Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, Sonoita, AZ

   It had been getting warm in Borrego Springs, CA, so I relocated to Las Cienegas National Conservation Area just north of Sonoita, AZ.

   The Conservation Area is located in the transition zone between the Sonoran and the Chihuahuan deserts, at an altitude of about 4500 feet, and consists of more than 45,000 acres of rolling grasslands and woodlands plus lots of wildlife on what is still a working cattle ranch, but you'd never know it - I've yet to see, let alone hear, any cattle.
   Roads in the Conservation Area, however, are narrow and washboard-y, so travel is slow.  I'm about 4.5 miles in off the highway, and it took me about 20 minutes to get back out to the highway a couple days ago.
   For the vinophiles among you, there are several vineyards in the Sonoita area, and for dining, the Cafe Sonoita is rather well regarded, from burgers to more elegant fare.
   My campsite is back in about 1/2 mile from the "main" road, and totally private.  The nearest other campsite is about 400 feet away.  There have been a couple RVs in and out, and I've never heard anything.

   The road in/out is beautiful.

    And to illustrate the remoteness, a view to the north,

    a view to the south
 

    a view to the east,

   and a sunset my first night there.

  Most of those trees in the pictures are mesquite, not yet leafed out, but the BLM, which supervises this area, is at work trying to remove most or all of them.  Fire suppression has allowed them to migrate into this area, and they're altering the local environment, lowering the water table and taking over the grasslands.  

  More information is available at 

            http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/ncarea/lascienegas.html

   While camping here, and nearing my 14-day departure time, the truck started vibrating and making some unusual noises.  One evening, driving the 25 MPH speed limit for a mile stretch while in Sierra Vista, it started making some "chatter-y" noises under the cab, then a few days later, driving from my campsite to Sonoita, it felt like one tire was severely out of balance.  I took the truck to a tire dealer in Sierra Vista on a Friday morning, and asked him to check all tires.  After some time, they called me to the desk and from there, they walked outside toward the truck, at which point they told me that the tires were fine, but that I was one (1!) bolt away from dropping the drive shaft!!  And that it wasn't drivable to the nearest truck repair shop!

   OK, I had it towed there, a distance of about 5 miles. We dropped the truck off on this Friday afternoon, and the following Tuesday morning, they called to tell me the truck was ready.  But in the meantime, I would have been without transportation save for the fact that parents of good friends Walter & Sabrina, of Colorado Springs, CO, live in Sierra Vista, and they brought their nice Dodge Nitro compact SUV down to the repair shop and said, "Here it is; use it as long as you need it."  

   What would life be without friends like these?

   Once I got the truck back, I returned to the Conservation Area campsite, ate a fast lunch, hooked up and towed out, heading for the LoWs (Loners On Wheels) campground in Deming, NM., where I arrived shortly after 6 PM NM time - and got the very last site available.  Here I shall remain for a week or so, making a couple trips to Palomas, Mexico to fill a prescription and to get new glasses.  

   Then onward and eastward, toward the New Horizons trailer factory in Junction City, Kansas for my appointment on Monday, May 5th.