MORNING HIKE IN THE YAQUI PASS & A DRIVE THROUGH JULIAN TO SAN YSABEL CALIFORNIA FOR A PIECE OF PIE

ON THE ROAD TO JULIAN CALIFORNIA

This is Tuesday’s post

Spent a little time with my Celestron 15x70 binoculars Monday night & tonight traveling among the sea of stars overhead.  Feeling is always the same for me.  We are not alone in this Universe.  And I believe whatever it is we are a part of it is far greater than any of man’s current beliefs or understanding………..

ONE MUST BE CAREFUL WHERE ONE STEPS IN THE COLORFUL DESERT

Another fine Borrego Springs sunrise.  Just one of the great boondocking advantages I have always noticed is being able to see sunsets & sunrises occurring in a natural setting.  No people sounds, no people views, just Mother Nature at her quiet & scenic best.

KELLY TAKES HER COLORFUL SOCKS FOR A WALK THIS MORNING

Short morning walk & we had the Jeep wheels rolling by 9:30.  Kelly had read about a short 1.5 mile loop hike leading out of the Yaqui Pass.  We knew the spot where the BILL KENYON Overlook trail head began.  Bit of a rock scramble starting out but the trail leveled off nicely & was reasonably easy to navigate.  A bit of scrambling on some loose gravel & rocks had Kelly picking up & using an Agave walking stick.  The trail reminded me of an easier version of the Marshal South Ghost Mountain trail in the not too distant Blair Valley.  We were probably a few hundred feet off the desert floor so that meant some nice greenery along the way.  Agave plants, Barrel & Fish Hook Cactus, Cholla, Beaver Tail Cactus, plus an assortment of other plants.  Nice one hour walk with a great view of the Pinyon Mountains.  A fine way to start another Anza-Borrego day.

  

 

 

 

  

Drove ourselves through the twisty-turny Yaqui Pass to the ANZA-BORREGO TAMARISK GROVE CAMPGROUND.  This is a picturesque small State Park located in a beautiful full grove of large Tamarisk trees.  Have always liked the looks of this neat & trim little park.  Ranger on duty.  $23 a night.  Washrooms & am assuming there may be water & electric. 

ROLLING THROUGH THE YAQUI PASS

 

A SHORT STOP AT THE TAMARISK CAMP GROUND

OOOPS WANDERED OFF THE PAVEMENT AGAIN

From Tamarisk Grove we followed highway 78 as it wound it’s way between the Pinyon Mountain Range & the San Felipe Hills.  We were close to Blair Valley but decided to head on up the curving scenic road to Julian.  Because of the long Thanksgiving Week-end shortly upon us a lot of ‘off-roaders’ will be heading into Blair Valley so we have decided it would not be a quiet haven for us.  We will stay where we are for the time being.

 

SLIPPING THROUGH ANOTHER MOUNTAIN PASS BETWEEN THE SAN FELIPE HILLS & THE PINYON MOUNTAINS

Just love the scenic drive from Scissors Crossing up to Julian.  One climbs  from a sparse desert setting up the sharp winding road through Banner into forests of green Pines.  We especially enjoyed the colorful Autumn leaves of many trees of which I do not know their names.  Temperature dropped as we climbed.  We have been in Julian before when we have had to come through rain & fog with snow along the roadside.  Today however was beautiful.

STRAIGHT AHEAD ATOP THAT MOUNTAIN RANGE LIES THE LITTLE TOWN OF JULIAN

 

JUST LOVED SEEING ALL THESE AUTUMN COLORS ON THE WAY TO JULIAN TODAY

 

As expected, Julian was crowded with many people.  Very tourist oriented.  Main street was crowded with cars & we could see line-ups waiting to get into some of the eateries.  I think this was our third time to Julian & we had already tried the famous pies & ate in one of those line-up restaurants.  We didn’t stop.  Just rolled on through town & out the other side.  The main hub is only about 4 blocks long.  If anyone types Julian California into our ‘Search bar’ they can find our previous visits there.  I especially liked the rainy cold dreary day I found Marshal South’s final resting place in the Julian cemetery.  Didn’t take any pics going through Julian today though…..was too busy dodging jaywalking tourists.

