WOW, IS IT EVER HOT!!

LIFT OFF

My mercury thermometer told me it was 90 in the shade this afternoon until I realized the little red mercury filled glass tube had come away from the backing of the thermometer.  As soon as I adjusted it we dropped 10 degrees.  I think the sunny side of the rig got up to about 310F!!  Wow, what a climate change from a few days & weeks ago in Arizona.  I’m sitting outside right now, shirtless, & totally enjoying the warmer air & new California mountain vistas in front of me.  With my map & compass I’ve already figured out where RICK is on the other side of the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto mountains.  He left his outside RV light on last night & I could see the faint glow over the mountain.  Said he’d be sure to turn it off tonight & not interfere with my Stargazing!!

The Class A motorhome closest to us moved this morning so I immediately thought it was because of us moving into the desert neighborhood too close to him.  You know how sensitive these boondockers are about their space!!  Turns out he moved a short distance away to where there is a flat & wide dead end road.  He had a small enclosed trailer on behind so figured he was an ATV’er with a machine inside.  Well he had a machine inside alright but it wasn’t an ATV, it was an ultra-light motorized hang glider.  Wasn’t long & he had the big door open & the machine rolled out onto the smooth gravel.  Grabbed my 200mm lens & headed in his direction & stopped about half way to watch.  He warmed up the engine for a few minutes & then shut it off while he carefully laid out a very large multicolored square para type chute behind his burgandy machine which incidentally had a large round propeller on the back.  I was careful not to approach any closer & distract him from his assembly & safety checks.  I know how easy it is to forget something when hooking up the car to the RV or running final checks if someone comes along & starts ying yanging to me.  By the way, when you see someone hooking up or unhooking their rig do not approach them with ‘”Howdy there neighbor!!”  Distractions cause accidents & especially at this age & stage of the game when it’s crucial us older folks totally concentrate on what it is we’re doing.  Wait until your neighbor is sitting down in a relaxed state of frustration before going over & hanging that “Howdy'” thing on him!!

I tried to put a photo album in here about the ultra lite power glider but after waiting for an hour & a half for the blog to publish I finally gave up & took the album out because I sign kept coming up saying there was a problem with the album so either Live Writer failed or Windows 7 failed.  Tomorrow night I will probably go back to the old computer & shove this new computer & Win 7 waaaaaaaay far under the bed!!!!

HEY, I WONDER WHAT’S GOING ON OVER THERE

FROM TAKE OFF TO TOUCH DOWN

Ok, back to the hang glider guy.  Once he had that chute laid out behind him it didn’t take long for him to rev the engine, start a short take off roll, & become quickly airborne.  Cracked off a bunch of shots as he rose into the early morning air & disappeared off down the valley.  Wow, if only I would have been a whole lot smarter a whole lot earlier in life:((  I did sign up for an ultra light training course in 1993 at the Centralia airport South of Exeter Ontario one time but the course was cancelled & I was credited my $25 registration fee.  And that was the end of that!!

Of course it didn’t take us long on a short dog walk this morning to discover a better RV site just a couple hundred yards away from where we were.  Definitely a better spot but would our Verizon card work.  First order of business was to return to the rig & bring the computer over to the new location.  Should mention here that we are using our Wilson antennae to bring in the 2 bar signal we’re using.  Without that antennae we were only getting one to no bars.  We had tried that antennae a couple other times in different places but with negative results.  Glad we didn’t junk it because without it here we would not be on line.

<<< MOVING FROM HERE TO WHERE THE CAR IS

And so began another move.  Drove the rig over to the new site & began setting things up again.  I hopped up on the roof & worked on deploying the solar panels while Kelly made 3 or 4 trips with the car between the sites bringing over the firewood, tables, mats, etc.  Up until yesterday we have always parked the coach with our side door facing south to catch the warming rays of the sun in the cooler Arizona air.  Either the right or left side of the rig has to face south in order for the roof’s solar panels to take advantage of the arcing sun all day.  Now that we are into California’s warmer climate we have to park with the side door facing north so we have shade to sit in & not roast over on the south side.  Another bonus of this new site today is that we can now see the town of Borrego Springs in the distance & that will be nice to see the lights at night.

