Quartzsite Arizona, (Jan. 2016):

Memorial to Hi Jolly. There are many references to camels in Quartzite. 

In 1857, a man named Hadji Ali, (later nick-named Hi Jolly) a camel driver brought a company of camels from the Middle East to be used as pack animals for the U.S. military. They were under the command of the U.S Camel Corps. The camels could go without water longer than horses and the desert environment suited them. The experiment was terminated early due to the Civil War. Hi Jolly bought a couple camels and operated a freight route between the Colorado River and mining towns. Other camels were sold or ended up in the wild fending for themselves. The camels eventually died out, however as late as the 1930's there were reports of camels spotted in the wild. Legends still exist about the camels including one about a ghost of a camel that roamed the desert. Hi Jolly remained in Quartzsite and was buried there in 1902. 

Quartz crystal, a sought after find by rock collectors. There is a ton of quartz in this area, but difficult to find the clear formed pieces as in the photo (taken at a rock shop). The quartz we found is a more of a solid white rock, but still pretty and worth carrying a couple rocks home in my backpack.

Crystal Hill is located south of Quartzsite in the Kofa National Refuge.  Crystal and mineral collecting is permitted in the Crystal Hill area but restrictions have been put in place due to the severe digging that's taken place over the years. These deep caves have been dug by collectors in the past. Today it's very picked over, only surface collecting is permitted, no picks or hammers. We did find some very small pieces of crystal which added to the fun of hiking in this area and enjoying the views from the top of Crystal Hill. 

Palm Canyon Hike in the Kofa National Refuge

An unusual site on a desert trail...clumped together high up between the canyon walls, a stand of 30+ native palm trees are growing. (Might be hard to see in the photo, they look like little yellow dots half way up the mountain). Being in the canyon, the palms get some moisture and are protected from the hot desert sun. 

A Flea Market all about rocks. This photo is for my Mom and husband who laugh those of us who like to go rock hounding and collect rocks. Here's proof...there's money in rocks, hee hee. (Can you imagine hauling this inventory around?. )

I love these colors... another flea market stand.
There are several different flea markets in Quartszite.
We found things we never knew we "needed". ha ha

On the right is the RV Pit Stop, The Scenic Road RV Park (where we stayed) is across the highway. The Pit Stop is a very popular spot in Quartzite, RV's often lined up on the highway waiting to turn in. The Pit Stop had water for drinking and for water tanks, propane and a dump station. There are so many RV'ers that dry camp out on the BLM land...they have to come into town regularly to take on water or to dump. 

Filling water jugs at the Pit Stop.

Our grandparents would be in disbelief to see us all buying water these days. 

Water (especially if it's free) is one of our many blessings to be thankful for but often taken for granted. To our family and friends in WI, you have the best drinking water ever!

Old miners homestead.

We met a prospector here who we talked to for some time about the area's mining history. We were amazed at all the mining that had taken place, all the open mines that still remain and all the claims that are still visibly staked out.   

There are so many open abandoned mines in this area, the ground underneath must be like swiss cheese.  We could not see the bottom of this shaft, yikes. One needs to exercise caution in exploring these areas.

Joseph Cone's Cabins

There are two cabins on this site, one in which Mr Cone lived in, the other was his workshop. He was an artist and woodworker, turning ironwood into beautiful bowls and lamps. I loved the beautiful rocks he used in building his cabins and how he used white quartz to border the door frame and bottom of the cabin.  (I could see living in a cabin like this.)

Inside the cabin Mr Cone used for his workshop. According to the history accounts,
he lived here into the 1960's when he died at the age of 75. We saw some of his woodworking pieces at the little museum in town, very beautiful.

Celia's Rainbow Garden, it's a peaceful place.

This beautiful memorial park in Quartszite covers several acres, it is dedicated to a local girl named Celia who died at the age of 8. People create memorials in remembrance of their loved ones, the above dedicated to a local musician.

Another memorial in the Rainbow Garden. Thinking Roy must have liked sitting around a campfire. Many of the memorials were so creative and a reflection of their loved one. There were some with bird houses and statues, hiking boots, military signage and family handprints.

Good Night from our RV Park in Quartzsite.

 Camp Verde, AZ  (Dec 2015 & Jan. 2016)

We found many things to explore in and around Camp Verde including Indian Ruins and petroglyphs. 

Tuzigoot National Monument near Cottonwood. 

Singua Indians built this pueblo on a mound surrounded by fertile soil where they grew food for survival. 

They had quite the panoramic view from the top most likely to watch for intruders and keep an eye on their crops. Only the lower foundations remain, they had roofs of some sort, no doors, it's believed they entered through the top using ladders.  

Montezuma Castle is another Sinagua Ruin, one of our favorites because of how well it's survived nature’s elements and the fact that it’s 5 stories high. One can’t help but wonder… how could the Sinagua achieve such a feat with only hand made tools of rocks and sticks.