ROLLED RIGHT THROUGH JULIAN & OUT THE OTHER SIDE HEADED FOR SANTA YSABEL

 

KELLY CHECKS OUT A PIZZA SHOP IN WYNOLA

It’s another scenic winding road drive from Julian to Santa Ysabel & it was the second time we have traveled this route.  First time a few years ago we were lost but today we knew exactly where we were & where we were going.  A stop in Santa Ysabel at the well renowned Julian Pie Company netted us one piece of Dutch Apple Carmel pie which we shared in the Jeep.  Kelly also scored a ‘seconds’ Pumpkin pie for $5.  They are normally over $13.  Maybe this one had fallen on the floor or something.  No matter, we had ourselves a whole pie to take home.

HEY….IS THAT THE PEPSI GUY TALKING TO THE COKE GUY??

From Santa Ysabel we headed off in the direction of Warner Springs & hung a right on Montezuma Valley Road.  We were just on this same stretch of road a couple days ago when we went through Warner Springs to find the great Stone Eagle.  We rolled through Ranchita & were soon tumbling ourselves down Montezuma’s Grade again into Borrego Springs.  We were home before 2 p.m.  I would highly recommend this great drive to anyone coming here to Borrego Springs. From Borrego just head for the Yaqui Pass & follow the route we took.  You not only get to see Julian California but you can stop in at Warner Springs & find the Eagle as well. 

 

SEEN ALONG THE BILL KENYON TRAIL THIS MORNING

Nice to be back at the rig & chill out for the remainder of the day.  Nice music on the Bose, a gentle breeze coming up off the desert floor, & the makings of yet another fiery sunset in the making.  Life has been good to us again this week out here on the roads & trails of southern California…….   

Been about a week now since we have watched any television.  How nice that has been.  I don’t miss it one bit.  Such a habit watching television is.  Yes there are things I enjoy about some programing but how nice to be out of the doom & gloom news loop for awhile.  All that political stuff, violence, drama shows, crime show after crime show not only take their toll on the peace of one’s mind but a good percentage of the entire human race as a whole.  Sometimes I just think to myself, what a mess this world is in:((  Okay, that was my little rant for the day….

AGAVE PLANTS ALONG THE TRAIL

MERIKAY in a comment wondered how to find Slab City.  Niland California is located on highway 111 between the town of Mecca to the North & Brawley to the south.  It’s on the Eastern side of the Salton Sea.  Niland is a tired little dusty western town that progress has kinda forgot about.   Not too much there & what is there is not too much.  Not too many streets branching off 111 but in the middle of town one can find ‘Main Street’ heading East.  This street only runs for maybe half a dozen blocks before it crosses two sets of railway tracks & heads out into the desert & leads you to Slab City.  You will pass Leonard Knight’s Salvation Mountain on the right.  Slab City begins just after that.  You will see a little white Church on the left & just beyond that is Solar Mike’s Sunworks:))

HAD A COUPLE TIRED LITTLE TRAVELERS ON THE WAY BACK TO THE RIG TODAY >>>

And speaking of Solar Mike……here is the technical end of our Solar installation one week ago today.  We have a BENQ/AUO…MOD 240WATT 29.65V 8.10AMP Solar Panel.  A Blue Sky Energy SB3024i MPPPTPV Charge Controller.  An SBIPNREM Remote Control for the Blue Sky IPN.  One Go Power GP1750HD 1500 Watt modified sine wave inverter & two Trojan 105-RE 6 volt renewable energy batteries.  Of course a bunch of wiring, fuses, & assorted Mossmagators go along with all this as well.  Keep in mind we did not go for anything deluxe with the exception of the better batteries.  As I said before we are not big power hogs & didn’t figure we needed a bank of solar panels, extra batteries or a big megawatt Inverter.  We don’t spend the lengths of time boondocking like we did a few years ago so figure we will be just fine with what we have.  Cost of our Solar installation…………..$2038.00.  Solar Mike’s name is Mike Gohl & his business is called THE SUNWORKS.  He can be reached at sunsmith@starband.net .  