 

OUR NEW SURROUNDINGS

Once everything was set up it didn’t take Kelly long to hop into the car & head for town about 5 miles to our southwest.  Her first destination was the Thrifty Coyote thrift store she likes plus she wanted to pop into the True Value hardware store which happens to be one of the greatest well stocked hardware stores I’ve ever seen.  Another stop was the  Borrego Desert Nature Center where all the information is regarding things to do in Borrego Springs & Anza Borrego State Park.  It was another reason we came here earlier than planned because we knew the desert programs offered would be gearing up.  I knew there would be Astronomy & Photography classes, guided hikes in the desert, plus Jeep tours so we wanted to get in on all that this year…..& we’ve made a good start.

MAKING THINGS LOOK A BIT LIKE HOME

Kelly was back to the rig about 3 with a pile of information.  Inside half an hour she was on the phone & had us signed up for our first jeep tour.  I am also signed up for 2 separate photo instruction classes regarding desert photography.  One starts at 6 a.m.  zzzzzzzzzz.  Also a ‘Tailgate Tour’ this Sunday at Borrego’s tiny airport.    California’s only State Park pilot Kelly McCague explains her responsibilities & takes folks out to the runway for a close up look of her plane.  There are many more activities going on so we are probably going to be busy people.  I’m also thrilled to see there is a Ghost Mountain hike coming up because I took a great interest in the Marshal South Ghost Mountain Story when we were here the past 2 years.  In our search box at the top of the right hand column just type in Marshal South or Ghost Mountain for the blogs & photos I have done about that.

OLD BUS LEAVES – SNOW ON A DISTANT MOUNTAIN – BIRD STATION

As I’m typing this outside today there are unseen jet fighter aircraft high in the overhead sky twisting, turning, & diving.  Can’t see them but have been to enough air shows over the years to know the sounds of jet aircraft in tight turns, swooping dives, & afterburner climbs.

OK, time to field some questions……………..Regarding that $165 fine at the Kofa Refuge.  Friday morning a fellow in a tent trailer stopped by our site when he noticed me outside looking through my telescope at the mountain.  He is a part time forest ranger & pro photographer from Oregon down here for some camping.  He thought I might  have spotted some big horn sheep.  Anyway, he had come in the day before, gone past the Kofa Refuge kiosk & set up camp just off the road in the desert.  There are signs through there with a picture of a jeep with a slash through it.  Being a forest ranger he took that to mean no ‘off roading.’   What it really meant was No Motorized Vehicles.  A lady Kofa ranger came by, was very upset with him & stuck him with a $165.00 fine for camping in a no vehicle area.  Needless to say he was ‘not a happy camper!!’  Saturday we saw a Class C heading into the park & Sunday morning while out on our drive we saw that Class C parked right directly behind one of those No Vehicle signs.  Nobody around the Class C & we figure they were out for a desert walk.  Felt the right thing to do was leave a note in their door to warn them they could be in for a fine.  Yes, this is BLM land but they have signs up to prevent jeeps, ATV’s, dirt bikes, etc from ripping up certain areas of the desert.   I understand that but the signs are definitely confusing!!  Some signs are just a vehicle picture with a slash & some are a vehicle with a slash & the words, ‘No Vehicles.’

And in the photos of our group outing I think I remember naming all the folks in the first photo.  I remembering picking that picture so I could specifically do that & that’s why I didn’t keep repeating names with all the remaining pics.

And regarding snakes, scorpions, the desert, & our dogs.  During the cooler winter months the snakes & scorpions are in a dormant state underground so are not a threat to our dogs.  But, it is starting to warm up now & those critters may start to stir before too long so for sure we are going to have to be extra vigilant now.

