desert rain

It started raining lightly yesterday, and rained lightly-but-steadily through the night. There was a flash-flood warning in Yuma, the biggest/nearest town. People are always surprised to hear of floods and drowning in the desert but it definitely happens. Newbies sometimes camp in arroyos because they feel protected from the elements and observation. But those low spots can flood violently during rain and people die every year.

There was enough rain overnight that there was a couple inches of water in Muffin’s food bowl and a bit of standing water:

http://img.mousetrap.net/2021/IMG_20210120_104402.jpg

If I hadn’t recently increased water storage I’d have been trying to catch some of the rain.

Here’s the official entrance, with the camper in the background:

http://img.mousetrap.net/2021/IMG_20210119_172413.jpg

Near the entrance sign was a bisected/4way sign:

http://img.mousetrap.net/2021/IMG_20210119_172455.jpg

http://img.mousetrap.net/2021/Screenshot_2021-01-19-17-25-21-273_com.twostepsbeyond.uspubliclands.jpg

I opened the US Public Lands app to get a view of the spot. In this shot BLM land is orange and Fish and WIldlife land is crayon blue.

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http://img.mousetrap.net/2021/IMG_20210120_103110.jpg

the saguaro are swollen with water

http://img.mousetrap.net/2021/IMG_20210120_123802.jpg

ocatillo