3 replies to this topic

[George]

Winter Loop Pix

http://picasaweb.goo....george/G1Anza#

Driving on I-15 into St. George is generally like leaving the winter behind. Situated at 3,000 feet, this is the first place, going south, where people tend to stay in the winter. There is a pleasant campground at Cedar Pocket, 15 miles south of St. George. I got off in Mesquite and headed south to Bunkerville, then down the Gold Butte Rd.

The BLM has gotten pretty involved with this area. You are now met by a large sign. This is now officially Gold Butte, though it serves as the entry to the Parashant national monument. Parashant starts in Arizona, and the rest of Gold Butte tends to run into Lake Mead, which is always close by.

There is open camping in this area. The BLM has added signs showing no access or the limits of access, on almost every little road. They are clearly trying to keep the place from becoming an off road ATV area.

There are pleasant places to camp, whether in Gold Butte, Parashant, or Lake Mead. This is a lot more popular spot than it was 5 years ago. You will encounter a lot of ATV noise and a lot of generator noise in group camp areas.

Next up was a quick tour of Mojave Preserve. The recent storms have closed a lot of the roads in the preserve, and going down any dirt road is likely to be interesting. Anywhere along Cima Rd may be noisy as the trains climb the long grade.

I camped at Amboy Crater. This is not a campground, but it is not posted as forbidding camping. There is a pit toilet and tables. Another RV stayed the night, along with me.

Next up comes Joshua National Park. This is one of the nicest areas in the desert Southwest. I talked to a ranger who says most of his time is spent on law enforcement, and that drug dealers use certain areas of the park. This is too bad, but he was young and very dedicated to keeping the park experience good for the real visitors.

There are some pictures of the Ocotillo Wells OHV area. This use is very hard on the land. The OHV area is right next to Anza Borrego, which offers open camping. There are some very nice areas, some lusher than others, and the camping experience is great.

There are some pictures of the Quartzsite area and a Veteran's memorial in Bouse Arizona.

Latest mod: I added a Class T digital audio amp and some 'outdoor' type 3 way speakers that included mounting brackets. Everything is out of the way and the digital amp will drive the speakers to a good volume using less than 100 milliamps. The amp is designed for 12 volts. All the portable speakers I tried were lifeless and lacked any stereo separation. There are certainly car speakers that could be mounted.

http://www.parts-exp...tnumber=300-380

http://www.amazon.co...65561125&sr=8-1

[simimike]

Great trip! And even better pictures. Thanks for posting.

Mike

[DirtyDog]

Great photos and great trip George! I hope to do a similar loop in the near future......

[Silvertip47]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing.