Saturday, Mar. 2, 2013, Growler, AZ.
I made it to the Growler Pond today, But
We need to back up a bit to start the day. I was camped in one of those state trust areas that one is supposed to have a permit to enter, but I did not.
Police, step outside the van
At four this morning I heard, please step outside the van, the police. That’s not a nice way to start the day. Ok, so I put on some clothes and talked to the man. He was nice and said I was trespassing and needed a permit, but no one seems to know where to get one of these permits, at least the people I’ve talked to so far, including him. He said I could continue to sleep there, but he was the Yuma police and if the state police caught me, I would be in for it. Before he left, he asked what I was going to do, stay or leave. I said I’d likely think about it for a bit and move on and that’s what I did and I think it’s what he wanted to hear from me.
I was headed for Wellton
So, I hastily reprogramed my GPS for the Wellton Kofa access trail from the south and headed out intending to stop in Yuma to shop, but traveling in the dark, that didn’t happen. I stopped for gas and coffee at a place at the Wellton off ramp and headed for the trail, but traveling in the dark, I was getting lost on blocked desert roads, so I parked until day light.
The Growler Pond
At day light I decided to head for the Growler pond, if I could find it.
After some missed turns, I found the pond. There was an access road, with no signs that said I couldn’t enter or camp, so here I am.
I put the boat in the water right away
I parked the van and put the boat in the water for a tour. The pond is about a half mile long and several hundred feet wide.
Below is a picture of my camp site and where I launched the boat.
I was impressed with this pond out in the middle of the desert
I kayaked around the lake and was impressed. My kind of pond, and the fish.
Below is a picture of the pond.
There were a few birds on the pond, mostly mud hens and but a few other kinds too.
Below is a picture of an egret, I think.
Wow, the fish were incredible here
The fish, I’ve never seen so many fish in a pond before and they were very active, some jumping up to six feet out of the water.
Below is a picture of some of the fish in the pond. The pond is a Game and Fish Department pond that is well stocked.
Below is another picture of some of the fish in the pond.
It was also wash day, since I now had a bunch of water available
I was on the pond for about an hour the first time, before I came back in and did some wash. I was running out of socks.
Below is my camp site and the wash hanging out to dry.
Some locals stopped by to enjoy the pond
Later in the day some local younger people came to the pond to fish and swim. I chatted with them a bit, boy, they sure wished they had my boat to fish from.
Below you can see the guys and gals. There is an old boat there that is wrecked that they like to fish from and they came down on that side of the pond, I’m glad I decided against using that side, as several different people came down that side during the day.
I put the kayak back in the water for the second time today
I put the boat back in the water at four pm and stayed out until almost dark, which was about seven pm.
Below, you can see the sun on the pond just about to set for the day.
I don’t think I’ll be bothered here for the night
I got the wash in and made some dinner and am here for the night. I don’t think anyone will bother me here.
Tomorrows plans.
Tomorrow, I plan to go back to Wellton to shop and then try and find the Wellton Kofa road access, which I plan to camp on somewhere if I can find it.
The Growler pond is the best
The Growler pond is one of the nicer things I’ve found around here and I really enjoyed my paddle today.
Great day.
