THE JULIAN CEMETERY....FINAL RESTING PLACE OF MARSHAL SOUTH

RAINBOW ON THE WAY TO JULIAN

It was nearly a year ago to the day that we first climbed the rugged path of Ghost Mountain leading to the old ruins & homestead of a man & his family who endured many hardships years ago to live a life free of society & all it's trappings. For some unknown reason I was very moved by the experience of walking through the ruins of what the family had called their home.......Yaquitepec. I took many pictures that day, http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/49JAN3MARSHALSOUTHGHOSTMOUNTAIN & several days later we bought the book, Marshal South & the Chronicles of Ghost Mountain. I read that book cover to cover & it was the first book I had read in nearly 30 years. The blog I wrote about that day can be found here...http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/mar/papr/mtsouth.htmlOn Scroll down to January 4th & look for, Marshal South & Ghost Mountain.
On this trip back to the Anza-Borrego area I wanted to see where this man was buried & to-day we drove to Julian in search of Marshal South's final resting place.

The morning's weather was a mixture of sun & cloud. Rays of sunlight poked through into the Borrego Valley but large dark & ominous clouds were sitting on some of the mountain tops to the west & southwest, just the direction we were headed. Borrego Springs sits on the desert floor in the Borrego Valley at the foot of the San Ysidro mountains & the drive to Julian ascends to over 4000 feet high up in the Volcan Mountain Range to the southwest. It's a very winding & twisting road & as we headed upwards through the little settlement of Banner, the clouds came down to meet us. The sun was lost somewhere behind us & as we came around one of the tight curves with the windshield wipers fighting off the persistent rain. A rainbow suddenly appeared in the valley to our right. I was able to get pulled over on the shoulder & take a few photos before the rainbow faded into the mist.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/THEJULIANCEMETERYFINALRESTINGPLACEOFMARSHALLSOUTH By the time we reached the little town of Julian it was very cold & we saw some remnants of the previous night's snowfall. This was our third visit to Julian & as the previous 2 times, we had trouble finding a parking place anywhere. This is a very touristy place & always crowded with people browsing in the many shops. Found a place one block off mainstreet & headed out on foot in the cold rain for downtown. Stopped into the Town Hall for a map of the town & to ask some questions. I wanted to see the fresco paintings Marshal South had done in one of the buildings which is now a Real Estate office. Luckily the office was open & I was able to take a few photos inside. Kelly had some browsing she wanted to do so we split up & I headed for the town's cemetery. Thanks to some excellent directions I found on the internet I was able to find Marshal South's plot with no trouble. As I stood there in the dreary rain looking at this man's grave I couldn't help but think of all his wonderfully descriptive writings about his life & times with his family up on Ghost Mountain in the Blair Valley, so many years ago.Marshal South authored a total of 102 articles & poems for Desert Magazine from 1939 to 1948. Eighty of these articles were about life on Ghost Mountain.
http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/mar/papr/mtsouth.html

Thought we might grab a bite to eat & a coffee in Julian but after checking out the prices in a few places.....we got out of town!! Headed back down the twisting mountain road out of the cold depressing & dreary rain into the bright sunshine of the desert floor below & made a right turn onto S2 & the Blair Valley. We were in search of the Vallecito Stage Station which had been on the Butterfield Stagecoach route back in the late 1800's. That road took us right by Ghost Mountain where I hope to return one day next week for a last hike up the rocky twisting path to Yaquitepec. We finally reached our destination after traveling through a beautiful area of towering mountains & sweeping valley floors. So hard to imagine how the settlers & pioneers traveled these harsh lands in old buckboards, carts, & stagecoaches. They must have been a very hardy breed of people back then. Something we could all take a lesson from I'm sure.GHOST MOUNTAIN

We finally made it back to our rig just east of Borrego Springs shortly after 2 this afternoon. It had been a great 5 hour day trip & one I will always remember. We are just so fortunate to be here.....................................................

