Day 3 Butterfield Ranch RV Resort Julian, California

Last night the wind blew hard. We had heard to expect gusts up to 60 miles an hour. We pulled the slides in during the night to protect the slide covers. The walls were literally closing in! This morning it is very chilly with a high predicted for 48 degrees. Tim saw a rainbow and then we actually had spitting snow flurries for a short period of time.

Now there is snow on the nearby mountaintop.

Then it began to rain steadily. The wind was wicked strong.

We stayed here for one more night because the Daytona 500 is today. We knew that if we stayed here, Tim could watch the race. We thought he might be able to see it at the clubhouse, but the TV wouldn’t work. We were able to use the hot spot and stream it in the RV. Denny Hamlin, Tim’s driver, won the race.

In the end it was a good thing that we didn’t have plans to go anywhere. It was our worst weather day so far!

Day 2 Butterfield Ranch RV Resort Julian, California

Today was a very good day!  We started our off-road adventure at Indian Gorge.  A gorge is a narrow valley between two mountains with steep rocky walls.  I really wish I knew more about geology and rocks and rock formations.  I’m sure to all of you our pictures must be starting to look all the same…mountains and rocks and cliffs and stuff, but to us everyday has been WOW, unique, eye opening, and beautiful!  Tim is not tired of driving these demanding trails and we never tire of the scenery.  We have been getting out of the Jeep to walk around more.

Lunch spot.

Today there were tons of painted ladies flitting everywhere.  They really like the indigo bushes.  When we passed by, the bushes would erupt with a flurry of the little butterflies. 

We saw several hawks, a little lizard, a hummingbird, a larger black lizard, a packrat, and a half dozen black tailed jackrabbits leaping wildly across the trail.  The jackrabbits camouflage themselves so well that even when you know they are right there, they are hard to spot. 

We saw a fire scar…could have been from last night or centuries ago…or both!

We had been scanning the mountains for bighorn sheep.  All at once Tim spotted a herd.  We have these amazing new binoculars that Kyle got us as our Christmas gift.  We were able to count 13 sheep.  The Big Papa was laying up on a ridge.  He had huge curly horns and a big head.  Even his nostrils were huge!  The ewes with heavy bellies, have shorter pointier horns that they will use to keep their lambs safe.  Lambing begins at the end of February.  The ewes were farthest away from us, higher on the mountainside.  Large rams were closest to the road.  We watched as 2 males confronted one another with the clashing of their horns.   We could hear the clatter of horns from the road.  We watched as the males used their horns to shear the spines off a cactus so that they could feed.  We could hear the pounding on the cactus.  We watched as the sheep scrambled up and down the rocky edge, sending rocks tumbling down.  We were able to stay there quietly observing and taking pictures for more than 30 minutes.  The sheep gradually gathered on the ridge near Big Papa and were hard to see.  If we had come upon that same area when they were in their protective group, we might never have seen them.

This is a barrel cactus. The sheep were feeding on these.

We went to the Badlands Overlook where it was quite windy.

We went to Volcanic Hills where the mountains looked all together different with blackened shiny stone in great piles.

We saw lots of new wildflowers today.

This is an agave plant.  These plants were invaluable to the Indian people that lived here.  The plant was used as a food source and to make food sweeter.  It was also used to make pulque, an alcoholic beverage.  It is used today to make tequila.  The plant is very tough and fibrous and the edges of the leaves are covered in very sharp spines.  The Indian people used the fibers to make rope, thread, and cords and the sharp spikes were used as sewing needles.  The plant gets one glorious bloom in its lifetime and then the plant dies.  These blooms can be as high at 30 feet…but the ones we have seen are 8-12 feet tall.

We drove to 26 miles to the nearest town to fill the Jeep with gas.  On our way we saw these wind turbines.

In the past week, our family has lost 2 wonderful women.  This has been weighing on me.  I have made the choice not to go and say goodbye and I have been feeling terribly torn.  Today in the Indian Valley, I felt a sense of peace.  I do believe that nature can be curative and healing.  So, it was in this isolated, peaceful place that I said my goodbyes to these two very strong, remarkable, lovely people.  I am keeping everyone close in my heart, my thoughts, and my prayers.

Mileage:  57,973 Butterfield Ranch RV Resort Julian, California

We decided to move today.  It was very windy sitting up on the hill and we were not sure what the trails might look like after all of the rain yesterday.  There are lots of other trails in the southern portion of the Anzo-Borrego State Park that we wanted to see.

We started on the highway and we could see a snowplow on the side of the road.  It looked like it had been pushing mud!

In the center of town at Christmas Circle we could see a farmer’s market!  We stopped and got fresh produce, Mediterranean food, and fresh chicken and corn tamales. 

