Last December Days in Sunny San Diego

Another gorgeous day in San Diego

As the year rounds to its inevitable end we’re spending the last few days of December hanging out in sunny and gorgeous San Diego. Between walks in the wild and relaxing glasses of wine, it’s actually been a whirlwind couple of weeks packed tightly with the cats’ vet appointments, chores in the RV and meeting-up with friends.

Taggart has taken over our camping chairs

On the furry side Taggart is healing up nicely and mostly complaint-meow-free from her mass removal, especially since we got rid of the horrible MFTD. The mass turned out to be a Mast cell tumor which was completely removed by the operation so it was actually a huge piece of luck that we decided to get it taken care of. She’s been exploiting her position as ailing cat by taking over our camping chairs…the little sneak. Polly has been having a blast and has made at least 10 new doggie friends, incl. a lovely black lab/chow mix at our neighbours RV. We’re completely surrounded by hiking trails out here in Santee, plus we’re only ~30 mins from some fabulous dog beaches so it’s been utter-paw-doggie heaven for her.

Hanging out at Del Mar dog beach

On the friends side we’ve been meeting up w/ a bunch of old pals incl. some old work buddies and a college friend of mine. This New Year’s Eve we’re even going to have a mini-RV rally of young fulltimers  with the couples from Tally Ho and Our Take on Freedom that we met up in Oregon a few months back.

We’ve also managed the first “purge” of our excess RV items doing a full empty and sorting of the underneath RV bins. At least 3 full bag o’stuff has gone out the door so far so it’s not a bad start.

Mission Trails park out by Santee, CA

That’s all the practical stuff anyway. The other stuff is more on the spiritual side and it’s just as good. We live a simple life and I simply love it. Here we are with warm, sunny days, beautiful sunsets, awesome experiences and the freedom to be as we are and exactly where we want to be. As I reflect back on the year that’s passed I feel extremely lucky to be living this lifestyle and I can’t imagine any better New Year’s Resolution than to keep going as long as we’re able. So, with the last few days of 2011 in view I raise my glass and say “here’s to another one just like this”. Happy New Year everyone!

Our buddies Matt & Tracie (Lions fans in case you didn't notice)

My college buddy Gene. Many good, drunken memories in this reunion!

Another Year And 8,000 Miles On The Road -> 2011 Reviewed

Boondocking in beast heaven, AZ

With Christmas over, bellies full and 2012 just around the corner it’s the perfect time to take a moment and reflect over the past year. I’ve been mapping our journey on Google Maps since we started RVing so it’s always fun to add it up at the end of each year and see where we’ve been. Kinda puts it’s all in picture so to speak. The math this year works out to a full cross-country ocean-to-ocean drive of just over 8,000 miles and 62 stops. Even with all that travel we’ve taken our time with an average of 4-6 days in each spot and drives of only ~150-200 miles. It’s the way we like it. Slow and smooth, baby!

Morning walk on deserted TX coastline

It’s also been an AMAZING ride from the sublime beaches of the Florida panhandle through the southern states to festive New Orleans. A month and a half in Texas with food to swoon for, our first boondocking of the year and the scare of a fire evacuation.The plan of a “quick trip” to New Mexico which ended up lasting 2 months ‘coz we simply fell in love with the place. Another month in summer-cool and gorgeous Colorado that draws us in every time we go. A stunning side-trip to Utah and a quick jaunt into Idaho followed by a speed-run to Oregon to get the rig slide fixed. That led to another month exploring the fabulous Oregon coast. We ended the year with probably the most beautiful drive ever down 395 to the splendors of the desert in winter. Oh, and of course we managed to do at least one totally idiotic thing…and a Nina special too (the year wouldn’t be complete without, would it?)

Phew! Did you manage to get all that in one breath?

