Day 2 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

Today we had planned to get on our bikes and ride but it was raining. We thought about driving to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. We had heard that it is beautiful there…but it is almost 3 hours away. We decided to get in the car and just go for a drive.

Tim found Muggins Wilderness Area. We took the dirt road for a short time until the trail became too rough.

We decided to get out and take a walk.

Wildflowers here sure don’t need much to sprout up and grow.

Our hike led us through a gravelly wash to a squeeze in the rocks. We saw lots of nests and holes where creatures are living and lots of other evidence of creatures…but no creatures.

We ate lunch in the car at a park in Wellton. It was too damp and chilly outside for a picnic. We passed through farm fields on our way back to Yuma.

We were on a dirt road when we saw a sign that said open…what is that place? We pulled in to find out. The Naked Date is a small store that sells dates and other goodies. We chose 2 date cookies for our afternoon snack. What a neat find in the middle of nowhere! I love it when we accidentally stumble upon something fun!

As we drove back toward Yuma, the sun began to shine.

The sunshine was short-lived and it rained on and off all afternoon. What crazy weather winter! It is supposed to be in the 60’s tomorrow and then maybe even climb into the 70’s in the next couple of days…we are not complaining…just reporting! We heard that 4 hours from here in northern Arizona they got a foot of snow today!

Mileage: 58,102 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

We left the desert to drive back to Yuma. We estimate that we traveled more than 300 miles off-road and we had pretty much exhausted the nearby trails. We also were hoping to be warmer and Yuma is usually the warmest area in the southwestern US. We took Route 98 along the border with Mexico. We drove through desert and through some small towns. We drove past miles of solar farm.

We spent the day doing laundry, getting supplies and groceries, finishing up our taxes and getting other small chores done.

Day 2 Mountain Palm Springs Undeveloped Campground Ocotillo, California

I woke up at 4am and happened to look out my little window.  The moon was bright and almost full.  It was casting shadows across the wash.  I got out of bed, walked outside in my pajamas and took this picture.

The picture may not look like anything much but the sky was filled with stars, the air was cool and crisp, and it was lovely!

Today was interesting and diverse.  I wasn’t so sure that when I saw that today’s trails were going to take us to a mine and to railroad tracks that it would be very exciting…I was wrong. 

Our first stop was at the Dolomite Mine.  This mine operated in the 1930’s.  They pulled dolomite marble and magnesium and calcium from the mountain.  The view from above the mine was outstanding.   

Our next trail was Mortero Wash. 

This led to the “impossible railroad.”  This section of track connected San Diego to the eastern United States.  It was completed in 1919.  It was difficult to engineer because of the volcanic rock and the gorges and canyons that had to be spanned.

This portion of the off-road trail was impassable for us.  If only he had bigger wheels and tires…I hear this at least once each day.  I suspect that when we get home the Jeep will get a few upgrades!

There is very little litter in the desert.  The one thing that we have seen a lot is mylar balloons and the colorful curling ribbon that gets tied to each one.  I have seen more than a dozen balloons tucked in among the cacti.

Another impassable section…I know…bigger tires!

These holes were in the wall of the wash.  The were lined with cactus burrs.  I wonder what lives here?

We found this memorial in the wash.  This young man lost his life here on the trail.

Lunch spot.

We took a hike at Piedras Grandes Cultural Preserve.  The Kumeyaay people lived here as long as 12,000 years ago.  These native Indians worked very hard to live well and thrive in the “hardscrabble” land.  There is evidence that these people enjoyed a good life.  This is a huge boulder field in the foothills of the Jacumba Mountains.    The boulders sheltered the families from the weather.  There are ancient pictographs and burn scars.  This place is sacred to the contemporary tribe members.  It felt sacred as we walked the path…the same path walked by people for thousands of years.  It was hard to grasp how difficult living here might have been.  This is a pretty harsh environment.  We are so spoiled and we have nothing to complain about! 

On the way back to the highway we passed through the windfarm.  There were about 100 wind turbines slowly turning. 

As I was making our dinner, Tim yelled to me to come and look.  The moon was rising.  It was orange and glowing and beautiful.  It loomed very large on the horizon.  No picture could capture it…we both tried!

Back to civilization tomorrow (for a little while).

