Grays Wells Dunes–Motorhome Stuck in the Sand !! Déjà Vu

When something has been said or done well, have no scruples.  Copy it!

This past weekend was a holiday weekend.  Thus, lots of folks were out playing.  There was a big shindig around us.  Every place you could see on the dunes people were riding and congregating.  This was a big event.  Vendors were selling event t-shirts, hats and most anything a  dune buggy or ATV owner might be willing to dig out his wallet for.  We didn’t buy a thing but we sure did look.  Now next year they’ll probably sell the left over items from this year at a reduced price during that year’s event.

When we pulled out of Glamis and the dunes on Friday we knew this was going to be a big, big weekend for the Imperial Sand Dunes.  We figured there would probably be several hundred toy-hauling RVs sitting at the base of those dunes with a few more hundred on the slopes.  We also figured this would be one spectacular site.  We were a little off.  We discovered that we were off when we took our  little drive on Sunday to Gordon Wells And Gray Wells.  These are both areas that more RVs and ATVs converged on over the holiday weekend.  It was party city.

There weren’t just hundreds out enjoying their time off.  There had to be thousands.  The areas were packed with weekend warriors.  They were partying and they were riding.  Just about every type of RV was to be seen as well as just about every type of OHV/ATV/ROV/UTV (you name it) was around also.

Now that the weekend party is over the tickets will probably start.  Actually, they’ve already started.  As I’ve mentioned previously, there is a Highway Patrol station between the Dunes and Arizona State line.  The little black and white cars are like bees swarming on this highway and it’s rare to drive on I-8 here without seeing at least one or two cars pulled over to the side of the road.  Now with all these weekenders heading home I am sure it will be a very busy one for the officers as they freely hand out those tickets.

------------  That was going to be the post for the day but then this happened ------------ 

We came back Sunday afternoon to our own little sand problem.  Actually, it wasn’t OUR sand problem.  It was another déjà vu situation with a motorhome stuck in the sand.  The motorhome belonged to the Shadowtracks duo.  Nancy, however, swears it wasn’t her doing.

We had a similar issue last year only a few hundred feet from where this one got stuck.  At that time it was later in the evening but this is the photo I posted then.   It was dark and you can't see much but you get the idea.  The driver of the motorhome took a wrong turn and got stuck in the sand.   I’m not going to tell you whose motorhome it was that got stuck but I will say that the “Sands got stuck in the sand” …. kind of ironic, huh? 

This time it was a little earlier in the day so it was much easier to see exactly what was going on.  Some of the area on the BLM has soft sand and driving can be a little difficult.  It looks like the sand is packed but after all the rain we had a few days ago, it is definitely not packed.  We now have photos to prove that.

First, they tried pulling it in reverse using a rope.  The rope broke.

Then, the shovel came out and the boards went down.

Then, they tried pulling it forward using cables.

Success!!  These are the tracks that were left.

Celebration!

Gorgeous sunset to end the day.

‘Tis just life on the road.

Tumco Ghost Town – Glamis Sand Dunes

 

Statistics say one in every four people suffer from a mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If it's not one of them, it's you.

Sometimes I have a few little blogs as backups.  These usually aren’t current blogs about where we’ve gone or what we’ve seen.  They are about thoughts I’ve had or things I want to know from others.  That was the one I posted prior to this.  Eventually, I’ll respond to some of the responses about the perfect park but right now I really need to get caught up and caught current or I’ll forget where we were and what we did.  

Morning after evidence of rain

It doesn’t rain a lot in Arizona and especially in the desert portions of that state.  Most of the part of Arizona we stay in during the winter is obviously the desert.  Well, we got rain.  We really saw rain the other day.  I take that back.  We heard rain hit the top of the motorhome through a good portion of the night.  The picture shows the true evidence of that rain.  We had puddles and we had mud.  Now that we’ve had it, we’re ready for everything to dry up and the mud to go away.  The mud hasn’t totally disappeared yet.  We noticed that as we rode out in the desert on our ATVs.  Mud was slinging everywhere.  I like it.  Terry hates it.  I think that’s because he has to clean the ATVs when we’re done.

