We had finished up at Joshua Tree and had a few days to kill before we were meeting up with friends come the weekend. Where to go next? We pulled out the various maps and apps and discovered a spot of green about 80 miles away. “Cibola National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona? On the Colorado River? What’s that about? And look…free boondocking in the area!” We checked the reviews, the satellite maps, etc. and we had our next destination!
Here we are, again boondocking for free. This BLM campground even has ramadas and picnic tables! In the background is the Colorado River and California. We are on the Arizona side. If you ever want to confuse the clock on your cellphone, sit on the edge of a time zone for a few days. I ended up forcing my phone to stay on Mountain Time.
Now that we had arrived, it was time to check out the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. We had lots of questions! We got them answered at the visitor’s center. Basically, when the Colorado River was rerouted back before the 1960’s to make it easier for farmer’s to irrigate and to alleviate flooding, the ecosystem for migrating birds and native species was very much altered. As a result, the Wildlife Refuge was created. Its purpose “is to protect and recreate the marshes, backwaters, and meanders that historically provided wintering grounds for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife that natural flooding would have formed.”
One of the first things we noticed when we arrived in the area were these groves of Cottonwood Trees obviously planted by man. It turns out, they are part of the Wildlife RefugeThe refuge has an autotour route the enables you to see many of the birds that winter here.We could pick out the Mallards and the Canada Geese. But beyond that, we were clueless. Unfortunately, the visitor’s center didn’t have a brochure to help identify the birds. You would think there would be an app for that.Along the route were homes for burrowing owls. The burrows are those PVC and corrugated pipes sticking into the ground. The owls will come out and sit on the perches to warm themselves. Unfortunately, they weren’t cooperating the day we visited.The Wildlife Refuge has a local farmer plant fields of alfalfa to offer cover and food to the birds. The majestic view was already there.These are sandhill cranes hanging out in the alfalfa.Sandhill cranes again.
After the tour of the Wildlife Refuge, we decided to explore the Cibola area. Most of the agriculture is on the California side of the river. Of course, we had to drive right up onto the road along the irrigation ditch. Jim does like a challenge!It was a good day, which ended up with us coming back to the RV from the California side of the Colorado River. You can just see the Blue Flame across the river in Arizona!The day that ended with a lovely sunset over the Colorado River.
This is another example of why we don’t plan too far ahead. You never know what you are going to find in an area!
Enjoyed your posts both recent and older. It was like being on vacation with you! Sent a photo of Mike’s New Mexico barn to my Tesla-employed son (was that ok?) who will be impressed at the clever use of the wrecked batteries.
Glad you enjoyed the blog posts! There are always more to come. And no problem sending your son the picture of the observatory-to-be. It is quite the project!
Neat place for a stopover!!
Yes it was. Considering we had no idea what to expect, it was a great stopover!
Enjoyed your posts both recent and older. It was like being on vacation with you! Sent a photo of Mike’s New Mexico barn to my Tesla-employed son (was that ok?) who will be impressed at the clever use of the wrecked batteries.
Glad you enjoyed the blog posts! There are always more to come. And no problem sending your son the picture of the observatory-to-be. It is quite the project!