Mileage:  57,991 Mountain Palm Springs Undeveloped Campground Ocotillo, California

The wind was whipping all night long and it rained off and on.  There was even more snow on the mountains this morning than there was yesterday!

The forecast for today was sunny and 45 degrees.  We will take the sunshine!  We moved a short distance down the road to a undeveloped free camping area.  It is a beautiful spot!

We got settled and packed our lunch and went Jeeping!  We took the Canyon Sin Nombre Trail or the Canyon Without A Name.  This trail began at the Badlands Overlook and quickly descended to the floor of the Badlands. 

We hiked into this narrow canyon.

We were passed by a passé of other Jeeps out joyriding as well.  As we rounded the bend, we could see that the Jeeps were parked and all the people were out looking at the trail ahead.  That was not a good sign! 

Oh…a water feature!  A portion of the canyon wall had cleaved off and had fallen creating a dam in the wash in the bottom of the canyon.  With all the recent rain, the dam was retaining more than 2 feet of water. 

All the guys were speculating about the possibility of a crossing but no one wanted to take the risk.  The only option was to turn around and backtrack.  The leader of the group said that we were welcome to tag along with them.  They were on their way to the mud caves.  It sounded interesting and so we got in line.  It quickly became apparent that they were traveling much faster than we were willing to go!  Every one of you who knows Tim…you know that he is NOT a follower!  In fact, he is quite proud of that.  He raised our boys not to be followers, to be men who think for themselves.  To Tim following is a weakness…you have to be strong to lead. Needless to say, we didn’t stay with the group very long. 

As we made our way, we passed a man walking with a young boy.  It looked odd to me.  As I was thinking this, Tim said he thought we should turn around and check on the pair.  I had noticed that they didn’t have backpacks or water in the middle of the desert and miles from nowhere.  We approached them and they were very happy to accept a ride.  They had hiked the whole mud caves trail and they were on the way back to the car.  I initially understood that the wife and a three-year-old child were waiting for them to return from their hike.  We put the father and son in the back of the Jeep and started to look for their vehicle…it was miles away.  The boy was 12 and out of school today for Presidents Day.  The father was a pastor and he remarked that this adventure was going to make a good sermon.  I was hopeful that we were not taking them even further from their car but they were sure we were on the right track.  After about three miles we spotted their minivan along with three others.  There was no one there.  Then the son explained that the entire group had taken the hike and because there were lots of younger children who couldn’t walk so far, the father and son were sent to get one of the vehicles.  They were so grateful that we stopped to help!

We met the other Jeepers at the minivans and they helped us to find the mud caves.  This was very cool.  You could walk through apparently for a long way but we just walked in for a short distance.

We stopped at a couple of other trails to hike through.  I had much more energy today and am feeling almost better.  I scrambled up through the rocks to get to the top.  At one point Tim was wondering where I was!

In these mud hills, the canyon walls are very crumbly.  You could rub the surface off with your hands.  There were lots of places where great chunks of wall had fallen to the floor.  There was also a collapsed mud cave.   After climbing in several caves and up through several narrow passages we came to this warning sign.  The hills and caves are actually quite ancient and fragile and dangerous!

Lunch spot.

The trail became pretty rough and we actually scraped bottom on a big rock.  We had trouble following the map and trails today.  The trails were not clearly marked and were very easy to miss.  We took a couple of Jeep trails to the ends and then turned around to head back.  That is when we saw dark and threatening clouds ahead…with rain cells…

When you are driving in a wash at the bottom of a canyon in the mud hills and you can see rainstorms approaching, that adds a whole other element to the sense of adventure…maybe even a little apprehension.  Also, knowing we were miles from the highway…

We were racing but slowly…we had to avoid all the rocks and ruts and other obstacles in our path!

I thought that the clouds looked less dense and that they were dissipating…Tim really didn’t want to hear my platitudes.  He was the driver and he felt the pressure to get out safely, and we did!  We had 5 drops of rain and then the clouds really did begin to lift and separate a little.   I believe that the ring of mountains kept the rain from passing over, diverting the clouds from our direction.

Some wildflowers

It did eventually rain a little…but we were safe at home in the RV.  I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow!  Helping the pastor, water features, bottoming out, and getting just a little lost…all make it even more fun!

Rest in peace Tante Hanna.

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!