A surreal red sunset in windy NM

We also managed to stick pretty closely to our flip-flop barometer. Early in the year with a longer-than-usual winter hanging in the North we hugged the Southern coast enjoying mostly sun and mid-warm weather. Once it started to heat up in Texas/New Mexico we escaped North to the mountains (8,000 feet and above is the key in summer!). We had a few really hot and dry days, a good couple of really windy ones, some crazy Oregon weather and a single really cold spell, but overall we avoided almost all the bugs (yeah!) and did really well.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so rather than blabber on for another 600 words, I’ll just go ahead and show you the whole enchilada. Blog posts for each location are linked to the corresponding site on the maps, so in good ‘ol web fashion you can just point and click for all the details you’ll ever want. Enjoy!!

PART I – Florida to New Mexico (~3,200 miles Jan-Apr 2011)

PART II – New Mexico to Oregon (~2,600 miles May-Sept 2011)

PART III – Oregon to California (~2,300 miles Oct-Dec 2011)

Christmas Elves And A Gift of Hearts

På loftet sidder nissen med sin julegrød,
sin julegrød, så god og sød,
han nikker, og han spiser, og han er så glad
for julegrød er hans bedste mad.
(Up in the attic sits “nissen” with his rice pudding
His rice pudding, so good and sweet
He nods and he eats and he’s oh so happy
Because rice pudding is his favorite food)
Danish Christmas Song, 1911 (listen to it here)

nisser making mischief in the RV

Twas the night before Christmas and the RV was crawling with nisser! The magical and mischievous little creatures have managed to sneak onto the slides and are making merry and taking things apart, as they do. Thankfully I’m prepared and already making rice pudding which should hopefully keep them busy for the night. We’ll see…

But the elves are not the only thing going on in the RV tonight. Our hearts abound and on this merry San Diego eve of the 23rd I’m making a little present of my heart to yours. These are Danish woven julehjerter (Christmas Hearts) and are another great little Danish tradition, which double up as handy, space-saving and fun RV Christmas decorations.

One of my many woven hearts

The tradition of weaving hearts goes back they say to the late 1800′s. The oldest known Danish julehjerte was actually made by Hans Christian Andersen in 1860 and is still preserved in his old house in Odense, Denmark. I’ve been weaving these things since I was a child and still make one or two each year. Traditionally they’re made with red and white shiny paper, but you can get creative and use any color you like. When they’re done they open up, like a basket, and you can fill them and hang them on your tree (or, in our case hang them on the free tree cuttings I got from Home Depot and put in my handy, dandy collapsible vase!).

All you need is 2 different-colored sheets of paper. Follow the instructions here or check out this video. And with that my friends I make a gift of my heart to yours. For as the Beatles so very famously said, all you need is love. And love is really what these next few days are all about. Happy Holiday’s Everyone!

Our Christmas "tree" (cuttings from Home Depot)

Another of our little RV elves

Still All About The Cats

Feline bliss - Taggart relaxes after her ordeal at the vet

Well it’s been all about the cats here at the beast headquarters these past few days, so that’s what you’re gonna get…at least for one more post. Both cats made it through their big dentals with the added bonus that there were only 2 mini-extractions (= can we say cheap, oh yeah!) needed this year. So our budget breathed a huge sigh in relief and we put the dough aside for next year.

The only other gotcha (there’s always one, you know) was that Taggart had a suspicious mass that needed removal on her thigh. The removal went fine, but while we wait nervously for the results we’ve got to deal with the cat-with-stitches phenomenon. That means some kind of restraint to keep kitty from ripping out the stitches before they can heal.

Taggart sunning her stitches

The traditional vet product which is rather elegantly called the Elizabethan Collar (E-collar for short) is really none of the sort. In our house we call it the MFTD (Medieval Feline Torture Device) and our cats agree with us. It’s an uncomfortable stiff plastic cone that is the perfect size to prevent all normal activity -> so if you want your cat bumping into doors, not able to eat or sleep properly, meowing uncontrollably, not able to see the litterbox…etc then this is your device of choice. Taggart went literally bananas when we tried it. She emitted a looong screaming wail-of-a-meow, streaked in a mad rush to the bedroom (getting caught several times along the way) and then pawed like crazy until the thing came off. Short of tightening the device around her neck to strangulation point this clearly wasn’t gonna work.

