AWWWW NUTS WE SLEPT THROUGH OUR FIRST EARTHQUAKE & INTO THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT STONE SNAKE & OH YES…….MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE:))

A HAPPY LITTLE SHOPPER AT BORREGO SPRINGS CHRISTMAS CIRCLE THIS MORNING

Apparently we had a 4.2 earthquake with 5 aftershocks out here in the desert late Tuesday night but neither Kelly or I felt anything.  We were both probably sound asleep.  Even if I had felt something I probably would have assumed it was just Pheebs jumping up onto or off my bed.

OUR MORNING SUNRISE

 

WE BEGIN OUR CLIMB TO FIND THE GREAT STONE SNAKE

AND BY GOLLY WE DID FIND IT TOO

It was 7:20 a.m. & we were out the door with our feet (& paws) walking west towards Coyote Mountain.  Quickly found a  familiar footpath & we were on our way up over a couple ridges to the wee valley of the great Stone Snake.  Kelly brought a walking stick with her & was up to the challenge of the sometimes slippery stone covered trail.  So nice to see her energy is back.

OTHER STONE CRITTERS ARE ALSO BEGINNING TO POP UP IN THIS WEE VALLEY

Happy once again to see the Great Stone Snake has not been disturbed.  In fact there appears to be a few other stone Critters popping up in the area as well.  Nice to see people being creative.  Am suspecting the creators of these stone anomalies may be from a popular RV boondocking area below called Peg Leg Smiths.  Great views from where we stood looking towards Borrego Springs about 5 miles away at the foot of the San Ysidro Mountains.  From our scenic elevation I counted about 31 rigs scattered about in the desert to the east where we are.

PEG LEG SMITHS BOONDOCKING AREA IS KNOWN FOR IT’S GATHERING OF CANADIAN SNOWBIRDS & THAT IS THE TOWN OF BORREGO SPRINGS UPPER RIGHT NESTLED AGAINST THE SAN YSIDRO MOUNTAINS

THIS IS US

TECHNOMADIA & WHEELING IT WITH THE HIGHWAY LEADING TO SALTON CITY IN THE BACKGROUND

GAELYN FROM GEOGYPSY

AND BY GOLLY I’M WONDERING IF THAT COULD BE NAN & JOHN TALLEY WAY OUT THERE FROM TRIPPIN WITH THE TALLEYS

Nina had left a note in our Shout Box about the market being open this morning on Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs so it was off we went to pick up some veggies & things.  Pheebs stayed in the rig to keep an eye on stuff.  I love going to Christmas Circle & shuffling my feet on the soft green grass.  It’s probably the largest circle of grass this side of the San Ysidros.  And you know how we northerners like our green green grass under foot.

HARDEST PART IS ALWAYS COMING DOWN THROUGH LOOSE GRAVELY STONES

 

THIS IS WHY WE LIKE BOONDOCKING CLOSE UP TO COYOTE MOUNTAIN

Figured we might recognize a few familiar faces & sure enough within minutes we bumped into Gaelyn buying half a Duck for Christmas dinner.  Had ourselves a chinwag before we all scurried off in search for fresh vegetable bargoons.  Well not me so much.

MAIN STREET BORREGO SPRINGS

 

I haven’t eaten any burgs & fries for about 4 months now but knew I would be making an exception to that when in Borrego Springs.  Has kinda been a tradition of mine to get a burg & fries at a Mexican eatery on main street called Los Jilbertos & sure enough we made the short walk from Christmas Circle over to Los Jilbertos this morning.  Kelly had a couple fish tacos.  Kind of a groovy breakfast I would say.  A walk across the street to Borrego’s Nature Store netted us a schedule for all kinds of events coming up over the next little while or so.  Photography & Astronomy outings, hikes, Jeep tours & the list goes on.  Borrego Springs is a great place for people looking for interesting things to do.  In the past we’ve been on a couple Jeep tours & I have been to an Astronomy seminar as well as an early morning photo shoot a few years ago.  Dis is da place to be folks:))

