2021-11-18
We have made our way out to the Ironwood National Monument to camp and watch a full lunar eclipse.
I have taken a favorite side route that I have known for decades. I discover that it is now a side road that leads back to the west side of “Ol Ragged Top Mountain. I sit in my seat remembering when this was just an unofficial two track trail winding around the mesquite and Ironwood trees. I’ve been coming here since the 1990’s, originally with “The Southern Arizona Naturist Society” a now defunct non-landed club.
There are a couple of turnoffs to campsites. They are just a clearing with a fire pit of piled rocks where someone else has camped.

We choose one with a good view of the mountain and an unobstructed eastern look across the valley for the moon rise and eclipse.

It’s a warm mid-November and summer heat won’t last much longer. The evening will be warm enough this evening to not require clothing, until later.