BEEN REALLY ENJOYING OUR QUIET SITE UNTIL LATE THIS AFTERNOON WHEN…..’OH-NO’!!!!

HADN’T TAKEN A PHOTO ALL DAY BUT LUCKILY WE HAD US A NICE TWILIGHT SO I WAS ABLE TO GRAB A FEW QUICK SHOTS AROUND THE RIG……COYOTE MOUNTAIN IS BACKGROUNDED BY THE MIGHTY SANTA ROSA MOUNTAINS

Cool early morning breeze but the day soon heated up under a hot California Sun.  Before it warmed up too much we had the big wheels rolling about 8 California time heading East.  We were on the move again but this time it was only to dump our tanks, take on fresh water, top off our propane tank and return to our site. 

The narrow Jeep road leading to our site has some turns on it and as we left this morning I cut one corner a bit sharp and brushed by a gnarly old Creosote shrub.  Never thought anything more about it until we got to Arco to do our tanks.  Exiting the coach I noticed our hot water tank heater door was missing.  Awwww nuts not again.  We lost the original door 3 years ago.  There was no reason for the door to come off until I remembered that Creosote shrub.  One of the branches had obviously snagged the little pull tab on the panelk which in turn caued the door to fall off.  Oh well I thought no problem the door will be laying beside that Creosote shrub near our site.

For the first time ever using the facilities at Arco we were the only ones there at the dump station.  How nice is that at any given time eh.  Black and gray tanks dumped (and in that order too) water tank filled and propane added. (no we didn’t add propane to the water tank)  We were good to go and goodly we went.  A really nice morning for a drive with very little traffic.  Soon as we arrived back to our site we looked for our bin door near the shrub but it was nowhere to be found.  Awwwww Nuts!!!!

On a super long shot we hopped into the Jeep and began backtracking our route.  We had no intention of going all the way back to Arco but thought we’d look alongside the road for bit and sure enough after traveling slowly along the south shoulder of highway 78  we spotted the white cover lying beside the road about a half mile east of Ocotilo Wells 4 miles from our site.  A few scrapes and scratches but above all it was still in pretty good shape.  Only thing I had to do was use a needle nose pliers to straighten out the bottom flange where two pins fit in and that was it.  Some days things turn out a wee bit better than other days.  I sure do appreciate those kinds of days and in my world they are always welcome.

A MANTIS MOON >>>

Too hot to sit in the sun but the shady side of our coach was nice.  It’s rare for us to put an awning down because in warmer weather we like to keep the fridge side of the coach on the cooler shady side and that happens to be our entrance door side as well.  Another reason we rarely use our awning is the sudden unpredictable winds here in the southwest.  Many folks have lost awnings thinking they will have time to put it up if the weather is looking iffy.  Not so, those winds can come out of the canyons so fast here.  We’ve had it happen to us and seen it happen to others.

Since leaving Congress back on December 19th this is the longest we have stayed in one spot and it looks like we may be staying for a little while longer.  And there is a good reason for that and it all has to do with our present location.  The biggy of course is that we are totally comfortable here and comfort for us means being totally by ourselves.  Not another RV in sight and that in itself is the biggest reason for our being here.  We have a commanding view of the desert landscape all around us and aside from some occasional highway noise we relax in nature’s own peaceful solitude.  Upon our return next winter It is unlikely we will ever park at Rock House Road again now that we have found several new ‘unpopulated’ areas. 

When we leave Borrego Springs possibly next week sometime we have no idea where we are going but when we do leave this spot heading east it does symbolically signify the beginning of our long journey homeward.  Not that it’s exactly an urgency just yet but we do have cause this year to be home a bit earlier than usual.

WELL WOULDN’T YA KNOW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I had no sooner finished typing the paragraph above about 5 this afternoon when we saw 2 older Class C’s towing trailers with motorcycles coming in off the highway heading for our area.  The jig was up.  I said to Kelly “well we were sure lucky to have had 11 people free days”.   One Class C parked to the right of us over a ridge and thankfully out of sight while the other one drove by us and parked on the other side just up the road.  We no longer have a clear sight to the west without an RV sitting in it and we are definitely within ear shot of them.  Before making any hasty ‘moving’ decisions we decided to sleep on it and decide what to do in the morning.  Our quiet privacy has been compromised so it may be time for us to head on down the road sooner than we thought.

YEP, FOR US THAT IS WAAAAAAY TOO CLOSE

Before I forget I should mention something about this site which could be a drawback for some folks coming here with skitterish dogs.  The nice fellow who owns the property right next to the State Park land we are on is a target shooter and although he hasn’t done any target shooting since last week it’s something to keep in mind for anyone with a dog or cat that may be stressed by the loud sudden crack of a gun. 