INSIDE LOS JILBERTOS & HERE COMES 1 BURG & FRIES PLUS 2 FISH TACOS

KELLY CALLS HER MOM THIS AFTERNOON USING SKYPE

On the way back to the Jeep walking across Christmas Circle I heard a “Hi there” but didn’t instantly recognize the person behind the dark sunglasses underneath a floppy Santa hat despite the fact I was keeping an eye out for her.  Yesireeee it was Nina from WHEELING IT alright.  Minutes later Chris & Cherie from another popular blog TECHNOMADIA walked up & we finally got to meet them as well after all these years.  Chris & Cherie are very active folks in the social media side of things & they got themselves a neat old bus too.  We plan to have a look at that Saturday afternoon.  (big Hootenanny planned) How nice to see Nina again.  Paul is in Miami visiting family.  Nina & Paul boondocked just down the road from our Congress digs on Ghost Town Road last winter.  Coincidentally I first met Nina a couple winters ago right here in Borrego Springs at Christmas Circle one morning.

AND YES I AM GOING TO END UP CARRYING THAT 45 POUND BAG OF VEGGIES ALRIGHT

 

WE FIRST MET GAELYN THEN CHRIS, CHERIE,  & NINA

 

JUST GOTTA LOVE CHRISTMAS CIRCLE

 

JUST WASN’T SURE WHICH ONE WAS THE REAL SANTA CLAUSE THIS MORNING

Kelly wanted to pop into the Frugal Coyote Thrift store while in town so we headed on over there before heading back to the rig.  Normally I just wait in the Jeep but this morning I decided to go in & check things out.  Within minutes I found myself a shirt I liked & within another dozen minutes I found something else I considered a real bargain.  The camera case I have been carrying on my belt 365 days a year for the last 5 years or so had pretty much finally disintegrated & I was in desperate need of a new case to house my Canon Powershot SX210IS.  Spotted a black case in the showcase which looked promising.  Price was $6 & that included the Samsung S860 camera inside.  ‘WOW’ now that was a totally unexpected bargoooon. Now we’ve got ourselves another digital camera.  That makes 7 working digital cameras in the family plus 2 cell phone cameras.  I tested the Samsung when we got home & the camera works great.

 

THE 4 PHOTOS BELOW WERE TAKEN WITH THE SAMSUNG

 

 

MY SHIRT, CAMERA, & CAMERA CASE WHICH WAS THE ONLY ITEM I WAS ORIGINALLY LOOKING FOR

Spent ourselves a quiet afternoon just soaking up our quiet surroundings.  It was so quiet we could have heard a pin drop in the desert.  Our kind of Christmas & I was just saying to Kelly this morning that it all started 10 years ago now.  We had made a quick trip to Big Bend in Texas & on Christmas Eve we sat atop a hill watching a beautiful sunset.  Christmas day morning we went hiking in  Boquillas Canyon & I still remember us standing on a hill looking over the Rio Grande River into Mexico.  We both agreed this was the way we wanted to spend our future Christmas’s quiet & relaxing somewhere in the gentle arms of Mother Nature.  And that is what we have managed to do every year since…………..:))

 

THIS 7 YEAR OLD PHOTO TAKEN CHRISTMAS EVE 2007 WAS ALSO IN BORREGO SPRINGS NEAR THE SPOT WHERE WE ARE CAMPED ONCE AGAIN TONIGHT…IN FACT IF YOU LOOK OVER OUR HEADS & SEE THAT BROWN MOUNTAIN COMING IN FROM THE RIGHT WE ARE TONIGHT RIGHT WHERE THAT MOUNTAIN MEETS THE DESERT FLOOR

So from the Bayfield Bunch way out here in California we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas & a big thank-you to all the folks who have sent so many good wishes & well meanings our way through Emails, Comments, Shouts, & Facebook messages:))))))))))))))))))))  

WITH MY CAMERA ON A TRIPOD & A LONG EXPOSURE I PAINTED THIS GREETING TO EVERYONE WITH MY FLASHLIGHT ON THE SIDE OF OUR DAMON MOTORHOME AT THE TIME…………….:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( I had the toughest time of my life. First, I got angina pectoris and then arteriosclerosis. Just as I was recovering from these, I got tuberculosis, double pneumonia and phthisis. Then they gave me hypodermics. Appendicitis was followed by tonsillectomy. These gave way to aphasia and hypertrophic cirrhosis. I completely lost my memory for a while. I know I had diabetes and acute ingestion, besides gastritis, rheumatism, lumbago and neuritis. I don't know how I pulled through it. It was the hardest spelling test I've ever had.

