Crazy Woman Camp - part one

 Why, Arizona

Riding the motorbike to do some exploring further away than I care to walk I came upon Crazy Woman Camp less than a mile west of where we are.

Someone put in a lot of effort laying in the stone.

There were a lot of things left about in the camp.

Artsy things that visitors had left behind.

The fireplace was impressive.

Just where she got these big stones from I don’t know for there are not many lying about this area.

They could be from the wash alongside the camp spot.

I haven’t explored it yet.

Most rock is small pieces like this.

But the white quartz, which is abundant in Quartzsite, 

I haven’t seen much of around here.

You have lots of spare time when in the desert; this is what you do.

The plastic container firmly wedged in the crotch of the tree

held two notepads and a couple of pens.

One pad had this written inside the cover flap.  I briefly read it, then took a photo.

Back home I read it more carefully.  

Okay, now I would have to go back.

Are we not all of varying degrees of crazy?

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Rattlesnakes.  Yes I have come across a few while hiking.  Maybe three or so over the years.  That’s just when hiking.  I think they are beautiful and fascinating animals.  The key is seeing them before they see you.  Then all is good and you can enjoy looking at them.  I’ve been threatened by dogs more than rattlesnakes while walking about.

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Beans riding on the motorcycle.  Yes, we’ve tried that a few times.  She sat in my lap and we went a short distance around camp.  She wasn’t impressed.  I thought she may associate it with going places further but has no interest.  Had I had her when she was younger and we could work on it more she probably would be into it. Same with a backpack.  I tried the backpack idea with Sinbad, having him in front of me, but he just wanted out.  Guess you need to start them out as a kitten.

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TWG!  I was just thinking about you a few days ago after looking up some of those old blogposts for photos.  So happy to hear from you.  Hope you are doing well.  Thank you.

She’s Alive!

 

Why, Arizona

I decided to get Gracie, my Honda Trail 90 down from the rack in back.  This would be the first time I had it off the carrier since we left the desert in Quartzsite back in March of this year.  I feel bad not using it any in all that time.  It is just we are never anywhere it is feasible to ride about.  Usually I just go for a walk or hike.  This is the third of these Trail 90’s I have owned.  I foolishly sold the other two; I vowed I would never sell this one.  But sometimes I have thoughts.  Well, I got the bike down, pumped some air into the tires, hooked up the battery and after a few kicks Gracie fired up, with eight months old gasoline.  

Nothing will lift one’s spirit more than riding a motorcycle, not to be saying my spirits were down.

Its just once I got moving on it, it felt so wonderful.

I thought I would see if there was a way into the town of Why without having to ride on the highway and worrying about getting run down by some inattentive yahoo driver.

Two and half miles later following a dirt track that paralleled the highway I had arrived.

I was encouraged by this photo online of the inside of the store thinking they would have items to hold us over before needing to do a major shopping trip.  The photo is four years old and since then they have severely scaled back their inventory.  Looks like we will have to go into Ajo, ten miles away.

Outside was this water feature.

Hard to see, but here the water is flowing out the front into the engine compartment.

The entry to the restrooms outside.

These are from online as they look better than what I captured with my phone.

Fresher and brighter looking paint.

More recent photo with the finished landscaping.

Compare with my photo up top.

The sun hasn’t damaged this yet.

Oh, you’re back.  How about I go out now?

In the desert I feel comfortable allowing Beans to roam freely.  

I can see her better and am always nearby.

She drags the short lead which has a bell attached to the end and I can hear it tinkling over the rocks.

Also it is safer for me instead of holding the cord. 

She’ll bolt after a lizard and I could easily loose a finger or have my arm dislocated from my shoulder.

COVID-19 Memory

 

Why, Arizona

On a walkabout one day I spotted this off in the distance away from my path.

I didn’t know what to make of it, figuring someone out here had time on their hands 

to create a little art project.

At the base lay a collection of this and thats people had left.

This gourd was neat.  I could see how Native Americans could easily carry water in one.

 

Aw, but it was the 1959 Arizona license plate that caught my fancy.

If I had found that out in the desert by itself I’d take it home.

I put this back in its place though.

On the backside of the stiff animal hide was this.

So was it intended as a memory for someone’s loss 

or just a memory of the free-for-all that took place in 2020?

It almost looks like there was more lettering below but the elements over the last few years has obliterated it if there was something else written.

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You folks are funny.  

All of you got caught up with liver and onions while I am trying to showcase Evelyn’s artwork.

Later I realized there were no bank of windows on either side as a school or touring bus would have.  It must have been a private coach originally.  Something I need to find out.

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Wow, Karla.  You’ve been faithfully tagging along since way back when Sinbad was with me.  

That really meant a lot to me reading that.  Thank you so much for the comment.

Beep Beep

 

Why, Arizona

This is our closest neighbor about a quarter mile up the wash from us.

I took a couple pictures, continued on my walk, then on the way back on another dirt road I met Evelyn.  

I discovered the bus was her and her husband Don.  Evelyn is responsible for the artwork.

I complimented her on how great it looked.

They are from Wyoming.  Don did most of the build inside and when done, they lived in the bus on their property for a year to work out any issues they might come across.  After the year, they sold their home and everything int it.  They have been on the road for two years now.

We visited for awhile standing there in the dirt.  Nice lady and I enjoyed chatting with her.

She said they had been here in Gunsight Wash for six weeks.  It is a two-week limit stay here.  But the BLM ranger doesn’t seem to care.  It isn’t like their bus doesn’t stand out either.  He must know they have been here beyond the 14-day limit.  They did move once, but within the area.  Evelyn is who planted the seed in my mind about staying and not going on to Quartzsite.

