Gila Mountain Potluck

Our cycling group usually schedules a desert potluck in conjunction with the full moon each month, but this year our luck with the weather has not been good.  Its either been too windy, or too cold, or even -- in one case -- a bit too rainy (believe it or not).
Our usual destination is Baker Tanks, about 30 miles east of Yuma, and actually inside the Barry Goldwater Bombing Range.  Its an area of rock formations which hold runoff water (hence the "tanks" terminology), and over the years a "ramada" has been built out of rock, concrete, and a few strategically placed retired railroad rails.  We posted some pictures of the location with one of our gatherings earlier in the blog -- a few reminder pictures below from our potluck there last spring.

                 
The Baker Tanks full of rainwater runoff







The downside is that the Baker Tanks location requires a 60 mile round trip, and often has other groups there, as well as being pretty exposed to the weather.  Recently several of the club have found a much better (and closer) location on the east side of Gila Mountain above Dome Valley, and we had a wonderful gathering there on Thursday evening -- the last full moon of this winter stay in Yuma.
It does not require 4wd to get into, but it does require a high clearance vehicle to get over some of the rocky areas of the road.  Once there, there are lots of canyons and draws to explore (but watch for the snakes) -- the whole area is a soft sandstone which has eroded in many areas forming many arches and caves.  Its a very interesting area, and like none that we have seen around here in the 6 years of intermittent desert hikes and exploring.  It was really amazing to find it and realize that its just over the hill from our place in the foothills -- and that we regularly ride within a mile or two of it when we do our Dome Valley route.
Here are some of the shots of our recent potluck there -- there is no doubt that we'll return  (double click on any of the pictures for a larger version).



An example of the caves and rocks at the site











Judy and Greg explore one of the larger caves











The boys enjoy some refreshment before dinner - Dome Valley is in the background









Sitting around the fire resting our feet in the knee-resting position








 
And the girls were on the other side of the fire -- kinda like a high school dance . . . .













A great campfire and a wonderful evening with friends  (unfortunately our shots of the full moon did not turn out -- we'll remember to bring the monopod next year).