We extended our stay here at North Ranch Escapees RV Park until Sunday. That will get us through the wind forecast for tomorrow and the cold front over the weekend.

I got my mountain bike out of the trailer and went for a ride. I haven’t been riding since I hurt my shoulder. I thought I could ease back into it with a short ride. I wanted to check out some of the trails Donna has been hiking.

The trailhead is accessed through a gate at the east end of the park. There’s a sign there showing which way to go to various points of interest. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

There are a few more of these signs at trail intersections in the desert. The trails are wide enough for use by ATVs. The surface is mostly good with some soft, sandy sections and few sections of loose rock.

I rode along a ridge to Inspiration Point. The view from there was a wide desert vista. I took pictures looking different directions from the point.

There’s a lot of wide open BLM public land. I’ve said it before and it’s evident in these photos; the desert is never as flat as it seems. At mid-day you don’t have visual cues such as position of the sun and shadows to give you a sense of direction. It’s easy to get turned around out there.

I turned at an intersection and the trail lead me to a large wash. The trail down into the wash was very steep. I could see where the trail led out of wash on the other side, at least a half-mile away. I saw cattle in the brush down in the wash.

I decided against crossing the big wash. I didn’t want to overdo my first bike ride after a month of rest. I turned back and followed a different trail. Sometimes you find unexpected things in the middle of nowhere in the desert. I came across bee hives set up on the trail.

I didn’t want to get too close. I could see and hear bees buzzing around the hives. I’m still bothered by the bee sting on my right arm from last week.

I turned around and found another trail to follow. This one led me to another unexpected find. Parked behind some brush was a Komatsu bulldozer. It looked like it had been sitting there for awhile, judging by the cobwebs inside.

I wondered who would leave a piece of expensive equipment out on public land and why? I rode on.

My next find was a herd of open range cattle. Ranchers get grazing permits on BLM land and the cattle roam free. Eventually, cowboys will round up the cattle and haul them to market. The cattle had ear tags and brands on their hides to identify ownership.

I don’t think they’ve seen too many people on bicycles. They stared in my direction, then most of them began moving away. Three stood their ground and looked like they wanted to charge. I wasn’t too concerned about the steers, but I saw a large bull lying in the shade of a tree. I won’t challenge a bull. I’ve told the story of my experience with a bull here.

In the photo you can see the water trough for the cattle. A little way down the trail I came across an odd sign. Camping is allowed on this section of BLM land. However, the sign stated that it was illegal to camp within a quarter of a mile from any waterhole or trough.

Further along the trail, I came across another water source. This was a large cylindrical water tank that was tilting like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

From there I continued on and looped back to the trailhead. I was out for about an hour. Lots of interesting and curious finds out in the desert. One thing I didn’t find was saguaro cactus.

Saguaro cactus are found throughout the Sonoran desert. It’s the only place they’re found. When you don’t find them in the Sonoran desert, it can only mean one thing. It gets too cold in that particular area during the winter. If the temperature drops below freezing for more than three or four consecutive nights, the saguaro will die. This area must have cold nights in the winter due to the elevation.

In the hilly desert to the northwest of here, you can see saguaros growing abundantly, then they disappear half way up the hillside. That marks the frost line of the hill.

In the afternoon, Donna looked out the window and said, “Our neighbors are gone.” I looked out and sure enough, Dave and Lynda’s Alpine Coach wasn’t there. But they left a bicycle near their picnic table. I went to the office to see if they could contact Dave and let him know he left a bicycle behind. They told me Dave and Lynda didn’t leave the park. They extended their stay due to the weather forecast and moved to a different site. They found an open site with trees and shade.

I went to their new site and chatted with them. The shade may be handy today, but I don’t think the trees will be desirable if the wind is as strong as expected tomorrow.

This morning I’ll take the scooter to town for a few provisions (beer). I think I’ll take another bike ride in the desert later.