GROANER’S CORNER:((  I was driving down a lonely country road one cold winter day when it began to sleet pretty heavily. My windows were getting icy and my wiper blades were badly worn and quickly fell apart under the strain.  Unable to drive any further because of the ice building up on my front window I suddenly had a great idea. I stopped and began to overturn large rocks until I located two very lethargic hibernating rattle snakes. I grabbed them up, straightened them out flat and installed them on my blades and they worked just fine.
What! You've never heard of . . . wind chilled vipers?

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

BUSY WITH RV CHORES THIS MORNING & VISITING WITH JEAN & SKIP THIS AFTERNOON

DO YOU SEE THE GREAT CLOUD SERPENT LURKING JUST ABOVE THE S22 HIGHWAY…LOOK FOR HIS EYES

(This is Monday’s post)

I hit the ‘Publish’ button on Sunday night’s post at 10:08 p.m.  Sat here until 11:25 repeatedly having to re-hit the button about every 5 minutes because of an error message.  It kept timing out.  Finally gave up & went to bed.  Tried again Monday morning & after about 20 minutes it finally published.  Very tiring & very frustrating.  If you don’t hear from us for a few days it will probably be some kind of Internet connection we are having problems with.  At some point in the next few days we plan to head over to Blair Valley just this side of the Vallecito Valley which is further west towards San Diego.  I’ll do my Ghost Mountain hike from there.   

MORE PHOTOS TONIGHT FROM AROUND THE ‘EAGLES NEST’

 

THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL PASSES JUST A FEW HUNDRED FEET FROM THE GREAT STONE EAGLE

Looked for but didn’t see Comet Ison this morning but did see the Planets Mercury & Saturn very low on the horizon & fairly close together.  I think Ison is too close to the sun now.  Will wait to see if it re-emerges.  Did see another bright object about 10 degrees to the right of Saturn & Mercury but do not know what it was.  It was already getting a bit light & with no other stars visible in the area to act as guides I may have been in the wrong section of sky.

A little confusion again about the blog’s text color.  When I typed Sunday night’s blog it was mistakenly in yellow but I see now it published in the correct color.  This aging day to day confuselment for me is not getting any easier.  But a great tip from QUILTIN' LIBRARY LADY about correcting my yellow text color.  She said, “Couldn't you just highlight the text, then choose the custom color, and click on the entry and presto, changeo, new text color? Try it and see if it works.”  Yes QLL it does work.  Thanks for that:))   

Had a long time blog reader drop by this morning.  Jerry from the Escapee Club Boondockers walked over from their group.  Been following the blog & knew we were here close to the Solar Oven site.  Jerry’s from Arkansas & has been coming here to Borrego for a few years now.  Said he was a bit leery about walking over knowing how I get a little blustery over the ‘people thing’ occasionally.  Yes I do get a little overboard about that sometimes but I was glad Jerry dropped by to say hello.  Very very rare for me to take a dislike to another RV’er I have met but I sure don’t like a lot of the noisy ones I haven’t met.  RV folks are almost always the best bunch of people a feller could want to meet.  You know, I’m not as bad as I seem sometimes but then again at other times I are about as worse as I gets.  Thanks for dropping by Jerry & if you fellers can’t find that big stone snake just come & get me & I’ll show you where it’s at…………..

  

HOW COME I’M ALWAYS THE SHORT GUY 

Had a busy morning attending to some necessary RV chores.  Climbed up on the rig’s roof & put the solar panel down.  Secured the bin doors, left our chairs, BBQ, tables in place on our site & headed off to the big Arco station over by the Salton Sea.  First order of business was dumping our gray & black tanks.  From there we hopped over by the fresh water hose to fill up our fresh water tank.  Next was propane & we finished off with a full tank of gas.  We were back on our site about an hour later.  Up with the solar panel again & we were back in the business of enjoying southern California’s great sunshine & warm temperatures.  We sure lucked out & dodged a nasty weather bullet by coming to this area last week.  Both breakfast & supper outside in the warm sunshine today.  Nice:))

