Surprises in the Forest -- Apr 18, 2015

I left off in Camp Verde getting help with my ignition switch.  I am happy to report - all is well thanks to Interstate Tire N Auto!  Helaine also sprayed some kind of turbo WD40-type product on my hood latch...now it opens without having to bang on it 3 times to get it to unlatch.  Just makes life a little easier :-)  I'm on my own data time for this post, so we have a lot to cover...quickly!

After our flower exploration hikes, others were mainly for exercise in this glorious weather. However, a few surprises were in store for us on Forest Roads 500 and 500A, just up Fossil Creek Road from our site.

We'll start with FR 500A.  These "roads" are not for much other than 4WDs or ATVs....or feet!  We walk about 1/2 mile or so up the road and seeing, on our left, a rocky clearing which looked like a ledge, I said, "Nikko, lets go over there for a minute."  We walked over to the edge and this was what we saw:

HOODOOS!

A "field" of cone-shaped hoodoos were right below us.  Hoodoos are also called tent rocks, fairy chimneys or earth pyramids...all very appropriate!  What a surprise!  It was the last thing I expected to see around here!

looks like some kind of mystical shrines....

Very cool!

We probably could have hiked down there, but it was fairly steep.  With Nikko on the leash, I could imagine him scrambling down there with no problem....dragging me on something besides my feet...behind him!

Speaking of Nikko on the leash - it was primarily so he wouldn't chase any wild animals and then get caught up in cactus.  Like this, for example...  was he straining to go after rabbits or a snake?  Well, we saw both and his reaction was the same!

Yes, we did see a snake slithering through the grass one day not far from our site.  It was light in color and not very large, but I couldn't make out what kind it might be....probably best to not know! But Nikko certainly wanted to know!  He wanted to scout around for it forever.  There are, of course, rattlesnakes around here....as evident by the one we saw that didn't make it across the road...

Shooting is allowed around here....I'm not a fan of that where the general public might be walking around, but....

OK --  back to our geological finds....

Another day we went up FR500...it makes kind of a U-shape from our site up to a ridge.  We could see our house almost the whole route...

Kind of the same thing occurred as on FR 500A...we went over to a ledge and were surprised a second time!

I didn't see this blooming wildflower until I got back and reviewed my photos....

I thought something might be living in these "caves", but they weren't home that day!

This was my favorite!

These formations were interesting....they almost look "soft" the way they fold down

So, these were our surprise finds in this part of the Coconino National Forest!  I'll wrap up our stay here (we are leaving on Monday) with some miscellaneous tidbits....

There aren't many butterflies around here, but I managed to get a picture of this pretty one....

One day was "chore" day...hung out some laundry on a particularly breezy day with beautiful clouds.  There's nothing quite like air-drying!

Then, there's food!  I'm not sure what everyone thinks RVers eat....well....it's no different than what you would prepare in your own kitchens...except you probably have more than six square inches of counter space!

Asparagus/Chicken Quiche....soooooo good!

Honey-glazed pork chops!

And a few more scenic landscapes before we say goodbye....

We managed to find quite a lot of interesting subject matter within just a few minutes of our site. This was a nice spot to spend two weeks!  The weather is still quite cool around Flagstaff, so we're going to stay to the south a bit longer.  Our next stop isn't far away, but I'm not sure what to expect...guess we'll find out on Monday!  In the meantime...

Cheers from Nikko and me!  

Enjoy your weekend!

Color in the Coconino National Forest -- April 13, 2015

I came into Camp Verde this morning to mail my IRS check and see if I could find someone to repair my ignition switch.  I've been hot wiring the RV every time I have to start it.  That gets old after about a week!  So, I'm here at Interstate Tire N Auto waiting my turn.  Mike and Helaine are great!  I got a very fair price, I think, on replacing the ignition switch....let's put it this way....I thought it would be more.  AND they are letting me use their wi-fi!  

In my last post I mentioned I would be exploring more of the landscape around my site in the Coconino National Forest.  Nikko and I went out for a hike one day specifically to see how many wild flowers we could find.  At first glance over many acres, there aren't any!  (Yes, that's us there in the middle of nowhere!)

But, looking closer along our walk up Fossil Creek Rd., Forest Road 500 and FR 500A, we actually found quite a few!  None were prolific, however.  We had to LOOK!   I'm just going to post the photos...not a lot of "talk".

This isn't a "flower", but the plumes on this particular grass were colorful enough to include!

These were my favorites!  But this clump were the only ones we saw....

Along with flowers come "wooly-worms".  We saw quite a few of these!

