Ivan's Roadtrip

It’s hard to miss the change to daylight savings time these days with all the media coverage, facebook, twitter and all the rest. And many of my devices change automatically. I had trouble in the fall when the time changed as I was on the dividing line between mountain and pacific time zones, and also passing back and forth between Nevada/California/Arizona. And my phone changes back and forth, depending on which state it is getting it’s signal from at the time. I was in California almost a month before I realized I was still on mountain time! So I was proud this time when I had all my devices and clocks ‘sprung forward’ by the next day. Then I realized that I was in Arizona that (like Saskatchewan) doesn’t follow DST! Well, except some Indian reservations in Arizona. So, once again I am on the wrong time, but since Alberta is my eventual destination, I think I will just keep time on my own.

I had thought that after seeing Wandering Willy’s photos of his snow covered truck when he returned home to BC that John & Brenda might delay their northward departure somewhat, but John had the hammer down hauling northwards past my Burro Creek location on highway 93 just a day after I had pulled up stakes. But I fooled him and pulled a U-turn and headed back south from Kingman to Lake Havasu – where I am currently gathering courage to head back to the frozen north. When he arrived back at Dogpound there was (is) a lot of white on the ground that looks suspiciously like s.. sn.. white stuff! Last year I had to bust through drifts to get down my own unplowed driveway. I’d just as soon not have a repeat of that this year.

Not much happening in Lake Havasu – except that it has been very warm, hot even, and usually a nice breeze to go with it.

Spring Break is just starting to get into full swing. Which means that watercraft of all types are out enjoying the water. Note to northern readers: none of this involves snowmobiles, ice fishing shacks, big boots or frostbite!

Some of these boats sound about as loud as a diesel locomotive when they fire up.

Of course, where people are attracted to the water, so are the enforcement authorities.

I was doing some comparison shopping in Basha’s the other day and found some strange things. You can buy a 24 pack or a 30 pack for the exact same price. Same store, same day! I think someone should go back to economics 101!

Blogger is still screwed up and nothing has changed for months now. Funny how Google can provide Streetview images of ski runs, Outer Mongolia, and the bottom of the Grand Canyon, but seems totally unable to fix the problems with my blogger.

Today is Hailey’s 4th birthday, and she is enjoying it in a rather relaxed fashion.

I guess she is giving her small lizard friends the day off!

Getting back down from the high country across the highway from Roosevelt lake was almost as interesting and intimidating as the drag up hill, but luckily we met no one on the road, other than a quad, and were soon back down to smooth pavement again.

Everyone assumed travel positions.

After a climb out of the valley on the way south we were soon in Globe and Miami, where another huge open pit copper mine is located. We carried on towards Superior, and made a quick stop at Oak Flats campground. We have stayed there several times in the past, but it was early in the day, and the temptation to stop was just not there. On down through Superior we went, but not before observing a semi-truck that likely wished he had used the beautiful run-away lane before crashing into the rock wall just above the town.

Ironically the run-away lane is one of the best and safest looking ones around, which is not always the case. But perhaps the loss of control or speed occurred when he was already past the point of no return?

On past the Picket Post mountain trailhead (of John & Brenda fame) we motored on towards the big city. Well, at least the edge of it. We invited ourselves to visit more horse friends who bought a place in Apache Junction a few years back. Luckily, I was paying attention when trying to enter the yard, and realized that the gate and sign were just not high enough. So we jammed into a small spot on the outside of the gate, and spent the evening visiting a retired Park Warden who I had worked with in Jasper National Park many years ago.

Next on my busy social schedule was a meeting with my sister and her husband who were down touring in the area and taking advantage of some dentistry in Algodones, Mexico. This time we just met up nearby at the Mining Camp restaurant, with the great view of Superstition mountain. Next day, after waiting for the rush hour traffic to die down – seemed a good enough reason to spend a couple hours at Bass Pro Shops – we zipped around the north side of Phoenix and headed for another big city in the area; Congress! With my usual excellent planning and coordination, I did not let Al & Kelly from the Bayfield Bunch know I might be on the way, and pulled up to their gate. A couple of shouts went unanswered by man nor Pheebs, so I suspected that they might be out on the land somewhere, and resumed rolling. Turns out they were unaware of my presence until it was too late, and I managed to outrun the jeep as I zigzagged up the road onto highway 93. Might have been just as well as I was ready for some quiet R&R after spending a couple of days in traffic and noise in the city.

North of Nothing, and south of Wikieup is Burro Creek BLM campground, which I had visited a couple years ago. It’s a very nice, and scenic little campground with water, RV dump, and flush toilets. But I prefer a spot across the creek from the campground on top of a cliff overlooking the campground. No noisy generators or loose dogs to bother us up here.

There were a couple days of predicted rain showers, which made the desert happy, made things smell nice, and put some water into a few of the washes. It also gave me a chance to test the generator which I had not used since early December, and I even turned on the furnace for the first time this winter – just to make sure it still worked.

Normally, I just use my standalone propane heater for warmth as it does not use any electricity. Talking to a local cattle rancher one day led me to locate and visit the Kaiser hot springs which is in the area. A couple miles of some rough 4x4ing, and a bit of a hike and I had the springs all to myself, in the bottom of a rather impressive canyon.