friends, be careful trying to find the perfect boondocking spot - sometimes it's not easy!  Try not to recreate that scene from Robin Williams' movie "RV"!

Colossal Cave | Arizona

The other day I went to the Colossal Cave outside Tucson.  I've made it a point to see any caves or caverns in my travels.  There are dry caves and wet caves.  This was a dry cave, meaning there is no water filtering down from the surface.  If there is water flowing into the caves, that means formations are still being formed - stalactites, stalagmites and quite a few others.

The scenery from the top of the hill was typical Arizona desert, complete with Saguaro cacti, one of my favorites. 

 

Tours are given multiple times daily, and luckily, I was able to join a small group.  Our guide gave some history of the area and the caves.  It was discovered long ago by Indian tribes.   In the late 1800s, it was also used by cowboys who needed a hideout.  It's a great place to visit on a hot day - it's always 70 degrees in the cave, no matter how hot or cold it is outside.

 

 

 

The following photos show some of the items discovered when the land owner decided to open the cave for tourists. 

 

And then there are items used by the more recent explorers, as well as the CCC group that built paths through the cave to provide safe areas for tours.

 

And more rock formations.

 

 

 

 

 

Tucson, Arizona | Snyder Hill

I have been camping at a patch of BLM land in South Tucson (corner of San Joaquin and Route 86) with a friend who has just left for San Carlos, Mexico.  We have been getting ready to go, and she wanted to leave sooner than I was able to.  I'm still waiting for the renewal of my truck registration. 

 

This is the San Xavier Mission just south of where we're camped.  It's very impressive, but still being restored. 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of our sunsets consist of a beautiful glow in the western sky.  One night we got some storm clouds to make things interesting.  The first is actually opposite of the sunset, but we still get color there.

 

 

 

 

This is a shot the day before full moon.  We have a very interesting backdrop of rocks with some nests that we think are hawks, but we never saw them close enough and when we had the binoculars out, they were shy.