Road Exploring

Above, the gully near the end of the national forest perimeter road. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since the New Mexico governor's "stay at home" order, there's not too much to do except either sit around at home or jump into the Jeep for drives. I chose the latter.

One of the places I went to was on the road next to Cibola National Forest's perimeter fence that ends in a turnaround next to a gully. I stopped and walked around. I looked into the gully and spotted skeletal remains of some animal at the bottom. I am guessing they are from a deer or an elk, judging by the size of the bones.

Above, skeletal animal remains at the bottom of the gully. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I drove near the shooting area and spotted a side road off the pipeline road that goes through the shooting area. Since I never drove the road, I decided to explore it.

The road wound through some hills that are thick with juniper trees. I came to a fork in the road. One part looked well-traveled and the other less so. I elected to take the less traveled road to see where it led to. As it turned out, it led to the electric utility road behind my property. I was thinking about seeing where it went to, so it is interesting that I found out by exploring it going the opposite way.

Above, the electric utility service road behind Barking Spider Acre. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The the section of the road behind Barking Spider Acre makes a deep down slope dip at an arroyo. Before driving it, I put the Jeep into four-wheel-drive and crossed it without any problem and it climbed the up slope that starts behind my house. Again, the Jeep managed it without any difficulty.

Above, on Barking Spider Acre. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For dinner, as I was not in the mood for cooking, I decided to order take-out (salmon dinner) from Denny's at the Flying J. Since their dining room is closed due to the governor's orders, ordering take-out helps them a little in staying afloat. We have to put up with this until around April 10.

Tomorrow, I have business in Gallup, including a doctor visit and other things.

Human Bones Found Near Joshua Tree National Park

For the second time in recent weeks, human skeletal remains have been found in and near Joshua Tree National Park in California.

The Hi-Desert Star reported:

JOSHUA TREE — Homicide detectives and medical examiners are investigating human bones found near Joshua Tree National Park around 11:11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 16. 

A hiker reported finding a partial human skeleton in Section 6, said Cindy Bachman, a spokeswoman for the county Sheriff’s Department. 

Section 6 is roughly a square mile of undeveloped land east of Quail Springs Road, outside the western border of the park.

Investigators will be examining the remains to determine the person's identity and the cause of death.

To read more, go here.