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As the day wound down, it was again time to find a place to stay. This time, though, we had enough time for some proper camping, so we drove into the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge. This empty swath of Arizona desert sported an exquisite range of mountains and a valley all to ourselves. It's these remote sites that spurred us to invest in a vehicle with 4-wheel drive. Oh, is it worth it!

We were looking for a place to sleep. There is no shortage of options along the California/Arizona border. Snowbirds flock to expansive RV parks for the warm weather. But we weren’t interested in parking in a lot, staring into the windows of neighbors right next to us. No, we wanted something rugged and beautiful. We wanted the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.

As the day wound down, it was again time to find a place to stay.  This time, though, we had enough time for some proper camping, so we drove into the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge.  This empty swath of Arizona desert sported an exquisite range of mountains and a valley all to ourselves.  It's these remote sites that spurred us to invest in a vehicle with 4-wheel drive.  Oh, is it worth it!
I knew that saguaro could be tall, but its another thing entirely to stand next to these awesome giants and look up.

As the day wound down, it was again time to find a place to stay.  This time, though, we had enough time for some proper camping, so we drove into the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge.  This empty swath of Arizona desert sported an exquisite range of mountains and a valley all to ourselves.  It's these remote sites that spurred us to invest in a vehicle with 4-wheel drive.  Oh, is it worth it!
After exploring for a while and debating the merits of one camp site over another, we settled in and enjoyed a bottle of wine as the sunset turned the mountains pink.

The Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is an acronym derived from the King of Arizona Mine located in its borders. While many gold, silver, and iron mines were located within its boundaries, today, most mining is banned. Instead, the region is home to a thriving herd of big horn sheep along with prong horn, coyotes, and other desert dwellers. The big horn have been so successful in their reintroduction to the area that they are now a source for other reserves and parks looking to reintroduce the big horn. Over 500 sheep have already been relocated.

We were also looking for a new habitat when we rolled in. While camping is allowed, it is dry camping. There are no toilets, running water, or other services of any kind. Access to the camping is a rough road that is only navigable by high clearance, 4 wheel drive vehicles. But that meant that this picturesque, remote location was completely isolated. We were alone and it was exquisite.

As the day wound down, it was again time to find a place to stay.  This time, though, we had enough time for some proper camping, so we drove into the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge.  This empty swath of Arizona desert sported an exquisite range of mountains and a valley all to ourselves.  It's these remote sites that spurred us to invest in a vehicle with 4-wheel drive.  Oh, is it worth it!
Once the sun was down, we took one more walk around the campsite. After a while of playing with the flashlight, we stumbled on the fun effect of selectively choosing features to light up for photographs such as these cacti.

As the day wound down, it was again time to find a place to stay.  This time, though, we had enough time for some proper camping, so we drove into the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge.  This empty swath of Arizona desert sported an exquisite range of mountains and a valley all to ourselves.  It's these remote sites that spurred us to invest in a vehicle with 4-wheel drive.  Oh, is it worth it!
We had intended to drive out to The Big Eye Mine for a hike, but when road conditions forced us to turn around, we still took the opportunity to clamber around for some new views and on the off chance that we might spot one of the explosions that we could hear echoing along the mountains.
As the day wound down, it was again time to find a place to stay.  This time, though, we had enough time for some proper camping, so we drove into the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge.  This empty swath of Arizona desert sported an exquisite range of mountains and a valley all to ourselves.  It's these remote sites that spurred us to invest in a vehicle with 4-wheel drive.  Oh, is it worth it!
The patterns of the cactus had me entranced. Most of my pictures from our time in KOFA are pictures of cacti.

I wish we had known that camp fires were permitted. If so, I would have picked up a steak. As it was, we did have a bottle of pinot noir along with cheese and grapes. We ate dinner while watching the sun descend over a distant range and the moon rise.

The next morning, we were perfectly situated to bob and sway over the rugged, rutted dirt roads of a little recreational off-roading. By the time we were ready to head out for lunch, the first of a squad of dune buggies and jeeps began bouncing along the road. We, however, were headed for quartzite for lunch and then across the border to California in time for dinner.

As the day wound down, it was again time to find a place to stay.  This time, though, we had enough time for some proper camping, so we drove into the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge.  This empty swath of Arizona desert sported an exquisite range of mountains and a valley all to ourselves.  It's these remote sites that spurred us to invest in a vehicle with 4-wheel drive.  Oh, is it worth it!
There were moments that it felt like we were the only people out there. We climbed up a rock outcropping for an awesome view of the valley.

As the day wound down, it was again time to find a place to stay.  This time, though, we had enough time for some proper camping, so we drove into the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge.  This empty swath of Arizona desert sported an exquisite range of mountains and a valley all to ourselves.  It's these remote sites that spurred us to invest in a vehicle with 4-wheel drive.  Oh, is it worth it!
Cheers!
As the day wound down, it was again time to find a place to stay.  This time, though, we had enough time for some proper camping, so we drove into the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge.  This empty swath of Arizona desert sported an exquisite range of mountains and a valley all to ourselves.  It's these remote sites that spurred us to invest in a vehicle with 4-wheel drive.  Oh, is it worth it!
The ridge line was an ever present but shifting horizon that we passed along as we drove deeper into the preserve.

Lexi lives in a truck camper down by the river.

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