CALIFORNIA’S SPLIT MOUNTAIN & THE WIND CAVES….PLUS A TRAVEL DECISION

The one destination I had in mind for this year in Borrego Springs was the Split Mountain & Wind Cave drive.  We had tried that last year with our 2 wheel drive Hyundai Santa Fe but I wasn’t comfortable in the loose gravely sand & turned around a few minutes after we had started.

 

VENTURING INTO SPLIT MOUNTAINS SANDSTONE CANYON

With our days running down here in the Springs we decided to do the Split Mountain drive Tuesday morning so off we went.  That is after we filled up the Jeeps gas tank with a load of $3.95 a gallon California gas of course!!  Like so many others I quickly shoved my head back in the sand & just pretended the price at the pump never really happened!!  Oh how gullible we the traveling public are & oh how easy it is to let ourselves be repeatedly fooled……over & over & over & over!!

THESE LARGE SANDSTONE FORMATIONS ARE KNOWN AS ‘ELEPHANTS KNEES’

 

Twenty minutes later we were rolling through the little ‘off road dirt capital’ of Ocotillo Wells.  This place is a whole story in itself.  Ten minutes south of the Wells we turned off the payment & entered a sandy wash heading for Split Mountain.  Both hard & soft sand strewn with small sporadic rock piles.  The Wind Caves are about 4 miles in after winding around through high towering sandstone Canyon walls.  Had we not noticed the small Wind Caves sign we would have bumped right on by it.

 

The book we had with us said there was a steep rocky climb at the beginning of the hike to the caves.  That was not good news for Kelly’s knee but being the trooper she is she grabbed a walking stick & we walked over to the trail head.  The book was right & the steep trail was strewn with enough rocks & boulders to challenge a Big Horn Sheep.  Kelly tried her best to move up the trail but after a hundred feet or so she knew her knee would never be able to handle the trail & especially the coming down part which is always the hardest & most treacherous.  Kelly wisely chose to not continue & made her way back to the Jeep to do some reading.

 

I continued up the steep rocky incline & could quickly see where Kelly’s knee had no chance of doing the trail.  As usual I was overdressed & carrying a couple heavy cameras only added to my sweating.  Knowing Kelly was waiting I cracked on some speed & scurried along the path like a little Pack Rat after a bad night out.

  

MY FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE WIND CAVES BOTTOM RIGHT PHOTO

The higher I climbed the more breathtaking the views became.  A ridge of snow topped mountains lay on the horizon many miles to the west.  Closer in I recognized a huge formation of rock & sandstone known as the Elephant’s Knees.  Standing on the trail at one point to catch my breath I was overwhelmed by the WOW factor.  The air was clear & silent, the sun hung bright in the southern sky casting short deep shadows into the recesses of small canyons, rock falls, vanes & rock overhangs.  It was just one of those moments of seeing something I had never seen before & the realization that I may never pass this way again.  With that thought in mind I pressed on up the rocky path.

Cresting a ridge I immediately recognized the wind caves in front of me just a few hundred yards distant & down a bit.  The lighter colored sandstone formation could have been home for a group of bustling little Hobbit’s.  Openings in the smooth contoured sand stone rock looked like small darkened windows with larger flowing doorways at odd angles.  Did I see a crooked little chimney with an arc of smoke above it.

 

I spent about 20 minutes at the wind caves walking all around, clambering atop them at times & inside the little cave alcoves at others.  Hastily cracked off a bunch of photos knowing Kelly was far back down the trail & below sitting in the Jeep on the hot Canyon floor.  Scooted up a small hill & stood transfixed by the Borrego Badlands fanning out below me to the distant mountain topped horizon.  I couldn’t help but think of my Mother as I was standing there.   She passed away in 2006.  Despite our troubling times over the long years she is the one who made it all possible in the end for Kelly & I to travel these southwestern States & see the panoramic splendors we have seen.  My Mother was a traveler of sorts as well, having been to countries in Europe.  Her travels also took her to Hawaii & winter trips to Florida.  She never did see the beauty of the American Southwest though.  Maybe some of my photos will bring that to her now.

THE WIND CAVES

THE CARRIZO BADLANDS

Had to be careful with my descent back down the trail because I was in a hurry & that is precisely when slips, falls & blown out knees happen.  Despite all those worries I was soon back at the Jeep where Kelly sat quietly reading her book. 

 

ONE MUST ALWAYS  BE VIGILANT IN THESE WILDLY WONDERFUL LANDS

We continued up the Jeep wash marveling at the towering canyon walls.  These back country Jeep roads through the mountains & canyons can go on forever so at a widening of the gravely trail after awhile we turned around & headed back through the narrow mountain canyon to the highway leading to Ocotillo Wells & Borrego Springs.  Half an hour later we were home sitting in the warm California sun with the rest of the day just kind of softly drifting by..

