Tucson and a return to Borrego Springs

We were in Tucson for 2 weeks and for the life of me, I don't know what all we did.  We did get the carpet, tile, and ceiling cleaned by Kyle of Complete Carpet Cleaning in Benson.  Luckily he comes to Tucson.  I would highly recommend him.  We did do the mandatory trip to Costco.

We got together a couple of times with good friends Rodger and Sharon.  Rodger does wood-carving and his pieces are beautiful.  He gifted me a Kokopelli carving I had been drooling over.

We met Al for dinner one night at the casino for prime rib.  He has been traveling with a SOLOs group.  They provide lots of activities for their members.  He is always doing something.

There were a few short walks at Tucson Mt. park.  With my sciatica I can't walk very far or stand for any length of time which is seriously a pain in the ass for me. Walking has always been my thing!

We decided we wanted to go back to Anza Borrego to see the wildflower superbloom.  We were not disappointed.  Since the temps were high we stayed at an RV park in town as we didn't want to be couped up inside running the generator in order to boondock out in the desert which would have been our first choice.

We took off early on a Monday morning hoping to beat the crowds.  The weekend was gridlock with traffic at all the popular locations.  The flowers were at their peak.  We even found some cacti blooming up in Glorieta Canyon.

Sprouting roots here in the Anza Borrego Desert, a 2nd Jeep drive to Palm oases, and a dry waterfall in Hawk Canyon…..

I think after almost 7 weeks here in our lovely free boondocking site, we may qualify for homesteading rights.  Honestly, every time we start to make plans to move on; Ogilby Rd., Imperial Dam, Kofa are all on our radar, Yuma, Scottsdale, Tucson, too; we go for another hike, and gaze at the night sky and say... maybe next week!

Phone shot collage as we were heading out to dinner...

Looking east with the last rays of sun!

A new (for us) trail up the side of Coyote Mt.

Howard in a prickly, green frame

Quatro ocotillos

There have been a couple more trips to Tito’s repair place in town to have motorhome issues resolved. Yes, we would recommend him. Yesterday was the final visit hopefully, and involved installing a new filter on the air system, a part that had to be ordered from Country Coach.  The dash air needs a new compressor but that’s going to wait till we can find an after-market replacement at about half the price.


Before Tom & Carolyn left for other parts, we finagled another Jeep drive.  We headed east on S-22 and turned south to Arroyo Salada, 17 Palms, and 5 Palms, stopping frequently for short hikes and photos. 

Driving thru Arroyo Salada

At the 17 Palms

To the 5 Palms...not a bad sky day!

Hooking up with the Cut Across Trail, winding south towards Butte Mountain and The Slot, we happened on Hawk Canyon.  This turned out to be a beautiful find with no less than a dry waterfall, an interesting sign, and a half-petrified piece of wood. 

The sign conjures up all sorts of mental images.  Possibly an alteration of "wood", tho there are sheep in these parts!

Notice how this piece of wood is petrified on the right side only!

The beautiful sandstone cliffs of the area are evidence of an ancient marine environment. The Coyote Creek earthquake fault runs north and south on the east side of the east mesa of Borrego Mountain in the highly active San Jacinto Fault Zone. The Borrego Mountain earthquake of 9 April 1968 was logged at 6.5 on the Richter Scale. Earthquakes have made their mark here in the form of fault scarps.

I see fossils, at least in my head..

Formations and colors reminiscent of the John Day Painted Hills Unit...

Navigating thru Arroyo Salada

We've done our fair share of socializing with neighbors and friends.  There was the rather impromptu Super Bowl party with Dan & Heather, and Patrick with his dog, Rinse. Probably the only time we'll root for the Seattle Seahawks, who consistently give our SF 49ers a boot to the butt.  But we had to go for the west coast team. Howard and Dan had a $1 bet, Howard taking the Patriots.  Luckily he quickly noticed Dan trying to paying him off with 4 Canadian quarters!

Another amazing day with good friends!

Heather does the gourmet turkey burgers, Dan & Patrick gaze at the mountains...

We met Bob and Kathie Maxwell for lunch a few days ago in Julian, about equidistant between here and their current location in Chula Vista.  Bob has been dealing with some serious health issues but is on the road to recovery and planning to be back on the road soon!

With Bob & Kathie in Julian...

We also offer doggy day care by appointment only.  Patrick was in need of clean laundry, a hike in Culp Valley, and a few podcasts downloaded from the library.  We got Rinse for the day!  His name, we found out, was originally Prince, which Patrick found unacceptable!

A big Thank You to the couple in the red pickup, towing the 5th wheel.  You made Howard's day when you stopped alongside him jogging on Rockhouse Trail, and asked...."are you Stillhowlyn"?!  We hope you got your water pump fixed.

Have you ever wanted to hike the Grand Canyon?  I was catching up on Gaelyn's Foto Friday Fun, and noticed a bridge pic linked with her 2009 hike!  Totally blew my mind.  This is as close as I'll get to the real thing!

Decisions, decisions, where to and when?!  Thanks for stopping by...

We're back, safe and sound, enjoying the delights of Petaluma~~

Playing catch-up is never fun after a long hiatus between journal postings.  We arrived in Sacramento on Halloween Eve, an hour late in a torrential downpour of much-needed rain. Dear daughter Steph picked us up after a long day of work and navigated us safely back to our lovely little home.