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

A QUIET DAY IN THE SONORAN DESERT

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17/08

I am sitting in the desert to-night typing this by the light of the moon. Checkers is beside me keeping an eye out for wily coyotes. We hit the 80F mark to-day so the nights are getting warmer.

Max's ankle is about the same so we didn't encourage him to walk on it again to-day. We did have to pull some cholla prickers out of Checkers though. Those things really dig their barbs into whatever brushes up against them.

Lots of sunshine to-day under clear blue Arizona skies. I cleaned windows while Kelly did a bunch of vacuuming. Other than that, we had a very relaxing day again. Started a campfire in the morning & had it going all day. I am still reading my Marshal South book that Kelly bought in Borrego Springs last month. It's a very meaningful book to me & it's the first book in nearly 25 years that I've been able to stick with. The fact that we actually were able to climb up Ghost Mountain & walk through the remains of his family's small adobe cabin back on January 3rd in California will always remain a special memory for me. OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy I can truly identify with this man's thinking & philosophies & as I sit here in the still night air of the Sonoran desert with a canopy of stars overhead & a big half moon to light my keyboard, I feel akin to a man I will never meet.

Checkers growls periodically at unseen soft footprints in the desert night. I can hear another RV'ers dog barking in the distance so there are probably coyotes afoot. We never see them but we know they are here.

To-morrow we'll have to go into Ajo & fill up our gas can again because I made a boo boo the other day. When we left our other boondocking site Thursday just the other side of Why, I checked my fuel gauge in the rig & it said we had a quarter tank of gas left. My well intentioned logic was to wait until we left Darby Wells in a week or so & fill up at that time. No point in driving these rigs with a heavy load of gas on board if you don't have to. Well, the first night here we started up the generator for a few minutes to run the micro wave. Generator ran fine for about a minute & then it petered out & wouldn't re-start. Of course I immediately assumed the worse & figured the engine had run out of oil despite having just checked the oil level a week ago. With dollar signs flying out the window I raced outside, lifted the bin cover & pulled the panel off the generator. Just as I unscrewed the dipstick, Kelly who was holding the flashlight behind me said, "do you think it ran out of gas??" BINGO!!!! Now I remembered........ as a safety feature, once the gas tank gets down to a quarter full, the generator will not operate. It's a safety feature so that the generator doesn't drain the gas tank completely & leave the motorhome stranded in the middle of nowhere without any gas. Did I mention I'm 63..............& male!!!!!!!!!!!!

UPLOADS ARE SLOW TO-NIGHT SO MAY HAVE TO DO THE WEB ALBUM IN THE MORNING.

OH, THE WONDROUS HONEYWAGON:))

FRIDAY JANUARY 18/08
Outside thermometer said it was 35F this morning so I was back into my winter clothes again. Of course, I've never really been out of them much. Winter clothes in the early mornings & late afternoons with spring, summer, & fall clothes in between depending on the wind. Basically, the air is cool in the southwest but the sun is always warm. When we were walking the dogs this morning near one of the big motorhome club sites, a fellow was out putting up the American Flag while over the loudspeaker they were playing, Frosty The Snowman:))

Had an egg Mcmuffin urge early on so we headed into Quartzsite & dropped into McDonalds for breakfast. The town was a lot busier this morning with line ups at the single traffic light in the main intersection. Lots of rigs pouring into town because to-morrow (Saturday) is opening day for the big RV Leisure & Travel show under the big top. The show will run for 10 days. To-day was the big Sell-O-Rama day for the outdoor vendors. Picked up some groceries, oil for the generator, & a small bottle of propane for the barby & headed back out to our desert serenity. Kelly is able to tolerate that sea of humanity much better than me so she headed back into town to mix it up with the masses & check out Sell-O-Rama.

I love my quiet time here at the campsite, tipped back in a comfy chair, coffee, nice ambient music, reading & playing with the dogs in the warming rays of the Arizona sun. A good time for reflection & contemplation & I'm sure when I look back on our trip some day in the future, these quiet times here at Quartzsite will come peacefully to mind. A few years ago I came up with an original saying that goes something like this....."The only thing better than right now, will someday be the memories of right now." I have found this to be pleasantly true, over & over.

It has been nice reading the book, Marshal South & The Ghost Mountain Chronicles. An Experiment in Primitive Living, especially since we hiked up Ghost Mountain a couple weeks ago in California & walked through the old homestead. (January 3/08 Web Album http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy ) Reading that book here at our tranquil campsite has been a very enjoyable experience for me.

We have been at our present location since January 8th so our fresh water tank was getting low & our black water tank getting full. Time for a dump but I noticed a few days ago that rigs were lined up to get dumped at the stations in & near Quartzsite so we opted for the "honeywagon" to come out & do the service right at our site & have our water tank filled at the same time. Costs a few dollars more but in this case it was well worth it for us in not having to drive the rig into the much congested town & waiting in long line ups. It was 2 young fellows who came out with their truck & tank & in no time at all they had finished the deed. Another RV fellow rolled up on his ATV, talked to the boys & made appointments for his rig & other rigs in his group to be serviced as well. Great service!! And necessary too:))

To-morrow, the main event opens under the big top & I have steeled myself to be there in the morning with thousands of other people, shoulder to shoulder, shuffling, shopping, looking, more shuffling, more looking, line ups for this, line ups for that. Oh dear.......wish me luck:((

NO PHOTOS UPLOADED TO THE WEB ALBUM TO-DAY

AN AVIATOR WAVES FROM THE SKY

THURSDAY JANUARY 10/08
Do you remember the days years ago when the sound of an airplane overhead would bring you running out of the house to stare skyward. I do. As a young boy in a small southwestern town in Ontario, Canada I was always fascinated with airplanes & would wave at them as they flew overhead. They never waved back but I never gave up & to-day after all these years, a strange aircraft flew low overhead, I waved............AND THE AVIATOR WAVED BACK!! It was a young boy's dream come true at last. The aircraft was an ultra-lite suspended underneath a large canopy & the aviator sat in an open cart affair with wheels & an engine on the back. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy Not exactly a bigger winged airplane but it was a wave from the sky nonetheless. I had been sitting outside reading when I heard the whine of a high pitched engine coming & as I got up to look, the aircraft came in low from the northwest & made a slow banking left turn. (must have seen our Canadian flag) He was low enough & close enough for me to see he was looking down at me. I instinctively let go with a big wave, & was thrilled to see the aviator let go with a big wave back............. Yes Toto, a little boy's dreams can come true:))

I caught myself a good break to-day. My presence was not required for the day's browsing trip in Quartzsite so Kelly headed off about 10:30. solo. Aw, how sweet it is!! Made myself a coffee, situated a comfortable lawn chair in the path of the sun, grabbed myself a book, & comfortably spent a big part of the day enjoying something I haven't done in years. Reading. It was a week ago to-day that we hiked our way up to Marshal South's homestead & to-day I began reading the book about this man, his family, & their life & times on Ghost Mountain. A nice way to spend a relaxing day in the desert. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

Kelly was back about 3 & we returned to town to look at a Blue Flame heater for the motorhome. These are 99.9% small efficient propane heaters used by many boondockers instead of the RV's propane guzzling furnaces. From there I did a mandatory 30 minute browsing tour awaiting the time piece on my wrist to lock onto 4 p.m. Why 4 p.m.?? .............. Dollar hamburger time:)) We were at the head of the line at the little hamburger stand where they have hamburgers for a dollar after 4 in the afternoons. We got 5 burgs & Kelly ate 4 & I had...............ok, ok, I had 3 & Kelly had 2. Good burgs smothered in onions.

We returned to our temporary home in the desert & that was about it for another day. No big plans for to-morrow but if I can get in some reading time with my Marshal South book I'm a goin to be a happy guy.................:))

P.S. It's 9 P.M. right now & I'm still burpin onions!!!!

