Yep, it’s true. My faithful bear cub Freddy is no longer with me.
I spent the holidays at Brother Mike’s house.
They have a puppy named Beau that is two months younger than Freddy. They got along wonderfully, playing constantly.
I asked Freddy if he would be happier staying in a home with a family. He just looked at me.
Duh!
So with a heavy heart I hit the road. Thinking of heading east. I planned to spend one night at Cottonwood Springs campground in Joshua Tree National Park and figure out my first few stops. Turned into two nights as 3 inches of rain fell and washed out the park road.
Figures.
Finally made it to a campground called Squaw Lake. It’s located about 25 miles north of Yuma in the Imperial Dam Recreation Area, next to the Colorado River. I have never camped in this area before so I gave it a try.
It rained the first night I was there but that did not dampen my enthusiasm for this hidden gem.
It is an oasis in the desert, albeit with a few twists. I will reveal it slowly, like a good striptease.
The entrance road leads down below an earthen dam.
If you hike up that hill to the left and look east, this is the view.
Pretty exciting, huh?
However, when you you turn to the west the clothes fall off, so to speak.
And then it gets even better.
The hills above the campground are crisscrossed with wild burro trails.
And the accompanying poop.
Let me explain the campground. It is a parking lot. There are no sites numbers. You cannot make reservations. You get two spaces, one for your RV and one for your car.
It looks like this:
So why was it full you ask? I will give you a walking tour to show why it was filled with campers from all over. Colorado to British Columbia. The Dakotas to Manitoba.
It’s all about the water.
The lake remains full as it is fed from the river, some kinda afterbay or forebay, I am not sure. The marshes are teeming with all sorts of birds and the boating, low speed, is spectacular. This is one of the top paddle power spots around.
There are two boat ramps. A three lane one for larger craft and a separate one for car topped boats.
There are multiple choice spots for a lakeside picnic.
And you can even tie up your boat on the shore.
You want bathrooms?
How about four of these located throughout the campground.
One side holds two poopers and the other four showers. Yep. There are sixteen showers here. A buck will get you seven minutes.
It costs $15 to camp, $7.50 if you have an senior interagency pass. No hookups, but most of the campers I talked to have been coming here for years and bring along solar panels.
What else? There is a small grocery store and restaurant less than 5 miles away and my Verizon phone gets three bars of 4G.
Truly an oasis!
But I couldn’t get my mind off the Burros. If I could trap a little one, maybe he could be my new travelling buddy. Plus, Burros sounds almost like burritos and I was getting hungry.
So I went hiking up the mountain and along some trails. Finally spotted a small one.
I followed him down the other side to the lake. He seemed to be looking for food.
He pulled something to the shore and began to feast.
I was sneaking closer when he caught wind of me and bolted. Burros are FAST!
I found him again at one of the day use areas.
I chased him into the lake and managed to get a rope on his neck.
He fought back valiantly.
But I finally got him subdued.
I coaxed the baby Burro back to camp and got him properly situated.
I think I will keep him.
I think I will call him Freddy.
Freddy, my wild hairy black baby Burro.
Regards,
Greg