GROANER’S CORNER:((    The hunched-back man decides very reluctantly, that he should go see a doctor after a few too many people have started to comment on his back. Doctor: I need for you to get undressed, sir. (Hunchback removes jacket and then stops)  Hunchback: I really don't like getting undressed, doctor.
Doctor: If you want me to examine your back you'll have to get undressed. (Hunchback removes his shirt but leaves his t-shirt on)
Hunchback: I don't like showing people my back. They always laugh at me. Doctor: Do you want me to examine your back or not?  (Very reluctantly, the hunchback removes his t-shirt)
Doctor: Ah...just how long is it since you were in school?  Hunchback: Gosh, over 20 years, doctor. Why?  Doctor: Did you ever wonder all those years what happened to your backpack?

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Knock Knock
Who's there?
Horatio!
Horatio who?
Horatio to the end of the street
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Harry!
Harry who?
Harry up and answer this door!

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A gang of robbers broke into a lawyer's club by mistake. The old legal lions gave them a fight for their life and their money. The gang was very lucky to escape.   "It ain't so bad," one crook noted. "We got $25 between us."  The gang leader hollers at them……"Ya well we had $100 when we broke in!!!"

MORNING HIKE AND A WEE BIT OF A ROCK SCRAMBLE IN HAWK CANYON

How nice stepping out of the coach this morning into calm air.  Borrego’s big winds had finally stopped sometime in the night.  Those gusting winds were widespread over the valley Tuesday with Doug from Miss Adventure Travels over at Rock House Road at the foot of Coyote Mountain getting himself some blowing sand photos out around Font's Point.

A SHORT HIKE IN HAWK CANYON THIS MORNING

 

We started off with a bright sunny day so decided to re-trace part of our Tuesday Jeep route and have us a further look into Hawk Canyon.  With the canyon being only a couple miles from us we were there in short order.  Hawk Canyon is a box canyon with basically only one way in and out.  We drove in to where the road ends, parked then did us a wee hike with a short rock scramble thrown in. 

As with so many places here in the southwest Hawk Canyon with it’s towering high solid rock cliffs towering above is truly awe inspiring. Once again we felt dwarfed by our surroundings and that is a common occurrence out here in the West.

I OFTEN WONDER HOW SOME ROCKS CAN BE SO DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE OTHER ROCKS AROUND IT, HOW DID IT GET THERE AND WHY??

I THINK THIS BIG BOULDER MAY HAVE BEEN A WHALE IN ANOTHER LIFE

WE FOLLOW A TRAIL TO TOWARDS THE HEAD OF THE CANYON

TOWERING CANYON WALLS

 

KELLY SCOUTS THE TRAIL AHEAD

STARTING TO GET A BIT RUGGED

THE TRAIL CONTINUED ON INTO THOSE ROCKS BUT WE FIGURED THAT WAS ABOUT FAR ENOUGH FOR US….NOT THAT MANY YEARS AGO WE WOULD HAVE PLOWED RIGHT INTO THOSE ROCKS AND FOLLOWED THAT PATH

WE BEGIN MAKING OUR WAY BACK

IT’S ALWAYS HARDER GOING DOWN THAN IT IS GOING UP

Hawks and Falcons are known to nest in these cliffs but we didn’t see any.  Half a dozen small sparrow like birds flitted among the Creosote bushes and we did hear and see a sweet sounding bird high atop one of the cliff faces perched in a leafless shrub. 

NOT SURE WHAT THIS BIRD WAS BUT IT SANG NICE

THIS LITTLE FELLOW WASN’T DOING ANY SINGING BUT HE SURE WAS SKIDADDLIN ACROSS THE ROCKS FAST

IT ALWAYS FEELS GOOD TO GET BACK TO THE JEEP

With no clouds blocking the sun’s warmth this morning we could feel it getting hot by 9:30.  We had a tendency to walk along in the cooler shadows of the cliff walls.  Not a soul around and we had the whole place to ourselves.  Oh how I like when that happens.

FROM HAWK CANYON WE MADE OUR WAY OVER TO THE NEARBY RUGGED SLOT CANYON AREA

THIS AREA IS DIRECTLY ACROSS THE WIDE SAN FELIPE WASH FROM FONT’S POINT AND THE BORREGO BADLANDS

FONT’S POINT CAN BE SEE ACROSS THE WASH MAYBE A HALF DOZEN MILES AWAY NEAR THAT WHITE PATCH OF SAND ON THE RIDGE….MOUNTAINS IN THE BACK GROUND ARE THE SANTA ROSAS

THE SANDY WASH LEADING OUT OF THE SLOT CANYON CAN BE SEEN AT THE BOTTOM HEADING LEFT

From Hawk Canyon we doubled back over to Slot Canyon a short distance away and re-drove a Jeep road we had driven the day before only this time going a bit farther until it ended.  There was a bit of a rough and tumble trail down to the bottom of Slot Canyon which maybe we could have done with the Liberty but it was one of those decisions that was too iffy and we decided against it.