We spent a wonderful weekend with our Loomis family; unpacking, washing, sleeping unencumbered by roosters and church bells, eating more wonderful meals, sharing our experiences on the trip to Granada. We had a marathon of watching Homeland Season 4 episodes to bring us current.  We thought about the holidays and travel.  We both got sick!

No, not Ebola-type sick, just yucky cold, congestion stuff.  We ran out of our miracle immune booster, EpiCor, about two weeks ago, and Voila!  Neither of us had had colds or flu for the 6+ years we've been taking since meeting our friend Walter, another RVing buddy, out in the Anza Borrego Desert all those years ago.  Walter is a bit of a health nut and preaches about the benefits of supplements and holistic practices.  However, I obviously did not pay enough attention to the seminar on gut issues, as this is becoming more of a re-occurring condition for me.  More on that later...

The following Monday we drove the 90 or so miles to Petaluma and our parking for the month of November.  We were greeted by Janis, the best Park Host and super good friend, and long-time buddy/full-time RVer Al, who was spending a few days here in transit. Al came bearing goodies of the best kind, thick rib-eye steaks and a bottle of my favorite Bogle Cabernet.  Son Norm stopped by for a visit on his way home...it was a good day.

We are surrounded by Autumn colors

We soon got back into Petaluma mode!  Walks around Shollenberger Lake, now dry as a bone, visits with the family...I even fixed them a Nicaraguan dinner one night; steak churrasco, spicy cole slaw, and rice and beans, of course, and they reciprocated with delicious, juicy chickens prepared in their smoker.  Rusty and the boys (his yellow labs) arrived for several days, en route from Anacortes to San Diego.  We had dinner with Patrick at a wonderful, new (to us) restaurant, Aqus Foundry Wharf, and we met new friends Kim and Else.

Shollenberger (dry) Lake bed, once fed by Ellis Creek

Adjacent to the Petaluma River & tidal marshlands (high tide)

We became fast friends with Kim and Else, also full-time RVers, who plan to stay here through December. Kim is a walking, talking hunk of probiotics who soon infected us with bacteria of the fermented kind.  We are rapidly becoming Cultured Food fanatics and eager students to Kim and Else's teachings.  Their motorhome is a living laboratory of yummy stuff brewing and I have sampled the best kefir, kimchee, kefir cheese, and sodas made from kefir whey.  We plan to soon start making our own and will be getting together with Kim for a step-by-step demonstration of his kefir process, hopefully documented here.  I think my grumpy guts are in for a makeover!

Petaluma is packed with good restaurants, organic markets, and sustainable family farms and dairies. Thistle Meats, a whole animal butcher shop serving only locally-sourced products, became a much too frequent stop.  There have been many visits to farmer's markets and local farms for seasonal, fresh produce.  We took a few pictures along the way....

At Green Stings Farm, featuring pomegranates & squashes

The East-side Tuesday market

We are now looking forward to more visits with friends, a birthday party for youngest granddaughter, Liliana, just turning 5, next weekend in Half Moon Bay, and a big family Thanksgiving celebration at Norm and Wendy's before leaving for the desert.  The temps are falling fast and the furnace is burning longer, and these tires need to be rotated!

Anacortes, a bird's eye view and some reminiscing...

A quick drive through Whidbey Island~~

Our ferry dropped us off at Coupeville on Whidbey Island. We are a two-motorhome caravan with Stephanie and Gary following behind.  This was a quick drive-through with no stops for sightseeing, just the beautiful pastoral scenery and endless views of the Sound, the city of Oak Harbor, and finally the Deception Pass bridge; all providing a moving picture out our big IMAX windows. We parked on the east side of Anacortes at the Swinomish Casino RV Park giving us easy access to I-5; nice facilities and fuel for the next day's drive to Vancouver.  We have a schedule! 

Arriving Whidbey Island

Anacortes, a destination~~

Anacortes and Whidbey Island have always been major summer destinations for us so these mere drive-bys were hard to bear.  We just had to at least take the few hours we had to give the family a bird's eye view of some of the scenic beauty we have so enjoyed around Anacortes on Fidalgo Island.

Cap Sante Marina overlook

Cap Sante Marina, Ferry Terminal, Washington Park~~

From the Cap Sante Overlook we drove over to the Ferry Terminal, a major arrival/departure point for ships to Vancouver Island and the San Juans.  Next a drive through Washington Park, first the beach then to the top for the views.  By this time all had agreed we had to come back for an extended stay! 

From here to many San Juan and Vancouver Island locations...

Howard, daughter Stephanie, hubby Gary

Howard

Gary

Now for the reminiscing~~

On Whidbey Island we stay at the Windjammer Park in Oak Harbor with its miles of walking paths along the waterfront.  Our friend Rusty has his trawler docked nearby and we go Dungeness crabbing out through Deception Pass:

A walk along the waterfront

With marinas...

Deception Pass

Out for a day of Dungeness crabbing

The guys pull in the crab pots

For another good haul...all have to be measured first!

Later in the evening!

Awesome Anacortes~~

From our dry-camping site at the Cap Sante Marina, now $20 a night, we have a marina view and easy walking into the lovely downtown.  The marina hosts summer concerts by the docks with wonderful fresh seafood and food stands.  There is the annual art festival in August and easy access to so many points of interest, like Island Hopping to San Juan Island for a day.

Downtown on a quiet day

Howard poses with the mermaids by the marina...

I love these Nordic Tugs, but they burn a ton of diesel & are very expensive!

Reflections...

A mass of masts...

An Overview...