OK, lets try to get some pictures posted from the trip. I envy all the snowbirds who winter here. This area is great and I can see myself exploring it a lot more in the future. I love camping and I love deserts and I love rocks so its a trifecta for me!
Although I usually camp alone in the back country I decided to stay at the campground this time. It was nice because I was able to set camp and leave my stuff there all week without worrying about something being stolen (the camp host keeps a pretty close eye on things). And its not like the scenery around the campsite sucks. Here is Thumb Peak as seen from my camp.
Birds were everywhere. Songbirds were singing and chirping throughout the day and it made it relaxing to sit in camp when I had down time. I even had a hummingbird almost land in my lap while quietly reading one afternoon. And every morning there was a large covey of quail that would run through my camp. I only was able to snap a quick pic of them.
One day I heard a couple hawks creating quite a ruckus screeching and diving at each other. I snapped a picture from afar but it wasn't until I got home and enlarged the photo I figured out what all the fuss was about...one of them had caught a rodent for lunch and the other no doubt wanted in on the action.
Another thing that makes this area unique is the nearby military site/bombing range. This results in lots of low flying aircraft. At least once or twice a day something cool would fly over. The most impressive was a C-130 transport about 200 feet off the deck, but I got no picture of that one. I did snap a quick shot of a helicopter and an osprey.
I borrowed a quad from a guy for this trip. I can see why rockhounds like them! It made exploring so much easier and I was able to see places I'd never have gone in my truck. Here it is sitting on the "Pebble Terrace".
And speaking of Pebble Terrace, this is a pretty interesting area. It is old gravel beds deposited by the Colorado river eons ago. The river is now many miles from here, but the gravel beds remain and they contain rock from the entire Colorado drainage system. Its like rockhounding in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and California all at one site. You never know what you'll find, and its all river tumbled. It can be maddening though since its all covered in desert varnish and everything looks the same!
Some people don't like the desert, but I love it! The stark, rugged beauty and the feeling of desolation has always appealed to me. I could roam deserts til the day I die and be a happy man...and truth be told, I probably will! Here is my obligatory selfie with some scenery. See that dark spot on the valley floor below me? Thats my quad.
And some more scenery, this time with my truck.
The cacti were, for the most part, not in bloom. Some of the early bloomers were done and other were not on yet.
Besides the birds there is always the desert reptiles. There are always lots of lizards.
The only snake I saw had all week an unfortunate encounter with a vehicle earlier that morning. Poor little guy was still fresh when I came along, but quite dead. I edited the photo cause no one wants to see his guts popping out
And I came across one large desert tortoise. He was a bit annoyed that I stopped to photograph him, but I was quick and respectful and didn't disturb him. Looked as if he'd been munching on a cactus earlier with all the green around his mouth.
Desert sunsets are always spectacular. I always take lots of sunset photos when I go out. Heres a sampling from 3 different evenings.
Of course the whole purpose of going out there was to dig rocks. And dig I did! Only a rockhound would spend 4 hours digging a hole in the side of a mountain only to find nothing and still call it a good day. Haha! Thats exactly what I got out of this hole...nothing! Remember, that was a virgin hillside before I started digging here.
And that wasn't the only wasted hole I dug. At another spot I was digging away when some women came toodling in in an SUV. They came over and started asking me a bunch of questions about how to hunt geodes. I had a nice conversation with them and went back to my hole. Later she came over with a nice little geode she had picked out of some nearby tailings. She had smashed it open and, voila, amethyst inside! Meanwhile I found nothing for all my digging in that spot! LOL Thats how it goes when digging for geodes.
Of course in the end I did find rocks. After a few days the picnic table starts to look like this.
I have already shared the large geode. I collected quite a few others from the same site as the big one. Nothing too interesting yet as I've been cutting them, but not too boring either.
I picked up this interesting piece of pet wood at pebble terrace. I have no idea where it came from, only that the Colorado river dumped it here eventually.
And I have some nice little jaspers I picked up. This one has some neat creamy browns and promising patterns.
And this brecciated one is cool.
Also found a couple artifacts while wandering. A small piece of pottery and a broken arrowhead.
So thats a quick trip with me out to the desert. Hope you enjoyed.