Our next stop was the grocery store.  The area we were going to was far away from any services.  One more stop to fill with water and clean out tanks…just in case we ended up without hookups for several days.  The last stop was at the Calico Coffee Shop for delicious almond coconut coffee.  Now we were ready to go!

We headed south on S3 and then onto Route 78.  There is a warning prohibiting RVs over 40 feet from using this particular section of the road.  No problem…the RV is 35 feet long…I guess the tow vehicle doesn’t really count…

A group of cyclists were approaching the curve up ahead…judging distance and speed, it looked like we were going to get to the curve at about the same time.  Patience, as we followed until we were able to pass. 

We knew from talking with a ranger this morning that all the main roads were open.  As we drove, we could see lots of evidence of yesterday’s rain. 
There were lots of places where you could see that mud and rocks had been cleared from the roadway.

San Felipe Creek was full of running water.  It was dry the other day when we passed.

We are staying at a non-spectacular campground.  It does have hookups though, which is a good thing!  We rested and had lunch and then went for our daily off-road ride.  The highway we took was the Overland Stagecoach Trail of 1849.  Native Americans and then later, settlers and explorers traveled this route.  There is a small primitive campground along the way that has been a campsite for hundreds and hundreds of years.

We went to an area where we had views of the Carrizo Badlands.  When ancient peoples named the land “Badlands,” it was because there were no resources.  Here there was no vegetation and I am guessing not much wildlife.

The last trail took us to Palm Spring.  This is the site of an oasis that was used by the stagecoach companies as they crossed the desert.  There is a pool of water here and a few palm trees.

Our dinner tonight was a three-layer appetizer of feta, pesto, and sun dried tomatoes, garlic hummus, warm flatbread, cucumbers, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, and falafel.  I enjoyed it tremendously…Tim tolerated it!

Day 3 Rockhouse Canyon Road Borrego Springs, California

The rain began last evening and continued steadily through the night and through most of the day today. We decided to use today to catch up on the blog and to do laundry in town. It was raining as we left and as we traveled the road was covered with more water. We could feel the Jeep hydroplaning as we went.

Everyone else thought today was a good laundry day as well…it was a hopping little place!

When the clothes were finished, we decided to go to Kesling’s Kitchen for our lunch. It had nice Mediterranean food and we shared a salad and some hummus and flatbread.

We drove back toward our RV and saw the first sign…Road Closed Ahead!

By this time, there was even more water on the road.

The next sign was before our turnoff…

We had to get to the RV, so we bypassed the road closure and made it to the campsite without any trouble. We decided to go off-road for a short time to see what happens to the roads and washes during a rainstorm.

This area was a bone dry lake bed just yesterday.

The washes were filled with swiftly running water. It was time to go home!

The rainfall total was 2.68 inches!!! More than half of the annual rainfall average!

As the sun was setting, there were some small glimpses of blue sky!

We enjoyed some grilled chicken Marsala and slightly brown (burnt) bread for our Valentine’s Day dinner. Not such an exciting day!

Day 2 Rockhouse Canyon Road Borrego Springs, California

Just the other day I was wishing for a list of trail descriptions.  I was looking at a brochure for the Anzo-Borrego State Park and found an article…if you have a full day for off-roading…consider taking the Sandstone Canyon Trail.  We plotted our course on the map, packed a lunch and we were on our way.  Each time we choose a trail we have a sense of anticipation.  That was especially true today.  We never know how tough the trail will be, how beautiful it might be, how challenging it might be, if we might get into trouble…but that only adds to the excitement of actually going there!  We want to be challenged and be out there having an adventure…not sitting back in the RV.

This ride was a gorgeous ride!  It is now our favorite ride!

There were places that we had to turn around…

There were places that were a bit challenging…

It was worth every minute!  Sometimes when you are out riding in these places you forget that you are not on a road.  This path was carved by nature, not engineers, not machines, nor men.  These creek beds and canyons and washes look very much the same today as they have for thousands of years.  We learned that in this area there is so little rain that if you see a scar from an old campfire, it may be from long, long ago when Native Americans lived in these canyons.  We also learned that the fire rings might also be ancient…laid ages and ages ago.

We have seen more wildlife in the past several days. There have been Gambel quail, roadrunners, ground squirrels, lizards, hummingbirds, a pack rat, and a coyote running across the road. These desert creatures are fast and hard to get pictures of. We did capture this hawk taking off and this painted lady resting on a rock. These little butterflies are everywhere!

On our way out of the canyon we stopped at the infamous Iron Door Bar.  This place is unique!  It actually reminded us of the small bar we visited on Denali Highway in Alaska.  It is decorated with lots of dollar bills and bras.  I asked for wine and she offered me red, white, and pink.  When I asked what kind of white…she said white!  I had white wine! 

