Catclaw is blooming!! No, no...wait. It's Fairy Duster!!! Fairy Duster I tell you!!

EC634 is marked by the ubiquitous fiberglass "pole" about 200 feet from the highway. It's about 20 miles north of I-8 on S34 (Ogilby Rd). Blink and you miss it.

It'd be a fine place to layover but for the two sets of railroad track about ten miles south. In this land of not-much-to-absorb-sound, I mistook the train for an idling F-15. A chance siting the next day -- of the train -- enlightened me.

On Saturday mornings you may awaken to the sound of minimally-muffled motors wafting o'er the plain. I surmised there was a race in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. C'mon everybody!!! Let's all go for a competitive DRIVE!!

The delirious bees stagger about quoting Mae West - "Too much of a good thing is wonderful!"

Now, after a bit of confusion (it might have been catclaw) we've decided it is, in fact, FAIRY DUSTER - Calliandra eriophylla. It smells sorta like mimosa.

Foggers - When You're In A Hurry - Foggers

At Last!! The last. 

The Worst!!!

I was late getting out of Flagstaff on Feb 8 and didn't make it all the way down the hill. The weather was closing in and it was nearly dark when I made  camp on Silver Spring Road (west side) at about 4,000 ft (just over 1,200 m).

The Goddess smiled as she took aim. Unable to quell her beneficence she waited until the hatches were battened.

It began as a nice drizzle and I, who REALLY dislike rain, might even have enjoyed it...except it was cold! 

On the edge of an arroyo, an ill-advised locale during the Monsoon Season, I surmisalled a flash-flood was unlikely at this time of year. On the other hand, what with all the climate change these days, a Nutria can never be too sure. Sometime during the night it stopped....or so I tho't.

Upon awakening, my first tho't was...Whiteout!! Almost, but not quite as dramatic was, perhaps, an inch of SNOW! Shivering and with teeth chattering, I cleared a patch (on the ground); I thanked my luck as I savored the fact it wasn't frozen...and squatted. Fortunately there was no wind; no breeze either (couldn't resist).

When asked, the station attendant in Kingman said, “It doesn't usually snow in February...and it caught the weatherwoman by surprise too.” Perhaps you'll empathize when I admit to a bit of shadenfreude from that little factoid. 

The quiet is incomparable. It's nice to be back in the wilds....less than a mile from the freeway. Rumor has it it’s warmer further south.

Set from Lost In Space?

Foggerz - It Came From the Continent

The Third in the series of Foggerz Commercials

Churminz - Yuh Gotta Luv Em - Foggers

Surreal landscape, wind & the hint of winter. Coffee vill safe us....Yah!





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White Mountains - California & Nevada

I spent the past few weeks savoring the last of Fall in the White Mountains near the California-Nevada border.

The West side, a few miles north of Benton, California (photo above) is about the northern limit of the Joshua Tree. With few people, no trees to obscure the view or mar the silence with soughing boughs, and no friggin' babblin' brooks neither, the place is almost quiet. An occasional plane disrupts, but I've only recently begun exploring and still have hope of finding the perfect spot.

From highway 264 on the East side

It got cold so I moved to the East side where elevations are a bit lower. Here, I came upon some major mining trash. I admit I admired the crafted ends of the ore cart rails. Were they to tip and empty the cart?

Ore Cart Rails

Hand Crafting?

It was quite pleasant (warmer) a few miles south of Dyer, Nevada. This sculpture was on the road to The Global Stewardship Foundation.

Art is Where You Find It

Then, once again, winter descended. A cold wuss, I took the temperature drop personally and headed south.

White Mountains From Dyer, Nevada

The bright yellow areas at the bottom were actually bright blue.

This sunset was a parting gift. I guess clouds can, on occasion, contribute.

I've stopped over in Albuquerque, New Mexico for a bit of administrative tidying-up: vehicle registration and such. Then back to chasing the warmth...further South.

Supposedly, Spring'll come again.