Last weekend we had the priviledge of joining a group of people to explore the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge over on the western side of Arizona between Yuma and Quartzsite. This was a new experience for us as we had only taken the Jeep out for day trips. We packed up our tent and camping gear, lots of food and extra fuel and headed out with 12 other Jeeps and one Toyota. We left the pavement and cell service on Friday and headed into the refuge. Our drove and camped at the Hovatter Homestead. They had lived a hard life there…all that remains at the site is the rock garden, two graves and a row of saguaro cactuses. Saturday we drove by the Crowder Dam, the Hoodoo Cabin, and the Wilbanks Cabin. Sunday we drove up over Engresser Pass which had impressive views. We went by several mines (some still active today) and hiked into the Kofa Mine Cemetery. We camped that night at the Horse Tanks which is a water hole for wildlife. We saw some desert bighorn sheep, rabbits and lots of birds. It was a beautiful camp site. We hiked up to the ridge above it. There was a a neat cave with metates (holes in the rock used to grind corn) and pictographs. Monday part of the group left and part of us continued to explore. We went to Palm Canyon which is the only place in Arizona with native grown palm trees and then we went to Cyrstal Hill where you can rock hound. Then we drove back to Benson which was a 5 and a half hour drive.
The Kofa was so quiet and remote. It was wonderful to be able to disconnect a bit from the outside world and simply enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. It was recharging to the soul! The skies were so dark and the stars were beautiful. It was a good reminder that God is unchanged in a world that is changing so rapidly around us. We really enjoyed every person that was on the trip. As we sat around the campfire and visited, we realized just how diverse our backgrounds are. Yet each person we met and visited with has enriched our lives. Being new to overland Jeeping, we were so blessed by the kindness and things we learned from those on the trip. On a humerous side, Darrel now has a long list of things he wants to add to the Jeep. He already has added a roof rack so we don’t have to ask someone else to carry our extra fuel!
We came home feeling extremely blessed for the opportunity to get away for 4 days and have a little “vacation.”
If you want to see more pictures, you can view them at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Um1a5WRG1yWaOhW10EQQdTdmvVa1E8gX?usp=sharing