Cactus Wren

Friday rolled around and we took a drive with Freddy and Delcie.  We had some ideas of where we might go but weren’t totally sure where we would end up or what we would see.  First of all we took I-8 to Ogilby Road.  A lot of RVs were still parked on each side of the road just off the highway.  This is another BLM and these RVs were taking advantage of a place to park and spend a little sunshine time in the gorgeous deserts of California.

As we moved north on S-34 we also noticed that even though the calendar indicated it was just February spring really was here.  Several plants were already blooming and the color just added to the beauty and mystique of the desert.    Finding the perfect ones to take a picture of was a little difficult.  There were many just beginning to bloom and others with lots of yellow or red or purple flowers on them.  We did stop and take a few pictures.  After all, that’s what we like to do.

A few miles up the road we came to Gold Rock RV Park.  We had hoped to stop there and get information from the office on some of the local mines in the area.  That wasn’t to be as the manager was out of the office.  However, one of the residents directed us just across the road to the Tumco abandoned mines and ghost town.  

Freddy's treasure -- motorhome wheel cover

Delcie checking the blooms

Actually, this area is a ghost town. It’s not that we saw any ghosts.  Heck, we hardly saw any town at Tumco (previously known as Hedges).  The informational pamphlets were out but we did go under the barrier and saw a little of the remnants of that mining town.  There really weren’t many remnants left though.  What appeared to be rocks marking a few sites on a cemetery, a well and some pads that once belonged to buildings was all that was left.  This might have been a hopping town a few years ago but on this day there wasn’t much left.  Obviously, the lure of wealth by mining the area is no longer a pull.  We didn’t stay long.  There was no gold for us to keep and no ghosts for us to talk to.

Old Tumco well

Back out on the road we kept heading north towards Highway 78.  We were heading towards Glamis.  Is this town really the Sand Dune Capital of North America or is it self-proclaimed?  Who knows but it was one fantastic place.  We didn’t realize it was a holiday weekend.  What we did realize is that hundreds and of other RVs hauling trailers were going to the same place we were.  This place really comes alive on the weekends, let alone on holiday weekends.  We also followed a convoy of army vehicles.  They weren’t heading to Glamis.  They were heading to fenced off military bombing targets just around the bend from Glamis.   That’s one area you better be sure your GPS isn’t giving you false directions as you certainly wouldn’t want to be in the middle of the target.

 

The sand dunes that surround Glamis are nothing short of awesome.  ATVs, UTVs, dune buggies and many other kinds of 4-wheelers were on the slopes.  Now normally when you’re talking about slopes I’m thinking about snow covered slopes.  These aren't snow slopes, these are sand slopes.  It’s such an awesome sight to see.  These dunes stretch for about 40 miles and are close to six miles wide.  

Riding the dunes

The camping area was starting to fill up.  Tents were up selling all kinds of flags and equipment.  People were getting ready to ride and others were zipping everywhere as fast as they could.  I wonder how many accidents occur in places like this over the holiday weekends since the sand roadways aren’t defined and they certainly aren’t one-way roads. 

‘Tis life on the road.

Scouting Around Yuma and More BLM

 

Don't let the internet blog you down.

We haven’t been just playing.  We’ve been really busy.  Part of being busy included scouting around and checking out some of the other areas around Yuma including a few BLM spots.  First of all we took S24 and headed towards Bard.  Bard is on the California side of the Colorado River.  The road runs through fields and fields of crops.  It also winds through more date farms. 

Imperial Date Farm

As I’ve said before, this area grows just about everything. Add all the citrus, fruits and produce around here and it’s like being in the middle of a green salad and then jumping into a fruit salad for dessert.