THIS POST IS COMING TO YOU FROM BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA:))

Our intentions were to head for the MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE but after checking weather for that area over the next few weeks we decided at the last minute we would sooner be in warmer air.  Lots of sunshine at the Preserve but the 10 day forecast showed temperatures sliding into the low 60’s & high 50’s during the day with low 30’s at night.  Figured February’s warmer temps would be a better time for us to explore that area. We’ve been on the cool/cold side in Congress for awhile now & it’s always cold in our house so we were both needing to just get away & feel some warmer air for a change. So where to go??

HAD US A SLEEPY LITTLE TRAVELER TODAY >>>

Last year we spent Christmas in the Kofa Mountains just south of Quartzsite Arizona.  Christmas of 2008 was spent at Ogilbe Road west of Yuma but it was another favorite area calling to us this year.   With lots of sunshine & temps in the mid 70’s we at the last minute decided on Borrego Springs California.  Our travel plans came together rather quickly as we hurriedly loaded up the Big EEE Monday. 

Thankfully a heavy gusting north wind in the night let up enough just before we rolled out at 9:30 this morning.  A quick stop to top off our propane tank at the B&B garage & Congress was soon fading fast in my drivers side rear view mirror.  As always it just felt good to be on the road going somewhere again.  This sitting around for weeks or months on end in the same location just really gets me down.  But let’s not get into all that.  Let’s just get our travel hats on & head off down the road in search of some new adventures. 

Not a cloud in the sky & hardly a vehicle on the road all the way to I-10 just east of Quartzsite Arizona.  It was evident right away traffic was heavier that usual.  About the same number of trucks but a lot more 4 wheelers on the road.  Figured it was the Christmas rush because I saw cars going by us with stacks of gaily wrapped Christmas presents in the back seat.

ROLLING WEST THROUGH QUARTZSITE’S MAIN INTERSECTION

BIG NAME RV DEALERSHIPS ARE ALREADY HERE GEARING UP FOR NEXT MONTH

LOVE McDONALDS GREEN GRASS…A RARITY HERE IN THE DESERT

Thought we’d try out the newer Chevron gas station at the east end of Quartzsite to top off our fuel tank.  Nice big spacious concrete area & I think from now on we will always refuel there when passing through this area.  Much more big rig friendly than the Pilot station beside McDonald’s or Loves at Quartzsite’s north end.  And oh now nice to feel warmer air again.  Our usual stop at McDonalds for Wraps & coffee & we were once more westbound at the stroke of noon.  Winds had picked up significantly blowing large clouds of desert dust obscuring distant mountains.  Luckily it was hitting us on our passenger side rear corner & aside from a few gusts trying to land us in Mexico it wasn’t too bad.

HERE’S MY MCDONALD’S ‘CRISPY CHICKEN’ WRAP WITH ONE BITE OUT OF IT 

I DIDN’T KNOW KELLY HAD SNAPPED THIS PHOTO OF ME WITH HER BLACKBERRY UNTIL I SAW IT ON FACEBOOK 

BLOWING CLOUDS OF SAND & DUST

 

THIS UPCOMING 29 PALMS EXIT IS OUR SHORTCUT THROUGH BOX CANYON

Decided on the I-10, Box Canyon, Mecca route again only this time instead of heading down the east side towards Niland & Slab City we slipped over top the Salton Sea’s north end & picked up highway 86 heading south on the west side for Salton City.  Always nice seeing all the green agricultural fields in this area.  Grape Vineyards, cabbage fields, red peppers, lemon orchards, & all kinds of other leafy things we didn’t recognize.

