Week 31: Happy 2025!

Darby Wells BLM Area to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

Hello, hello! Hope your new year is off to a great start! We rang in the new year at a dispersed camping spot in the Darby Wells BLM Area near Ajo, Arizona. I know I say this about almost every campsite we’ve been in — but I absolutely loved this spot!

The combination of mountains, saguaros, organ pipe cactus, chollas, ironwood trees, ocotillos, palo verde and creosote was so beautiful. It was like camping in a garden!

Our camp spot near North Ajo Peek.

Read on for a recap of our week at Darby Wells!

First Perpetual Journal Entry of the New Year: Cholla Cactus Wood

My first entry in my perpetual journal for this year is…cholla wood! 🎊

Cholla cactus glowing as the sun went down.

It felt so good to take the time to sketch and get to know this intricate structure. Nature is so amazing when you stop and look.

Here’s a quick process video I posted on Instagram if you’d like to see more:

sideoats

A post shared by @sideoats

The mesquite pod on the left page is from last year. It’s never too late to start a perpetual journal — this is my fourth year doing it and I can’t wait to see this book fill up! (I started a new book when I knew we were going to sell our house to travel full time, so the entries will be from all over.)

Be sure to check out Lara Gastinger’s Instagram feed (@laragastinger) for more inspiration. I’m so thankful for this practice — it brings so much peace and joy, and there’s a great community of people all around the world taking part!

Several of you asked about my supplies. I use this handmade journal from wondercabin on Etsy. It may seem a bit pricy up front, but considering that I’ll be using this book every week for 5-7 years it’s not bad at all. The stitching and hand feel are so lovely. I got the version with Fabriano hot press paper. You can read more about the supplies in my pocket Art Toolkit over on the ATK blog.

Wildlife Sightings

We were lucky enough to have a covey of Gambel’s quail go through camp most days — sometimes twice a day. They’re so darn cute!

This one got close to me while I was sketching one day!

Gambel’s quail trio! Photo by J.

Several ocotillos started blooming near camp and we got to see Costa’s hummingbirds nectaring on them. It was our first time seeing them in the wild so we were super excited. They have the most gorgeous purple throats! They moved too fast to get a photo tho, darn!

We also saw lots of lizards around camps and on hikes, including Western Side-blotched lizards. What a name, right?

Hiking, Hiking, Hiking

We went on several hikes this week, all starting right from camp. Here we are just walking down the road — love the long shadows this time of year.

That’s me on the left and J on the right!

One of my favorite hikes was when we scrambled up a peak near camp — what a view! Can you spot the van? And look how green everything is!

Love the hazy blue distant mountains.

We tried to time it so that we’d get back to camp for sunset and what I’ve dubbed “orange hour”. Just love that glow. It didn’t happen every day so I didn’t want to miss it.

Seeing North Ajo Peak and the van never failed to put a smile on my face.

An Organ Pipe Cactus near camp.

You can bet we’ll be back here someday!

Rolling On

Our 2 week time limit was up, so we had to head on down the road today (Sunday, January 5). Our first stop was the nearby town of Ajo, Arizona to pick up some groceries and go to the laundromat.

One of my resolutions for the new year is to try to enjoy laundromats more — it’s one of my least favorite things about van life. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I always feel stressed out! I worry about leaving something behind, which is kind of a big deal when you have a limited wardrobe. It’s also a big shock to the system being in a town again after the quiet solitude of camp. I do like having clean clothes, tho — so I’m gonna focus my attention on that! :)

Then we were off to…

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

We made it to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument about 3 pm, and our first stop was the Visitor Center so we could checkin, pick up a sticker for the back of the van, and I could stamp my sketchbook with the park stamp.

We did the nature trail at the VC so we could see the pupfish, too!

Next we hit the dump station and filled up our fresh tank — exciting times, right? :)

We made it to camp just before sunset so of course we had to go for a walk!

Twin Peaks at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona

The views didn’t disappoint!

The last time we were here was back in 2018 — when we were tent camping and the van was just a glimmer in our eye. Wow have times changed!

We have to head down the road to Yuma, Arizona tomorrow and then it’s on to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California — can’t wait! For now I’ll leave you with this peaceful scene from Organ Pipe.

Dreamy desert sunset at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, January 5, 2025

See you next week! — Lisa and Jason (and Walter the Van)