On Mexican Time: 14 Days Boondocking

Sunday, March 1, 2009

14 Days Boondocking

Casino del Sol

We've been boondocking for the last 13 days and plan to until tomorrow. I replaced the starter for our generator which had been acting up. We felt pretty comfortable with that repaired so we've been living rent free which is great for short term but not recomended for long term unless your single... :). We first went back to Tucson from Why. The Casino del Sol just west of Tucson has a nice parking lot, not very crowded and a very nice friendly staff. We stayed there for the first 6 days. We really enjoy Tucson, there's something for everyone there. After 3 day's the holding tanks were full so we drove the motorhome to Beaudry RV off Irvington to dump and take on water (free). If you like day hiking then Tucson is the place. The Santa Catalina mountains are beautiful and drop right into north Tucson. There's a trailhead access at almost every canyon. My favorite hikes are Ventana Canyon (free access) and Sabino Canyon (small fee) with a shuttle bus to take you to the many trailheads including Bear Canyon. If you like shopping, like Janice, then Tucson has the full array of choices including one of her favorites "Trader Joes".

Ventana Canyon

Sabino Canyon

From Tucson we headed for Maracopa where we stayed for 3 days in Harrah's Ak Chin Casino parking lot. Not much in this town, it's an agricultural community with lots of huge dairy and beef cattle operations. Needless to say the aroma was quite pungent. Only reason for being here was to wait for a scheduled Dr's appointment in Casa Grande for me. From here we drove to Ghia Bend where there's another free dump and water site at the Shell station & RV Park.

Ak Chin Casino and parking lot...

From Ghia Bend we went to an area called Painted Rocks. It's a petroglyph site on BLM land with reasonable camping ($4 p/night w/senior pass). Nearby is Oatman Mountain and the Oatman Massacre site (http://www.discoverseaz.com/History/Oatman.html) for history buffs. The rocks near Oatman Mountain at a place called Rocky Point are very unique and we spent a couple of days hounding in this area.

BLM campground at Painted Rocks
and petroglyphs below...

the gravel beds near Rocky Point at Oatman mountain contain some of the most interesting rock I've seen in Arizona yet.

We're at Parker now in the Blue Water Casino parking lot, pictures are on my previous blog from last November when we left Bullhead City. We'll be back at Silverview RV Park in Bullhead tomorrow and can't wait to have a pool and all again.

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Chief Seattle

CHIEF SEATTLE'S LETTER

"The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not ownthe freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect.

All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.

We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumedflowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the dew in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man all belong to the same family.

The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you our land, you must remember that it is sacred.

Each glossy reflection in the clear waters of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.

The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give the rivers the kindness that you would give anybrother.

If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life that it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.

Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth.

This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

One thing we know: our God is also your God. The earth is precious to him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator.

Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is to say goodbye to the swift pony and then hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival.

When the last red man has vanished with this wilderness, and his memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and forests still be here? Will there be any of the spirit of my people left?

We love this earth as a newborn loves its mother's heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it, as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you receive it. Preserve the land for all children, and love it, as God loves us.

As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land. This earth is precious to us. It is also precious to you.

One thing we know - there is only one God. No man, be he Red man or White man, can be apart. We ARE all brothers after all."

may not be historically accurate but why ruin a good story with the facts... :)