My 2020 journey ended exactly where it began. We have arrived at our winter destination and we took the same exact campsite we had last winter. We're back in the land of the wild burros and the saguaro cacti, the desert southwest in Winterhaven, California, which is near Yuma, Arizona and the Mexican border. 🌵It's nice being back where I can get my exercise on familiar donkey trails. There are many trails to choose from out here. Many of the trails were created by the wild burros that live out here. Today I walked the trail that was my favorite last year. Here are some photos I took along the way.
Photo Description:
1) Like many of the trails out here, this trail leads through the Little Picacho Wilderness Area and was created by the wild burros that live out here. Here the trail passes a creosote bush (Larrea tridentata). The creosote bush was used for lots of medicinal purposes by Native Americans, including treatments for sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, chicken pox, and even snakebite. However, health experts today advise against using it internally because it can damage a person's kidneys and liver.
2) This is the Little Picacho Wash in the Little Picacho Wilderness Area. In some places the way is a deep canyon. It channels rainwater to the nearby reservoir.
3) This saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) is growing out of an ironwood tree (Olneya tesota). Saguaros only grow in the USA and Mexico. In the USA they only grow in Arizona and one county in California, Imperial County (which is where this one is located). The wood of an ironwood tree is so dense it will sink in water, not float.
4) Much of this area looks like the surface of Mars.
5) This desert has pyramids too. Someone obviously built this monument beside the Little Pichacho Wash. I'm guessing there may be a beloved pet in there somewhere.
6) The pyramid has an eye peering from one of the stones. Last year the eye moved once a day. I'm watching to see if it moves again this year.
7) It's a little hazy from the wind we had yesterday, but in the distance you can see the Castle Dome Mountains. Castle Dome is the larger formation on the left. Castle Dome is 25 miles away in this picture.
8) I found wild burro footprints on the trail.
9) We took the same exact campsite that we had last winter. I was please to find that the fire pit I made last year was still standing when we returned, except someone added two painted rocks.
10 & 11) I found out the day after arriving that our friend Joel, who we met here last winter, left the painted rocks beside the fire pit to welcome us when we returned. Joel hand painted the rocks.
12) Here's our campsite as it looked just after we arrived. We'll be here all winter, so eventually we'll have more stuff (chairs, rugs, firewood, etc.) pulled out.