SLIPPING THROUGH BOX CANYON FOR OUR 5TH TIME IN THE PAST 6 WEEKS OR SO

ALWAYS LOVE THIS 1RST VIEW OF THE SALTON SEA AS WE ROUND A CORNER OUT OF BOX CANYON

VINEYARDS

NO IDEA WHAT THIS CROP IS

We had tanks to dump & water to take on so we pulled into the big Arco station at the turn off onto S22 for Borrego Springs.  Isn’t it always great when there’s nobody else at the dump station.  Emptied our gray & black tanks & hooked up a hose to try out our black tank flush system.  Never had that on an RV before.  Seemed to work fine but unless one sticks their head down the toilet with a flashlight how does one know.  Filled up our water tank & picked up some milk at the Dollar Store just a couple parking lots north of the Arco station.  Between Arco & the dollar store we saw some building going on.  A new ‘Jack In The Box’ is going up.  Oh & by the way, water & dump are still free at the Arco station despite some rumors we had heard about having to pay now.

LOOKING EAST ACROSS THE SALTON SEA…SLAB CITY IS OVER THERE SOMEWHERE

TAKING ON WATER AT THE ARCO STATION

It’s only a 20 minute drive from Arco west on S22 to the Clark Dry Lake Bed, our destination.  Always one of my favorite drives as the Borrego Valley opens up with it’s long sweeping vistas.  Knowing where to look we began seeing slight pin point glitters of reflected sunlight far ahead in the desert.  We knew these tiny points of light to be RV’s scattered about the desert floor on the right side of the highway.  Closer we got the larger these RV’s became & we soon were able to identify 5th wheels, Motorhomes, Travel Trailers etc.  Probably a couple dozen rigs scattered about.  Wasn’t long & we were at our Rock House Road turn-off.

OUR DESTINATION IS DEAD AHEAD RIGHT WHERE COYOTE MOUNTAIN COMING IN FROM THE RIGHT MEETS THE DESERT FLOOR

Most RV’ers prefer the flatter low area east of Rock House Road & that’s where we camped out the first few years here.  What we like about the Rock House area though is it’s slightly higher elevation with views of Borrego Springs at night.  Internet reception can be a tad better as well but what I like most is it’s close proximity to the southern end of Coyote Mountain.  There are easy close by hiking trails within walking distance & I like to hike up there in the mornings for the great views of this whole valley.  It is also home to the great stone snake if you know where to look.  Luckily I do so in the morning I’ll probably hike up there to see if it’s still around or has slithered away.

THE YELLOW GOLDEN GLOW OF TWILIGHT WILL SOON BE UPON US

Found us a fairly good spot & with any luck nobody will crowd in on us.  We are soooooo happy to be here again.  We’ve been coming to this Clark Dry Lake Bed area & Borrego Springs every winter for 8 years now.  Our longest stay was about 2 weeks one time & our shortest stay was a couple days 2 years ago.  For us, Borrego Springs is like coming home.  We have so many great memories here.  How great to see the mighty Santa Rosa Mountains again, to watch the sun playing across the mountain sides casting deep shadows into canyons & crevices.  Spectacular sunrises & sunsets.  It’s all here & I haven’t even mentioned the picturesque palm treed little town of Borrego Springs yet.  But I’ll save that for days to come.

 

AHA, TIS NINA FROM WHEELING IT & THE FOLKS OVER AT TECHNOMADIA WE SEE HERE…NO IDEA WHO’S IN THE WHITE RV THOUGH

LONG SHADOWS INTO THE CANYONS

 

AND BY GOLLY THAT LOOKS LIKE IT COULD BE GAELYN FROM GEOGYPSY OVER YONDER

And how nice to be warm again, to sit outside in short sleeves.  Outdoors after dark looking at all the glittering diamonds in the sky without having to be all bundled up against the cold.  Ahhhhhhhhh yes how sweet it is……………

TONIGHT’S CRESCENT MOON COMPLETE WITH A GREEN LENS REFLECTION

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Now that they are retired, my mother and father are discussing all aspects of their future. "What will you do if I die before you do?" Dad asked Mom.  After some thought, she said that she'd probably look for a house- sharing situation with three other single or widowed women who might be a little younger than herself, since she is so active for her age.
Then Mom asked Dad, "What will you do if I die first?"
He replied, "Probably the same thing."

