Author: The Buchanans Rolling Down The Road

What can be said, about a crusty old curmudgeon, with no fixed address … not much I guess.

Detour…

March 15th 2020

We started our trek east today, our destination today is to some Arizona State Trust Land on Cottonwood Canyon Road, which is east and south of Phoenix AZ. We decided to dump and fill in Quartzsite as we left Plomasa Road, and even with all of that we were on the road by 10 o’clock, east bound on I-10, but had just got rolling and the overhead signs were warning that east bound I-10 was closed for an accident.

So we decided to bypass Phoenix by heading south on AZ-85 to Gila Bend to I-8 and then head east toward Casa Grande then west on I-10 again then head a few miles north to 187 then a quick right onto 387, then a right onto 87 then the left 287 bypass to 97 and lastly a right on to Cottonwood Canyon Road. This area is listed on Allstays as being BLM land but it is actually State Trust Land, both are fourteen day camping limit, but you need a permit for the State Trust Land, that was the camping permit I picked up in Phoenix last week $20 for a twelve month pass.

When ever you use these apps for off grid camping, you are relying on someone else’s opinion, so you must approach each stop with some caution. Because we were coming into the area on a Sunday we expected to find a number of weekend warriors, but also expected the area to thin out as the weekenders left. This didn’t run true as we seemed to find ourselves with some good old boys, you know the type, multiple dogs running loose, loud music, and this is obviously an area where everyone drives ATV through the desert at break neck speed because they can … they weren’t going some where like the groups in Quartzsite, no these people just run back and forth as fast as they can.

So now we will be scouting out some more areas today to see if there is a quieter area with just a few less red necks. And we found a spot about two miles further up the road and the view of the mountains is outstanding, still a few ATV buzzing around, about like Quartzsite, and haven’t had a dog running through our area all day. That mountain range is the superstitions mountains east of Phoenix, we will try to struggle through a couple of week here.

Now tomorrow’s task is to try and find a chunk of corn beef, potatoes, carrots, and some cabbage, for our annual corned beef and cabbage dinner and right now it only looks like two places at the table. Any takers in the area?

Friday 13th!

Here is the question that I just have to ask, what is the deal with hoarding all the toilet paper?

As the United States is being shut down by the coronavirus, and the pandemic fears are running rampant, the American people are lined up at Costco to buy more Toilet Paper. All the major sporting leagues are shutting down NHL (National Hockey League), MLB (Major League Baseball), NBA (National Basketball Assocciation), the PGA (Professional Golf Assocciation), and even NCAA has cancelled March madness.

The MGM group in Las Vegas has shut down all the buffets, all gatherings, venues, conventions, are canceled. Even Disney is shuttering both amusement parks, Universal Park, Broadway shows cancelled, yes America is grinding to a halt, the stock market has given back all the gains since the financial collapse and recession in 2008, New York City is on the list of cities that are declaring states of emergencies.

We are in a number of Facebook groups, that are snowbird groups, Canadian boondocking groups, and the like, and everyone is heading north to Canada before the borders close … like seriously. Our plans are not changing we will be crossing in five weeks as scheduled, we will be boondocking till then, so it is hard to be much more isolated than that. Common sense that does not appear to be very common anymore, but other than some small gathering with friends, we plan avoid unnecessary outings.

Most of this fear is fuelled by a lack of leadership, all the denials, the failure of the CDC (Center for Disease Control) to provide real good guidance or be allowed to, the whole process has been so poorly presented by the people in charge, that it is no wonder that people are panicking. It’s like watching a poorly orchestrated soap opera, with no one being in control and every player having their own agenda. And the country’s leaders making fun of the problem whether it’s a senator wearing a gas mask in Congress (and now that jackass has the virus – can you say karma) or an NBA player touching all the microphones and recorders at a news conference (and he now has the virus – now he’s sorry – too little too late – he is a jackass as well), or the administration saying there are all kinds of tests available while none are. Yes I can understand the panic that is racing across the country, here are my suggestions to the administration – just give people the true facts for once, quit lying, quit downplaying the severity, quit telling everyone what a great job you are doing because you are not, simply get your head out of your ass and deal with the reality you have royalty screwed up till now – be a leader for once!

So what action are we taking, well today we are going to the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon, then on to happy hour with the Bannon’s, then dinner at River Run in Ehrenberg for fish and chips. Oh we will be aware of our surroundings, we are boondocking in the desert, a couple of hundred feet from our closest neighbour, our next move will be to State Land the other side of Phoenix on Sunday. We expect to stay there till the end of March and hopefully go kayaking with the Savino’s, I received a text from the Ward’s that they are headed home from Florida ahead of schedule. But unless the situation changes we sticking to our plan to start our trek back to Ontario the first of April … until then please use common sense and be safe!