WE DEBATED WHETHER TO TAKE THAT ROUGH AND TUMBLE SANDY JEEP ROAD LEADING DOWN FROM THE BOTTOM LEFT OF THE PHOTO INTO THE SLOT CANYON WASH

KELLY AND PHEEBS HEAD DOWN TO CHECK OUT THE TUMBLY JEEP ROAD

PHEEBS TELLS KELLY SHE DOESN’T THINK DAD SHOULD TRY TO TAKE THE JEEP DOWN THERE

YEP I AGREE WITH PHEEBS

We were back to the rig by 10:30 and I was happy to stretch out for a bit in my recliner.  After nearly 20 years of taking my Arthrotec arthritis medicine I stopped taking it last week after one of Arthrotecs long term warning signs popped up.  Without that medication my legs have noticeably stiffened and I’m having a bit of a time with myself keeping both legs flexible without them bothering me.  Blast this darn aging thing!!

WE MIGHT HAVE GOT OURSELVES DOWN THERE AND NOT GOT OURSELVES BACK UP AGAIN

It was about 11:30 when Kelly headed off into Borrego Springs leaving Pheebs and I all by ourselves to hold the fort down.  We done good though and never got ourselves into any bad trouble.  Pheebs keeps an eye on me real good and doesn’t let me get away with doing any really dumb stuff.  Brewed myself up an excellent coffee with a blueberry muffin shared between Pheebs and I.  For lunch I fried us up some chicken noodle soup.  Pheebs thinks I’m a hero.

IT WAS NEARLY 10 YEARS AGO KELLY AND I ALONG WITH OUR RVING BOONDOCKER FRIEND BUTCH ATE OUR LUNCH ONE DAY RIGHT ON THE TOP OF THAT RUFFLED ROCK FORMATION

RIGHT ON TOP OF THOSE ROCKS WE SAT AFTER HIKING THROUGH THE SLOT CANYON, THEN WE HAD TO HIKE ALL THE WAY BACK THROUGH TO THE CAR AGAIN

DECEMBER 23RD 2007  The Borrego Slot Canyon Hike

 

I HAD MANY PHOTOS OF THIS HIKE WHICH I INCLUDED IN A PHOTO ALBUM WITH THIS HIKE BUT DUE TO GOOGLE CHANGES OVER THE PAST COUPLE YEARS THAT ALBUM WAS LOST….I STILL HAVE ALL THE PHOTOS THOUGH AND MAYBE THIS SUMMER IF I THINK OF IT I’LL DUE A PHOTO POST OF THIS HIKE….THIS IS THE BEST SLOT CANYON WE EVER DID

Kelly was back sometime around 2:30 and had a package with my new Nikon lens filter and lens hood in it.  With all this blowing sand out here I’m happy to have a protective filter on my new 18-55mm lens finally.  By the way anyone ordering anything on-line can have things shipped to a store in Borrego Springs called Zipper's Creations and it is in the same building as the police station only around the back.  She charges $1.00 for folks to pick up things there.  Here’s her Facebook page.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A Few Facts About Men:

- Husbands are like children — they’re fine if they’re someone else’s.
- Never trust a man who says he’s the boss at home. He probably lies about other things too.
- A woman’s work that is never done is the stuff she asked her husband to do.
- Go for younger men. You might as well — they never mature anyway.
- Scientists have just discovered something that can do the work of five men — a woman.
- Men’s brains are like the prison system — not enough cells per man.
- Men are like place mats. They only show up when there’s food on the table.
- Men are like mascara. They usually run at the first sign of emotion.
- Men are like bike helmets. Handy in an emergency, but otherwise they just look silly.
- Men are like parking spots. All the good ones are taken.
- Men are like lava lamps. Fun to look at, but not all that bright.
- Men are like bank accounts. Without a lot of money, they don’t generate much interest.
- Men are like high heels. They’re easy to walk on once you get the hang of it.

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A young man visiting a dude ranch wanted to be "macho," so he went out walking with one of the hired hands. As they were walking through the barnyard, the visitor tried starting a conversation: "Say, look at that big bunch of cows."  The hired hand replied, "Not 'bunch,' but 'herd.' "  "Heard what?"  "Herd of cows." "Sure, I've heard of cows. There's a big bunch of 'em right over there."