The conversation in the bar was about the expected weather.  We knew that there was a chance of rain tomorrow.  We haven’t been anywhere near a TV or the news for about a week.  Apparently, there is a prediction of 1.7 inches of rain.  They expect that it will begin this evening…in fact it started to rain while I started blogging.  In southern California…it hardly ever rains.  The total annual rainfall is about 5 inches.  1.7 inches then, especially in a short period of time, can be a big problem.  Slow and gentle rain can be absorbed, but lots of hard rain runs down the rocks and into the gullies and washes and causes flash-floods.  The guys in the bar were telling stories of vehicles and people that have been washed away in the flooding.  There are trucks with plows attached to the front running around town.  We think this might be to push rocks and mud out of the roadways.  Everyone is on edge…similar to how people at home prepare for a snowstorm.

When we got back to the RV we looked at the area around the RV…there was a gully nearby and there was a part of the road that looked like it had been washed out previously.  We decided not to take a chance and we moved everything to higher ground.

We went to town for an early Valentine’s Day dinner, Mexican food at Carmelita’s!  The mango margarita was MINE!

We stopped for groceries on our way back…just in case we get stuck up here!

We learned that the desert is not a place to bring your dog.  There are lots of reasons for this.  Lots of pets have been lost or pursued by coyotes or rattlesnakes.  The cactus spines are easily wedged in the paws of a dog and this can be a medical emergency.  The most interesting reason is because dogs leave scent behind most everywhere they “go.”  This scent then becomes a warning for all the smaller mammals to avoid the area because a predator (coyote) is probably nearby.  The smaller mammals cannot differentiate between coyote and dogs.  This creates a problem for the smaller animals looking for food…every trail smells like predator!

Mileage:  57,927 Rockhouse Canyon Road Borrego Springs, California

This morning we packed up the RV and got ready to take it into town to the dump station.  We needed to empty our sanitation tanks and we needed fresh water.  Once we had taken care of business, we drove out to Rockhouse Canyon Road.  This is another free dispersed camping area. 

We packed a lunch and went for our daily drive.  The paved road, Montezuma Valley Road, that we took out of town took us among the mountaintops.  We were at more than 4,010 feet of elevation. It was a beautiful drive. 

We went off-road at Old Culp Valley Road, we took that to Jasper Trail, and then Grapevine Canyon.  This was one of my favorite drives.  The trail was a little rough, we were on a rocky road with a fairly significant gully.  One tire was off the ground…not sure how far!

We emerged onto highway 78 and took the Mine Wash Trail.

The wildflowers are just starting to bloom here.  People come from all over the country to see the flowers.  The prediction is that since the fall and winter have been wetter than usual, the wildflowers will be extra special this year.

Lunch spot.

Our tilapia dinner tonight included the lemon that Tim handpicked and brought to me!

This life that we are living might seem odd to you but…to us…we feel so very fortunate to be able to get up everyday and do this together!  We are carefree and stress free and happy!

Day 5 Ocotillo Vehicular Recreation Area Borrego Springs, California

Our intention this morning was to take our bikes to the town of Borrego Springs and ride around. I wasn’t able to make it very far. The wind irritated my throat causing me to cough like crazy. I surrendered after only a couple of miles. I am getting better…I’m just not ready to cycle yet. I went and waited for Tim to ride, sitting in the sunshine and thinking that in itself was very therapeutic!

When Tim was done riding, we went to Kendall’s Cafe for brunch.

Tim had an off-road adventure in mind. We drove through lemon and orange groves to get to our trail.

We met this guy driving a boat…

With 200 miles of off-road trails at Ocotillo Wells and another 600 miles at the adjacent state park, I was wishing that the trails came with some kind of description so you would know what to expect. I have come to discover that I really like not knowing. It makes each ride a surprise…kind of like a Christmas gift…you aren’t sure what you might find inside! Today’s ride was a good example. We made our way across the desert plain.

All at once there was water to cross…and more water to cross…

We found ourselves in Sheep Canyon. There is a primitive campsite there and it is on the short list for possible adventures when Kyle and Allison join us in a couple of weeks. It was 12 miles off the paved road and it was beautiful and peaceful there.

The day didn’t end up like we planned but it turned out to be an amazing day anyway! We grilled burgers tonight while we watched the sunset.

Day 4 Ocotillo Wells Vehicular Recreation Area Borrego Springs, California

Our plan this morning was to take the road across the desert to the Gas Domes.  First though, we had to run to the hardware store for mouse catching supplies…hopefully it is just a mouse…hopefully it’s not a pack rat.  We also decided to move our site…hoping that maybe he wouldn’t follow us…or move his friends and family in.  It’s all part of what we signed up for!  The bonus is that in our new site, we have a cell signal and WIFI to post the blog!

