We Discover Some Desert Magic

Ok, so we didn’t actually discover it – we heard about a very special canyon south of Quartzsite, where we could find natural palm trees growing in the crevice between the canyon walls.   Located within the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge,  Palm Canyon is a popular destination for visitors.  We all got up at dark-thirty this morning so that we could get an early start.  Just a little after 8 we were on the way, with a quick stop in Bouse to drop off our trash.  Janna also needed to return her library books that were due today.

The turn-off to the canyon is about 20 some miles south of Quartzsite, off Highway 95.  There is a dirt road about 7 miles across the desert, right to the foot of the Kofa Mountains, just inside the wildlife refuge.  The road ends in a small parking area where the trail up the canyon begins.  It is a half-mile hike up a moderately steep and rocky trail, climbing between the very steep canyon walls.  Coming to an open area, we spotted the sign pointing to the left with the word, “Palms” on it, and sure enough, snuggled in the crevice is a line of palm trees (That little bit of green in the center):

A closer look:

While we were taking in the awesome beauty of this magic place, the dogs wanted to play and climb rocks.  Emmi got herself up on a large rock and needed a little help to get down:

Then she was happy:

Once we’d explored to our hearts’ content, and more people were starting to arrive, we returned down the trail back to the parking lot.  After we all got a little snack and something to drink, we decided to stop for a look at another magical place before going back to our desert homes.

We made one quick stop at a small fenced-in area  on Plomosa Road, where some rocks have been placed to spell out words like “Love”,  “Star”, “State”, and something else.  The story we were told is that the rocks were placed there by “The Hippies”, but that’s all I know about it.

The next destination was the “Bouse Fisherman”, a Geoglyph created by Native Americans of the Colorado River, that “…may tell the mythological story of a God, Kumastamo, who thrust a spear into the ground to make the mighty Colorado River flow”:

It was a bit hard to make out the whole figure:

But it was a very interesting and different sort of magical place in the desert.

After all the exploring, and with the increasing heat of the day, we decided to get back to our rigs and have a little down time for the afternoon.  Janna and I begged off cooking today and the guys agreed we should go out to dinner.

Once we were rested and refreshed, we were off to Parker for a great Mexican dinner, followed by a visit to the Blue Waters casino to check out a few penny slots.  Janna was the big winner, glad we could contribute!  Maybe we’ll have to go back and see about reclaiming some of the pennies we left there!