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.