706 January 10-11, 2022 Desert Adventure
The beginning of Monday was windy with gusts to 15mph. It was warm though…57 degrees when I went for my walk. The pelicans were gone from the pond…flown somewhere warm for the winter…maybe Mexico!
We packed everything for our camping trip to the desert and left after lunchtime.
Welcome back to Picacho! The wild burro must be the ambassador!
Usually, our goal is to find a place with a gorgeous view but today, our mission was to find a site tucked away out of the wind. We explored all kinds of nooks and crannies and found a wash with high sides where we could take shelter. There was a definite difference in the strength of the wind when we were there in the bottom.
I was setting up camp and Tim was gathering rocks for the fire ring. We are always careful when we collect firewood and move rocks…you never know what critters are hiding! Tim called to me to come and look. We saw our first desert scorpion. It had been beneath a stone. It was a light tan/nude color and translucent. It blended in so well with the rocks that I couldn’t focus on it to get a picture before Tim felt compelled to smash it. No scorpions on the campsite…it’s a rule!
We enjoyed the afternoon, basking in the sun, listening to music, the time passed quickly. Since we were so low, the sun slipped behind the mountains and it was nearly dark at 4:00.
We had citrus salmon on salads with cara cara oranges for dessert.
We crawled up into the tent after watching clouds drift across the half moon and stars.
The tent was beaten and battered most of the night by fierce wind. I was so thankful for our safe and snug RTT. This is a purchase that we have NEVER regretted. The opportunities it allows us and the quality of the tent make it a worthwhile investment! I was also thankful that we were NOT perched on a ridgeline!
It was still windy this morning as we had our morning coffee and we were happy to have a fire.
As we often do, we took the scenic route home following trails across the desert toward the Chocolate Mountains and finally to pavement. It will be a while before we travel back this way…we certainly enjoyed our time here!
A leanto/shade shelter.
Last look at Picacho Peak.
We are traveling tomorrow in the Anza Borrego desert. We plan to camp there for three nights and may not have service to post the blog. Once we are in Borrego Springs on saturday, we will get caught up!
