KofA POI's

South and East of Quartzsite lies the KofA Wildlife Refuge. Some 665,000 acres of wilderness originally set aside in 1939 to protect BigHorn Sheep, the mission statement has expanded to protect all plant life and animals, from Eagles to Hummingbirds; Tortoise, Fox, and Mountain Lions.

The name KofA (pronounced as it is spelled) originated from the King of Arizona Mine that scoured the countryside hereabouts for minerals from 1897 to 1910. The jagged mountains in this area are also named the KofA mountains. Friday, the 29th, Donna and I ventured into one of the areas most visited sites, Palm Canyon.

The road to Palm Canyon is eighteen miles south of Q, and seven miles via dirt road east.

Palm Canyon is a rugged, almost barren, gouge out of the surrounding mountains, but upon closer inspection, it is teeming with life.

The hike into the canyon is about 1/2 mile one way, but it is a rigorous trek, with many elevation changes. Donna was a trooper, using her walking sticks to good advantage while Sasha and I hoofed along.

We were rewarded with a few of a narrow cleft in the canyon wall with a dozen or so California Fan Palms. These are the only know native species of palm in the state, and these specimens are thought to have migrated into the canyon thousands of years ago as their subtropical environment gradually turned to desert. The idea of a tree migrating into the canyon and climbing the steep walls provides a great visual, but we get the idea!

We were so pleased with ourselves….

That we ran into town and treated ourselves to a southwest cheeseburger at the Quartzsite Yacht Club, known as the worlds largest (in terms of number of members) yacht club.  Yeah….

Today we ventured into the second of the KofA Wildlife Reserves intriguing areas, Crystal Hill. This area is, for some geologic reason, littered with quartz formations. Among the rocks, clear crystals have been found over the span of many years. Most of the crystals have been long since found, but now and again a small one will surface, much to the delight of its "prospector". The area is just eight or so miles south of Q, and again about seven miles east on a dirt road (in sad repair, I might add), so the one way trip took us about an hour and a half in the Jeep (thank you, four-wheel drive!). We hiked the hill a bit, but declined to spend much time prospecting since the wind was picking up ahead of a front moving in and the conditions were miserable.

We did, however, see some interesting rock formations, and a lonely cactus reaching for the sky.

The wind is beginning to blow the predicted 15-20 mph, and we've returned to the motorhome and hunkered down for the evening. Rain and high wind are predicted for the next few days, so we're a little concerned about leaving the desert on Monday, hoping that we don't get Nessie stuck somewhere along the 1/4 mile road to the paved highway. Ya gotta love the adventure!

Next stop, Tucson! With full hookups, long showers, and laundry!