03-13-12

We just got back from a three day camping trip. With us was Becky, Dennis and Bob.

Saturday morning we drove to the northeast corner of the Kofa refuge. We stopped to check out Craven well. The blades were missing from the windmill.

From there we continued south on the Red Rock Pass trail. We stopped to see if we could find Red Rock Dam which is on the map but I have never found it.

After walking around the area where the dam is supposed to be

we gave up and drove over Red Rock Pass.

We stopped for lunch at the Hoodoo Hilton.

We left the Hilton around 2:00 and followed a road to the northeast toward the Hovatter Ranch. We stopped to check out an old dam in a wash next to the road.

The upstream side of the dam is all silted in.

Eventually we arrived at the Hovatter Ranch site, drove through the circular driveway

and set up camp.

Becky prepared a good supper of short ribs, yams and coleslaw. That night it was very cold. We sat around enjoying a warm campfire toasting marshmallows and talking until bed time.

Becky and Dennis turned in around 8:30. Bob, Patti and I stayed up until moon rise. It was just past full and came up around 10:00.

Everyone except Bob, in his van, spent an uncomfortable night trying to stay warm. I was up before sunrise Sunday morning and got a fire going.

We sat around the fire until we got warmed up. Bob took a walk in the hills around camp and got some pictures while we took down our tents and loaded up.

There are two graves on a hill above the ranch site

one for Ray Hovatter

and another for the Hovatter’s 14 year old daughter Barbara.

When Bob got back we headed out for another day of touring the desert. Along the way Becky and Dennis spotted a Ram standing on top of a ridge and Bob got some nice pictures of it.

We continued east

and came to the wide graded dirt Hovatter Road and followed it north for a while. We stopped for lunch lunch on a flat east of the road.

After lunch we drove a little farther north where we found a trail going east and turned onto it. We turned off to check out a working mine.

and followed the road to a locked gate.

We returned to the main trail and drove across a long expanse of flat desert

going in and out of gullies looking for a suitable camp sight.

The desert is blooming

and the scenery is beautiful

Eventually we left the flats

and stopped for the night in a valley between some low hills.

We had chicken and rice with picante sauce for supper and spent another evening around the campfire but everyone was tired from the lack of sleep the night before so we turned in before moon rise. The night was warmer than the previous night and we all slept comfortably until well after sun up. It was already warm when we got up so there was no need for a morning fire. After breakfast we loaded up and headed for home.

After we got home Patti took these pictures in our back yard.