A trantula on our hiking trail. They are actually 

quite docil and move rather slow

We enjoyed fall in Camp Verde, hard to believe it was December. 

After driving several miles on a jeep trail we arrived at the Trailhead for Fossil Springs 

on the Verde River. It was a beautiful day for hiking. 

The water was crystal clear, so beautiful here. We were told in summer this place is full of people,  swimming, diving off cliffs into the deeper pools etc. On this day (in December and on a weekday) we met just a couple other people the entire day. It's nice to be able to do things on weekdays and in the off season. 

 

Ready to Fly Away...

Mingus Mountain at 7,000+ feet has a hang gliding launch. The launch itself is unbelievable (scary), there’s a small cement slope where the hang gliders basically run down a few feet to where the cement ends and then jump off the mountain. We would’ve liked to see somebody actually do it. The locals said you can often see the hang gliders up in the air, weather and wind conditions have to be just right. Mingus Mountain also has a campground and nice areas for picnicking.  

Beautiful views on Mingus Mountain.

Our wonderful adventure continues.

Nov. & Dec. 2015 in Camp Verde, AZ

We have really enjoyed our stay in Camp Verde,  it's a good central location for exploring the area. Here are a few hiking pictures from our Sedona outings. We love Sedona for all the hiking and jeeping trails...amazing red rocks and scenery. This was one of our first hikes to Fay Canyon, a fairly easy hike.   

This day we hiked the Little Horse Trail to Chicken Point. The trail took us within viewing distance of the Chapel of the Holy Cross. On the way back we took a side trail which took us over to the Chapel. It's a very peaceful place to visit. Visitors are welcome to go inside and have a quiet time to reflect or a time of prayer. 

Inside the chapel with the cross forefront to amazing views.

Hiking Cathedral Rock. This hike was a bit more challenging in places, had to do a little boulder crawling. 

Met up with this seasoned hiker on Cathedral trail. He lives in the area and hikes here a lot. He pointed out many different rock formations and their names. Showed us other trails and ended up leading us down a back trail to Oak Creek which runs thru Sedona. Great day. 

Quite the vantage point, yes, that's Tom out there. 

I was standing in what they call the saddle of Cathedral where a vortex is located. There are several known vortex locations around Sedona which are said to have energy fields that many people believe can be felt within. The vortexes are a very popular attraction in Sedona, spiritual to many. 

On our way down from the saddle.

El Nino has produced colder than normal temperatures in AZ this winter. Sedona has had a couple snowfalls, we wanted to see a little winter and get in the Christmas spirit. 

The snow and the red rocks created such beautiful scenes.

 Jeeping with our family. Soldiers Pass Trail and Mushroom Rocks.
I can't believe we've been in this area 2 months, there are so many more trails we wanted to check out. Guess we'll have to come back. 

Oregon, Columbia Gorge

Am catching up with our travels in Oregon, what a beautiful state, I'm sure we will return.

We traveled north thru central Oregon to the city of The Dalles on the Columbia River. Here we turned due west heading for the coast. We drove the historic Columbia River Scenic Byway, also known as Hwy 30. The highway runs along the Columbia River and the Columbia gorge. (The Columbia River forms the border between Oregon and Washington.) The scenery and history beyond any of our expectations, it was beautiful. The highway was designed and built in the early 1900’s for the emerging auto travelers. It’s a narrow winding road with beautiful views of the river, the gorge, spectacular waterfalls, architectural designed bridges and the most beautiful rest stop we’ve ever seen. It’s a highway meant to enjoy, the speed limit only 45mph. 

Crater Lake, Oregon:

Crater Lake was formed by a volcanic eruption that occurred thousands of years ago. At 1,943 feet deep, it is the deepest lake in United States. It is fed only by rain and snow. It has no river inlets, no boat ramps, only one steep hiking trail to the bottom, making it one of the cleanest large bodies of water in the world. It is famous for it’s exceptional clarity and intense blue color. 

Even with the smokey skies from the nearby wildfires,
the water was the bluest water I’ve ever seen. 

The smokey skies added it’s own special effects on the landscape,
at times it looked like a watercolor painting. 

Odell, Oregon, Along the Columbia Gorge near Mt Hood.

Hood River Fruit Loop, I loved this day. The fruit loop is approximately 30 miles of orchards, wineries and farmland with fruit and vegetable stands. We visited a farm with huge gardens of fresh flowers for the picking, the flowers were beautiful, (was missing our gardens). It was rather expensive to pick a bouquet of flowers, wonder why this hasn’t caught on in Wisconsin, perhaps because so many grow flowers.(?) We did pick blackberries...large, juicy and very tasty, also bought some blueberries. The fruit loop took us by vineyards and beautiful orchards of apples and pears. We stopped at a winery for some wine tasting and left with a couple bottles of local wine

Our fresh berries, we were in berry heaven.

