A Ride to Kofa NWR 's Rock Formations

 Two hours of riding, sunny and warm at almost 80°F temperatures.

I rode along US 95 southbound, using the back entrance I had recently noticed for the La Posa South LTVA.

Lots of open camping spots at the Kofa (King OF Arizona) NWR.  King of Arizona being the name of a mine back in the day.  You access them via Palm Canyon Road, a somewhat rough/gravelly road.

This wasn't the first visit to the NWR:  Uraling to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

The Southwestern Sojourn - Day 18: Kofa National Wildlife Refuge: Palm Canyon and 

Uraling on the Old Yuma Road

Todays riding was to see how full of campers the place was, not very.  It was also to take pics of the two more notable rock formations presented by the small mountain range within the NWR.

No hiking today, a bit warm for that.

I rode back all the way to Quartzsite to fill up Yagi's gas tank.  I returned to the campsite, again using the back entrance, and spent the rest of the afternoon resting in the gazebo.

Learning about rocks/minerals at my campsite

Thursday, February 5

Cloudy overcast skies though still warm with a high of 79° F though it felt chillier without the sun's rays shining throughout.

Friday, February 6

Sunny and warm, a mo' better day for desert solitude relaxation.

At my campsite, there was a gathering, by type, of rocks and minerals placed there by a rockhound apparently.  I took a closer look at the stuff today, using Google Gemini to help ID the stuff:

Outside "cauliflower" surface of a geode

The "inside", an Agate Geode according to Gemini 

botryoidal chalcedony according to Google

Black Tourmaline 

Jupiter Rock aka Picture Jasper

Kind of looks like a mountain scene eh?

Same stone, wet

Same stone, wet, in sunshine

I this this stone's a keeper, might even get it polished up 

Red Jasper

Aventurine, red jasper, quarts pebbles

Black Obsidian 

Stromatolite 

Tonight's sunset was mild....

Easy days near Quartzsite...

Not a lot to report, as I have not done much besides listening to audiobooks and just relaxing in the warm sun. 

Early morning lit up the far hills slightly, rendering then in shades of black.  The next three shots were taken using the bino adapter and 3x zoom.

Sunset last night:

The view this morning before the displacement:

I went for a hike this morning and as I wandered about, I spotted a really nice camping spot that had less neighbors and was easy to get to. 

Once I got back to my campsite, a hasty displacement was executed and shortly thereafter I was at the new site.  There's only one camping rig within line of sight and barely within shouting distance so I think I'm good to go for now in terms of solitude. It was getting a little crowded where I was before you see. 

Some more bino photos:

Wednesday's sunset at the new location:

Back in Quartzsite for a week or two

 Displaced from near Lake Havasu City, AZ and was in Quartzsite less than an hour later.

It's more crowded than the last time I was here but not too bad if you get away from the main access road in the La Posa South LTVA.  No free ride this time due to a government shutdown, so I paid the $40 fee for 2 weeks at the fee station and got my sticker. 

Then I spent an hour in line at the RV dump station, to dump tanks and to get fresh water for the main water tank. I had gotten a propane fill up in town beforehand so I was good to go in terms of consumables. 

The weather is warm at 76° F and mostly cloudy skies which tone down the fierce sun rays.

Tonight's sunset was OK.

Altitude: 1053 ft