When we were finally on our way, it was very windy and dusty.   

This gas dome is fairly new.  It just started gurgling with water in 2002.  This is evidence of geothermal activity deep inside the earth.  The water is being pushed up through a crack in the desert floor.

This is a mud volcano.  A mixture of mud, water, gases, and minerals continuously oozes from below the surface.

Today was Sunday and there were a lot of motorists out enjoying this expansive playground. 

We passed the Artesian Well.  This was a site where prospectors had hoped to find oil…they found only very hot water instead.  There is work being done to figure out how to use this geothermal energy as a clean and sustainable energy source. 

From the Gas Domes we decided to continue traveling across the desert to an area called the Tectonic Gorge.  We had our lunch here.

We weren’t done with today’s adventure.  We crossed the highway and found ourselves in the Palm Wash.  This ride proved to be a challenging one…but fun!  After getting down the hill we rode in the canyon for several miles before we could find our way out…grateful that we didn’t have to try to get up that hill…we weren’t sure that we could make it!

It is interesting how diverse the different trails are and how much we have been able to see!

The wind was blowing at about 20 miles an hour up on this hill.  It was too windy to try and cook on the grill so we just heated up leftovers.  We had to pull one of the slides in to keep the wind from doing damage to our slide-out cover.

Day 3 Ocotillo Wells Vehicular Recreation Area Borrego Springs, California

It seemed rather simple.  We had mapped our route and we were on our way to Pinyon Mountain Road.  It took about an hour to get there from the campground.  It was chilly, cloudy, and windy!  I could tell though that I was going to love the ride as we began our ascent from the floor of the desert.  We were surrounded by mountains and the views were really pretty.  The clouds began to lift and we had a gorgeous day for driving. 

We had gone about ten miles when all at once a rather large and imposing rock appeared in the middle of our path.  Closer inspection of that rock revealed large scrape marks…oh no! 

We got out of the Jeep and walked ahead to see what was after the rock…it looked like a really narrow passage to the rest of the trail…with a three foot drop off!  It looked like the Jeep would have to at least rub tires on both sides of the opening to fit through!  Oh yeah…the maps indicated that this area is ONE WAY and it is labeled Pinyon Drop-off! 

The thing I really like about traveling with Tim is that he knows when to turn around.  He likes to take some chances and he likes to have fun, but he knows when to make a new plan!  We went out the way we came in and that is how we found ourselves on the Rodriguez Canyon Trail.  This ride was even more breathtaking than the one before it!

The peak of this road was at the an intersection with the Pacific Crest Trail. 

The PCT is the equivalent of the Appalachian Trail at home.   It stretches from Canada to Mexico and takes 6 months for enthusiasts to walk the entire trail. They say that no matter which end you begin on in April…you will encounter lots of snow.  It is said to be easier to walk than the AP because most of it runs along the ridgeline.  The difficulty lies in the distance between places to get fresh water and provisions.  It was 42 degrees here and Tim found some snow in the shade of a small tree.  The view from the ridge was spectacular.

We returned to camp and headed to dinner in downtown Borrego Springs at Carlees Place.  The food was good…They had live music but not until 8 pm…so we missed it!

Day 2 Ocotillo Wells Vehicular Recreation Area Borrego Springs, California

It is about 15 miles to the town of Borrego Springs on the paved road.  It is about 12 miles if you cut across the desert.  Ready with our map, we traversed the desert. 

We found that the roads heading toward town were not quite as well labeled as the roads we encountered yesterday…but that just added to our sense of adventure!  We found our way across the Borrego Sink…where we turned around to find a more reliable route.  We went first to the visitor center.

The couple in the visitor center recommended a ride in the canyon where you could actually cross water.  We were on our way when we saw a pack of 5 coyote cross the street in front of the car. 

As we entered the off-road area, we saw another coyote in the dry lake bed.  Can you spot him?

The ride followed the Santa Rosa Mountains and was gorgeous, though we never did find water to cross!

Our lunch spot.

We headed back toward town to see the Borrego Springs sculptures.  A man named Dennis Avery owns a large amount of land in this area.  He had an idea to commission some sculptures of desert creatures.  He hired an artist, Ricardo Breceda to create these life-sized sculptures.  There are about 130 installations.  The subjects include mammoths and camels and prehistoric turtles and sloth-like creatures, all whose fossils have been found in the area.

There are also wild horses, giant birds, a giant scorpion, and a serpent that actually crosses beneath the road. 

We grilled our dinner and enjoyed a small fire and some sangria…another day spent enjoying the ride!