Boondocking at Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area

I left Arizona this morning and crossed over into California looking to camp at a BLM site near the Imperial Sand Dunes, located to the west of Yuma, AZ.

I tried the Ogilby site first but found the 3 miles of very sandy "road" a bit loose in terms of traction and didn't want to take a chance with rain possible later this week.

I then returned to the junction of CA 159 and the I-8 Super Slab and the Dune Vista site for the Imperial Sand Dunes area proved right.  There is a $35/week charge to camp/use the area even though it's BLM land.  Welcome to California!  I think next time I come to Yuma, I'll stay east of the city in Arizona BLM land.

I got there around 1 PM or so, after having checked out the first site out thoroughly.  Both are good signal sites, more isolation at the Ogilby Site overall but more RVs there today.

I tried Yagi on the "established" trails and found her a bit squirrely as usual when on loose sand.  I was a bit disheartened but realized that one doesn't have to stick to trails here!  Once I started going cross-country so to speak, it got better.

After resting for a bit, I geared up again and went to explore the nearby dunes.  I tried to follow tracks when possible but basically steered around the bigger dunes, using the small valleys between them to stay on hard packed sand and climbing up  dunes only when they weren't too steep!

I could feel Yagi's rear tire slipping a bit on the way the side of dunes but it wasn't too bad.  I did find myself using my feet as outriggers a lot as Yagi would slide sideways sometimes on the looser sand.

As I get more comfortable with these loose sand riding conditions, I hope to go further into the dunes to get more pictures over the next few days.

I also am planning on crossing over the Mexican border on foot to see what there is to see in the town of Algodones.  More on this later.

Tonight's sunset wasn't too bad:

T-Dubing east of Quartzsite on my last day for this area

Planning on heading towards Yuma, AZ tomorrow I think.

The sunrise wasn't too bad:

This morning, spent it doing some mostly mild T-Dubing in the BLM trails to the east of the town of Quartzsite, basically using the campsite as the center point for travels.

On the first trail I came up short on a steep rocky trail, and decided I'd used up all my luck yesterday so instead I hiked up for a look.

So glad I didn't try it, it was more of those large rocks the BLM is using to fill in these trails as they erode with time.

 Note the trail, way down there at the top of the pic

I hate these rock piles...

Not much in the way of scenery, and I managed to drop Yagi once on a tricky sloping U-turn that I found myself in, unexpectedly.

 see the drag marks?

Managed to trap my right ankle at an awkward angle under the right side of the motorcycle during the fall.  Ouch. 

After a brief panic, took a few breaths and slowly dragged Yagi past the center hump in the trail so there'd be enough room for me to slide my right boot out from under her.  Finally!

No bruises so far as I type this evening so I'm counting myself lucky.  As to Yagi, no damage except for more scratches on her right hard guard and her right mirror along with some scratches to the cargo rack and cargo box as well since that got dragged in the dirt as well.

Once I returned to the main trail junction, I took a few minutes to cool down and take a break along with some pictures.

The right side of my right calf, which had been pinned under the motorcycle, was hurting a little bit at this time so I decided to head on back to camp, getting there shortly after Noon.

The rest of the day was spent resting and reading in the warm afternoon sun.  Pretty relaxing.

The Golden Hour came and it was time for some pictures of the area as the sunset itself would prove rather mild.  (no clouds to speak of)

I shot the next two pics from the top of the URRV:

Then it was posing the motorcycles for their silhouette shots:

One last shot of the sun before it went behind a nearby hill:

Black Mesa, Check....probably never again!

Woke to clear skies, with some low clouds which made for a nice sunrise:

Soon after breakfast, with the temperatures above the mid-50s, it was time to gear up and start riding Yagi, my 2006 Yamaha TW200 (T-Dub) onto Gold Nugget Road and from there to Trail 59.

This is the trail that one takes to get to the top of Black Mesa.  You may recall I'd ridden Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol on this same quest last year but didn't make it to the top?  Link to that post.

Here's a couple of pictures from that past posting showing where I had been stopped at a pretty steep portion with large rock "shelves" when on Scarlett.

From DEC of 2018

The last half mile or so to even get to this point was rock covered trail, rocks the size of softball and quite larger which made riding Yagi a bit like what I imagine trying to ride a pogo stick can be.  All this while trying to stay upright, maintaining forward momentum and damn sure not stopping!

Even with Yagi's "granny gear" aka first gear, it was a bit of a struggle for me to make it not only up the above section but then the big rock outcropping sections, about 4-5 in a row, which had to be surmounted by Yagi.  Luckily, I kept my nerve (somewhat) and managed not to stall her as she powered up the inclines, bouncing up the big boulder strewn humps.