Seems I am still forgetting some other questions but if you send them in again I will get on top of them right away.  I am slowly accepting the fact that if I don’t get on something immediately, chances are I am going to forget it:(( 

THE VIEW OVER THE COMPUTER:))

And I am also typing this with Live Writer for the first time on our new Toshiba laptop with Windows 7.  Had brought our older Toshiba out earlier but had trouble with reflections.  Noticed a big improvement with the new Toshiba so maybe they have improved the screen technology.  Also plan to use the new computer from this point forward for all blogs & photos as well so I’m officially off & running with Windows 7:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((   ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

HELLOOOOOOO BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA:))

MOON MUSINGS WITH FACE OF THE SNAKE

Woke up this morning with a hankering for some semi civilization & a Jilberto's hamburger & the only place I could think of with that kind of action was.....Borrego Springs, California.  Question was which route to take. 

A VALENTINES DAY SHADOW HEART ON THE MOUNTAIN BESIDE US SUNDAY

Had packed most everything up Sunday night so we didn't have a lot to do in the morning.  Took the doggy guys for a short walk, had a last long look around at our little site tucked cozily between the Kofa & Castle Dome mountains & had the wheels rolling by 9:20.  As usual I had my last looks back with pleasant memories of our few days there.  The gathering in the desert was a rare & special day I'll always connect that day with that site.

                               

A LAST LOOK AROUND THE CAMPSITE BEFORE LEAVING THIS MORNING

Only a dirt road mile to the highway & as I rolled up to the stop sign I was still debating which way to go.  Yuma, El Centro,  & Brawley maybe or Quartzsite, Blyth, Glammis, & Brawley.  Had I remembered the southbound construction I would have chose the Quartzsite route but of course with my memory I swung left out onto the highway & proceeded to the rear of a long line of cars a couple miles down the road stopped on the highway waiting out a paving operation.   No U turns with 53 feet so we waited it out.  Stop & go, stop & go but after half an hour we were underway.  But, not before I clipped a flagman's 'stop/slow' sign with my passenger mirror.  Don't think he was paying attention as he let his hand held sign out too far as we were squeezing by a narrowed spot in the road.  No damage to the mirror but I think I broke the cigarette in half he had hanging out of his mouth.  When I quickly checked my mirror he was making some kind of cross sign in front of his chest.........:))

<<< CONSTRUCTION SLOW DOWN

Soon as I got into the Yuma morning traffic I was wishing I had gone the other way but we made out OK.  Spotted a Cracker Barrel sign about 11:15 a.m. & knew we had been to that location before so exited I-8.  What  we had forgot about was how small the parking lot was at Yuma's Cracker Barrel.  It is not big rig friendly as we soon found out, squeezing in the entrance & wiggling out the exit seconds later.  Back to I-8 & kept on going. 

West of Yuma we went by the area where the header photo for this blog was taken.  Pilot Knob.  A lot of rigs out in the desert there & I don't know why.  It's flat, treeless, & sandy.  We over nighted there one time last year & it's the only time we ever came close to getting stuck in sand.  In fact I thought I had bent the wheels on the car.   Anyway, they call it the dust bowl when the heavy west winds blow sand in off the Algodones Sand Dunes, & those winds can be horrendous.  Just a short distance away is Ogilbe Road where we camped out for a couple weeks last year & it is hard packed with shrubs & trees.  Lots of room for hundreds & hundreds of rigs with mountains close by & interesting mine sites.   Don't know why folks would camp in the dust bowl except they are a few miles closer to Yuma & the malls.

ALGODONES SAND DUNES WEST OF YUMA

We could have taken quiet & scenic Ogilbe Road to Brawley but I was curious to see what the country was like along I-8 to El Centro.  Aside from the Sahara looking Algodones Sand Dunes the landscape is totally boring with scrub desert most of the way.   For the last 3 years upon entering California we have noticed something else in this area as well & the only thing I can think it might be is......smog.  Hard to see the surrounding mountains in the haze.  I often wonder if it is the smog from the large California cities on the coast blowing inland. 

MR. SNOOZY FACE

Groceries & a tuna sub for AL at Brawley's new Wally World & then north towards Calipatria to dump the tanks & take on water at a rest area.  Back through Brawley heading west for Borrego.  Looks like they are building a bi-pass around Brawley on the north side.  That would be a good thing.

