What a GREAT trip and close to home.   Magnificent sunsets and sunrises, spectacular scenery and Big Horn Sheep !     What more could one ask for?

We limited this trip to 15 Jeeps for a number of reasons including the consideration of the impact of a large group on this area.    The trip roster quickly filled up and there was a waiting list in case of cancellations.

Devon and Tim,  co-trip leaders left Yuma later than expected and got to the horse tank area right at sunset.  We met Scramblin Jim in his vintage CJ-8 out on Highway 95 and drove into camp together. 

About that time the folks already there were very excited.  There was a Big Horn Sheep standing on top of one of the ridges, profiled by the setting sun.  He stayed there well past sunset.

As people set up camp and took care of their dinner needs,  others who had finished got a campfire started.   As is customary, everyone  sat around and told “lies” until about 10 or so.   LadyBug brought out her cookies and brownies to munch on. The moon was fairly full and gave a nice bright cast to the area.

The next morning the group got up and wandered over to check out a cave with petroglyphs and some possible meteors.  We then drove over to the Horse Tanks to check them out.  Along the way a Big Horn Sheep, possibly the same one,  made his way along the mountain.  Pretty neat!

At the tank we found the water level to be fairly low, but that didn’t stop the frogs from jumping.  We also found the carcass of a deer that was still fairly intact.   Later, a ranger told us it was killed by a mountain lion.

The group headed out to the main road to wait for last minute stragglers who might be coming in to join us, but there were none.  So the group headed for the Kofa mine and Engesser pass.  It took several hours to make our way around to the backside of mountain where we stopped in a wash for lunch.    Making  our way to Hoo Doo Cabin, we passed numerous hunters (deer season) only to find Hoo Doo cabin filled with hunters.   Because of that we made our camp on the ridge above the cabin in a really nice area.

The sky was fantastic!  The Milky Way was right out there, and the international space station passed overhead, bright and moving fast.  Mark and Jake got to see it through binoculars, and they could see the solar panels.

At the campfire, Devon and Curly cooked some dutch oven sweets ( apple and peach cobbler.  The campfire social time lasted until the wood was gone so everyone hit the sack.

Sunday morning we headed out red raven road and met up with a ranger a few miles later.   She was friendly and reminded us about the 100-foot limit when camping on the refuge.  She also told us that Big Horn Pass (aka Wilbanks road) was reopened!  After a quick discussion, we decided to continue on  the road we were on, and do Big Horn pass another day.

Later we stopped and checked out the remains of the Crowder dam and then went on to the Hovatter home site and mill.  Nothing remains of the home or anything else, except the drive way and 2 graves.  The driveway was lined with cactus and must have been very impressive in its day. 

The graves were on a nearby hill and we trooped up to check them out, and then headed out Hovatter road .  Along the way we stopped to check out a large open pit mine.   We also found numerous roads outside the Kofa management area that we want to go back and explore the next time we come back to the Kofa in 2010.

The Kofa Expedition 2009 Photo Gallery - CLICK HERE

The Jeep Expeditions Photo Gallery - CLICK HERE