Spook Canyon

We took a ride out into the Barry Goldwater Range.  It's a military range south of Yuma that allows some public access.  You need to go online and get your free range permit.  When you are ready to go out on the range you go online and check in so they know you will be out there.  The ranger we talked to said that was kind of a joke.  He said that when your relatives or friends start wondering what happened to you they go back and look at the records for the day you entered the range so it gives them a starting point.  There are rangers and border patrol that are out and about on the range so you might get help if you break down.  There are also emergency beacons scattered around the range but if you hit the button you better be in trouble. 

We took the road out to Spook Canyon.  There are two spook canyons in the Yuma area.  One on the range and one in the Dome Mountains.  We have been to both.  They get their name from the funny lights that can be seen when there is no moon which makes it "spooky".  Something in the rocks or soil of the area must give off some kind of gas that glows a little bit.   No one has an exact reason for the "lights."

Birds of a Feather

When we were in Southeastern Arizona on our way to Yuma for the winter we saw these birds near the campground.  The top picture shows Scaled Quail.  They have a funny little "cotton top" on their head and they are more of a blue color than the Gambel's quail we usually see.  It was the first time we have seen this kind of quail although their territory is Colorado, western Kansas, Oklahoma and Arizona.

The bottom picture has a scaled quail and to it's left is a Curved Bill Thrasher.  This is another bird that likes deserty places.  It needs the big curved bill to peck at the very hard parched earth. 

Now that we are back in Yuma we have a couple of Cactus wrens hanging around and they love to eat the bugs that have died on parts of the truck.  They love to get the "grilled" ones off of the radiator. 

Yuma is starting to fill up for the winter.  You can tell by how much the traffic is building.  It gets busy but you just can't beat the weather.  It's in the 80's during the day and 50's at night.