No Sleep Till Brooklyn: Day 2
Awakening to the desperate blowing of hotel air conditioning. I step outside to a crisp desert morning. Paired with plenty of DayQuil, I don my helmet. The route for the day could go one of two ways. The initial plan was to navigate and explore a bunch of half labeled dirt trails that go near the border of Mexico. Secondarily, I would take HWY 8 East across Arizona heading down towards Del Rio, then hopping on the first section of the Backcountry Discovery Route (BDR). Regardless, I had some road miles to cover before I decided either way.
The weather was beautiful, in a muggy tropical way. Chunks of heavy clouds littered the sky over a landscape of desolate terrain. This muggy weather did not fare well for my lingering sickness though. By the time I reached my point of decision, I had made the choice of gaining some ground on the highway.
Highway 8 was relatively relaxed. Nearly zero traffic, and occasional overtakings of semi trucks. The road revealed itself through a series of rolling desert terrain. I was thankful for the shade the clouds provided. Another attraction on this stretch of highway was the presence of Border Patrol. Every few miles I would find a cruiser parked on a dirt road that paralleled the highway. With their eyes generally focused towards the border, I would give them a couple honks and a wave. Its easy to empathize with that type of work. The sitting and waiting, looking at nothing, but looking for something. It’ll drive anyone mad.
Getting into Del Rio was the highlight of this highway phase. The rolling road morphed into huge dry riverbeds, ravines and remnants of what must have been a water wonderland. Now mostly barren and dry, the desert persists.
Shortly after Del Rio I began to follow the AZ BDR. It turned out to be a more docile dirt section. Which I wasn’t mad about. It made for a nice change from the long highway section. Some well groomed dirt roads led me North towards Globe, AZ. The dirt felt like it ended too soon as I approached my next turning point. Another cross section of highway that would connect me to the New Mexico BDR. It was still early enough in the day to cover more ground, and not late enough to quit for the day.
I grabbed a bite to eat, made a check in phone call, and researched how far I was looking to go. I had saved a campground along this next section called Owl Creek Campground. I liked the name, and it looked like a nice remote little campground. Another 100 miles seemed pretty achievable. The weather forecast would taunt me though.
A small storm front was moving in behind me. Gently nudging me with potentials of high wind and rain. But if I left now, I should have enough time to get to the campground and setup before anything passes over. And thats what I set off to do.
The road towards this particular campground was nothing short of stunning. Breaking through a small mountain pass. The desert valley gleamed with spotlights of sun among heavy rain clouds. You could see the sheets of rain in the distance, like curtains to a valley show. The contrast of light punching through gaps in the dense clouds made for a spectacular view that seemed surreal. The road turned and led me towards the dark looming clouds. But not before diverting me onto a dirt road that led into the campground.
Owl Creek Campground, AZ
Arriving at the campground was welcomed with a sunset haze like it was our first date. The overall campsite was pretty small with only about 10 sites. Two of which were already taken, which left plenty of options. It appeared that the campsite was recently renovated as well, so everything looked pristine.
As I started setting up my site, the weather finally caught me. The light gusts of wind turned to aggressive tosses. A twinkle of rain that danced on the metal shelter roof turned to a rumbling crash of heavy rain. The air cooled and the aroma of a wet desert revealed itself. It was beautiful.
At this point I decided not to bother setting up a tent. The small shelter and concrete picnic table would suffice for tonight. It was almost cowboy camping, but not exactly. Setting up a sleeping pad and bag on top of the picnic table was the move I was going with.
And it was great. As long as I didn’t roll off the damn thing in the night.
The storm passed just as fast as it approached. The sky broke into a clear sunset view, and the desert settled. The site that I chose had a couple pieces of firewood left from previous dwellers. So I figured why not get a little fire going since the weather calmed down. I sat there on a small log, sipping a canned margarita. The stars are so clear in these type of spaces. Which is also why I will go out of my way to stay at them. There’s something about staring into the abyss. Staring at everything, but also nothing. I made a phone call to my favorite person and tried to pick out planets and stars we could both pick out in the sky from where we were.
As the night settled and the fire began mumbling, it was time to do the same. I laid there on the bench, gently gazing at the stars. Crickets chirping among a gentle desert breeze. My eyes are nearly closed when I hear a familiar sound echo in the canyon below. An instantly recognizable sound, that gave meaning to the name of the campsite.
Hoot hoot.
Day 2 travel stats.