Now, that's a creative product idea!

So bring creative RVers we improvised. A handy sweater-sleeve, some expert cutting & basic thread-work and we got ourselves a full-body cover. So far the contraption is working and kitty is waaay more comfortable. It boggles my mind that nothing like this is sold for pet owners, but there you go. A free start-up idea for all my blog readers

For those poor pet owners looking for other alternatives there are inflatable collars (ProCollar), soft e-collars (Comfy Cone) and something called Lick Strips. None of the products get stellar reviews, but as far as we’re concerned if it works it works. And anything is better than the MFTD.

The Tale of The $8,000 Cats….

Notice anything missing in this picture? Yessss...thatsh would be the teetsh

Reading the title you might think this is going to be the story of bionic cats. Perhaps cats with super-silicon-titanium-unobtanium implants and electronic ultra-feed quantum powers.  Add-in some ESP for good measure.  Sadly, as cool as that would be, this is not one of those stories. It is in fact the simple tale of two almost TOOTHLESS cats and how we managed to dish out $8,000 to get them that way.

Oh, and the joy of owing pets too…

It's a good thing they're so darn lovable

The tale all starts with a degenerative and completely incurable tooth disease. They’re called Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesions  (FORLs, or resorptive lesions for short). Basically it’s a condition where the cat’s own body attacks its’ own teeth and starts dissolving them, creating painful lesions in the mouth along the way. The fun thing about this disease is that despite almost 20 years of research on it, it’s not known what causes it and there is no known cure or preventative. The ONLY thing you can do is home tooth-brushing to help with basic oral health and extraction when the resorption gets too advanced.

Believe me, I’ve looked into it. I’ve read copious quantities of on-line research, contacted vet universities, even went for a several-hour sit-down with the guy who literally ”wrote the book” on FORLs over in FL last year. All you can do is pull the darn teeth.

And therein comes the moolah and the pain (for the pet parents that is). A single tooth extraction can cost anywhere from $500-$2,000.
{{pause}}
I’ll allow you a moment while you consider how MANY teeth are in a cat
{{pause}}
and another moment while you all grasp your chests and gasp for air
Oh and BOTH our cats have the disease

Yup, a cat's life is a good life...

It’s painful isn’t it? This has gone on for years now and needless to say we save up money all year just for one single tooth extraction event…

Rand is at the vet dentist today (Taggart’s turn is tomorrow) and I have to admit I’m nervous. I always get jittery when our pets have to go under even though I know they’re in the best of hands. Taggart’s already gotten rid of most of her teeth, but I estimate Rand’s got at least another good few thou $$ worth left in her mouth. It’s a good thing I love the furry bums so much, otherwise it’d be a hard bargain to accept. They DO say pets are worth their weight in gold, don’t they? :)

Getting Into the Christmas Spirit…And a Few Exciting Repairs

Oh, I want one...oh yes I do

We’ve settled down in our temporary winter spot in San Diego, for the next month or so in any case. It’s my fav’ park in the area and my absolute fav’  season of joy. I’m a bit of a Christmas nut you see, and have already started decorating the rig and jealously admiring some of the very cool decorations around the park. There are people who love Christmas and then there are people who go all out on Christmas! We’ve got a few of those around here, including a site with Santa and all his reindeer, a guy with a 20-foot lighted tree on top of his ladder and a guy who’s custom-painted all the windows in his rig with snow scenes….I LOVE it!

Repair of the day-night shades...very exciting!

This is also going to be a month of organization and repairs. We have grand plans to empty out the entire rig, get rid of a bunch of stuff and check if our storage is still alive. Given how little of our on-board stuff we use there should be at least 4 trips to the Charity Shop before we’re done and probably a few hundred pounds less of weight in the rig.

