HE DUG HIS OWN GRAVE, BUT THEY BURIED HIM IN THE COACHELLA VALLEY PUBLIC CEMETERY……….

As much as we enjoy Borrego’s Clark Dry Lake Bed boon docking area we still prefer to look out our windows & see nothing but Mother Nature’s handy work.  And so it is hear north of Desert Center in the Chuckwalla Valley.  We both find ourselves much more relaxed when there’s nothing between us & miles & miles of desert mountains.

Nice morning walk on ground we have never walked on before.  Mountains we have never seen & a new desert landscape to challenge our knowledge.  For me, it is RVing at it’s best.

DESERT VERBENA
 
SOME OF MY PHOTOS SHOW CURIOUS MARKS IN THE SAND WHICH I THINK ARE CAUSED BY TINY CRITTERS SKITTERING ABOUT…LOTS OF GOPHERS HERE

Until a couple days ago we knew nothing of a place called DESERT CENTER.  Yesterday it became a point on the map & today we are living here for a few days.  We have traveled some roads, we have met some of it’s people & we have eaten at the old Desert Center Café.  I had a mess of bacon & eggs & Kelly had a Breakfast Burrito which she said was the best one she ever had.

 
Desert center was once a booming place & originally founded by a grizzled old character by the name of 'DESERT STEVE' RAGSDALE.  Interestingly enough he was a friend of Marshal South.

 
SUPERWOMAN SLIPS INTO A PHONE BOOTH

A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ WHILE WAITING FOR BREAKFAST
Like so many old western towns, Desert Center is a mere ghost of it’s former self.  Not much left anymore.  With the closing of the big Kaiser Steel Mine 13 miles away in the Eagle Mountains & the building of Interstate 10 diverting all of the traffic further afield the town has tumbled into a dusty obscurity.

 

Like countless thousands over the years we have passed by Desert Center a couple times never giving it much thought.  Just kind of looked like a tumble down old place with a bunch of old broken Palm trees.  Well, I guess that’s what it kind of is now, but it’s heart still beats, even if it is a little slower nowadays.  It very much reminded me of the once thriving towns & gas stations one would find along old Route 66 further to the north.

 

But, just a mile or so north of Desert Center lies an Oasis of stately Palms, golfing greens, manicured gardens, & a small man made crystal clear lake with fish.  Paved streets winding through a few tidy little neighborhoods.  This quietly friendly 55+ Adult community of golf & ATV enthusiasts even has it’s own fire department.  It is a true gem in the rough & as one resident told us, “not many people know about it”.  This is Lake Tamarisk Desert Resort.

  
      

We had heard of a few rock formations in the area so we Jeeped ourselves out onto some desert roads in search of them.  The directions we had were sketchy so the only one we found was the big Alligator just to the north of I-10.

CAN YOU SEE THE DRAGON GATOR MAKING IT’S WAY THROUGH THE MESQUITE
Found the spot where Desert Steve Ragsdale dug his own grave & was supposedly buried….except he wasn’t.  You can read about that & him on the Wikipedia link above.

DESERT STEVE WROTE THE WORDS ON THAT PLAQUE & AFFIXED IT TO THE ROCK HIMSELF…ALSO DUG THE GRAVE IN LEFT FOREGROUND
  
DUG THE GRAVE HIMSELF ALRIGHT BUT HE NEVER DID END UP BURIED THERE AND WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT METAL THING IS
We were back to the rig by noon & an hour later the winds found us again.  The mornings sunny blue skies gave way to an increasingly dark cloudy sky.  Looked like we had a storm front coming in & temps dropped.  Rain started about 6 o’clock.  We are parked on a hardened stone surface much like Quartzsite so knew if it rained we wouldn’t be getting stuck or dragging any mud or wet sand into the coach.

STOPPED AT McGOO’S FOR BANANAS…ANYONE REMEMBER THE CARTOON CHARACTER, MR. McGOO??  I DO:))                
Reading WHEELING IT'S Tuesday morning post I couldn’t help but notice commenter ROBIN'S thoughts as she in part said, “I’m just painfully shy.  I’m sure there are others like me out there. Maybe I should start a special blog: RV’ing Tips for Introverts.”  There are others like you out here Robin and I am one of them.  If you start that special blog……count me in:))

THOSE ARE THE COXCOMB MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND
 
INTERESTING WEATHERED MESQUITE STUMPS HERE…I SEE A BIRD’S HEAD PROFILE FACING LEFT IN THE RIGHT PHOTO
Two new Blog Followers tonight.  BHOUNDS joins us as well as Dean from I LOVE MY MOTORHOME.  We love our Motorhome too Dean.  Thanks for dropping by folks & welcome to our travels.  Much appreciated by all here at the Bunch:))
 