I'm including this pancake cactus along with this landscape post because the "leaves" are so large -- some are actually about 12" top to bottom...

Some look about 100 years old, tho'.....maybe they are!

These are the only birds we've seen....the Black-throated Sparrow....aka Desert Sparrow.              They have high tolerance levels for heat and drought.  

So, there's an overview of what you can actually find in an area that, on the surface, seems void of anything colorful.  We wanted to walk further down Fossil Creek Rd (probably only to find the same flowers), but a cattle guard kept Nikko from being able to take that walk.  Usually there is a small footpath around them, but not this time!

Perfect timing to end here.  They are ready to install the ignition switch.  

Next post will be some very cool terrain features....all within a couple mile walk of our site...and quite a surprise to come upon!  

We will check back in sometime after Thursday when I have a new data cycle starting!

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Visit if you need help:

Interstate Tire N Auto

Mike Mitchell

573 Industrial Drive

Camp Verde, AZ  86322

(928)-202-6555

An Unplanned Layover -- Apr 10, 2015

I had a plan to continue pretty much steadily north from Prescott National Forest, however, the weather forecast showed nights in the 20's.....no way!  It's not like it was mandatory that we stick to the plan.  So, I did some quick research and decided to just head about an hour east...to half the elevation of the forest site.  I knew the temps would be generally warmer, but not too warm, and the nights would be reasonable.  It's been sunny, in the low 70's during the day this past week and nights in the upper 40's.  Great!!

We landed just inside the Coconino National Forest about 10 miles east of Camp Verde, AZ.  The sites along here are "pulloffs", meaning they are already set up sites (from lots of previous use) and you simply pull off the side of the road.  We traveled down Fossil Creek Road -- another "primitive road" for about a mile, but it wasn't bad at all.  But, no wanting to take any chances about the road ahead, I rested in the first pulloff we came to...it was large enough and had a fire ring...and pretty views to the west.  

We got situated as level as possible and settled in.  It was later in the afternoon, so lunch was in order first.  Then we wanted to look around....this is the view right outside our door, facing NW.  Can't go wrong here!

Nikko is looking directly north....

The landscape is made of up short - stick to your socks - grasses, low scrubby shrubs, lots of "just sticks" shrubs (maybe they green up later in the spring/summer?), lots of bushes with long stickers, pancake cactus shooting up here and there and a taller grass that lays flat, presumably from the wind. But, here's enough greenery to make it less than stark.  The grasses make it a bit prairie-like.  So, what's so pretty about that?  Well, it's all natural!  

The Coconino National Forest is diverse in its terrain as you change elevation.  We're at about 3500' at this site.  It consists of about 1.850 million acres.  Hard to fathom!  Apparently, about 10 miles on up Fossil Creek Road is Fossil Creek.  I'd like to go up there, but without a car or 4WD we won't be exploring any areas outside of this initial site. Here is a link to a photo stream around the Forest:  National Forest Photo Stream.  Great camping all through the forest!  There's a 14-day stay limit here -- 14 days free!  :-)

Here's where we are parked, front facing NE.  A few cars/trucks go by here and there, but not enough to make it annoying....except to Nikko.  He has to bark furiously at every one for about 10 seconds.  

We hiked up on top of the hill across the road to get this shot.....gives great perspective about how wide open it is - at least around here.  Hiking through the grasses, etc. looks kind of easy from this photo, but you have to watch every step.  There are little hidden cactus and "sticker" bushes everywhere.  But it's worth it! Most of our walks will be along the road, tho'....there are less traveled roads/paths off of this main road.  

 Nikko keeps looking for "wild animals" around our site!  

The sun was getting low, so we were anxious to see if there was going to be a nice sunset....

Looks promising!

 Ahhhhhhhh....yes!

 

We watched the sunset until just about dark, then inside to download the photos of our initial overview of our new "yard".  Nikko hates this part!  "Are you ever going to stop doing all that photo and computer stuff???  This is soooooooo boring - you aren't paying a bit of attention to ME! -- AND it's dinner time!"  (Yes, that's a gigantic lemon!  LOL!)

Ok, Ok.......it's dinner time.  I had been in the mood for authentic angel hair and meatballs, so I made some homemade Italian meatballs and sauce.  Really good!  And enough for a few more meals :-)

So, this is where we are!  I'm going to have to go to into Camp Verde at the beginning of the week....income tax mailing.  UGH!  First year I've ever had to pay!  NOT going over well at all! I presume we will come back out here for another week and finish up our 14-day stay.  No reason to go anywhere else right now!  I'll be posting a bit more about the natural landscape out here in the next post.

Have a great weekend!