We’re also strategically planning time to hang out, visit some friends, relax, clean the rig and get the yearly repairs done. In fact this week alone I’ve cleaned & waxed the toad and fixed our long-broken day/night shade (for those with broken shades, which happens to everyone at some point, I highly recommend Dirty Blind Man Repair Kit).

Why the gaping hole? Ahhhh...that's for me to know and you to find out...

We’ve also sold our TV creating a rather decorative hole in the wall that is going to be the inspiring topic of a future blog post. Since none of this is particularly exciting, except to ourselves of course I’ve Photoshop’d dramatic pictures in black-and-white to give the activities a sense of exhilaration and theatrical impact. Amazing what a simple photo can do, eh?

Custom Christmas window snow-scenes...how cooooooool!!

This next week, as we approach Christmas Eve I’ll also be inviting kravlenisserne (Danish Christmas Elves) back into the rig to create mischief. I really have no choice in the matter since they inevitably follow me wherever I go.  So, we’ll be opening up the RV and making traditional Danish rice-pudding in the hope that we appease nisserne, at least for another year.

And last but not least, I’ll finish out the year in grand style by doing my yearly RV blog round-up with my “best campgrounds of the year”, our full 2011 travel route and many more gripping topics. In the meantime if you’re in the area give us a bell. Happy hour starts at 5PM each day

Fall is still in color here in San Diego

Our Christmas candle in the rig

Boondocking Site Review – Ogilby Road, Imperial County/Yuma, CA/AZ

Polly and I check out an old ore shoot in the hills by our boondocking spot

A huge, easy lesser-known boondocking area with tons of interesting mining history ~14 miles west of Yuma, AZ on the CA side of the AZ/CA border.

Location: Ogilby Road, CA, S34 (no official info on the web, but there’s a very crude map of Yuma BLM areas HERE)
Coordinates: Approx. 32.817215N,-114.837856W (= SW corner of boondocking area). Link to map location HERE 
Cost: FREE (2 week stay limit)
How We Found It: We asked around about Yuma boondocking sites on the RV forums and this was one of the options given. It seems to be one of the lesser-known areas with no “official” info (that I could find) on the web so it took a bit of “digging” to get to.
Nearest Dump/Water: There is water, propane and dump at the Shell Station at 611 Sidewinder Rd directly off I-8 a just few miles east of Ogilby Road.

1. Access – 4.5/5
   Very easy access for any sized-rig here although as usual a little extra effort is needed to access the best spots. 
   Directions -> From Yuma, AZ take I-8 west ~14 miles to Ogilby Road (S34, Exit 159) and turn right to go north. Drive approx. 5 miles on Ogilby Road (easy, paved road) until you cross some railroad tracks. Immediately after the tracks there will be 2 wide, flat, firm dirt roads going off to your right. The first is Sidewinder and this is where the majority of rigs seem to boondock. The second is American Girl Mine and seems to be lesser used.
   Boondocking Spots -> BLM land surrounds both of the dirt roads going back multiple miles and you will see “14-day camping” signs all around. For easy boondocking simply drive down either dirt road and pick a spot close-by. For more scenic spots drive several miles back towards the hills and take anyone of the many ”dirt spurs” off the main road. Towards the very back the dirt roads can get washed out, narrower and bumpy so scope out these areas before bringing in a big-rig.
2. Nature – 4.5/5
   It’s all nature out here, but might be considered a bit “barren” for some. This is dry, scrub-like desert. The boondocking area is mostly flat-land with large barren spots, some shrubs here and there, a few smaller trees and some ocotillo cacti. The hills towards the back are rocky mining areas. Lots of interesting browns, minerals & texture, but not alot of wildlife or green.
3. Isolation – 4.5/5
   Very good isolation with only one (very minor) ding. This is a huge area and seems lesser-used so if you’re willing to drive around and explore you can certainly find a spot to yourself. Only very minor ding is there can be some noise from the railroad tracks depending on where you park.
4. Pet Friendliness – 5/5 
   Another great pet spot. You have days-worth of hiking and exploring in the surrounding hills, plus lots of space to hang out in camp. Also this is “scrub” desert so not alot of cactus around which is a big positive for paws on the ground.

