Indian Bread Rocks

April 6th, 2025

On the way to a BLM dispersed camp area known as Indian Bread Rocks, I first passed through Tucson. I stopped there to tour the Pima Air and Space Museum. The grounds there are a mixture of outdoor as well as indoor hangar displays. I walked for 1 1/2 miles, being able to get close and even touch aircraft in use from World War II to present.

When I was a child, my favorite hobby was assembling and painting plastic models of airplanes and jets. When complete, I displayed them on shelves my father set up as well as hanging them from the ceiling in my bedroom using fishing line. My favorites were World War II era fighters and bombers. I collected German, English, Japanese and U.S. aircraft. Most of my friends collected model cars and trucks. But I preferred airplanes and ships. At the museum, the real version of those models were on display. The problem with models is you can’t really comprehend the scale they were in real life. Many are quite large.

There was a hanger dedicated to the B-17 Flying Fortress, which was perhaps my most favorite airplane. In another, was a B-24 and a P-51 Mustang, which were other favorites. Outside, I walked a line of Navy fighters and Air Force bombers, Including 3 B-52 bombers which were huge. Some helicopters were on display as well as commercial airliners. The number of aircraft on display was amazing. My most favorite, was a B-25 bomber. This is a plane one of my uncles flew in during World War II.

After the museum, I stocked up on groceries and headed east on I-10. A little way before my destination, I stopped to walk around at a rest area, and noticed an interesting cloud off to the southwest. It caught my attention as it sat low over the nearby mountain range and was an odd yellow color. I guessed it was because of light being cast by the sun through a higher cloud layer. However, as I continued eastward, it seemed to parallel and keep pace with me as I drove.

By the time I neared the town of Willcox, I knew what it was, a dust storm, slowly moving to the northeast and into my path. I don’t like dust. And wind is not a thing you want to deal with when pulling a travel trailer that contains everything you own.

I stopped in Willcox at a Burger King. Inside, while I waited for my order, I noticed two Hispanic women, also waiting. I asked “how long will this dust storm last?” I got a smile and she replied “probably until after Easter”. I laughed and said “I don’t pay attention to days much. When is Easter?” She replied “April 20th”. I thought about that for a minute and then remembered it was April 1st. I checked my watch to make sure and then said to her “Are you playing an April Fools joke on me?” She giggled, pointing at my watch and said “You had to look. Yes, It is a joke, the storm will really last until the end of April.” Then I got a sly smile from her.

I got to Indian Bread Rocks and found a spot to camp. The ridge of giant size boulders, behind me, gave a little protection from the dust, but I spent the evening rocking back and forth in my trailer.

It was very quiet at this campsite. There were a few other campers visible off in the distance. Other than that, there was complete solitude. On Saturday morning, a covey of quail wandered through camp. Once the weather cleared, I could see across the valley floor to the eastward mountain range. In the afternoons, dust devils could be seen miles away. Rain squalls appeared once in a while, but I was unable to tell if any of the raindrops made it all the way to the ground before evaporation. At night, I could see the lights from the small town of Bowie up north at the intersection with Interstate 10. A good 5G cell signal was available, probably from a tower near the same town. Tractor trailer rigs could be seen on the Interstate, slowly moving eastward, always drawing me towards my next destination. I had climbed since leaving Yuma, now camped 4,000 feet higher. I am not yet in the true mountains, but getting close.