LIONS FACE TOP LEFT…DONKEY LOOKING DOWN AT RIGHT & I DO SEE A WILD PIG’S PROFILE IN PHOTO AT LEFT
GROANER’S CORNER:((  One Sunday a pastor asked his congregation to consider giving a little extra in the offering plate. He said that whoever gave the most would be able to pick out three hymns.
After the offering plates were passed, the pastor glanced down and noticed that someone had contributed a $1,000 bill. He was so excited that he immediately shared his joy with his congregation, and said he'd like to personally thank the person who had placed the money in the plate.
A very quiet, elderly, saintly widow shyly raised her hand. The pastor asked her to come to the front. Slowly she made her way to the pastor. He told her how wonderful it was that she gave so much and asked her to pick out three hymns.
Her eyes brightened as she looked over the congregation, pointed to the three most handsome men in the building and said, "I'll take him, him, and him."
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

BYE BYE BORREGO, MAYBE SEE YA NEXT YEAR:))

I TOOK ALL OF TONIGHT’S FLOWER PHOTOS IN THE CHUCKWALLA VALLEY ALONGSIDE HIGHWAY 177 NORTH OF DESERT CENTER THIS AFTERNOON
Surprised to see snow on the distant San Ysidro mountain tops this morning. Things have definitely cooled off a lot from our 80F+ days last week. I wonder if there is a magical place somewhere with 70-75F 24 hours a day:)) Anything below or above that is too extreme for this guy anymore………

 
As is usually the case, a number of things have come together to once again move us on down the road to new horizons.  The relentless winds & poor Verizon signal are two of them & a low fresh water tank level was another.  We will be sure to have a Verizon signal booster next time we come south.  We have what we think is one of the better spots here at the Clark Dry Lake Bed because we are tucked up against the Coyote hills.  We can walk out the door & right into a great hiking area.  But, it’s those very hills that block our Verizon signal too.  When Kelly checked the Borrego weather for the next couple days….our decision was pretty much made for us.  Wind again Tuesday with a 40% chance of rain & possible hail Tuesday night.  That was it, the final straw.  We made a fast decision.  We’re oughta here!!

 
But first, a few parting thoughts about Borrego Springs, one of our favorite places.

For anyone wanting to stay in one place for any length of time & who prefers to be active I would suggest Borrego Springs. The Anza Borrego State Park & the Nature Store downtown have printed agendas for activities going on pretty well every day of the week. Some you pay for and many are free. Photography classes & field trips for example. Same with Astronomy. Driving tours to many of the areas attractions. Slot Canyons, Elephant’s knees & Elephant trees, wind caves, badlands, a rocky pumpkin patch, a Palm tree farm, orange, lemon & grapefruit orchards, metal sculptures in the desert, a drive up or down Montezuma’s Grade that will stand your hair on end & if that drive doesn’t get you, just head via the Yaqui Pass for the little apple pie town in the mountains called Julian.

Petroglyphs & old Indian Village sites. Yaquitepec on Ghost Mountain. Culp Valley & Coyote, Palm, & Hell Hole Canyons just to mention a few. Jeep tours through the badlands & other challenging places. Don’t have a Jeep? No problem, Jeepers usually have a back seat & are glad to take folks along. All kinds of informative Ranger hikes going on. Great way to learn about birds, flowers, historical places & the area in general. Some of the photography field trips go out as early as 5 in the morning & some of the Astronomy sessions last well into the night.

If you’re an outdoorsy type of person & you have a desire to learn new things then I would suggest Borrego Springs is the place to keep you busy for the winter. Just grab your camera, a walking stick, a sun hat, & your good to go. Oh, & you might want to pack up some peanut butter sandwiches for stops along the way too. And, if you stay to the latter part of February & early to mid March you just might be lucky enough to see the desert bloom. I did manage to get a bunch of flower photos a couple years ago.

Now, in all fairness I should mention a few things you will not find in Borrego Springs. You will not find one darn traffic light. No traffic congestion, no hordes of people or jammed up mall parking lots. Not even a car wash or big box store. And gee, not even a four lane highway in sight. Heavens to Murgatroids, how can it get any better than that eh:))

The gusting winds felt cold to me this morning as I scrambled around packing things up in preparation for our move out of the area.  Ever try to fold up one of those big outside mats in a howling wind!!  By 10:30 we had the Jeep hitched up & the big wheels rolling.