Overall Rating = 4.6

Summary: This area seems to be one of the lesser-known boondocking spots around Yuma and took a bit of “digging” to find. It’s a large, flat easily accessed spot ~14 miles West of Yuma and ~5 miles North of I-8 on Ogilby Road. Once you get to the area 2 wide, flat dirt roads take you back across several miles of open, flat boondocking landscape. We chose American Girl Mine Rd and drove as far back as we could towards the hills finding a lovely and quiet spot by ourselves, but you can choose to be closer to other rigs too. Most of the area is very flat, firm/rocky and fairly barren, but the hills are a fascinating place to explore esp. if you take the time to discover the old mines. Lots to do and see in the surrounding area. We had a most relaxing time here and would certainly come back.

Extra Info: No water or facilities (nearest dump/water at the Shell Station exit 164 off I-8). Good Verizon 3G signal.

Extra, Extra Info – OTHER BOONDOCKING? There is actually a ton of other boondocking around Yuma. 

1. LVTA SITES - For long-term stays there are four official LVTA BLM sites at Imperial Dam, Pilot Knob, Tamarisk and Holtville Hot Springs (LVTA fees apply at all sites). See more HERE.
2. FREE (14-day limit) SITES - These are a little harder to find with less “official” info available on the web, but here are a few that I’ve discovered:
   - Mittry Lake - This is ~18 miles NE of Yuma and can (apparently) accommodate any sized-rig. More info HERE
   - Pilot Knob – Aprox. 1 mile west of Pilot Knob LVTA there is apparently a separate free 14-day stay area.
   - KOFA National Wildlife Refuge – North of Yuma on the 95 (towards Quartzite). More info HERE.

View of our spot back by the hills on one of the "dirt spurs" off American Girl Mine

View of a "site" along American Girl Mine. You'll find people have built home-made fire-rings all over the place.

Another nice "site" view by the back hills

View of the wide flat-land to the right side of our boondocking site

"Aerial" view of our boondocking area off American Girl Mine Rd as seen from the hills in front of our RV. Not alot of folks out here.

"Aerial" view towards the rigs boondocking near Sidewinder Road. Again, taken from the hills in front of our RV. This seemed to be a more popular spot.

View of one of the many "dirt spurs" leading off American Girl Mine. As long as you see this 14-day camping sign you'll know you're still on free boondocking BLM land.

"The beast" driving on American Girl Mine Road. This is a firm, wide dirt road.

Very approx. map of Ogilby Rd free boondocking area. I-8 is at the bottom and the railroad tracks are in red.

‘Tis The Season For RV Gifting! -> My Top 5 RV Gifts for 2011

Believe it or not Christmas is only a week and a half away. For whatever reason, no matter how much I pretend to plan, the date always seems to sneak up on me and put me into a mild panic of buying gifts. Thankfully we’ve still got a few precious days left of Amazon free-shipping, so I though this would be the perfect time to come out with my yearly love-and-swoon RV Christmas list.

The Amazon Kindle. One of my best RV gifts ever!

Now last year, in an unusual spurt of festive inspiration I came out with no less than 3 lists  (!!) for Christmas all of which are still (I think) great tips. Here they are:

1. RV Christmas Wishlist -> For the Bookworm

2. RV Christmas Wishlist II -> 10 Stocking Stuffers for Under $20

3. RV Christmas Wishlist III -> Last, Last Minute Gifts

So, what about this year? Here’s 5 more ideas for the struggling RV shopper:

1/ For the BAKER -> Silicone Baking Products

Flexible and versitile silicone baking mats

Small, convenient, flexible, technologically cool and they store just about anywhere. Silicone products are great gifts for the avid RV baker. Consider this baking sheet or this muffin pan, both for under $20. Lots of other silicone gadgets out there too.

