Out in the desert: Flowers are really blooming

We found a camping/hiking spot only three hours away from Nuestra Casa, with almost complete isolation.  Nobody camped within miles of us, and only one vehicle per day came close enough that we could see it.  Lots of good hiking.

And the desert flowers this time of year are beautiful.

Here is our spot.  It really is as isolated as it appears.  So quiet.  All we hear is the wind and birds.

One night I woke up to the sound of a pack of coyotes yelping.  If you haven't heard this, be sure to hear it some time in your life.  I woke Vicky up so she could hear it.  

 

 Ocatillo cactus in bloom.  Wow:

 Some type of yellow flowers.  We are trying to find out the type.  Inside the bunch of flowers is a miniature cactus.  We haven't seen that before:

This is the skeleton of a Saguaro cactus.  We have never seen one stripped so cleanly and still standing.

Vicky in a Cholla cactus garden

Purple flowers.  Type unknown.

A hillside of Cholla cacti:

Lupine.  We didn't know they grew in the desert.

 

One morning we hiked three miles to KOFA, a wildlife refuge.  We followed, then lost, then found an old road that led there.  

The white sign that said we were at the boundary of the wildlife refuge was so old that it had almost completely faded.

Years ago a road had run into this area, but it had been closed, limiting access to the wildlife refuge.  The 'No Vehicle" sign was very old---the automobile pictured looked like a 1957 Studebaker.   Because of age and the weather, it also looked like it was in the shop on a hydraulic lift getting an oil change.

Early morning in the desert.

Another early morning.  See why we love the desert?