Bumping along out of our site I glanced over towards Fort Canada & had a twinge of guilt for not getting over to say Hello to the folks.  Well, at least we got to meet Dez:))

FORT CANADA’S CIRCLED WAGONS AT TOP WITH OUR LITTLE FORT INDEPENDENCE IN THE FOREGROUND
As we made the turn off Rockhouse Road & pointed our nose east on S22 I said to Kelly at that point, we were as far west this winter as we were going to be.  Unofficially, we have begun the long homeward journey east.

Tanks needed dumping & our fresh water tank needed filling so it was our second stop in a week at the big Arco station on the corner of highway S22 & Salton City.  While waiting our turn at the water tap a big coincidence happened.  Two people approached the passenger’s side window of our rig.  I heard Kelly exclaim, “Hey, it’s K & D from K & D IN THE RV.  We had never met but Kelly recognized them right away from their blog.  I have trouble recognizing myself in the mirror every morning.   They were on their way from Desert Hot Springs to Yuma & had pulled into the Arco Station for a coffee, etc when they recognized our rig in the big parking lot.  Great to meet these folks because we have commented on each others blog a few times over the years.  Thanks for coming over to say Hello guys:))
 
When K & D walked up to the window I had just taken a bite out of a brand new ham sandwich.  Without thinking, I set the sandwich on the dash before stepping out of the coach to talk to K & D.  What do you think the chances were of my sandwich still being there 20 minutes later when I climbed back into the rig.  The photos below show me eating my SECOND ham sandwich after my first one mysteriously disappeared……….
 
Ranch owners Jeanie & Ray have had a few unexpected travel changes & will be headed back to the ranch shortly so we will not be needed to fill in for any further ranch sitting this winter.  Gonna miss our Ranch Pals Gleason, Pearce & Charlie for sure.  Poncho, Sarah, & all the chickens too.  Maybe catch you guys in the fall again eh:))

 
No reason for us to swing back through south eastern Arizona now so tonight we are already in new territory.  And scenic territory it is too.  From Salton City we headed north & picked up a short cut to I-10 at Mecca.  This is the third time we have used this route.  No point going all the way up to Indio just to play in the traffic.  We joined I-10 near the Southern entrance to Joshua State Park.  It was the same route we used to enter Joshua State Park nearly a year ago.  Today we climbed aboard I-10 near the Park heading east….exact destination unknown.  Would it be a place called Desert Center or Ehrenberg Arizona just northeast of Blythe California.  We’ve been to Blyth & Ehrenberg so I was leaning towards highway 177 heading northeast out of Desert Center simply because it was a totally new area for us.  Kelly agreed & we exited I-10 & headed northeast across the Chuckwalla Valley.

  
Well, let me tell you…..what a great little boondocking area we have come across.  Flowers galore on the desert floor.  What a bonus find:))))  Soon as we got the rig set up & Jeep unhooked I grabbed my cameras & headed out into the fields of flowers. 

The aroma in the air was heavenly as I strolled along the beach like sandy valley floor.  Desert Verbena, Brittlebush, Dune Evening Primrose & Desert Lilies all combined to not only put on a stunning visual display but combined their fine aromas to fill the air with a heavenly fragrance.  With Spring just around the corner, these fine desert flowers will soon be joined by many of their sweet smelling & multi colored friends.  Oh, & how long will be here…..who knows:))  Aw yes, the great boon docking lifestyle here in the American Southwest………….10-4.

    
Noticed the following comment in our Shout Mix box yesterday….“Cora has got to be one of the cutest pups I've ever seen. She looks like a Chihuahua/Pug mix?”  Because of that look our little Motormouse has I have always referred to her as a ‘Chipugamug.’  Chihuahua with a Pug mix, and oh what a mug:))  Our little Cora is about 15 now.

 
‘WOW’ do we ever have a smokin hot Verizon connection finally.  Maybe I can get caught up on a stack of emails I have sitting here.

 
Three new Blog Followers tonight.  Jerry & Deb from TWO WITH WANDERLUST, ROBI HUTTON, & STILLHOWLYN IN 2012.  A big thanks to all you folks for dropping in on our annual Snow Birding adventures:))

 
TONIGHT’S CAMP IN THE DESERT LILY SANCTUARY
GROANER’S CORNER:((  A family from the hills of Kentucky was visiting the big city for the first time. They stayed in a high rise hotel with a big brass elevator right off of the lobby. The father and son stared at it in amazement, wondering what it was. After staring at it in awe for a few minutes the boy looked up at his dad, "Pa, what do you reckon that there thing is?" he asked. "I don't rightly know, son." the father replied. Just then an old, frumpy woman with curlers in her hair walks up, steps on the elevator and the doors shut behind her. After about 30 seconds the doors opened again and a beautiful, young blonde wearing a mini-skirt walks out. The father leans over to his son and says, "Boy, go and git your Ma!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com