2/ For the GADGET LOVER -> Indoor-Outdoor Weather Station

The very pretty WS-9057U-IT La Crosse Weather Station

Who wouldn’t want one of these inside their RV? The trick for RVers is to choose a weather station with a strong sender (preferably 330′-range) so that you have a good chance of picking up the signal through your RV walls. There are a ton of nice options out there from the super-simple (like this La Crosse version for $26) to the super-fancy (like this fabulous Acu-Rite deal for ~$40 or this sleek & pretty La Crosse version for ~$50)

3/ For the PET LOVER -> Pet Thermal Blankets

A warm cat is a happy cat

Got pets who get chilly? Who doesn’t? Here’s a couple of cute, safe, non-energy-consuming (!) products for your furry friends. Check out this microwaveable heating pad, or try one of these cool thermal blankets that use reflection of your pet’s own body heat to keep them warm. Just my kinda technology!

Can you guess what our cats want for Christmas?

4/ For the BOOK WORM -> Electronic Reader

I raved about the Kindle on the blog over a year ago and my feeling about it hasn’t changed. If you’re a book-lover and an RVer there simply isn’t a better gift out there. We LOVE (absolutely LOVE) the Kindle, but the Nook gets great reviews too.

5/ For the FROZEN RVer -> Portable Heaters

The Olympian Wave 6

Anyone spending winter in their RV will appreciate the help of a little extra heating. RV heat pumps are only really useful above 40F, and the furnace chews up your propane usage. In come portable heaters to the rescue! For those with electric hook-ups you can easily find quality ceramic tower heaters or quiet oil-filled radiators for ~$50. For boondockers look at propane-based heaters such as Mr.Buddy, Olympian Wave or Kozy World.

And with that said…I better get back to some shopping!!

Just a Few More Desert Shots…

Ahhh, just one more sunset...I live for these moments!

Sadly we’ve come to the end of our boondocking escapade out by Yuma. We’ve headed off to San Diego, coming back after two cross-country trips and one full circle to the city where we started RVing over 2 years ago (it’s an odd feeling I tell you). We’re going to do some checking on our storage and complete various appointments before we go back to being desert rats again.

Walking home in our own private paradise (see the RV in the back?)

Although we spent an awesome week out in the boonies, I have to admit we’ve barely touched the surface of what there is to see around Yuma and Imperial County. Like all places the more you hang out, the more you discover to do and this spot is no exception. Downtown Yuma in winter is basically in RV overflow. There are RV parks, rigs and RV shops almost as fas as the eye can see. We weren’t terribly attracted to go there (with one exception, #4 below) but it’s a good shopping spot and there are plenty of other gems awaiting you if take time to explore around. Here are 5 good ones:

Late afternoon gold

1/ Old Mines - We had sooo much fun exploring the American Girl Mine right next to our RV boondocking site, but there are actually a ton more in the area. This site provides the best graphical overview I’ve seen anywhere (just zoom out to see more sites and click on “google map” to overlay roads)

2/ Ghost Towns - Tumco used to house most of the miners in the area and is now a fascinating little visit. Read more here.

3/ Hot Springs - The Holtville Hot Springs are not that far from where we were camped and provide a great little spot to soak and relax. You can even set-up for the winter season at the Hot Springs BLM LVTA area.

Walking the hills

4/ Yuma Territorial Prison - Just the kinda weird little outing that I like. A prison that opened in 1876, operated for 33 years and then shut-down to house Yuma High School kids. Read more here.

5/ Wilderness – There are tons of interesting wilderness spots around Yuma most of which are on BLM land. My top 3 picks are the Imperial Sand Dunes (over 40 miles long!), Imperial National Wildlife Refuge (a wildlife mecca in winter) and Mittry Lake Wildlife Area. The latter allows boondocking too!