I made it though!  Though I was damn sure I wasn't going to come back down the same way I thought at the time.  I would later wonder.

On top of the Mesa, I stopped to rest and pictures; also to let my pounding heart and sweaty hands regain some measure of normalcy.

A bit of riding across the top of the Mesa, which was rolling hills, not flat as I'd imagined before.  Yagi and I arrived at the other edge of the Mesa and stopped for a bit.

 You see that whisper of a trail in the center of the pic?

I probably should have taken it, it would be a shorter

way down I think.

 See if you can spot the road down, it's not the one off center, that's

the steep shortcut I bypassed, look along the top of the ridgelines

on the left.

A little bit more riding along the edge of the Mesa, I stopped to let a long convoy of ATVs slowly motor their way towards me up the ridge lines that I would have to negotiate on the way down.

I'm not ashamed to admit, there were some steep and very rocky (big rocks) portions of the trail where I basically inched along with both feet out as outriggers to get me past the really technical sections.  I rode where I could but yes, there were times when courage and confidence were a bit in short supply.

After a particularly long and rocky steep descent, I stopped once again for a breather and noted the shortcut trail making its way down the side of the Mesa.  Doesn't look too bad does it?

 The pic doesn't do the steepness or rockiness justice, but here you go.

Lots more steep trails and short ascents and I was finally clear of the steep portions!  As if to proclaim the start of smoother traveling (I hoped), I found a flag pole next to a memorial plaque.

The rest of the way down to the valley proved not bad, a bit technical in a couple of spots but nothing like near the top of the Mesa!  Why?  Because there were no big ass rocks covering the trail!

 A look back at Black Mesa

Looking west to the promised land....flatter ground and Arizona Highway 95.

The last mile or so was nice trail (anything felt nice after that Mesa's rock strewn goat trails!) and I was able to get Yagi all the way up to 4th gear while riding.  I ended up in the southern edge of the South La Posa LTVA (Long Term Visitor Area) managed by the BLM.

It was slow pootling through this LTVA with its speed limit of 15 mph.  Soon enough, I was on AZ 95 and within a few miles I was in the town of Quartzsite.  To reward myself for surviving this choice of today's riding; I stopped for a burger at a Carl Junior's fast food joint as it was 12 Noon.

Hopefully my sanitary precautions precluded me picking up the Corona Virus while there.

Lunch over with, I rode to the eastern edge of town along Kuehn Road and wound my way east past another BLM area until the road ended.  I picked up BLM Trail 66 here and it would carry me along the south side of the  I-10 Super Slab to Gold Nugget Road and my campsite.  I must say, the trail felt quite easy and comfy after Black Mesa....is this what experience is called, I wonder.  :)

Here's tonight's sunset:

Uraling to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

I rode Fiona, my '99 Ural Patrol Sidecar Rig to the nearby town of Quartzsite for a grocery run.

Not wanting to get on the I-10 Super Slab to traverse the seven miles to town, I instead rode on a BLM trail that paralled the highway, on its north side.  Much bumpier as its pretty rock strewn but I could run at no more than 30 MPH instead of running 55 on a highway where every cager and semi-trailer truck thinks the posted speed limit of 75 is the minimum!

Got to town in about 25 minutes with no issues, gassed up and then before going to the grocery store; headed south on AZ 95 towards the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. 

The riding was less traffic than the super slab, and I could ride along at 55 mph with plenty of opportunities for cagers to pass me as they caught up to me.

23 or so miles south of town, I got to the poorly marked entrance to Kofa NWR's Palm Canyon.  It's a dirt road that winds its way to the big rock formations one can see from the highway. 

Lots of spots before the NWR sign which I took to be the border to the refuge and the highway for boondocking sites.  Cell signals seemed very good for downloads but I kept getting errors on my upload tests.  Weird.

Got near the big rock formations in which Palm Canyon is ensconced and started working my way back to the highway, checking sites as I found them for connectivity.

I might spend a night or two at this NWR on my way to Yuma, we'll see.  There's space, I just wonder if there's enough riding trails to amuse me while there.

Got back to Quartzsite and the grocery store and stocked up on essentials. 

Got back to the campsite with no issues, this time using the super slab as I was a bit tired from fighting the wind on the way down to Kofa NWR.

Rested and read the rest of the afternoon away, it became mostly cloudy and a bit on the cool side due to the wind.

Sunset tonight was a bit tough to photograph, lighting was tricky and the clouds didn't light up  as I'd hoped.  It also didn't help that I forgot to bring along the tripod for the low light levels involved!