Downtown Ajo

Click the pics, they're not as depressing as yesterday's pics.

Sunrise this morning. I actually woke up too late, most of the colors gone already

This is a boondocking sunrise, because I took this picture while standing in the camper doorway... And then went back to bed.

Another beautiful day in Ajo. Ajo is one of those places where if it's chilly in Arizona, Ajo will still be warm and comfortable, somewhat like Yuma. Of course, it wouldn't be as warm as Yuma since Yuma is just about sea level, and Ajo is a little less than 2000 feet above sea level, but it was still a nice place to be in the winter.

Usually, I enjoy doing projects on a camper. I look forward to boondocking where there's a nearby Home Depot, and I can get deeply involved with customizing and theoretically "improving" my camper. And you would think the Lance would be a prime candidate for those "improvements," considering how I've never spent a winter in it before, and several things need improving. But for some reason, I can't work up the ambition to do much of anything to the Lance.

Did I mention I "enjoy" doing camper projects? I not only enjoy them, but I also look forward to doing them. Every time I think of another place to go, I think to myself; that will be a perfect place for me to work on the camper, but whenever I get there, I lose all desire to do anything to the Lance. And it's been that way all winter.

I had a reasonable excuse for procrastinating for most of my trip because the weather was so bad.  Looking out my window at the cold and the rain did not encourage me to crawl up on the roof and replace my factory roof vent that has no fan, with the brand-new, in-the-box vent that has an electric and thermostatically controlled multi-speed vent fan, which I'm going to need in Denver during the Summer..

But the weather has improved considerably, and I'm running out of excuses not to work on the camper. But I have an idea that may get me back on track. On the Internet, I saw an advertisement for the Outdoor Expo put on by the Arizona game and fish department every year in Phoenix at the Ben Avery gun range, which this year happens to be the weekend of March 25.

I used to take my sons to this event almost every year, where we would camp at Ben Avery's gun range so the boys could shoot, and we would attend the Outdoor Expo. So maybe I should go there this year, to revive some memories of those days, and do some work on the camper.

Almost every major project I've ever done to a camper was at Ben Avery gun range. I'm unsure why it worked out that way, but it did. Having a Home Depot about 3 miles away, a Walmart about 4 miles away, and Amazon delivering to the office must have put me in the mood to customize something.

So I haven't decided yet, but being at Ben Avery gun range might be my best chance of doing some things to the camper. And if being there during the Outdoor Expo would offer some picture-taking opportunities, that would be icing on the cake.

Theboondork

The Ajo Plaza. Quite possibly the prettiest and most well-kept place in Ajo.

A church across the street from the Plaza.

Businesses that line the Plaza.

Train station in the Plaza. It's now I visitor center since there hasn't been a train come through in many decades.

Pine tree getting ready to do what Pine tree's do every Spring. They look like tiny little ears of corn.

And the alley is a good place for most artists now days.

Four score and seven years ago, a group of copper miners dug up a giant petrified egg in the mine. Unable to crack it open to make a giant omelette they left it laying in the summer sun while they went about their mining work.

39 days later the egg cracked open and hatched out a gigantic white bird called a Doveodactyl. The miners who had been drinking heavily all weekend were thrilled about this since it probably tasted just like chicken. But as the giant white beast was flying around town every time it pooped cars would be buried. And the fire department spent all of its time washing the bird poop off of the houses.

This went on for several days until the mighty bird pooped on the Mayor''s wife which took rescuers a day and a half to dig her out, at which time the Mayor refused to cohabitate with her due to a lingering aroma, and filed for divorce.

No one knows what happened to the mighty white bird, it migrated south towards Mexico and was never seen again. But at the behest of the Mayor the townsfolk of Ajo built this memorial to the great white bird using California Condor feathers and Panda hides to represent the bird which the mayor felt was largely responsible for him being able to trade in his one 40-year-old wife for two 20's.