Moving on..

We have mixed emotions about leaving this beautiful location.  Facebook friends Bob and Kathie just arrived.  We feel like we've known them forever and wish we had more time together. We did manage a moderately strenuous hike up Coyote Mountain, some fun time with blog tutorials, and a "do your own" dinner in the early evening.  But...I need to go to the dentist and have an appointment in Algodones, MX on the 2nd with Dr. Luna.

Conquering Coyote Mt. with Kathie & Bob

We celebrated a month of frugality by splurging at the French Corner restaurant last Friday night..I mean the whole enchilada; their homemade chicken liver pate for a starter, coq au vin for Lynda and meatballs for Howard, creme brulee for Howard and Belgian chocolate mousse for Lynda, and a magnificent 2006 Bordeaux, a big red with strong black cherry flavors and an oaky thrust...Sorry I couldn't resist the winespeak!

French Corner Restaurant

Another great hike in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park is Hellhole Canyon.  Last Saturday, after that great dinner, we needed to work off some calories.  The day was clear and sunny and not overly hot. The 5 miles round trip included some rock scrambling but the palm oases and spectacular views of the valley were well worth it.

Palm Oasis in Hellhole Canyon

We're on our way to Yuma, AZ to find ourselves a home for the next few weeks, visit with local friends and family, and get that dental work done.  Written on the fly...as snowbirds do!

Weather or not....

Last Saturday we were bombarded by the Santa Ana winds, the scourge of our desert existence. Everything outside that isn't put away, blows away.  Wind blown sand finds every nook and orifice, and driving anywhere, even in the jeep, a dangerous undertaking with palm trees in town bending at the knees, their limbs and fronds serious projectiles.  So...we hunkered down with hatches battened!

First, the wind...we can see it coming!

Then right on cue, a few days later, the storms from up north arrived to clear the air and settle the dust. We watched as the clouds formed over the mountains and a light rain fell, hardly enough to matter in this drought, but the lights and shadows put on a show and I went chasing rainbows.

Then the rain

Searching for that pot of gold

So now we're back to our beautiful mild, sunny, clear mid-70 days...at least for awhile.  Time to go look for The Slot canyon off Highway 78 and do some hiking.  We found it OK with good directions on the State Park map, however from the top of the canyon we could NOT find a way down...no, actually getting down looked easy enough, but climbing back out again not so much.

We might be down and can't get up!

The sandstone walls are crumbly and eroding and...well, we chickened out and decided we'd do a jeep drive around the Badlands.

Badlands

But we're on top of the canyon and need to go down a really steep, deep-sandy hill with huge ruts and holes.  Howard got out, looked,  and said "no problem", then we get to the point of no return and he says "Oh S***"!  I am strapped in and wedged with feet pushing against dash (hard to imagine) and eyes tightly shut and clutching the camera and all objects within reach that can become air borne once we start to slide and roll!  We slid and fishtailed and after the worst was over I peaked out for a quick shot.

Piece of cake...Not!

Think I'll look now!

After that minor heart palpitation and adrenaline rush, we were just out for a drive...

I think I'll just watch and snap a photo...from outside

Needing a break..

THE END!!

Things...

I was cleaning out my closet, organizing some internet files, and reviewing our book list when I came across a "side note" containing a quote from Tom Robbin's "Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates". This man is both irreverent and brilliant, deceptively funny yet dead serious in confronting the "Big Issues".  He writes:

"Things...Things attach themselves like leeches to the human soul, then they bleed out the sweetness and the music and the primordial joy of being unencumbered upon the land. People feel tremendous pressure to settle down in some sort of permanent space and fill it up with stuff, but deep inside they resent those structures, and they're scared to death of that stuff because they know it controls them and restricts their movements." 

Wow...That is a mind-bender!

I started thinking about living in our small, confined space, about 300 sq. ft., and the things that are important to us: camera, a lot of electronic stuff, enough clothes, kitchen and bathroom basics, thousands of photos stored on external hard drives and printed in albums, and books galore...though we both have Kindles.  Books are our passion and we have a wide range of interests, from fiction to history, science and spirituality.  So for us to come across and really like a Tom Robbins's novel is not completely out of character.

That said, I'd like you to see our latest acquisition from a recent visit to Costco:

A must have, right?!

A perfect fit!

This versatile little cube cost $40 and has a whole bunch of storage space inside, plus serves as a convenient side and cocktail table.  There are some things.....

It's a good day, when....

You're hanging out the window at 5 a.m. to catch the sunrise!

Friends come for a visit and neighbors gather..

We hadn't seen John and Karen for a few years and enjoy showing off our mountain.

Neighbors and new friends join us for happy hour.

Karen makes this delicious red onion focaccia bread from scratch, as in yeast-rising dough for starters!  The recipe should appear along the right side of this blog...hopefully.

The re-stringing of a frayed and sagging day/night shade goes smoothly.  Howard's secret: just lay it out and follow the pattern of the old strings.  Our bed is the only surface large enough!

You hard boil perfectly peeled eggs.  My method, found in a cooking magazine, is cover eggs with water, bring to boil, turn off heat and cover for 11 minutes.  Drain and leave at room temperature until comfortable to handle.  There are many variations!