Sunset tinges

And that’s just a sampling. Plenty of other bloggers have written about the area and can give you inspiration on where to go. Check out Bayfield Bunch (lots of good off-road trips here), Semi-True Tales Of Our Life On the Road (all about the salad), Where’s Weaver and many more I’ve probably forgotten (just search their blogs on Yuma). Oh and Sassy’s on ‘Da Road headed into our boondocking area just after we left so she’s there now!

With that I leave you with my last desert shots. Adieu grand plains…until we meet again.

Polly the desert rat

A perfect moon

In Search of Gold – American Girl Mine, CA

Polly and I check out an old ore shoot in the hills by our RV

Our super-sweet boondocking spot out here by Ogilby Road has some richness to it too. In fact history tells us that we’ve parked the rig right next to gold. Oh yeah real sparkling, honest-to-goodness gold, and some of it pretty recent too. I did this on purpose of course, just in case we should strike it rich while boondocking, but sadly neither Polly nor the cats seem to have any natural talent for gold-digging (darn animals!). Still, it’s a fascinating little place and a fabulous spot to explore, which is exactly what we’ve been doing. And having waaaay too much fun in the process.

Is it the light or is it gold? If you see a new rig on the blog you'll know....

This is the story of the Cargo Muchacho Mining District, a rather extensive set of chocolate-colored mountains ~8 miles west of Yuma. The initial discovery of the yellow treasure here in the hills probably dates back to Spanish explorers around the 1600′s, but the more recent history starts in the mid-1800′s. Story has it that two Mexican boys found gold ore in the hills and came back with their shirts loaded = the muchachos cargados (loaded boys) thus giving the name to the range. Another story tracks gold discovery to a wondering mule from members of a California-bound wagon train who were camped near the mountains in 1862. More than likely both stories (and many others) are true. Either way the news spread and by mid-1880′s the area was booming with mines and miners most of which lived in Ogilby/Hedges area (later called Tumco).

Biking with Polly in search of American Girl Mine

The American Girl Mine was one of the biggest, and (as it turned out) has one of the most recent stories. It is said to have delivered ~205,000 tons of ore in the “boom-times” up to 1930. It lay inactive until the 1980s where the claim was bought by the Newmont Mining Co. re-assessed and re-opened in 1989 for another ~10 years of active mining before declining gold-prices shut it down again. These days the area seems to be entirely owned by BLM altho’ I saw an active listing for the place on the net (anyone got a cool $3M spare?).

Paul poses by one of the massive American Girl mining pits

But the history pales in comparison to the living experience, and we’ve been having a TON of fun exploring. The whole area in front of our RV is criss-crossed by old mining roads, hidden mining pits, cast-away artifacts and old chutes & structures. You could literally spend weeks driving around finding new spots, and even do some prospecting too. One of our boondocking neighbours (a lovely Canadian bloke who came by to say “hi” on his motorbike) told us he’s been coming here over 8 years and seen plenty of folk raking out areas looking for gold. You can even prospect for other super-cool minerals including Kyanite.

This is the pure, solid gold baby!

We may, or may not have found gold (I ain’t saying you know), but the area here has definitely been priceless. Whether or not you find the real thing, I guarantee the experience will be well worth it.

So from that point of view we found exactly what we were looking for…

P.S. I’ve got soooo many more cool pictures of this area that there are at least 2 more posts coming up incl. all boondocking details, but if you’re simply dying to get here right now here are the directions -> Take I-8 from Yuma ~14 miles west until you hit Ogilby Road (also called S34) on your right. Approx. 5 miles down the road you’ll cross some rail-road tracks and see a dirt road (American Girl Mine) off to your right. Follow it as far as your heart desires…

Go find that gold, Taggart!

A sunset worth millions right from the RV

Yet ANOTHER cool sunset!

Late afternoon "prospecting" in the hills