Celia's Rainbow Gardens, Quartzsite, AZ

Celia's Rainbow Gardens is a memorial garden that started out as a memorial to a a young child who died in 1995. It has since had many other family memorials added. The garden is 8 acres.

You can click on the pictures to enlarge them. 

I'm not sure how often the garden gets care. We were there in March, and there are water hoses for irrigation for the plants but I don't know if they use them. (Maybe in summer?) There are some weeds and the Adamsville houses need fixing. Memorial gardens are nice, but need people for upkeep.

BLM Big River boondocking, Earp, CA

We found the Big River boondocking area from freecampsites.net.  It is about 5 miles west of Parker, Arizona off of highway 62.  Not too far in is a fair-sized dip that we weren't sure we wanted to cross, but if you don't you're right beside the highway.  Once you cross that dip there are a lot of areas to go.

You can click on the pictures to enlarge them in a new window.

We had 2-3 bar Verizon LTE, 8 TV channels. We didn't go too far back so there was still highway noise. 

We had wild burros walk through the area. 

Description:

BLM Plomosa boondocking, Quartzsite, AZ

BLM boondocking on Plomosa Road is about six miles north of Quartzsite, AZ. There are a lot of areas to park along the road, and the road goes on to Bouse with boondocking along the way in areas. 

You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them. 

We had 3-4 bar Verizon LTE. No TV channels. We were a couple of miles from the transfer station for garbage. 

Yes, it does rain in the desert.  Bottom right picture shows what happens when
you try to drive through a wash after the rain - you get towed out. 

Always beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the desert!

It's the Season for Rattlesnakes

This is a blog post I did in March of 2016.  After watching our neighbor in the desert today chasing a snake away from his motorhome, I thought I'd repost it. 

There is an article from USA Today, 03/08/16 - http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/03/08/man-bitten-rattlesnake-arizona/81469830/ regarding a gentleman who was bit by a rattlesnake Sunday. He was interviewed in the hospital. Also, in the article it mentions “Arizona Game and Fish Department spokesman Randall Babb said the peak season for rattlesnake bites varies between years, and often depends on outside temperature. With this year getting warmer so early, rattlesnake season may have started earlier as well, he added. Sunday's high temperature was 80 degrees, according to AccuWeather.com. Babb also noted that there are 13 different species of rattlesnakes in Arizona, some with more toxic venom than others.”
With that in mind, I looked up Arizona rattlesnakes and came up with this information on the Arizona Game and Fish web site.  Here is the link to the original page:  https://www.azgfd.com/wildlife/livingwith/rattlesnakes.  

Arizona Rattlesnakes

Rattlesnake Facts

• Scientists have identified 36 rattlesnake species
• Rattlesnakes live only in North and South America
• 13 species live in Arizona, more than any other state
• Rattlesnakes use the "loreal pit," a heat-sensing organ between the nostril and eye to locte prey and potential predators
• These snakes have glands that make venom, much like human saliva glands make saliva
• The rattle is made of keratin, the same material found in human hair and fingernails
• The age of a rattlesnake cannot be determined by counting the segments of its rattle
• Rattlesnake prey may include small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and centipedes
• According to Arizona Poison Centers, less than 1% of rattlesnake bites result in human deaths

Living with venomous reptiles brochure

Rattlesnake Species

Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus)

• Up to 22" long
• Most primitive form of rattlesnake in U.S.
• One of four rattlesnake species with special protection in Arizona

Mohave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus)

• Up to 50" long
• Widely considered most toxic rattlesnake in U.S.
• Easily confused with Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake

Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis)

• Up to 64" long
• Reportedly used in famous Hopi snake
  dance ritual

Sidewinder Rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes)

• Up to 25" long
• Travels in side-winding motion
• Only rattlesnake with horns over eyes

Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchelli)

• Up to 51" long
• Color can vary greatly from nearly white to pink, gray or brown
• Color often matches their surroundings

Twin-spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei)

• Up to 26" long
• Small rattle sounds like insect
• One of four rattlesnake species with special
  protection in Arizona

Tiger Rattlesnake (Crotalus tigris)

• Up to 35" long
• Small head doesn't hold much venom, but venom is powerful

Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi)

• Up to 26" long
• Gets its name from raised ridge of scales around front of snout
• Arizona Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake is official state reptile
• One of four rattlesnake species with special protection in Arizona

Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)

• Up to 66" long
• Largest rattlesnake in the West
• Responsible for more bites and deaths to humans than any other rattlesnake species in U.S.

Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)

• Up to 48" long
• Color can vary greatly from brown or beige to green or golden yellow

Arizona Black Rattlesnake (Crotalus cerberus)

• Up to 42" long
• Young are vividly patterned and can look very different from adults

Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus)

• Up to 63" long
• Has venom twice as strong as Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, but produces less venom

Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus)

• Up to 33" long
• Young use brightly colored tail to attract prey, but tail changes color as snake gets older
• One of four rattlesnake species with special protection in Arizona

 We saw a rattlesnake a couple of years ago while boondocking on Plomosa Road near Quartzsite. It was the end of March and warm out. It scared the daylights of of me; and, I think, Curt too, as he just walked out the door when it started rattling.

So, pay attention when hiking, or geocaching, or just reaching under something. It’s their territory.

Riggles RV, Quartzsite, AZ

Riggles RV is a newer RV park in Quartzsite, Arizona.  It accepts Passport America for one night, which is basically why we stayed there. We were able to get full hookups for $14.15. I washed clothes, baked and cooked all day. 

You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them. 

They have a nice sized clubhouse with stage area, kitchen, restrooms, small laundry room, game room with pool table, shuffleboard, books and DVDs. There's three large screen TVs.  

As I said, Riggles RV accepts Passport America for one night. Their rate is $12.50 + tax = $14.15. They have 20/30/50 amp electric, water and sewer. We easily fit with our 40 foot motorhome, although they do have some shorter sites also. They have wifi but it was so-so. We weren't able to get any TV stations. 

Note: We were here on February 19th in site #19, and again on March 15th in site #10. The closer you are to the office, the better the wifi is. In site #10, we couldn't stay connected. 

BLM Roadrunner boondocking, Quartzsite, AZ

Roadrunner is a free BLM camping area about 6 miles south of Quartzsite AZ.  It’s typical BLM desert camping with a lot of people around. Some close together, some trying to find a little bit of privacy by a tree or bushes.

You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them. 

When we first got there, we had 3 bar Verizon LTE and about 12 TV channels. That changed daily, with at times no TV channels and 1 bar Verizon.

There were hummingbirds waiting for us by the time we had parked; they even flew up to our windows. It's fun watching them. We had a variety of weather from full sun to all day clouds and rain. Lots of windy days. The solar works great.