After our ride on Sunday (02-22-15) we decided that we should have one more weenie roast before we all went our separate ways.
We will be leaving here on Sunday heading back to Quartzsite. Suzanne and Roy are going to Yuma for a couple of days then they will be working their way north toward Canada. Jo Ann and Dave will be heading back home to Idaho and Sue and Denis will be in this area for a while then will slowly head back to Canada.
We decided that yesterday would be a good day for the cook out.
I had been looking on Google Earth for a good spot along the Gila River and found an area with a large beach that looked like it would be easy to access through a wash that intersected Cochran Road.
Yesterday morning we met around 10:00 at the RV park where the Canadians are staying. From there we got onto Florence/Kelvin Highway and headed east until we got to Cochran Road where we turned north.
As always the view north from Cochran Rd is superb.
We drove on Cochran for several miles and came to the wash that I had seen on Google Earth. Here we turned left and drove in the wash toward the river.
We enjoyed the views of the canyon walls on both sides of the wash.
When we arrived at the river there were a bunch of jeeps already there.
At first we were dismayed and thought we would have to go some where else but after a short time the jeeps moved on and we were able to access the beach.
Here is the up stream view.
The view down stream.
We set up our chairs near a fire ring that some one had left in the shade of some big trees.
I got the fire going in the old way; with flint and steel (I like to keep in practice).
Once the fire was going, I set up the tripod and took a picture of the whole group.
We sat around and visited for a while. When the fire had burned down to mostly coals we cooked our hotdogs. After we had eaten it was time for dessert.
A few years ago at one of the weenie roasts someone introduced us to a decadent dessert. They toasted marshmallows and dipped them in Baily’s Irish Cream. It was pretty good. We didn’t have any Baily’s but we did have a partial bottle of Chocolate Rouge (wine) so we set about toasting marshmallows.
and dipping them in chocolate wine.
They were delicious and an instant hit.
After a couple of hours messing around down at the river we headed back up the wash.
Here is a testament to natures tenacity.
On the way to the river I noticed a small side canyon and decided to check it out on the way back.
Roy and I walked up the canyon a little ways.
This is what it looked like at the beginning.
After a while the canyon opened up.
There were some cool rock formations along the edges of the canyon.
Check out this hole in the cliff above us.
I can’t get enough of the interesting rock formations in the desert.
After exploring the side canyon we continued south in the wash. We came to an interesting trail going west out of the wash and I couldn’t resist it so we turned onto the trail to see where it went.
The trail climbed into the mountains taking us through some more beautiful country.
The desert wild flowers are beginning to bloom.
The higher we went the better the views became.
Eventually we came to the top of a pass.
In the distance we could see the Gila River valley and this ridge that looked like the spine of some prehistoric Dragon.
The trail wandered on through the hills
but since we didn’t know where the trail went and the hour was getting late we turned around and drove back down to the wash the way we had come and continued our drive south.
We got to Cochran Rd and drove back to Florence/Kelvin Rd where we headed for home. We stopped at Suzanne’s for a while and were home by 6:00.
A fun day playing in the desert.
Before we left the river we made plans for one more ride. Tomorrow (Friday) we are going to take a trip to Tucson Wash. It’s a long ways from here but it should be a good ride. The plan is to stop for dinner after the ride at a Red Lobster in the town of Catalina AZ for a final meal together.
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