Deserts and Donkeys

Thursday already out here in the desert.  Time flies. Some days more than others.  We could have all done without the fierce winds of earlier in the week but similar to other parts of the country, if you don't like the weather wait 15 minutes (or a day) and it might change altogether.

One day I rode with Lyn up the road a bit to where the RTR, Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, folks were parked out.   Probably more than a thousand rigs of mostly the smaller kind.  Some tent and car/van campers and Road Trekers, Sprinters and smaller Class C's and trailers.  The population and economic class is also much more diverse than the general Quartzsite "retired folks" populations.  These folks would have been more thought of as the "hippies" if this were the 60's.   Most are working on the road one way or another but aren't into the quiet suburban soccer and PTA life style.  According to a friend their Rendezvous has grown over the last few years from a small gathering of 60 to what we saw.   They had speakers on different days. Lyn and I heard part of the presentation for solo women travelers.   Neither of us heard much that was new but especially when it is Lyn, who fulltimed for 17  years and still drives across the country solo in her 80's.  We won't tell her age but she did mention planning to attend her 70th high school reunion this year. 

Cheryl came to visit. She parked her rig up the road in a campground in Beverly.  Cheryl with Beth's Ty,  Sandi with Abby and Bindi and Sheila.

Desert tree finds.

Cheryl, Sandi and I headed up the road to Oatman, AZ: Oatman of the donkey fame.  The scenery along the way occasionally made us stop for photo opportunities.

Some of these reminded me so much of the Sea of Cortez and Baja, Mexico.

Getting to Oatman required some driving along the Route 66.   Okay, I can now say I did that.   Looking at some of the old markers reminded me of the recent news posted about the Roy Roger's Museum closing and the family auctioning off the pieces and parts because so few people connected to that part of the past.  How many of the remaining generations really care about the famous road that took folks out west before the interstates?

I was thinking how nice it was to be riding on new tires and what driving through these miles years ago meant when you had blow outs.....

And then we arrived. The small town is out in the middle of no where and without inviting the wild donkeys in and bribing them with hay and tourist bought treats the town would not get many visitors.  But the donkeys are here, they are not so wild anymore and the tourists come.

"Hey, lady! Did you bring me anything?"  "Just checking for a friend."

Cheryl playing the part of a tourist. The donkey playing the part of a donkey.

There was some discussion between Sandi and Cheryl regarding how easy it might be to tip a baby donkey into the back of a Honda Fit.   (No baby donkeys were harmed in these discussions...)

The babies do have a strong cute factor going on.  This picture shows a close up of one of the babies and you can see the prominent sticker on its forehead reminding tourists not to feed a baby the donkey food that is sold to feed the grown ups.   

No Cheryl. Its mother would miss it. We don't care how cut and fuzzy it is.....

Another picture of Cheryl and Sandi posing as tourist and taking donkey pictures.

Another picture of a donkey posing for a tourist.

Yes, that is about how long the main drag is.

Sandi, being a good sport.

Dangerous snakes in the desert.

And a picture across the way of some wild donkeys Cheryl's sharp eyes spotted on our way back to the main highway.  They were way off in the scrub and I didn't bring my good "Liz" quality camera.  These three were hold outs from "the man".  They weren't buying the easy life dodging tourists for treats back in town.

Cheryl came back to her rig happy. She had seen the town donkeys again and spotted some wild ones on top of that.   

Tonight is Sheila's famous Indian Taco for dinner with Anita, Louise and others driving in for the annual offering.  I am guessing there will be multiple cameras at that gathering.