Cauliflower Fields

We crossed over into Arizona close to Laguna Dam.   This area is a short distance from the well known boondocking spot of Imperial Dam.  We were surprised to see hundreds of RVers dry camping in the area.  It could almost compete with the RVs at Quartzsite.  In the past we had just circled through the front section.  This time we drove towards the back and circled back to Senate Wash Road.  There are many great spots and sections in this area.  It is also another BLM with several dumps, fresh water and trash containers on site. The downside of this is if you need to head to town, you have quite a little drive.

Laguna Dam

Waterfront Sites

Senate Wash

Our next stop was at Mittry Lake.  I had always wanted to check it out.  Besides this area was closer to Yuma than the Imperial Dam area.  It's still a ways out and not my cup of tea but others love it.  The area around the lake is covered with tall brush and vegetation.  I prefer to be able to see what I might be walking into. If a critter is hiding in that stuff, it could really hide.  Being in a boat would probably be fine.    There is a paved boat launch and several boats were in the lake.  

Mittry Lake

Paved Pathway and Fishing on the Lake

We haven’t been able to have many campfires since we arrived in Yuma.  It seems we’ve just had way too much wind.  It’s not that it’s been really bad most of the time.  It hasn't been.  However, the wind  does seem to pick up in the evening and about the time we would light the first log.   We've had some mighty gorgeous days but we still have had some mighty windy days too.  Matter of fact, we never leave our awning out when we take off.  We even hesitate to put it up during the day when we’re around because we know we’ll be taking it down soon.

The other night we were invited to our neighbor’s campfire.  Their campfire was dug into the sand so it was pretty protected and easy to snuff out if we needed to.

Campfire in the sand

We met two other couples from Oregon.  One was from Oregon City …. so they were our neighbors …. kind of.  They also have ATVs and had been riding them in the dunes and around the many gold mines close to where we are at.  This time they were already loaded up and getting ready to pull out.  Their next move was to the other side of Yuma and some new trails. Now we just need to locate some of those gold mines they left behind and find ourselves a little treasure.  That certainly is in our plans.

Ready to go

Terry’s been working on sanding some more walking sticks.  He was just a little too busy to go riding with me.  I love to ride.  I bet you didn't know that.  Freddy decided he wanted to give it a try and off we went.

Freddy

What a view!

There goes Freddy!

Next on the agenda was dinner at Steve and Carol’s.  It was a very delicious spaghetti feed.  Again, we were blessed with great food and great company but the pictures I took were rotten.  It was a little cool outside so we were lucky that their motorhome was large enough to seat all eight of us very comfortably.

This was just a short summary but we’ve been mighty busy people. 

'Tis a busy life on the road.

Valentine Baby – Stuck in the Sand

 

Good judgment comes from experience.  Experience comes from bad judgment.

Happy Birthday, Sandi!!  Our Valentine's Day Baby!!

Wide open spaces!

Many places have a Saturday market.  There are several markets in the Yuma area over the weekends.  We found a small one down by the mall.  Since we were going back and forth to Best Buy (helping their bottom line), we decided to stop.  They had some gorgeous tomatoes, grapefruit, strawberries and a few other yummy fresh stuff.  It was a small market but we had a few good finds.

Farmer's Market

Famous Dave's is famous alright.  We met there for another great barbecue.  It was just another great get together with great food at a great restaurant and having great table mates. 

Great Food

Great People

I mentioned the other day that I had picked up the sports GoPro Hero Camera.  Well, you might imagine that since that time I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with it.  You know how that goes with anything new you get.  First of all, you have to figure out how it works.  Then, you have to figure out what neat things you can do with it.  Of course, it doesn’t stop there.  The next thing you want to know is what other accessories you just have to have to go with it!!