Making for yummy deviled eggs..

We're now ready for some football, cheering the San Francisco 49ers to victory over the Saints!

Our mountains light up in the setting sun!

Palm Canyon Trail

After 11 days of boondocking it was time to take the motorhome for a visit to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to utilize their facilities.  It was the best $7 we have spent in a long time.  Our price of admission not only included replenishing the system's water supply and tank disposal but "all day" day use.  Hence, we did our business and drove up to the trailhead parking for the very popular Palm Canyon Trail.

Approaching the state park

Near the "alternate" trailhead

Our hike began at the "alternate" trail leading up to the palm canyon oasis on the south side along the foothills. According to our GPS it adds about a mile round-trip to the posted 3-mile hike and is a bit steeper with more rock scrambling and an elevation gain of about 400'.

Along the alternate trail

Within a short distance we were treated to the rare appearance of the shy Borrego Bighorn sheep, probably a herd of at least 15 or more!

The rams

A few wore tracking collars

We just stood for the longest time admiring these beautiful creatures and trying to get a few decent camera shots, but finally tore ourselves away to continue on the trail as the day warmed up.

Taking a break

.....for a photo op

While most of the rocks we stepped over were placed there by water, some stones were likely placed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s.

After about a mile and a half of climbing and scrambling we spotted the palm oasis a half mile or so up ahead.

California fan palm grove

The skirt of palm fronds protects from water loss

A few years ago there was a massive flash flood that wiped out many of the trees and changed the landscape drastically.  Huge boulders washed down from the mountain tops and palms were uprooted and carried downstream, many as far as the campground.

Flash flood destruction

Huge boulders wash down from above

All desert life revolves around water.

Waterfall and pool

We returned much later in the afternoon to our off-road desert site after a full day enjoying $7 well-spent.  Our neighbors invited us over for a very happy hour and the full moon provided a spectacular light show!

Full moon rising 

Anza Borrego Desert - Happy New Year!

We're here:  N 33 degrees 17.46 minutes, W 116 degrees 17.14 minutes; the first motorhome on Rockhouse Trail, off-road but with a line of sight that provides good internet and phone reception, boosted by our Wilson antenna.  We compromise our view (slightly) and our location (closer to S-22) for these perks.  One of us is a bit of an addict!

Looking west toward the sunset

East toward the Santa Rosa mountains

Within an hour after we had parked and set-up our chairs and tables, no hook-ups to deal with...remember we're boondocking, I look up from the comfort of my chaise lounge and here come Earl and Gail with Vita, their German shepherd, in their Class-B van bouncing into our driveway!  Their plans to spend the weekend at Joshua Tree Nat'l Park were squelched on arrival as the park was full so they turned around and drove here.  We are very happy to usher in this New Year with our very good friends!

Preparing for our New Year's Eve dinner..bbq'd steaks

And a wonderful New Year's Eve we had.  First, a gourmet feast of NY steaks on the barbecue, asparagus and sauteed mushrooms, salad, a fine Cabernet and Gail's delish cheese cake...how did she do that!  Later we sat around a big bonfire sipping fresh-brewed coffee...a couple of us added a few drops of Grand Marnier to ours, then came inside and watched "The Help" on the DVD player, power supply aided and abetted by our trusty generator.  The 4 105-watt solar panels keep our 6 house batteries charged quite well but occasionally, especially at night with no sun, we need a little assistance.

There are quite a lot of RVs out here, mostly snowbirds gathering from northern climes, but also a lot of weekend campers from the LA and San Diego areas.  In our 15 years of coming here and witnessing the creation of unique camp sites with firepits, even earth ovens, and lots of rock art adorning the landscape, we are still amazed and thankful that folks keep the environment so clean and pristine.  

On New Year's morning, before the temps got to daytime highs of 75-80, we were out hiking up Coyote Mountain.  

Earl and Gail are properly impressed!

Then, what to our wandering eyes should appear, but a huge serpentine creature, challenging our very survival to fend off imminent danger.  Howard came to our rescue!

Howard and the monstrous serpent!

And the New Year begins in grand style!

2012...Here we come!

Motorhomes don't do well in cold, damp weather, and neither do their occupants.  We become moldy and mottled, moody and rather unpleasant.  Plus the blue light anomaly has been in place for some time now.....so it's time to leave our dear families and head south to warmer climes.

Our route is pretty much the same:  Leaving Sacramento and south on Highway 99 to Bakersfield is an easy first day's drive of about 300 miles.  We normally don't pay $35 a night for RV parking but the Orange Grove RV Park lets us pick delicious oranges right from the trees, so we load up bags for juicing.

Our second day's drive takes us to Lake Cahuilla, a Riverside County park in La Quinta, which also happens to be one of our Passport America half price campgrounds, $11.50 per night includes water and electric.

Our two day stay allows for walks and runs (Howard) in the morning, stocking up at Costco for some major boondocking days ahead, and a movie...the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which in our opinion, was amazingly well done, especially after reading all 3 books, and seeing the original movies in Swedish with sub-titles.

So we're off for a short drive down to the Anza Borrego Desert, near the town of Borrego Springs, where we will greet the New Year 2012, and plan to stay until the Santa Ana winds, temps in the 100s, or boredom drive us out !