Somehow the View stayed on course, and right before the town of Blythe, California, we turned south and made our way to the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, which is actually located in Arizona. River Partners had completed a restoration project there in 2009 on 55 acres adjacent to the Colorado River. The river is the border between California & Arizona, so we weren’t sure which clock to look at, and were either an hour early or an hour late, depending on which direction we went over the bridge.
We met the Refuge Manager, visited about the project and the refuge, got directions to the location of the project site and drove along the levee next to the river until we found an access to the site. It had been 10 years, so there was a lot of growth, as well as a lot of loss, but one of the exciting things John observed were 3 nests he believed to be of the Least Bell’s Vireo – an endangered bird species that seems to be taking a liking to the native habitat that River Partners is proud of bringing back.
Before we settled down for the night, we went to the Cibola “Store”, a small building in “town” which carried only essentials like beer and bait and eggs and some canned goods. When we walked in, the proprietor said he wasn’t sure he could help us cause he got completely cleaned out over the weekend. His cooler was empty, and while there were some odds and ends on the shelves, he really didn’t have much left. We did manage to find some useful items like a deck of cards, canned sauerkraut, and a BBQ fork to buy, so he was happy.
We asked him about a sign out front that said Organic Dates. He pointed further down the road and said it was someone thataway, so we drove down, saw another sign and pulled into someone’s private driveway/yard. I knocked on the door of a DIY built home, in various stages of progress. It was answered by a sweet Mexican man and he waved me inside. His wife was there, and when I asked about the dates, they went over to a large chest fridge in the living room and opened it up to display hundreds of packs of fresh dates. There were several trees in their yard, so I imagine that’s where the harvest came from. I bought a pack for $4, 2019 Medjools, super creamy and delicious, and after a short conversation all in Spanish, we went on our way.
We spent the night camped in a BLM campground on the west bank of the Colorado River, just north of the Refuge. Our next door camper neighbor was a Canadian guy on a bike, who had flown his bike and gear to San Diego and set out to ride to Phoenix. He was riding all day in that blustery wind, poor guy, but it did not blow him over either. He was nice and we had a great chat before we hunkered down for the night. When we took off in the morning, another cyclist doing a x-country trip had shown up and was camping there, too.
Since we had arrived in the afternoon the day before at the Wildlife Refuge, John made arrangements with the refuge manager to meet first thing in the morning so they could go have a look at the restoration site. She had only been at this post for about 7 months and hadn’t seen it. While they went off, I drove the RV on a viewing loop to see wildlife, similar to the viewing loops at the refuges up in the Sacramento Valley. Since this is prime migratory season, there were a TON of waterfowl and other birds out there. My iPhone photos just can’t do it justice, despite what the billboard ads in SF say.
There was a 1.5 mile walk that I took and was able to view a pond with 100s of ducks and other waterfowl. The cacophony was pretty amazing, and for some reason it made me laugh out loud. Probably because it sounded like the ducks were all out there laughing, too.
As I got back on the driving loop, I stopped to watch more Sandhill Cranes than I’ve ever seen in one place before, and while I was watching them, a very healthy and relaxed coyote appeared, right in the middle of them. He/She was just casually walking through them, and they were walking away from it, while the honkers all flew up and away. It was very cool to watch, and would have been great to record, but alas, it’s recorded in my brain instead of video.
When John returned, he and the manager parted ways, and she sent him along with the recommendation to visit Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, south of the town of Ajo, Arizona. So off we headed, back to Blythe, and on I-10 East toward Gila Bend.
John & Armen On The Road 