Down the road from Quartzsite!

A few days after the main event was over, and many hundreds of RV’s had headed out down the road to their next destination, I went back to see what was left of the show. All the main exhibiters were gone, as were the walls of the big tent, and crews were busy dismantling it.

A few days after that, all that was left was the row of poles that had once supported the big tent.

Lots of vendors were still in town, and I took the opportunity to visit a few of the more ‘out of the way’ booths. Everything you could possibly want is for sale here, and most of it you don’t want!

In case you were confused about the terms of the sale, this merchant advises that there are ‘NO REFuDS’!  Now you know.

After perusing the map, and evaluating the options on departure, and checking the locations of other bloggers, the decision was made.  Congress would not have been far out of the way, however I knew that Al & Kelly from the Bayfield Bunch were out bouncing around in the jeep somewhere in the Kofa wildlife refuge. 

So the next in line that direction was John & Brenda who base themselves at Dogpound south, in the Maricopa area.  So I surprised them with a visit, and got caught up on things since last time our paths had crossed.  I only spent the one night camped in their spacious yard as Brenda was headed back to the frozen north the next day and neither John or I wanted to be left with our own cooking!  Another check of the map, and a bit of blog research and Gardner Canyon got the nod, thanks to an excellent write-up by Nina from Wheeling It.  It is south-east of Tucson off Highway 83, near MP 37.  The first few miles are state trust land, but after that it is National Forest, and I had a choice of 5 numbered, widely spaced sites to choose from.  There are a few critters in the area – and Hailey was not too sure about these cows.

But, she loved the plentiful variety of trees to climb and explore.

A short hike up out of the canyon, provided some great views about the area, as well as a look at some more of the local hoofed residents.

This area is fairly close to the southern border, so the usual warning signs were in place, but I saw nothing other than the usual Border patrol checkpoint on the highway.  There were a number of full gallon jugs of water hanging in the trees near my campsite however, which I can only assume have been left for any thirsty travellers passing through the area on foot?

Till next time I remember to blog!