I think the hardest thing was figuring out where and how to connect it.  This little cam is mainly for action events.  It's built to take vibrations.  Thus, the picture doesn't wobble so much when recording on the ATV.  It also doesn’t connect via a tripod.  You get all these little contraptions and mounts to build your own unique angles for positioning the Hero upside down, sideways or even right side up. You just have to figure out what works best.  So, one little grip went on top of my helmet.  Another little grip went on my ATV and then on Terry’s.  Since I had more grips left ….. why not another one in the car.  Needless to say, I did get carried away.  Actually, that was the easy part.  The hard part was figuring what resolution and whether I wanted it wide or narrow or so on and so on.  Each one of these little changes required a little ride to see what worked best.

Driving down the road.

Check this one out.  The little angles were mounted on the mirror and this is what I got.  Cool, huh?

A dash cam

An opportunity for one of the best shots I messed up because I didn’t have the angle right.  This happened in the small sand dunes behind where we’re parked. These are just a few still shots I grabbed from the video.

Stuck in the sand -- first time.

 Terry got stuck in the sand twice and I had to pull him out using the winch.  It was then that I discovered having a camera cam on my helmet just didn’t work for me.  I was constantly tipping my head up, tipping it down and to one side or another.  Thus, much of the shots weren’t really great.  Oh well ….. lessons learned.  The first time he got stuck we didn't have too many problems pulling him out.  Compared to the second time it was pretty easy.

Stuck in the sand -- second time.

The second time he got stuck took quite a bit of work getting him out.  At one point I was beginning to wonder if we'd be able to do it.  We did but now I know the next time we go back to those dunes I'm going to watch him to make sure he doesn't get in trouble again.  A good woman with a winch certainly does come in handy.

Happy Valentine's Day

‘Tis life on the road.

Checking out the Blue Angels

You probably wouldn't worry about what people thought of you if you knew how seldom they did.

We were busy on Tuesday.  We were really busy on Tuesday.  First of all we took a little drive right down the road about 50 miles towards El Centro.  This is where the Blue Angels practice their flying maneuvers during the winter months.  We both love watching them as they fly tip to tip.  The Blue Angels are absolutely fantastic and if you are any place close to El Centro Naval Air Facility you can watch them as they get ready for their performance throughout the United States.  If you hang around long enough, you’ll even have an opportunity to talk to the Blue Angel pilots and their crews.  You’re right.  We think they are a pretty special branch of the Navy.  Then, of course, I love being around the jets even down to the smells and sounds.  Maybe that has something to do with my background ... maybe.

There are quite a few Border Patrol stopping points in southern Arizona and California.  It’s not unusual to stop and have their dog walk around the car sniffing.  Sometimes we get questioned but most of the times they just wave us on.  At the checkpoint traveling west on I-8 there was a sign indicating the stats at their particular location in 2011.  We hadn’t seen a sign such as this before but we had always wondered if the stops really ever brought any results.  Obviously, they do.

On the way back we made a little stop at the Buttercup area of Imperial Sand Dunes.  These dunes are the largest ones in North America.  If you happen to be around on the weekend, you will notice they are absolutely packed with sand buggies, ATVs and other 4 wheelers.  However, being there on the weekend is not some place we would like to be.  We would much rather visit during the week when there are fewer people around.  

After we returned to our park, Terry decided to get the brakes done then instead of the next day when he had made the appointment.  That way he figured we would free up Wednesday so we could go ATV riding instead.  There’s one good thing about being close to a town where they have places to get things fixed or replaced.  You can get things done.

Tuesday evening we decided it was time to eat at the local Cracker Barrel.   Terry splurged and had their dumplings and, of course, I had to have the catfish.  Catfish is one of those food items that is rare in the Pacific Northwest.  There you get the salmon, halibut and ling cod.  Since fresh Pacific Ocean fish wasn’t as common when we lived in Texas, I got hooked on catfish.  Cracker Barrel has great catfish.

That’s it.  That was Tuesday.

P.S.  Stay tuned .... after the events of Wednesday we're thinking we need to get the eraser out and change our plans again.

‘Tis life on the road.