We pulled into the Clark Dry Lake bed BLM land around 4:30 California time.  Noticed the usual amount of rigs scattered about in the desert as we turned onto Rockhouse road looking for a spot.  Had hoped to park beside the same earthen oven we did last year but somebody was already in that spot.  Unhooked the car & drove around with the computer looking for an acceptable Verizon spot.  Best we could find was 2 green bars about a quarter  mile north of the oven site. 

ON FINAL APPROACH FOR THE CLARK DRY LAKE BED EAST OF BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

I'm afraid we have been spoiled with great  3 & 4 bar Verizon coverage so it's going to require a lot of patience now slowly working with 2 bar reception  here at Borrego but hey, 2 bars is better than no bars.  Just takes sooooooo long to open everything.  Didn't get any blogs read this morning & with this slower speed it's going to be a problem.   Saw a lot of comments in hotmail about last night's blog & Kelly managed to publish some but I haven't read them all so hope to read them in the morning.  This 2 bar connection is just so slow & I just don't have the patience to wait for sites to open right now.  We are both sooooooooo beat tonight.

 

WE'LL TAKE A SECOND LOOK WITH REFRESHED EYES IN THE MORNING & DECIDE IF WE'LL STAY IN THIS SPOT

Didn't take a lot of photos today so when Kelly noticed a thin crescent moon tonight I slipped outside with a 200mm lens & a slow shutter speed to create some crescent moon musings................

   

TONIGHT'S CRESCENT MOON WITH A SLOW SHUTTER SPEED & SOME CAMERA WIGGLES

Tonight was the first night warm enough on this whole trip to actually be outside after dark with a short sleeve shirt on.   Noticed the temps really went up west of Yuma today & I had the A/C on for a bit.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  One of the great things about being over 60 is kidnappers are not very interested in you.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

SOMETIMES I'M JUST TOO DARNED OPINIONATED FOR MY OWN GOOD!!

RELAXING IN OUR YARD THIS AFTERNOON

Woke up in a warm fuzzy state this morning & figured it must have been from all those extra hugs & handshakes yesterday.  That kinda stuff can be a bit traumatic for a feller like me who isn't used to all that.

                                                                  

A few days ago when we took the dirt road up to King of Arizona Mine we noticed a sign pointing to another road heading south in the direction of Castle Dome Mountain.  This morning we thought we'd give that road a try because we have been seeing jeep tours going by here & figured that's where they are coming from & going to.  Headed out about 10.  Bit of a hump getting up off the main road onto the trail but we made our way back through the desert about a mile before coming to a dry wash.  It was obvious a 4 wheel drive vehicle was the best way to proceed & we only had a two wheel drive.  I'm sure our Santa Fe would have been alright but why beat it up if we didn't have to.  Made the decision to turn around & head back to the main road.

                                                           

GOT ABOUT A MILE DOWN THIS ROAD & TURNED BACK

On the way to the rig we decided to stop & climb a couple hills just east of the rig.  We could see slightly worn paths along the hillside & figured there may be Mule Deer, or Big Horn Sheep nearby.  Probably was because we found other paths on our 40 minute hike & the sign in the kiosk beside the car said there were those kinds of animals in these parts.

   

HIKING A COUPLE OF HILLS

Checkers got herself into a very nasty bit of business this afternoon.  Noticed her biting at something on her side & acting unusual.  A quick look see told me she was in trouble with a Teddy Bear Cholla cactus.  These spiny cactus plants are absolutely deadly to the touch.  Their spiny barbed hooks instantly imbed themselves in flesh & they are very, very, painful.  I tangled with one 2 years ago over near Ajo & I think it still hurts to this very day!!  Had to hold Checkers tightly while Kelly worked with a small pliers pulling the hooked barbs out of her mouth & nose.  Used gloves to pull off the larger bunched barbs on her tail, legs, & paws.  It was annoyingly painful for her but she toughed it out being the most bestest girl she could be.  We couldn't get the ones out inside her mouth & in her tongue so we're hoping they will soften & come out on their own.  She seems to be her old usual self tonight despite her painful ordeal. 

