891 February 3, 2023 Exploring Indian Gorge

Last night was so bright.  The moon shone on the white sands.  I had my window shade up so that I could see.  I was looking for coyotes.  We have seen them almost every time we have stayed here.  I think that we could have gone walking around without a flashlight. 

Tim watched the sunrise.

My beautiful surroundings are a powerful incentive to get out and walk.  This morning, I walked out to the main road and then back to the RV across the desert.

We took the Jeep to Indian Gorge.  This is one of my favorite Jeep trails.  As we approached, we startled wildlife from their hiding places.  We saw a red-tailed hawk struggle to lift off, a small rodent caught in his talons.  We saw several black tailed jack rabbits bounding across the desert floor.  Quail shuffled along our path.

A crow making a whole lot of noise in this otherwise peaceful place.

It was warm but mostly cloudy with only a few smudges of blue in the sky and no wind blowing.  As we ascended into the gorge, the flora was greener and denser and there was more variety. There has been a lot of speculation about whether or not there will be a superbloom in the California desert this year.  Wildflower seeds can lie dormant for years.  When there is enough summer and winter rain, these seeds take root and this can result in lots of colorful blossoms.  We have already seen more flowers blooming than we usually do when we are here.

These bushes were swarming with bees.  We could here them buzzing and we steered clear!

We took the spur on the right to the end and got out to hike to the palms.

I decided to continue walking down the trail and Tim met me a short while later.

We took the spur to the left to its end and took another short hike there.  We enjoyed our lunch sitting on granite rocks and gazing at the view. 

Crunchy peanut butter with a honey crisp apple and Turkish figs was my perfect picnic…Tim ate his gruel!

Tim collected some firewood.

As we were driving, I noticed a huge domed boulder that looked like a cave.  There was a sign indicating that this was a sensitive area.  We parked the Jeep and went to look.  This has been a shelter.  There are fire scars inside.  Native American people have occupied this area for more than 10,000 years.  There is no way to tell how long this shelter was used.  On the back side there was a slab of rock that had cleaved off.  We could see manmade indentations in the granite used for grinding and collecting water.  Often, when I see something like this, I am reminded of all the people who have walked here and lived here before us.  Our lives and all our worries are so very small in the grand scheme. 

I was continuously scanning and looking for bighorn.  Looking for creamy colored haunches, for the telltale curl of the horns, listening for the clatter of hooves on the craggy rocks…but no sheep today.

We took the Old Stagecoach trail just enjoying the ride!

Can you see the purple verbena on the hillside?

It was nice enough this afternoon to sit outside in sunshine.

One more walk.

Watching the sun go down while grilling bison burgers and brussel sprouts with apples, walnuts, cranberries, garlic, and fig dressing.

I sat by the fire for a short time.  The last two nights we have seen bunches of bats flying together out of the rocks. 

890 February 2, 2023 Mountain Palm Springs

I was able to walk today on the trails at the Desert Museum.  It was 50 degrees this morning and the windmills were perfectly still…no wind!

The Spirit Of The Desert sculpture welcomes travelers to the museum.

Purple Cactus Sculpture.

I took the road to its end before turning back.

We drove on S3 through the small town of Ocotillo. 

We drove through fields of wind turbines.  We stopped to watch these cranes, hopeful that we might see them move this tremendous blade but that didn’t happen while we were there.

We passed through a Border Patrol Checkpoint and then we entered Anza-Borrego State Park.

We arrived at Mountain Palm Springs Campground before noon. 

Tim took a rather rigorous hike into the ravine.

I did a gentle hike to the palms.

We spent the afternoon sitting outside.  It was a gorgeous day and we were soaking up some rays!

I love that we can camp in this remote part of the desert in the RV.  We had to travel about a mile on a sandy road but we have the best site.

Grilled salmon and beet salad for dinner followed by a campfire.  Life is certainly good!

889 February 1, 2023 Imperial Valley Desert Museum

My walk this morning was through farm land. 