REPETITION:((

I’m afraid I don’t have much to write about again tonight & the only photos I have are more birds & photos of my front yard project.  Seems I’m caught up in one of my own blogging foibles………repetition:((

  

I am enjoying my renewed interest in our Congress house now that we haven’t been talking about selling it for awhile.  At this point it looks like we will put that decision off until circumstances dictate we discuss it again.  In the meantime I’ll just keep puttering along outside in the nice weather with my hobbies……………….

I JOINED 2 FLOWERBEDS THIS MORNING

 

BEFORE & AFTER…DIDN’T LIKE THE WAY THIS NARROW PATH BETWEEN 2 FLOWERBEDS TURNED OUT SO I DUG IT UNDER & JOINED THE 2 BEDS INTO ONE

 

BEFORE & AFTER

WISHED THE DARKER MOIST SOIL WOULD STAY THAT COLOR BUT IT WILL SOON DRY OUT IN THE SUN & BECOME THE SAME LIGHT COLOR AS THE GROUND SURROUNDING IT

THIS IS WHAT THAT SAME AREA LOOKED LIKE THE FIRST DAY WE STEPPED ONTO THE PROPERTY BACK IN MARCH OF 2012

Reading Nina’s latest post I see she is boondocking at the Clark Dry Lake Bed near Borrego Springs for Christmas.  And it seems there are quite a few other RV Bloggers camped out in the area as well.  Kelly & I, Max, Checkers, & little Cora spent Christmas of 2007 boondocked there.  Nice memories of a quiet couple weeks.  Just the way we prefer it……………….

A NEW MOUNTAIN RANGE IN OUR BACKYARD??  NOPE, JUST AN UNUSUAL CLOUD FORMATION IN THE LATE DAY WESTERN SKY SUNDAY

GROANER’S CORNER:(( If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed and dry cleaners depressed?  Laundry workers could decrease, eventually becoming depressed and depleted! Even more, bedmakers will be debunked, baseball players will be debased, landscapers will be deflowered, bulldozer operators will be degraded, organ donors will be delivered, software engineers will be detested, the BVD company will be debriefed, and even musical composers will eventually decompose.  On a more positive note though, perhaps we can hope politicians will be devoted.

STARTING TONIGHT OUR DAYS WILL BECOME LONGER

KELLY HANGS A FEW CHRISTMAS BALLS ON A MESQUITE TREE IN OUR FRONT YARD

Not a whole lot to write about again today.  I worked away in my cactus beds & Kelly hung up some Christmas Balls.  Pheebs just hung out being her usual happy little self.  We did have a visitor though.  Years ago I had mentioned several times in my blog about always looking at property wherever we went & expressed an interest in some cheaper properties we had seen on-line in the Datil New Mexico area.  A couple (Renee & David) owning 10 acres there had emailed us a few times telling us different things & answering a few questions we had about the region.  Kind of lost track of them over the years until a few weeks ago when Renee emailed saying they were over at North Ranch which is about 5 miles from where we live.  Late this morning Renee dropped in to say Hello.  We were surprised to hear her & David had bought a lot at North Ranch last May & have moved their 5th wheel onto it .  They still have their New Mexico property but plan to spend winters at North Ranch now.  For years they had spent winters in Yuma so they were just needing a change of pace.  We both liked Renee.  Easy to talk to & we had a lot of things in common.  David was home nursing a sore foot.

The December Solstice is upon us.  This is when the sun reaches it’s southernmost point for the year.  Starting tonight our days will become longer as the sun makes it’s slow climb back into the northern hemisphere reaching it’s northernmost point on the 21rst of June when we once again begin our slow glide back to the shorter days of winter.

Wayne over at Turn When The Road Does has a couple good posts dealing with electricity, surge protectors, testing equipment, batteries, solar, power usage, inverters, lighting, plus a whole lot of stuff in between.  A good read for folks just starting out as well as seasoned RV’ers.  All 'JUICED' up Part 1 & All 'JUICED' up Part 2 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A boy who was a witness to a crime was called to testify in court. He was approached by the defense attorney who asked, "Did anyone tell you what to say in court?"  "Yes, sir," answered the boy.
"I thought so," said the attorney. "Who was it?"
"My father, sir."  "And what did he tell you?" the attorney asked accusingly.  "He said that the lawyers would try to get me all tangled up, but if I told the truth, everything would be all right."