Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2007 12:42:11 -0700
Reply-To: azsun99 <azsun99@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: azsun99 <azsun99@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Re: Call for camping reccos: SW USA
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Do you have a furnace or like the cold? Even the southern parts of the state are cold
right now. Having said that, you might check out the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge, on
the east side of HWY 95 between Yuma and Quartzite:
http://www.fws.gov/Refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=22570
(MAJOR DISCLAIMER: Never been there, always wanted to. Also see last two sentences in
last paragraph re: "unexploded ordnance").
If you go, send report please,
Jerry
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939. The refuge encompasses 665,400
acres of pristine desert that is home to the desert bighorn sheep and the California
fan palm, the only native palm in Arizona.
Bighorn sheep are found chiefly in the two mountain ranges that dominate the refuge
landscape - the Kofa and Castle Dom Mountains. Although these mountains are not
especially high, they are extremely rugged and rise sharply from the surrounding
desert plains, providing excellent bighorn sheep habitat. A wide variety of plant life
is found throughout the refuge.
Notable wildlife species found in the area include the white-winged dove, desert
tortoise, and desert kit fox. Approximately 800 to 1,000 bighorn sheep now live in the
refuge and, in recent years, this herd has provided animals for transplanting
throughout Arizona and neighboring states.
Birds that are likely to be seen at Kofa include American kestrel, white-winged dove,
northern flicker, Say's phoebe, cactus wren, phainopepla, and orange-crowned warbler.
The Kofa Mountain barberry (a rare plant found only in southwest Arizona) occurs on
the refuge.
In the early part of this century, a number of mines were established in the
mountainous areas of the refuge. One of the most notable was the King of Arizona mine.
It gave the Kofa Mountains their name-- "Kofa" being contracted from King of Arizona.
Kofa was included in the desert military training exercises conducted by General
Patton during World War II. Unexploded ordinance may be encountered during
cross-country hiking. Picking up items that appear to be military hardware could be
hazardous to your health.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Elliott" <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, December 25, 2007 11:12 PM
Subject: Call for camping reccos: SW USA
> Last January I took a cruise up the Pacific coastline from San Diego. This
> coming January I'm thinking of heading east. I'll only have about 10 days
> or so, so four - five days out is as far as I can go. I reckon I can
> easily get to mid-Arizona on the first day. After that, I'll want to find
>
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