Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

"The desert takes our dreams away from us, and they don't always return...Those who don't return become a part of the clouds, a part of the animals that hide in the ravines and of the water that comes from the earth. They become part of everything...They become the Soul of the World."

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Our destination upon leaving Point Mugu State Park was Cottonwood Springs Rd just a mile north of Interstate 10, which is the south overflow camping area of Joshua Tree National Park. But 40-50 mile per hour gusts that were pounding the I-10 corridor and a inoperative fridge made us head toward a sheltered harbor and 30 amp service...so we headed to Desert Hot Springs. 

But we did have a wonderful surprise on our detour. the Rauschers were also headed north on I-10 toward Lancaster for some repair work themselves. With some coordination of time, speed and miles, we were able to connect for a nice lunch at the Chiriaco Summit Cafe. The grilled food smelled so good, it permeated all around our table, drawing the scrutiny of the local feral cats.

Dome Rock Boondocking

After a brief stay in Desert Hot Springs to try to cool our refrigerator, we headed toward Quartzite, AZ to see if we could find our dear friend Frank Roberts. Once we found a campsite on Dome Rock Road, we scurried off to locate Frank among the horde of rigs at La Posa South Long Term Visitor Area. Although we initially thought Frank's directions to his rig were "spotty" to say the least, we were quite shocked that we actually found him. As this was our first time to embrace the Quartzite Experience (and quickly we realized it would also be our last), we were amazed by the number and type of recreational vehicles scattered throughout the desert. Truly mind boggling...and we were only witnessing a partial gathering of campers. This was the last day of the show, thus the mass exodus had already begun. The next morning, we bid a 'see you later' to Frank and headed south to Palm Canyon Drive and the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

The name Kofa comes from a former area gold mine: the King of Arizona mine, with Kofa a contraction of the name. In 1936, the Arizona Boy Scouts mounted a statewide campaign to protect the bighorn sheep, leading to the creation of this refuge. Encompassing over 665,400 acres, Kofa was officially established in 1939 and the desert bighorn sheep is now the official mascot for the Arizona Boy Scouts. We drove the gravel road for about 7 miles looking for a campsite that was accessible, flat and had some great views. 

We found the ideal spot within this tiny morsel of the Sonoran Desert, surrounded by miles of cactus laden plains and mountain peaks, a wonderful place to relax. Oh how I love the the solitude and isolation...it intoxicates me with the freedom of others, offering the peacefulness for my inner thoughts to dance free and see nature's beauty without filters. 

At the end of the road is a short hike up through Palm Canyon...the palms are quite hidden, but there. Scanning down toward the valley floor points out just how isolated this hidden paradise is...although we did see two of our fellow bloggers camped here Gaeylyn of GeoGypsy and Ray of Love Your RV.

Imke and Sydney walked many of the sandy washes near our campsite, marveling at the beauty of the diverse desert gardens. And poor Sydney, never having experience those dreaded barbs from the Teddy Bear Cholla, certainly let us know when she had her first encounter with one. It only took that one time for us to learn that you never hike in the desert without your trusty Leatherman or are least a pair of needle nose pliers in your back pocket. Aaaaaaah, and then there were those spectacular sunsets...the sun and the earth in desert sunsets always seem brighter, wilder...more demanding, more silent...somehow more certain. Kofa is beautiful.

At Waypoint 33.35876, -114.13633

Sycamore Canyon Campground

“The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a 

primeval wood and the sound of outer ocean on a beach“

Henry Beston

When looking at the extended radar forecast, we decided to pack up the Webegon and planned a month-long escape to the warm desert breezes of Southern Arizona.  We began our desert safari with a stop at Point Mugu State Park to visit our new tribe members and fellow camphosts, John and Christina. As the most recent camphosts at Sycamore Canyon Campground, they had invited us to stop by for a visit during our ramble down Hwy 101. This is a lovely campground offering some nice campsites and miles of hiking/biking trails. It was a surprise to find such a sanctuary amongst the urban sprawl that is Southern California...homes, asphalt and concrete. As it turns out, it is but a small part of Santa Monica Mountains National Preserve which Congress established as a part of the National Park System in 1978.

Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, Point Mugu features miles of rugged shoreline, narrow sandy beaches and some chaparral covered hills offering miles of hiking trails. With the park being devoid of campers, not only did we have our choice of campsite, but our friends were able to break away from their hosting duties to give us that perfect nickel tour of the surrounding area, hiking trails, their private beach and John’s never-ending “tide trash’.

We did venture out to hike the 3.5 mile Grotto Trail…although an unimproved streambed prevented us from touching the goal post. But the trail offered some wonderful views of the hillsides and winter waterfalls as it led us down to the west fork of the Arroyo Sequit. And the biggest takeaway of our short hike was an edit of “Webster’s description of a lap dance”….with visuals. We were smiling like monkeys with new bananas.

Although our stay was short, we had some wonderful quality time with our friends…great food, conversations and warm hugs…we definitely look forward to our next reunion in Oregon. Ahh...the sweetness of friendship...laughter and the sharing of pleasures. We now point our snout south to the surrounding area of Joshua Tree National Park.

At Waypoint 34.072853, -119.014599