MARSHAL SOUTH & GHOST MOUNTAIN

THURSDAY JAN. 3/08
The name Marshal South didn't mean anything to us until we stopped into the Anza Borrego visitor center a few days ago. We were inquiring about hiking in the area & the park ranger suggested Ghost Mountain. Well, anything with the words mountain & ghost in the same sentence is going to perk anybody's imagination so we bookmarked that one to do.
Thursday we did that hike & it turned out to be one of the best days on our trip so far.

Here is a short background on Marshal South, his wife Tanya, & their 3 children.

In February 1932, while the country felt the grip of The Depression, Marshal and Tanya South came to this mountain to build their home and live off the land. They raised their children here, wrote magazine articles, grew vegetables, gathered native plants, and after 16 years decided to call it quits.
Yaquitepec, or Ghost Mountain, still carries the reminders of South's homesteading adventure. The steep, mile long walk to the homesite will give you a breathtaking view of the land the South family called home. Look for signs of the ingenious water system with its cisterns and troughs. The adobe structure is quickly becoming a victim of the elements.
Living off the land proved difficult. Supplies had to be brought by Model T from Julian and carried up on foot. Tanya South tired of her eccentric mate's life-style and the family split up, leaving Yaquitepec to the sun and the wind.
The stories of the South family fade with time in the pages of old copies of Desert Magazine but the melting adobe and the garden terraces will remain atop Ghost Mountain for years to come.
For seventeen years (1930 to 1947), poet, artist, and author Marshal South and his family lived on the remote, waterless mountaintop in California's Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and is referred to as "Ghost Mountain". For nine of those years, Marshal South chronicled his family's controversial primitive lifestyle through popular monthly articles written for "Desert Magazine". The articles reflected his passion for the desert while praising its early inhabitants and their lifestyle. An acrimonious divorce ended the "experiment in primitive living" and with Marshal's death in 1948, fifty years of silence and speculation followed. Family secrecy, altered names and dates, lost and burned records and letters, left Marshal's grand experiment in obscurity, hidden from even his surviving family members.
More on Marshal South http://www.dzrtgrls.com/yaquitepec/yaquitepec.htm
http://outdoors-magazine.com/spip.php?article244
The drive from Borrego Springs to Ghost Mountain is a twisting, winding, roller coaster, & scenic ride through the mountains to a place called Blair Valley. The old Butterfield Stagecoach used this route back in the 1800's. A turn off the highway west of the little town of Shelter Valley headed us out onto the desert floor & around a large dry lake bed. The road is bumpy with hard & loose packed sand, but is ok. Spotted here & there were a few RV's snuggled up against high rocky ridges. Ghost Mountain doesn't really have a peak on it & we were at the trail head before we realized it. There is a cairn there with a brief description about the South family & their time on the mountain.
Right from the start it's obvious that this is going to be a totally uphill 700 foot climb on a narrow & rocky pathway that is a 2 mile round trip. Good hiking footwear is a must. One of the first things I noticed was the many & multi-colored rocks along the way. Vegetation also increased as we climbed higher. Algava, yucca, cholla, ocotilla, hedgehog & barrel cactus are but just a few of the plants that dotting the landscape. Because of the steep incline, the path had many switchbacks zig zagging back & forth. Wasn't long & we were huffing & puffing a bit. Sleeves got rolled up. The view back down & out across the Blair Valley was beautiful & we could see the sandy roads snaking across the desert floor. Can't imagine how Marshal South made the trip in his old model T to the town of Julian & back for supplies 14 miles away across this valley & along hazardous gravely mountain roads. About 20 minutes into the hike we reached a plateau with a panoramic view & we could see for miles & miles. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/49JAN3MARSHALSOUTHGHOSTMOUNTAIN#Ahead, the path disappeared amongst a mass of boulders leading even higher to another ridge line. We picked our way along the narrow path up & over the fairly easy rocky terrain. Only a bit of rock scrambling here & there. In some places I'm sure large rocks had been moved to form steps. And all along the way are the beautiful desert plants. It was Mother Nature's desert landscaping at it's very best. Just about when you think your legs are not going to go any farther, your there. It was about a hundred yards over that ridge, nestled in the rocks that I first caught site of the homestead ruins. A couple sections of adobe wall, an old iron bed, weatherworn window & door frames, a water gathering cistern system, a smaller iron bedspring, a few upright wood supports & some old rusted cans laying in the sand where the kitchen once was. That's about all that is left of what once was a family of 5 living here for 17 years back in the 1930's. It is incomprehensible how & why Marshal South chose this spot. Every nail, every piece of lumber, every rain barrel, & every bit of building material had to be physically carried up from the desert floor 700 feet below, along that steep rock strewn grueling narrow path to the top. Everything!! But, standing there among the ruins I can kind of understand his reasoning, although it be a little harsh. They were totally alone on a mountaintop, far from the maddening crowds & civilizations far below & far away. In many ways I can identify with this man's feelings. It is an unending view for miles & miles in all directions from this site & I can only imagine how beautiful it must have been on those warm clear summer nights with the stars stretching from mountaintop to mountaintop. As I looked around I tried to imagine the children playing on the rocks, the family sitting down to meals, Tanya grinding seeds in a mortero we found near the house, & Marshal South working on his water system or sitting on the rocks writing his articles for, The Desert Sun. It's a quiet place now with only the wind rustling through the cactus. This is truly a special spot & one that we will always remember as we walked among the ruins, the rocks, & the abundant desert plant life. We were fortunate enough to spend a quiet half hour here before the tell tale sounds of human voices began to drift up from the pathway below. People were on the way so it was time for us to go. It's not likely we will ever pass this way again so it's always with a bit of sadness that we leave a place, & especially a place as peaceful as this. A last look back as we began our descent, & wait......was that Marshal South I saw standing tall on a rock looking over the valley, did I hear the children laughing & was that Tanya by the door watching the children play........maybe, just maybe.
We picked our way down through the boulders passing half a dozen people on their way up. I jokingly told them they only had another 8 miles to go. Kelly picked up some tall yucca stems complete with dried flowers on the end. We also picked up a few small colorful stones. Sometimes the descent down a steep grade can be more difficult than the climb up. It's easier to slip on loose gravel but we finally made it down ok & it was a great feeling to open that car door & sit down on a soft comfortable car seat.
From the Ghost Mountain trailhead we headed south a couple of miles to the site of an old Indian village site where we found many morteros in rocks where Indian women had spent countless hours grinding seed pods, beans, & lentils. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy The morteros are the only visible sign that there had once been people here & it's hard to comprehend how these women could grind these holes into solid rock using nothing more than another solid rock. Again, wandering amongst these huge boulders, one can only vaguely try to imagine what life must have been like a few hundred years ago in these parts.
The overcast sky was turning dark to the west so it was time for us leave Blair Valley. I turned & said good-bye to the Marshall South family, the Indian families at the mortero site & Ghost Mountain itself. Good-bye & thanks for making this a memorable day for us.
The park's signage is very poor & as we headed off across the desert floor we weren't sure which way the highway was. Sandy roads criss crossed here & there but we stayed on the one that looked most traveled & I felt we were headed in the general right direction Probably took us the best part of half an hour before we saw some vehicles moving along a road in the distance which indeed turned out to be the highway. Always a nice feeling to get un-lost:))
Because the little mountain town of Julian was only 12 miles away we decided to go there & pick up some dog food & a couple of much needed coffees. This is a quaint little village in the heart of the mountains. I think they might have got a bit of snow last week too. The scenic 28 mile trip from Julian back to Borrego Springs was uneventful as I once again got to feel like a Grand Prix driver gearing up down on the tight mountain curves & grades. Just as we reached the Borrego valley, the sun poured out of the clouds lighting the valley floor ahead & it felt like we were home...... even though we've only been here a little over 2 weeks.
This California place is truly remarkable & filled with lots of adventures & wide eyed wonderment & we've come to love it. It will be with sad hearts when we leave her in another week or so.........................:(( (A lot of pictures for the web album so they might not be uploaded yet)