The Imperial Valley is at 150 feet below sea level.  The Colorado River in Yuma is at about 150 feet above sea level.  More than 100 years ago, farmers decided that they could use gravity to their advantage and with engineers, a system of irrigation was created to bring water from the river to the very fertile valley.   Because of this ingenuity, water rights to this area were established first.  Imperial Valley has primary access to the apportionment from the Colorado River.  90% of the nation’s winter produce is grown here and in southern Arizona.   The average annual rainfall is less than 3 inches.  Without that water supply, there would be no yield…no water, no farms, no food.

Our host owns alfalfa fields.  Alfalfa can be harvested and left to regrow for about 5 years.  It accounts for about ¼ of the crops in the valley.  The alfalfa is cut and baled.  The bales are stored outside until the moisture content is about 16%.  At that time, the bales are compressed to one third of their former size.  350 tractor trailer loads of alfalfa leave Imperial Valley 365 days a year.  One third of this alfalfa is taken to San Diego and shipped to Asia.

We left the valley and traveled to Ocotillo on S80. 

Spring mix.

This route took us through the area where the alfalfa is processed.

We could see the wind turbines from 20 miles away; some on snowcapped mountains.

We had a short ride to the Imperial Valley Desert Museum.  This is another Harvest Host site.  We toured the museum.  There we learned about the culture and heritage of the Kumeyaay people who have occupied this land for more than 10,000 years.  There were carefully preserved artifacts that included tools and pottery.  The exhibits were thoughtful and professionally designed.  We watched videos about bow and arrow making, indigenous legends, and the water supply in the Imperial Valley.  There were other displays about the desert flora and fauna.  We enjoyed our visit.

Later, at the suggestion of the director, we took the Jeep into the desert to see the Yuha Glyph.  This has been badly damaged by vandals and attempts to restore it to its former glory have been unsuccessful.  What a terrible shame to lose such a valuable piece of art in such a careless and disrespectful manner. 

Diesel for $6.99…and regular for $5.99…YIKES!!!

There was this old International Harvester desert truck at the gas station.  Tim liked the rock on the hood, it was his favorite part.

Back at the museum, we took our dinner out to the picnic area.  We enjoyed some sourdough wheat bread that we dipped into our EVOO and aged balsamic vinegar from our friend Clyde at the olive farm.  We had shrimp and fresh sugar snap peas and fresh blackberries. 

We had a good day!  I believe that it is so important that we stay curious, hold onto our sense of wonder, keep learning, and maintain our adventuresome spirit.

888 January 31, 2023 Desert Olive Farms

Overnight there was gentle rain for several hours.  When we awoke, it was 46 degrees, windy, and spitting rain.  I walked to the dumpster and back and then decided to wait for a short time and try again!

One last walk in the park.

Hummingbird posing for pictures.

Bougainville…so colorful and pretty.

Tim drove the RV to a gas station to fill with diesel before leaving Yuma.  We thought that the gas prices in California would be higher and this proved to be correct.  It was $5.79 per gallon once we left Arizona.

We passed the Imperial Sand Dunes not far from the state line.  It was very windy and sand was drifting across the highway. 

It was a short drive to Desert Olive Farms in Brawley.  This farm has a store in Yuma but it was never open in the evenings when we were downtown.

We arrived here after noon.  The host was not present but we were welcome to park and explore.  We took a walk.  The property is lovely and also serves as a wedding venue.

Acres of onions.

Romaine lettuce.

The olive grove.

The last vestiges of the pomegranate season.

There are rules to help keep the food supply safe.

A farm worker in a white pickup truck stopped to talk to us.  He let us know that they were going to have a helicopter spraying the romaine fields. 

We walked back to the RV, got into the Jeep, and drove out to watch the crop dusting.  First, the helicopter perched atop this truck and filled with chemicals.

We watched the pilot fly in great loops.

This evening, we watched the sunset.

Cowboy Clyde was our host this evening.  He was a wonderful storyteller and has a clever wit and dry sense of humor.  We learned about the history of Imperial Valley, farming, and water rights.  He took us into the workshop and taught us about how olive oil is made.  He taught us what real extra virgin olive oil is.  The mass-produced olive oils that are sold in our grocery stores are not are not the pure product that we think we are buying.  The food industry has lots of clever ways to label things. 

Clyde shared samples of olive oils and balsamic vinegars and at the end of his presentation, we purchased some to take on the road with us.

I loved this unique experience and am grateful for the opportunity to stay in this beautiful place.