TEDDY BEAR CHOLLA CACTUS

CHECKERS WATCHING FOR ALL THE PEOPLE TO COME BACK & PLAY STICKS WITH HER AGAIN TODAY

When RVing like this with no facilities it is important to keep a close eye on liquid levels each day such as water, gray, & black tanks.  After about a week or so these levels become important in determining whether it's time to move on & find a dump station with water.  We are good for nearly another week but we're low on groceries  & things.  Nearest store is Quartzsite or Yuma so that started discussions this morning on our next move which is likely going to take place Monday.  Four of five days in one place is generally long enough for me anyway and we have been in this overall area since Feb 5th.   When we reach highway 95 in the morning it will either be a right turn to Quartzsite & Blyth, California or a left turn to Yuma & the Ogilbe road area of California.  We will probably make that decision somewhere along the mile long road between here & the highway. 

                                 

OUR RIG IS VISIBLE IN TWO OF THESE PHOTOS

Now, to the heart of this post!!  I am one of those bloggers who has a tendency to blog a little closer to the edge than some of my fellow bloggers.  Sometimes this is OK & sometimes it is not.  Keep in mind that an opinion is not a statement of fact, it is only one person's opinion & those opinions are usually based on the person's own personality.  I come from a family of very opinionated people & anyone in my home town of Tavistock Ontario knows exactly where I get that from.  In fact I may be hearing some chuckles right now from people who knew my Mother:))  I have unfortunately always been one of those opinionated characters that would reason, 'if you bought a brown car & I bought a red car my car would be better than your car because your car would  be harder to find in a buffalo herd!!

My inherited opinionated characteristics are no excuse for some of  my RV lifestyle opinions though.  But, it is a part of my personality & I have to deal with that daily.  That personality flaw sometimes finds it's way into the blog & I knew somewhere along the line somebody was going to step up & take me to task on that.  Didn't know when or who but this morning it finally happened when a comment came in from my old blogger buddy RICK http://rickpaulettervjournal.blogspot.com/ .   He had finally had enough of my constant chirping RV opinions about RV Parks, etc & rightly stepped forward & wrapped me a good one right on the end of the nose.    JERRY http://jerrysuzylifeonwheels.blogspot.com/ the third member of the 3 D'umegos (or however we spell it) has also tapped me on the shoulder several times when I have got myself out of line as well.   And getting myself out of line occasionally is something too easy for me to do!!

KELLY LEAVES A NOTE ON THIS RIG'S DOOR.  TALKED TO A FELLOW WHO HAD PARKED NEAR HERE YESTERDAY & RECEIVED A $165.00 FINE

Rick is absolutely right in everything he says in that comment & I have to take a step back, look inside, & make some long overdue changes to that little character defect I have been carrying.  My true opinions about what  I am seeing,  doing, & feeling, will remain the same but  my RV lifestyle comparisons will stop.  (I probably missed my calling as a movie critic) My east/west comparisons will stop & my digs at the 'high enders' will stop.  The RVing community is the best bunch of people I have ever met whether they are driving a million dollar coach or an old VW hippy bus.  I am very proud to be a part of that world & all the great people in it.

                                

LOOKING SOUTH TO YUMA                     LOOKING NORTH TO QUARTZSITE

Here is, in part,  an email from a blog reader that came in today & basically backs up what Rick referred to in his comment.............

"Dear Al -Something Rick said today:  he swims every day in the pool provided at the RV park where he is residing.  There must be many older RVers that have some form/degree of arthritis, like myself.   Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise for this problem.   One of the things that I have not solved is how to get swimming exercise in the southwest, since I will not ever be able to afford RV parks with swimming pools.     My point is this:  how many RV park sitters are there because they can use the pool?  I don't know, but Rick's comments made me realize that, if I had the wherewithal, I would probably spend time in the parks with swimming pools. "  

I thought this email arriving from C Moon today was perfect & it just shows me how far off track some of my opinions have been. 

And to Rick over there in California right now I say...............Thanks buddy, I needed that:))

WE THINK THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A BIG HORN SHEEP PATH

GROANER'S CORNER:((  You know  your getting old when you sit in a rocking chair and can't get it going.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.