Traveling the Columbia River Scenic Byway:

So many beautiful waterfalls along this highway. Multnomah Falls being one of the most famous. It’s height of 620 ft makes it the tallest falls in the state. A short climb up to the Benson bridge is a great place to enjoy the view or feel the mist of the falls. There are more than 90 waterfalls along the Columbia Gorge.

Along the scenic byway...can you believe this is a rest stop? The Vista House, the most beautiful rest stop ever. Completed in 1918 as an observatory and rest stop with majestic views up and down the Columbia River.

Inside the rest stop, stained glass windows and beautifully tiled floors.

A view of the Columbia River from the Vista House Rest Stop.

Next post we'll be on the coast. 

Redwoods in northern CA

Marker at a trail head.
 In walking among these gigantic trees that are 1,000+ years old and feeling such
calm quiet peace...for a moment it feels like all is right in the world. 

I've included some quotes about the Redwoods because in many cases 

my words just don't seem adequate.

This is their temple, vaulted high,
And here we pause with reverent eye,
With silent tongue and awe-struck soul;
For here we sense life's proper goal.
To be like these, straight, true and fine,
To make our world like theirs, a shrine;
Sink down, O traveler, on your knees,
God stands before you in these trees.
Joseph B Strauss "The Redwoods" 1932  

The Eternal Tree House was once a huge Redwood estimated to be 2500 years old when it was cut by loggers in the early 1900’s. The remaining stump contained a huge cavern caused by fire. It was used by Indians, trappers and even livestock for shelter. In 1950 the 20 ft area was made into a gift shop. Although the original trunk of the tree is gone, the stump remained and continued living. Today it is the parent of more than a dozen Redwoods which grow from the stump’s roots and are now more than 40 ft high. The Eternal Tree House is located on the Avenue of the Giants highway in the little burb of Redcrest. Our campground was also on the Avenue of Giants highway about a mile from here. Ancient Redwoods RV park was one of our favorite RV parks.

The Redwoods have remarkable resilience. They are nearly immune to insects, decay and fire. They have a thick bark (up to 12” thick) that provides protection, it contains a resin that is distasteful to termites and insects. When exposed to fire the bark chars and turns into a heat shield of sorts. What an amazing tree.

Hard to believe but this Redwood is still alive and thriving, the branches on top looked like any other healthy Redwood. These cavities have been caused by fires over many years. Intense fires can penetrate the bark through cracks, the heartwood in the middle of the tree is "empty wood or dead wood", the tree gets it's nourishment from the outer wood under the bark.    

Can you ever take too many pictures of the Redwoods?? 

In looking at my photos on the computer the answer is  yes. 

As much as I tried, photos don't capture the grander of these trees and the forest. 

There are many different groves within the Redwood National Park, these groves were either from land donated to the park or money was given to the Redwood Preservation Foundation and the grove was then named after them. The groves range from small acreages to 1,000's of acres. To mention a few, there is the Roosevelt Grove, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Rockefeller Grove and Founders Grove. 
We heard about the Stout Grove and didn't realize until we arrived at the trailhead and read the sign that we were quite familiar with this name. Back where we come from in WI, the Stout name was huge in logging. There are streets named after him and his partner, Knapp. The Stouts built a beautiful mansion of a house on an island on Red Cedar Lake, accessible only by boat. It has passed hands several times but is still known as Stout Island. We learned that the Stouts were also involved in the lumbering business in the Redwoods.   

As the trees grow in height they often lose their lower branches creating 

this beautiful canopy over head.   

In the early 1900's, Charles Kellogg built a camper out of a hollowed out Redwood tree and traveled the country bringing awareness to preserving the ancient Redwood trees. It was called the Travel Log. It was mounted on WWI military truck. Today we realize what a gift his (and other's) forward thinking has given us. 

Many Redwoods with burned out cavities are alive and thriving in the forest.

I liked our reflection in this sign. 

Redwoods sprout new trees from the fallen trees or limbs. 
Here you can see a new tree sprouting from a rotting redwood.  



“The redwood is one of the few conifers that sprout from the stump and roots, and it declares itself willing to begin immediately to repair the damage of the lumberman and also that of the 
forest-burner.” ~John Muir 

A tree hug.

Another Redwood that survived the ravages of man (the tree is still alive).

 Known as the girded tree, back in the 1900's it was stripped of it's lower bark which was used for siding on a small building that served as a tourist attraction. 

Hard to believe this is all natural.

This grove with all the greenery looked like a well kept park, but it was just another grove in the forest. I'm not sure why this one had so much of the clover like greenery growing while others didn't...but it sure was beautiful. 

Our campground on the Avenue of the Giants highway.