The Bayfield Bunch welcomes some new blog Followers/Supporters today.  Jeannie & Eldy from WHERE'S ELDO.  Kathy from DON'T FENCE ME IN.  Brooke from OPERATION EXPLORATIONS.  Nancy from THE EVOLVING HUMAN & full timers JOHN & LINDA HUBER.  Thanks to you all for taking an interest in the life & times of The Bayfield Bunch.  And thanks to the Phoenix Mountain Girl for noticing the ‘Watermark’ had disappeared from the bottom right corner of our photos.  The correction should take effect on all pics in Friday’s post:))

Today is Thursday & our day basically went like this…..Kelly went into town to do laundry & I stayed in the rig to give it added weight on this rather wind gusty 80F day:))   We are still waiting for our Microsoft Streets & Trips package to arrive & can’t leave here until we get it.  It’s been nearly 2 weeks!!  Dropped over to see JOHN & JUDY for an hour late this afternoon.  Yep, John busted up his plane pretty good but he’s got er all glued together & is anxious to get it in the air again.   And no, Louisburg Larry….no elephants were injured in last night’s Groaner.  However, the Giraffe had a stiff neck this morning:)) 

OK, LATE BREAKING UPDATE…Just received this email from Joani  regarding shipment of Microsoft’s Streets & Tips:  “Hi Al, Thanks for checking in! There has actually been a delay in the shipping of the product, and we were expecting to get more copies this week but it still hasn’t come yet. I will check and see if there is an expected date yet. Sorry about this! Are you leaving soon? Once we get the product, we can have it shipped overnight.”

Well, that frees us up to leave Borrego Springs now because we will change the shipping address for Streets & Trips to our home in Bayfield.   But, here’s our decision tonight…..The largest Jeep off road rally in the world is scheduled to kick of Friday just down the road from us.  FOUR WHEEL DRIVE CLUB OF SAN DIEGO   We have to go right through that area to head North & we do not want to get caught in a massive traffic jam of cars & people.  It is at the big Arco station there that we plan to dump our tanks & take on water &  I have no patience for huge line-ups.  We have to either leave early in the morning or stay where we are until Monday.  Our black tank is nearly full & our fresh water tank is nearly empty.  Decisions, decisions.  If we do decide to roll out in the morning we have no idea if there will be Verizon coverage where we’re headed so not sure about a blog tomorrow night.  Or, we may just stay right where we are until Monday or Tuesday…….. Oh dear what to do!!

   

GROANER’S CORNER:))  This year we will experience 4 unusual dates.... 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11 .... Take the last 2 digits of the year you were born plus the age you will be this year and it WILL EQUAL TO 111:))

IVAN, JOHN & JUDY…JEAN & SKIP…PLUS –‘LEMONGATE’!!

My internal Ontario body clock started the day off for me at 2:30 in the morning again.  Max had to go out at 3 so I stepped outside with him.  How nice it is not to have those freezing cold night time temperatures over here in southern California.  So nice to comfortably stand out under the stars again.  I see the summer constellations are swinging into view from the East & readying themselves for their annual march across the summer night sky in a few months.  My old buddy Scorpios is looking as grand as ever.  Looking to the North I could see the glow from a ka-zillion million lights on the other side of the San Bernardino Mountains.   The megapolis of cities was alive for another night.  And, it also told me that RICK had left his 5ver’s outside light on again!!

THE DESERT HOLDS MANY UNTOLD STORIES

I had today’s blog about our Split Mountain/Wind Caves drive all set to go this morning already but our day somehow got very busy so I will post the Split Mountain blog Thursday.

  

DRIVING THROUGH SPLIT MOUNTAINS SANDSTONE CANYON 

Nice to read KAREN'S blog & feel the excitement as they visit the great southwest for the first time.  A few days ago they were underground at the great Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico & later on to the  White Sands National Monument.  Also note in their blog how considerate these two people are in regards to their fellow RV’ers.  Now, why can’t everybody be like that!!  Karen & Steve are in a very special place of ours for a few days right now but I will let Karen tell you about it in her blog later:)))))

Ever wonder what the mountains around Sedona Arizona might look like cloaked in a veil of snow?  KEN & CINDY lucked out a few days ago by being in the right place at the right time with their camera:))

Ivan from ROADTRIP 2010 rolled into the neighborhood Monday afternoon & is parked about half a mile from us just over a ridge.  On our walk this morning we trekked over to Ivan’s to see him & little cutey pie Hailey, Ivan’s treasured little feline friend.  Had ourselves a good old RV chin wag & a tour of Ivan’s rig.  Funny to watch Hailey & the Motormouse having a go at each other through the safety of Ivan’s 5th wheel living room window.  Always nice to see Ivan & you never know where he is going to pop up next.  By the way, a little birdie told us Wandering Willy has made it home to BC safely.

