Early Friday we went to Robbins Butte Wildlife Area in the Gila River valley, about 6 miles north of the Park. We got one of very few wildlife sightings right at the beginning.
Despite the following sign, there were many shells scattered around the area.
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| A new use for the pamphlet holder |
We walked along the road past the last designated parking area, toward Robbins Butte, which we could see in the distance. We saw only a few birds, including a hawk looking for a tasty ground squirrel. After a while, we got to a gate to what we assume is a farm house. There were signs showing the 'designated access' route around the private area, through some irrigated fields. Once at the end of these we got to a pond near the base of Robbins Butte. Boy Scouts had planted a cottonwood grove near the pond to attract a wider variety of wildlife.
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| Robbins Butte |
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When we got around the base of the butte, we heard a vehicle come up and park at the base of the butte, as we were looking for a route to climb to the top. A couple of guys were looking where to set up a target, so we got their attention. They were surprised to see someone there, as there were no cars in that area (they would have skirted around the wildlife area before getting as far as our truck). It turned out that they were from Winnipeg and one of the fellows is a involved in pistol target shooting competitively. We didn't expect it to be Canadians doing target practice. They were concerned about ricochets, so we opted not to go up the Butte and told them we would be returning along the road they had come in on. It looked like they might be getting some company as we met a few other vehicles coming in as we were on the way out. Nearly back at the truck, we came across Robbins Road, which carries from the Regional Park north as an ATV track until it gets to the edge of the wildlife area.
In the afternoon, we joined with family and friends of Don, mentioned in last week's blog who was having an early afternoon barbecue. We got to meet a couple from Alabama who are staying in the park, and a family from a little island off the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Deer Group of islands near Bamfield who came down from Canada in a rented RV and are visiting with Don's daughter.
On Saturday, we packed a lunch, took our garbage to the nearest pit toilet location in the park, and then headed through the hills to large open area (similar to Margie's Cove). We followed a wash down for a while before stopping for lunch. Then we returned on the south side of the hills back to the trailer, eventually coming across the shoulder of the hill behind the trailer where we had started our hike last Tuesday.
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| Rainbow Cactus |
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| Tiny purple flowers |
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Later in the afternoon Don asked John if he would show his brother where to park his trailer when he arrived in the evening, in case Don didn't get back from dropping his kid's family at the airport in Phoenix. They arrived around 6pm, in the dark. We got them parked just before Don got back.
On Sunday, we thought we'd try the Black Bear Diner again, since the last one was being renovated. However, when we arrived, the parking lot was packed, and the hotel next door had signage that a permit is needed a permit to use their lot. Probably not good timing, trying it on Sunday morning. We had breakfast across the road at IHOP, and quite enjoyed it, despite being disappointed we couldn't give the Black Bear another go. After breakfast we picked up a hiking pole for John at Cabela's, and then stocked up on a few things before we head out on Monday.
Monday morning we packed up and headed to North Ranch Escapees Park between Wickenburg and Congress northwest of Phoenix.
Tuesday morning we did a walk round the Park. There are a lot of owned sites, some of them with very nice looking houses on them. Quite a few sites are for sale. One units owner had a creative used for pop cans.
The gardening in the park attracts a lot of birds.
Near the end of our tour, we saw another trailer with a Shaw satellite dish, and a trailer with a High River Autoplex logo. We got chatting with him for a while. He lived in High River for 17 years, but had sold before the flood in 2013. He rents the a site in this park from someone here who owns several sites. They like this location as they enjoy ATVing in the desert and hills in this area. They had a feeder behind their trailer.
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In the afternoon, John decided to try again to get the lens cover off the light above our trailer door. He even tried a new method, sticking an awl through the hole in the bottom of the fixture, even though it looked like it was just to drain condensation inside the fixture. Still no luck, except Joan had noticed an RV tech down the road. He came by later, and after trying all the usual ways to remove the cover, borrowed the awl and popped the cover off. John just hadn't pulled hard enough. Since the cover was cracked, and the tech had recently replaced the one on his trailer with a sensor model, we got a $5 replacement, plus $40 for miscellaneous supplies and labour. Finally, after many years, we have a light outside our door, and it is one that comes off the way the majority of covers work.
On Wednesday, we headed into Wickensburg to the visitor center at the old Sante Fe railroad station to get the self guided 'Walking Tour of Historic Wickenburg'
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| Engine 761 |
We found out that this weekend is Gold Rush Days, something we saw several references to around town. Another clue was a Ferris wheel and other rides being set up for the fair. No, we didn't come here for Gold Rush Days. We decided that this weekend wouldn't be a good time to go on the Vulture Mines tour, which is only available on Saturdays.
Our walking tour started off badly, as we couldn't find the first building we were looking for. We expected to find a house with a National Historic Register plaque. No such luck. We had the same problem with a few other locations on the map. We did find the Jail Tree, where miscreants were chained up before there was a jail in town.
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| Jail Tree |
We also found most of the bronze sculptures on the route, including the one below at the Desert Cabarellos Western Museum.
After giving up on the tour, we came across a busy patio restaurant, the Mecca Bar and Grill. We had a nice chicken salad sandwich and Italian nachos (with spicy Italian sausage), along with local Grand Canyon Amber Ale, from Williams, AZ.
When we got back to the trailer, we were surprised to see a couple of fellows who were playing darts on a board hung behind our trailer. Fortunately they were good players.
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Thursday, we decided to do a walk from the RV park. The Outdoors Activity Guide they provide recommends golf, hiking, pickleball, OHV riding and geo-caching. The trails are so numerous that it is not possible to have maps! They do provide helpful hints to find your way home. 'If you are out the back gate Highway 89 runs NORTH and SOUTH and if you head WEST you will find your way back to North Ranch. If your are out behind the railroad tracks, head EAST'. The area is a wide flat area with hills at least 5 miles away, so there aren't any landmarks near the park to go toward. We decided to cross the highway to the west. We noticed an ATV crossing, so walked down to where it had gone through a gate. We followed the ATV trail toward the railroad, and noticed that it had gone north on the trail beside the tracks. We followed that route for about 2 miles without finding any way across the tracks, so we turned around and headed back.
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