Took a long road trip today

It’s been pretty boring around here since I visited Saguaro Nat’l Park last Thursday.  Friday I took care of several errands that included getting my yearly flu shot.  Normally, I only experience a slight soreness in the arm, but this time the shot for folks over 65 kind of put me under the weather all weekend.  It wasn’t horrid, and if it keeps me from getting the flu it was well worth it.

Yesterday involved a trip to the dentist.  I hate going to the dentist.  Since my hip replacement, I have to take a mega dose of antibiotics just before the appointment.  Last year, I got violently ill after the dentist appointment and didn’t know if it was a reaction to the meds or food poisoning from eating lunch out.  You can bet I was nervous about taking those antibiotics this time.  Happily, there was no adverse reaction, so I guess I’ll never eat in that restaurant in Kasson, MN, again.

By this morning I felt the need to get out and do something, so Emma and I went on a very long road trip to check out where we’ll be spending this winter.  I’ve been a little leery of just arriving at an unknown, to me, refuge since the debacle in Louisiana last year about this time.  It was a drive of a little over 200 miles one way to get there.

Little did I know that I had to drive through the US Army Yuma Proving Ground to get to the refuge.  I’m not sure what they’re trying to ‘prove’ there, but I’ll have plenty of time to find out.    I did drive past one of those long Army convoys driving the opposite direction, and also came to an area where the speed limit dropped to 25 mph in the middle of nowhere.  There was an area there cleared of all vegetation that had a big bunch of Army guys running about in orange with packs on their backs and stomachs.  No stopping or parking was allowed in this section.  Made me wonder if maybe they were paratroopers that had been dropped in a landing zone?

I also came upon an area with these unusual stacks on both sides of the road.  I’m thinking that all of that stuff is this year’s cotton harvest waiting to be loaded onto the train cars in the background.

This area is still part of the Sonoran desert, but I was a little disappointed to see that the number of saguaro cacti had drastically decreased.  I was hoping I’d have views of beautiful desert sunsets with saguaros in the foreground while I’m here.

Eventually the pavement ended, and we entered Imperial NWR.  The gravel roads aren’t bad though, so I’ll be comfortable driving the rig on them.

My RV site will be here somewhere.  The sign said the VC was open, but it was locked up tighter than a drum.  I couldn’t find a living soul anywhere around.  My guess is the sites are behind those buildings.  I didn’t drive down any of the roads that said ‘authorized vehicles’ only, so I’ll just have to wait until next week to see where we’ll be. 

I feel better knowing my arrival will include an easy approach, so the 400+ road trip was worth it to me.  Perhaps I’ll have a gorgeous view of the mountains and the Colorado River valley.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy