Russ Hits a New Low – and he doesn’t even golf!!

Today was moving day…time to hit the road and head slowly for home.  Our time in the sun was far too short but we are still feeling our way as to how we want to travel and what we want to do.  This year is a year of discovery and exploration more than anything else.

Sometimes I still slip into that discouraged mode where I really wonder if this is what we should be doing.  Seems one or the other of us gets sick every time we travel and this time the dog is sick too!  Makes one wonder if this is where we should really be in our lives.   The unthinkable comes to mind often – stay home and take care of business and be within easy reach of a doctor.

Last night Russ had the lowest blood sugar he has ever had.  I woke up for a bathroom break and when I went back to bed, Russ was struggling to sit up and mumbling that he needed to check his blood.  I took one look at him and told him to not move and I grabbed some juice and got that down him as quickly as I could.  After downing the juice, he checked his blood and it was 28.  Normal is 100, at about 60 he begins to have trouble thinking clearly, at 40 he can barely make sense.  With a reading this low, I have no doubt that, had he managed to get his feet on the floor, he would have passed out.  I started thinking, how would I call for help if we were out in the middle of the desert?  I certainly could not lift him on my own.  Do I call 911 and give our location as the corner of Ocotillo and Cholla?  Just look for the RV boondocking in one of the many RV areas that I have no idea how to describe?  Could they find us by GPS coordinates?  I don’t know.  How would they find us…and find us in time?  Gives one pause and lots to consider.  Thankfully, after more juice, some fruit, and half of a peanut butter sandwich, Russ slowly began to feel better and a further crisis was avoided.

And then we get on the road and I remember how much fun it is to travel together.  I love the varied scenery that this country enjoys.  Coming up Hwy. 395 to Hwy. 58 today (Desert Hot Springs to Bakersfield), we saw so much desert beauty.  Most of today’s photos were taken from the moving vehicle so quality may be a bit of an issue.




It almost seems that people just pick any old spot in the desert that strikes their fancy and there they make their home.  Some obviously didn’t work out as well as the owners had hoped.



We turned on Bear Valley cut-off to go towards Hwy.395 and pulled off the road for a short break.  The scenery here was very similar to what we had experienced at Joshua Tree NP just a few short days ago.









As the sun began to grow lower in the sky, the mountains to the east became bathed in a soft pinkish glow and the scattered Joshua Trees stood almost in silhouette.





A major train route follows much of Hwy. 58 in the Bakersfield area and I caught this one going in and out of the many tunnels along the route.  On the far left you can see it entering a long tunnel, emerging only to quickly enter another at the far right of the photo.  I thought of Sam when I snapped these photos.



We ran alongside this train for a ways watching it run in and out of the tunnels around every curve.


We are overnighting at Orange Grove RV Park.  This was recommended by Rick and Paulette and also Kim and Don.  I really like it here.  It’s not quite clear into Bakersfield and is just off Hwy. 58.  Easy to get to and so pretty.  The oranges are getting ripe and you are welcome to pick as many as you want.  We already enjoyed some for dinner and they were yummy.



The park is very sparsely populated right now, except for a couple of rows at the far end that appear to be full time residents.  We met three kids playing ball and they stopped their game in order to come and say hi to Poppy.  Nice kids and they soon went back to playing with their ball and we continued our walk. 


Russ liked the way the street light illuminated this orange tree.



And the clubhouse is all decked out for Christmas.




Tomorrow we will continue our trek north and continue to wrestle with the decisions that will define our future. 


Good Night All.

Poppy Dog and Why She Looks So Funny and Meeting Another Blogger

Our eldest son, John, doesn’t write often but when he does it’s because he has something to say.  He has a new post up today.  Check it out on Red’s Midlife Crisis.

I had several inquiries about the state of Poppy’s back in the last several days.  Since I did nothing more interesting than stay in bed and run to the little room today, I have nothing better to write about!!  (I know TMI, but that’s just the way of it).  I am feeling a bit better today – after four days of this I am about due.  Thanks Russ for running to the store early this morning for Gatorade.  I’ve been sipping it all day.  And thank you for the sweet get well card. 

Poppy has VERY heavy fur and a tendency towards hot spots.  The other name for hot spots is moist dermatitis.  She will get a hot spot and it will not heal properly because no air can penetrate that dense coat.  We were shaving little parts as we would find a hot spot but before it would heal another would break out.  We finally decided, back in June, to shave her entire back as that seems to be the only place she gets them. 


Well, the hot spots have healed up nicely and the vet said we did the right thing.  He says the spots are caused by food allergies but after spending about a million dollars on special foods that she won’t eat and didn’t make any difference anyway, we gave up and feed her good old Costco canned food.  Although she protests and would rather have People food, she has not had a new hot spot since we shaved her back. 

If you have seen pictures of Poppy in her Pretty Pink Polka-dot Princess Dress, you know we had to protect her from the sun until her hair started growing back.  It is growing back –ever so SLOWLY- but it is coming in in widely scattered tufts.  The vet said that’s normal so hopefully, someday, she will look like a real dog again.  We may have to keep her clipped to alleviate the return of the hot spots but we’ll just have to wait and see.


Oh sure, as soon as I say I have nothing to write about, Russ shows up with some pictures and news of what he has done today.  First he met fellow blogger Susan and her dog Angel this morning.  He didn’t get a picture but she did so maybe you’ll see something on her site later on.

Since I was holed up in bed most of the day, Russ made the rounds of the park and ran into some Bug Inspectors checking out this mess on the front of this fiver.  Must be time to get out The Solution!!



Well, I guess it’s not an official inspection, just Lolita, Allen, and Rick doing a body count.

The rest of the day, Russ lounged around outside with Poppy dog.  She made a nest under the motor home in the sand and rocks, even though we put a rug outside for her.  She seemed perfectly content.



And so another beautiful day comes to an end here in Desert Hot Springs.  I hope I don’t miss another one!

Good Night All.

Borrego Springs, Joshua Tree, and more

I had planned to write part two of our trip to Borrego Springs yesterday but I just wasn’t feeling up to writing anything.  We spent most of the day driving through Joshua Tree NP and in retrospect, that was a dumb thing to do.  I have been feeling puny since Wednesday night but our time here is so limited that I didn’t want to miss anything.  My big old Mexican dinner that I made on Wednesday did not agree with me.  My tummy is still rebelling.  When my system gets discombobulated I usually end up with a migraine and this time is no exception.  Then I completely forgot to take my regular meds on Friday so that further upset things.  I had to miss what Russ said was a wonderful dinner at Allen and Lolita’s tonight but just did not feel well enough to do anything.  Someday perhaps I will listen when my body says REST!  I just hate to miss anything.

So now, just a few highlights of things we saw on eh trip back from Borrego Springs.  As I mentioned last, there are many places to camp in the Anza-Borrego Desert.  Most have dirt access roads and can be a bit bumpy.  We found this spot just a few miles from the town of Borrego Springs.  It is right off the paved road to the landfill.  We did not see any traffic on this road but we were there on Thanksgiving day so maybe that would explain it.  Anyway, this camping site was just a few yards off the road and was level and seemed to be easy to access.  It is just big enough to accommodate 4or 5 rigs without crowding.  Kate and Terry, looks like a spot we you could show us the ins and outs of boondocking!


We also saw this interesting mountain that looks like a bunch of faces.  Lookout Mt. Rushmore, you have some natural competition.

Okay, so it’s not Mt. Rushmore but we thought it was cool.
On the way home we passed some date farms.  I thought they looked interesting. 

I read up on them when we got home and still don’t know why these had bags tied on them as it is not harvest season.  I found this site interesting and then I saw that they also have a small RV park there.  How cool is that?  We might stay there when we go to Yuma in March.

Yesterday we visited Joshua Tree NP.  We were neither on feeling up to par so most of the time was spent driving rather than hiking.  We did make several stops and got a few pictures but nothing spectacular.  The park was crowded (as to be expected) and we saw lots of rock climbers in full regalia.  Didn't take a lot of photos, but here are just a couple.

This ocotillo looked dead but it still had blooms on it.  It was huge, probably 12 feet high.


The Yucca had seen better days but it was interesting that the blooms still hung on for so long after their initial beauty had faded.  I love old things – I IS one!!

The rock formations are varied and each one has a specialness all its own.
 
The same could be said for the Joshua Trees.



A hauntingly beautiful place that deserved more attention that what we gave it yesterday.  Oh well, that’s the way it goes sometime.

Sorry I missed seeing Allen and Lolita, Kim and Don, and Rick and Paulette tonight.  I’ll leave it to you guys to tell about the wonderful Mexican food I missed!  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

When we visited Joshua Tree NP several years ago, I put together a video for the family with some of the rock pictures we had.  This video has a decidedly Christian bent so if that type of thing offends, please skip!!  It’s just a song with rock pictures.  By the way, our middle names are William and Carol – you will understand why I say this if you watch the video!!

Good Night All.  (I hope.  We sure have some noisy neighbors!)

The Day After…

Hopefully there were not too many leftovers and you all are not going to be eating turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey and noodles, turkey hash…and so on for the next two weeks!  We got up Thursday morning, had breakfast out and then drove to Borrego Springs to check out the area.  We parked under a tree do Poppy would have shade and when we came out the tree was just full of these birds.  They were all very happy and making a lot of happy noise!

Can you tell me his name Judy?


Not saying this is how I would want to spend every Thanksgiving but for this one at least, we had a perfect day.  I didn’t have to get up at Zero –Dark –Thirty and get the turkey in the oven, I didn’t have to chop everything up for stuffing, no pies to bake, no green bean casserole to make.  It was great…but like I said, it was perfect for us at this one point in our lives.  Probably won’t do it the same way every year.

Our trip to Borrego Springs was everything we hoped it would be.  What a beautiful area, and it’s not a bad drive from Desert Hot Springs. 


There were a lot of campers in the area for the long weekend but I imagine it is very quiet during the week.  Most of the area is dispersed camping…you just find a spot in the sand and pull over!





Most folks were here for only one reason this weekend and that was to ride their dirt bikes and ATVs.  They all seemed to be having a lot of fun.



Look closely at the top of this hill.  We watched this guy drive his jeep up there.




There was a lady running a recycling center of sorts at one of the more developed campgrounds.  She was all set up for collecting cans and seemed to have things well organized.  We got to talking to her and she shared a wealth of information about the area.  She said she was retired…worked as a Border Patrol Agent for 24 years and had to retire on medical when she got shot.  What a brave lady…I somehow failed to get her name, but she posed for a picture.  What a great personality.


Poppy enjoyed our stops too.  I had to caution her about sticking her nose into all the little holes she was finding.  Stop Poppy – that’s an ANT HILL!


And stay away from these too.




Much of the desert here is just a series of huge fissures in the landscape.  I don’t know what they are called but they are too big to be arroyos.  It’s like looking at a mini Grand Canyon.  This landscape goes on for as far as the eye can see.




The little village of Borrego Springs is where we stopped and ate our picnic lunch.  Upon entering the town, there is a large traffic circle called Christmas Circle.  The interior of this circle is a beautiful park, with manicured lawns, many variety of trees, picnic tables, sparkling clean restrooms, and covered walkways.  It is absolutely beautiful.


Even Poppy enjoyed the park.  Have you ever seen a more contented dog?

 

This is getting too long so I will do the trip back tomorrow.

Good Night All.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

 I've been having a heck of a time with internet connection here so hopefully I can get this to post.  I have been reading as many blogs as I can but not always commenting as it take so long to upload anything.  So if you don't see my note, that doesn't mean I haven't stopped by.  Sometimes it's a dropped connection that makes my comments not post but at any rate, hope you all know how much I appreciate reading about your adventures even if I can't always get a comment to post.  Take care.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving with all the wonderful foods and friends and family that you can handle!

This is a weird holiday for us this year.  First one in many, many years that we have not been with family.  We just thought we would try something different and see how it works.  I am so thankful that most of my family is in Oregon and we can see them all often. 

I made enchiladas, beans, and rice for our Thanksgiving feast and we had it Wednesday evening.  If we feel like it, on Thanksgiving Day we are going to take off and go see some of the sights around the area.  Might even go as far as Borrego Springs.  We figure most folks will be hunkered down over a turkey so we will have the roads all to ourselves (yeah, right!).  So we’ll see what happens.

Today we went to visit some old friends of ours…old in the sense that we have known them for a long time, not that they are as old as we are!  Gary and Charlotte are Senior Pastors at Christian Center here in Desert  Hot Springs.  We got to see them last summer when they came through Oregon so we wanted to touch bases while we are here.  Had a wonderful visit in their beautiful home and then they were on their was to spend Thanksgiving with their kids in Fresno.




Russ got a nice picture of the sky this morning with the jet trails adding their streaks to the wispy clouds overhead.


Well, it’s Thanksgiving and while I enjoy the holiday and the sentiment, I wish that we could remember everyday what we have to be thankful for.  It’s easy to become discourage and even bitter about the economy, politics, family issues, poverty, occupiers…you name it, we can find a negative to worry about.  But what is more important is to search for that little nugget of positivity that can be found in almost every situation. 