I really like the Bugs Bunny image.  She said she was towing a small trailer in the Wyoming winter and it got out of control dinging the corner of the van.  That’s why the bandaid she painted.

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Thank you Karen and Vicki for informing me of the current state of blogland these days.  Sometimes I have to go back on my blog years to find a photo.  Then I get to looking at the comments and see Oh, I remember her or him.  I wonder what they are doing now?  I click on their image to go to their blog only to discover it is stagnant, having sat there for years with no input, or completely gone altogether.  So what you two mentioned seems to be the way of things. Guess facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. has taken over blogging.

Yes, I could find small things to blog about if we stayed in one place for a long time but I fear that would be insignificant and boring.  I try to make it interesting and different.

“I read your adventures everyday but rarely comment.”  I know many of you do just that.  That is fine.  I can see the number of views and they are fairly constant.  That is good enough for me.  Don’t be concerned by not commenting.  I’d be like that myself most likely.

and finally...

“If you stayed in one place longer you might find other things to blog about, childhood memories, funny life stories to share, family events or work experiences.”  

Oh my!!  I don’t want to get started down those roads.  I want the blog to be uplifting, positive and fun.  

In fact, I was just thinking that very thing last night while cooking dinner before even seeing your comment Ellen.  “Should I or shouldn’t I mention my dinner?” I thought while standing there at the stove.  Okay, you asked for it.

The last twelve years living at home I had a step-father.  He was a asshole.  What my mother ever saw in him I will never know.  I got only two things out of living with that man.  1. I learned how not to be when I someday would have family of my own.  2.  I learned about liver and onions from him.  That is what I was cooking last night.  I love liver and onions.  Conversely I never cared for green beans.  I’d gag on them.  Maybe because my mother served canned green beans.  He forced me to eat them or I’d get slapped upside the head.  To this day I despise green beans prepared in any fashion.  They only thing I despised more as a child was him.

Those were bad times.  I try to forget.  I live now in good times.

My Dilemma

 Why, Arizona

On the previous post I wrote “I am seriously considering staying here for the entire winter.”

That brought on the comment: “What about all those characters at Quartzsite that will miss you.  

And we will miss hearing about.”

Yes, I thought of that.

Okay, no one will miss me.  I’ll settle that right now.

But, that was my first consideration; by staying here without wackos and misfits about 

I will have nothing to blog about. 

Staying here wouldn’t affect the eBook that will develop from 2023 any.  

The eBooks are about the journey.  The blog though is day to day events.  

“If you stay in one area, does it become harder to post daily?”

Yes, that would suffer.  So really, we need to move on eventually.

If I were to be honest with myself, I doubt I would last the entire winter here.

Zugunruhe will set in with me and I’ll be wanting to be on the move again.

Probably before the year’s end.

“Maybe you could go back and forth.”

It is 186 miles to Quartzsite from Why.  

Also, Why is way south from what my route would be starting on next year’s journey 

so coming back here isn’t all that feasible.

In the end, we’ll probably continue on to Quartzsite.

I’ll just have to try harder to find a peaceful and quiet place 

as we have now, here at Gunsight Wash, outside of Why.

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“I am one of those bloggers who like to read other blogger’s postings.”  

Yes, I was very active in following other bloggers before I went on the road full time.  I even took part in some weekly themed photography postings from which most all the followers I have came from.  Then I found while traveling sometimes daily I just didn’t have the time to continue following blogs plus much of the time my wifi access was limited or nonexistent.  The end result was I lost a lot of those who followed my blog daily.  

Wrascally Wrat!

 

Why, Arizona

I went for a short walk back out to the entrance to get a photo of this sign.  As you can see it is in bad shape, totally bleached out by the sun.  I knew I had a photo of it from four or five years ago when here last.  I looked back on the blog to find that photo.

Well the photo I found was from Darby Wells, ten miles up the road from here towards Ajo, taken four years ago.  I was kind of disappointed as I wanted to see if the sign above at Gunsight Wash, where we are outside of Why,  was this nice back in 2018 or 2017, the first time we were here.

Interesting side bit was in looking at those posts way back then, they had three times as many views as the posts in present day get.  Where did all those people go?  Guess people lost interest.

At the opposite end of this BLM Camp area I came upon this sign.  These signs are not unusual.  What is unusual that it dawned on me standing there looking at this sign is that I have not heard or seen a single ATV (annoying terrestrial vehicle) since we have been here.  I haven’t heard a single generator either.  Both of those would be a constant annoyance in Quartzsite.

I am seriously considering staying here for the entire winter.  

We don’t need all the hub-bub of Quartzsite.

More on those thoughts later.

I dug out Beans’ long lead attached to a five-pound weight so she can wander around farther.

The first night some local resident chewed the cord in two!

This has happened before.  What is the attraction?   Pure mischief. 

I’ll have to put it up on the table each night I guess.

I think the culprit lives under this bush.  There is a hole there.

It keeps Beans entertained.

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“Does the lizard grow a new tail?”

Lizards the size Beans catches can grow their tails back in around 90 days although they will be a bit shorter and not as pretty as the original.  What I didn’t know until looking this up is they can only do this about three times.  Any loss after they they remain tail-less.  In that case they lose their attraction to a potential mate.  Well that’s a bummer.  What I always wondered if losing a tail was painful.  

I read that it is a subtle pain, whatever that may be.  

Made me think of the Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie...ah, its just a flesh wound.