It was here in Borrego Springs we first met Jean & Skip a few years ago.  They stayed with us a few days in Congress a year ago about this time & today we met them again here at the Clark Dry Lake Bed when they dropped in this afternoon.  They rolled in from Yuma Sunday.  They are boondocked about a mile North-East of us.  Jean & Skip with their 3 dogs Sophie, Louie, & Jake travel here to the South-West each winter from Vancouver Island in British Columbia Canada.  Easy going couple & we took a liking to them the first time we met here in Borrego Springs 3 years ago.  We’ll see more of them them this week & maybe get a little off-roading in.  They have a 4 wheel drive Geo Tracker.

JEAN & SKIP

Not often we eat bacon & eggs anymore but that is exactly what Kelly whipped up on the BBQ this morning & they were the best ‘sitting outside’ B & E’s I’ve had for a long time.  With the American Thanksgiving week-end coming up we just might stay where we are here at the Clark Dry Lake Bed near Borrego Springs.  We have us a good spot & we know there will be some heavy mountain traffic on the road over near Blair Valley as a lot of ATV’ers head this way from San Diego later this week.  We had thought of heading to the Blair Valley for a few days this week but we may just put that off for another time.

Sorry but I didn’t get our Solar info together today like I said I would but will work on that tomorrow hopefully.  I just darn well plum forgot:((

VALLEY OF THE GREAT STONE EAGLE

Okay here’s the driving directions to the Stone Eagle which I featured in Sunday’s post.  From Borrego Springs head up Montezuma’s Grade on S22 going through Ranchita until you hit a T intersection.  Turn right onto highway 79 & head into Warner Springs.  Continue past the fire hall on right & watch for Camino San Ignacio Road also on the right.  Follow this for a few miles out into a valley.  You will see some stone cropping's ahead & to the right.  The Stone Eagle is one of those rock formations & you will recognize the Eagle as you drive further along about a quarter mile back from the road.  There is a small laneway spot to pull off & park.  You will have to squiggle under a barbed wire fence & follow the laneway to the Eagle.  There are cattle in this large field.  If you would rather walk to the site then watch for the Fire hall coming into Warner Springs on your right.  The Pacific Crest trail runs right along beside the Fire Hall there & will take you the 3.5 miles to the Eagles Nest.

Not sure what we are doing Tuesday but for sure we will be doing something.  ‘Gotta make hay while the sun shines’ is the old saying & here while in Borrego Springs we want to make the best of our time.  Always lots to see & do in this area.

Spent a little time under the stars tonight with my  tripoded Celestron 15x70 binoculars.  Borrego Springs is well known for it’s dark night skies & tonight was no exception.  Do not believe for a second if anyone tells you we are the only one’s in this particular Universe…………………… 

PHEEBS RACES TOWARDS THE GREAT EAGLE SUNDAY

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A snake and a rabbit were racing along a pair of intersecting forest pathways one day, when they collided at the intersection. They immediately began to argue with one another as to who was at fault for the mishap.
When the snake remarked that he had been blind since birth, and thus should be given additional leeway, the rabbit said that he, too, had been blind since birth. The two animals then forgot about the collision and began commiserating concerning the problems of being blind.
The snake said that his greatest regret was the loss of his identity. He had never been able to see his reflection in the water, and for that reason did not know exactly what he looked like, or even what he was. The rabbit declared that he had the same problem. Seeing a way that they could help each other, the rabbit proposed that one feel the other from head to toe, and then try to describe what the other animal was.
The snake agreed, and started by winding himself around the rabbit. After a few moments, he announced, "You've got very soft, fuzzy fur, long ears, big rear feet, and a little fuzzy ball for a tail. I think that you must be a bunny rabbit!"
The rabbit was much relieved to find his identity, and proceeded to return the favor to the snake. After feeling about the snake's body for a few minutes, he asserted, "Well, you're scaly, you're slimy, you've got beady little eyes, you squirm and slither all the time, and you've got a forked tongue. I think you're a lawyer!"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.