CHECKING THE MAP DISCUSSING FUTURE DESTINATIONS

 

HAILEY & THE MOTORMOUSE SIZE EACH OTHER UP

GETTING TO KNOW YOU:))

We knew John & Judy from RV LIFE ON WHEELS had rolled into the area yesterday but this is a vast land out here near the Clark Dry Lake Bed & we didn’t know exactly where they were.  On our walk over to see Ivan this morning we looked for their rig but could not spot it.  This afternoon shortly after 3 we heard a Motor Scooter roll in behind the RV.  John & Judy had spotted our big American & Canadian flags while going by on the highway.  They recognized the flags from photos I have had in the blog.  John said they have been following our blog for about 3 years now & told us we are the reason they came to the Southwest last year.  I’m happy to report they just love it here & that always makes us feel so great to think we have had a positive influence on someone’s happiness.  And, as usual with meeting RV Bloggers there was no shortage of things to talk about.  And again, here was another great easy going fun loving couple that we felt totally comfortable with.  I could see us ram rodding around out in the desert with our Jeeps maybe next year if they are in the area again.  Great people for sure.  Check out their latest blog about what happened when the bicycles came loose on the back of their Class C.  It wasn’t nice & involved their Jeep which they were towing at the time.  If that wasn’t enough, John had a mishap with his newly built gas powered model airplane a few hours later…  WE KNEW THERE WOULD BE DAYS LIKE THIS.

 

JOHN & JUDY ARE FELLOW CANADIANS FROM ONTARIO

Jean & Skip from TRAVELS WITH JEAN & SKIP are heading out in the morning heading for a stop at Joshua Tree State Park before heading further north.  We slipped over to see them before they left & meet their 3 doggy guys.  Jake, Louie & Sophie are 3 loving high energy guys who would make the Energizer Bunny look like he was going backwards.  Sophie & Louie are Boston Terriers & big Jake is well…..big Jake:))  Nice to see their Class A with all the renovation ideas.  Skip is one of those handy carpenter guys & I am one of those yakky Blabberfingers guys. (as evidenced by tonight’s long blog again)  We may see them shortly along the road because we are heading for the same areas they are….only a few days later.  Safe travels guys & give those pooches some smooches for us:))

WHO’S HOWLING AT WHO:))

LOUIE, BIG JAKE & SOPHIE

JEAN & SKIP….SEE YA DOWN THE ROAD GUYS

I think this was a record day for us visiting with people here in California.  Ivan, John & Judy plus Jean & Skip.  We are getting to be quite the social Butterflys I’d say.  Tomorrow I plan to stay in bed for the entire day so that I have absolutely nothing new to write about tomorrow night & can then fit in my Split Mountain blog:))

  

And, a final few thoughts on what what one commenter has termed, ‘The Lemon Gate Blog.’  I did wake up this morning feeling much better than the day before about all this.  It is true that I am waaaaaaaay to sensitive for my own good but it’s the way I have always been & figure it’s the way I will probably continue to be for these last remaining years.  I thank readers for their many comments & emails.  Thinking back I probably shouldn’t have used the word ‘Snitch’ in that Lemon episode.  I explain that now as having my Tom Sawyer hat on when I wrote that.  I think Tom & Huckleberry may have snitched a pie or two & some cookies in their day & my off handed slightly humorous reference about that set the wrong tone.  And to answer the question of why I posted about the lemons in the first place I can only say that it was a happening that was part of our day & it never occurred to me we were doing anything wrong & it certainly never remotely occurred to me that it would generate a negative response from some folks.  Kelly reminded me this morning of the thousands of positive comments & hundreds of emails we have received over the last few years & not for us to take a hand full of negative responses & let them bring us down.  Thanks to everyone for their understanding comments, support, & advice:))

Now, with a word about the commenters I hasten to add this….we received two emails of apology this morning that we graciously accept.  I think there is a lesson to be learned here for all us.  We sometimes say things in haste while sitting comfortably behind our computers in the security of our own homes.  It is so easy to type out some careless thoughts & hit the ‘Send’ button before rethinking ourselves.  I’m sure we have all done that at some point including myself.  The internet with all it’s email & instant messaging programs, comment access & open forums plus the advent of blogging is akin to the old wild west days where the old saying went something like, “shoot first & ask questions later,”  It is so easy to ride into town, shoot up the main street & just keep on riding right out of town the other way.  When we hit that ‘Send’ button it’s kinda like a Cowboy stepping out into the street, pulling out his 6 shooter, leveling it & firing a shot off at the other feller down the street.   Once the trigger is pulled there is no time for second thoughts & no way of running down the street after the bullet to stop it from hitting it’s intended target.

D’YA SUPPOSE THIS LITTLE BUG IS HITCHING A RIDE…YA RIGHT:))

We live in an age where we computer people are all blazing new trails every which way just like in the old west.  Not a lot of rules & regulations out here.  Encounters are going to happen, personalities are going to be challenged & some shoot outs are going to occur.  The lesson in all this for me is just as everyone has suggested.  Toughen up & don’t get my Mossmagator in such a big knot.  Hopefully we can all move forward from this Lemon Gate affair having learned something from it to be better people….. & even better friends…10-4:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((   

Q: How can you tell if an elephant is in the refrigerator?
A: The door won’t shut.

Q: How can you tell if an elephant has been in the refrigerator earlier?
A: Footprints in the butter.

Q: How do you get an elephant into the fridge in the first place?
A: Open door; Insert elephant; Close door.

Q: How do you get a giraffe into the fridge?
A: Open door; Remove elephant; Insert giraffe; Close door.

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