I consider myself blessed, not only because I live and travel in a place that I love, but because of the blessings that we may forget to acknowledge on a day to day basis.  I am thankful for my kids and their spouses and my grandkids.  I am thankful for my wonderful siblings and their extended families.  I am thankful that I have a wonderful husband, and that he has family that I love as my own.  I am thankful for friends.

I am thankful for love and acceptance, both to give and to receive, without judgment.  I am thankful that I still have the faith of a child and can believe in what I cannot see with my eyes.  Yes, I believe in God and my faith sustains me when all else fails.  For that I am thankful.  May I never outgrow the simplicity of belief. 

Happy Thanksgiving All and may we be truly thankful, not just today, but every day.  God Bless.

A Picture Perfect Day

Today’s perfection actually started last night with the BBQ at Rick and Paulette’s.  I gotta tell ya, Rick has not been exaggerating about Paulette’s talent in the kitchen.  We has roasted potatoes, grilled mushrooms and onions, bean salad, green salad with all kinds of goodies in it, garlic bread, and it was all just wonderful.  And then Rick grilled up some picture perfect steaks.  Oh my…so good.

  I didn’t get a picture of the steaks as we were in the fiver already getting ready to chow down.  We did hear Rick coming with the platter though.  As he came up the steps with his plate full of steaks we heard him give a yell.  I thought he had dropped the plate at first.  But it seems his little muttzo, Rylie, was waiting for Rick at the top of the stairs.  As he held out the plate to climb aboard, Rylie assumed he was offering her a perfectly done steak and so she graciously accepted.  She selected the one she wanted and quick as scat she had it off the plate.  Thanks, Dad!  She didn’t get far with it though as Paulette was right there to snatch it back – and feed it to Rick.  Oh well, we all know the 10 second rule!  I did manage to save a few bites for Molly and Rylie so they weren’t completely denied.  We also met fellow bloggers Kim and Don and another BC couple Ken and Karen (they don’t blog, but they did provide some wonderful pie for dessert).  What a wonderful time we had.  By the time we left there was absolutely NO “W” and it stayed that way all day today.

Today dawned bright and beautiful, clear blue skies, not a hint of a breeze.  It was cold and crisp but as the sun rose, the air warmed to the mid 60s.  We took a drive up Hwy. 74, the Palms to Pines Hwy.  We did not go too far as we got a late start and still had some errands to complete today.  This is a map that is at the visitors center at the bottom of the hill.


Click to enlarge.  We only went as far as the first major cutoff you see there, Hwy 371 to Anza and San Diego.  We saw this sign at the visitor’s center so we kept Poppy on a short leash and didn’t wander too far from the parking lot.

 

There are lots of trails here but many are restricted to NO DOGS.  The ranger told me it was to protect the mountain sheep.  Poppy got tired quickly anyway and so I sat in the car with her while Russ took a few photos.







The road starts out pretty narrow and windy until it gets to the first overlook.  It’s a little hard to see here as some of the road is gray and some is a newly paved black.  Click on picture to enlarge.



The views from the overlook are marvelous but pictures cannot really do it justice.
This is a picture from farther along on our drive as we began to enter the San Bernardino National Forest.  For my siblings…that snow capped peak in the distance is the backside of Big Bear.  Remember that place??

The day continued to exude perfection and the sunset was another humdinger.  As I was walking out to get a shot of the setting sun, I spied this little critter in the lot next door.



And finally, the end to a picture perfect day.  Good Night All.


P.S.  See why there was no “W” today?  No one turned on the big fans!

I Love Me Some Blue Sky

I know Montana is called Big Sky Country but I am thinking maybe that title could apply to some parts of California as well.  Although we had a rain shower last night, the sky has cleared today and the slight wind is keeping the temperatures down.  I cannot get over this blue sky.

The sky changes so rapidly as the clouds move in and out, blown by the ever changing wind.




Having grown up in smog filled southern California, I had forgotten that much progress has been made towards cleaner air in the last 40+ years that I have been gone.  And most of my growing up years were spent in the area around San Bernardino, at the base of the mountains where the smog would just settle in and not move.  This desert sky and air are wonderful.

Here’s a nice place; looks like they are settled in for the season.



Here’s some evidence of the windstorm we had a few days ago.  This is in town (Desert Hot Springs).



I read on the weather service page that we had gusts of 50+ mph!  I guess that helps keep the smog cleared out.  Maybe if they turned off those giant white fans the wind would not be so bad:)

 

Gonna go have us some BBQ in a few so I’ll close this off for now.  Have a great week and Good Night All.