Tuesday, March 05, 2013

RETURN TO THE 60 FOOT SNAKE……..

DSC_0008

HOUSTON…..THE ALIEN SPACECRAFT HAS LANDED!!

(This is Monday’s post)

Just sooooo nice Sunday night sitting quietly outside watching the sun slowly sink into the west.  Shadows spilled into mountain canyons & the lights of Borrego Springs, nestled at the foot of the Vallecito Mountains twinkled on & we were soon under a warm canopy of mountain top stars stretching high overhead to the planet Jupiter.  A soft glow from Riverside California lit up a low hanging cloud bank over the Santa Rosa mountains giving our night a surreal feeling.  But then, the winds came back!!

DSC_0002

PHEEBS & I WERE ON THE TRAIL EARLY THIS MORNING

I am convinced that here at Borrego Springs there sits a mean old Codger somewhere high up on a mountain ridge with the biggest wind machine the world has ever seen.  I know he derives great pleasure from revving that machine up & blowing the daylights out of all the boondockers on the desert floor below.  I know that because it as if a switch is thrown & the wind will suddenly start….or stop.  No warning, no nothing.  So it was a few years ago when I saw a parachute glider pilot suddenly get caught here in an unsuspected wind.  He got his machine on the ground nearby but it flipped over on it’s side & he was in trouble……here’s the rest of the story.  TODAY I HAD TO RUN VERY FAST  

DSC_0005

NOT AS MANY RV’S AT PEG LEG SMITH’S THIS YEAR…TOWN OF BORREGO SPRINGS IS IN THE GREEN BELT AT THE FOOT OF THOSE MOUNTAINS

Because of the wind we did not have a good night.  Just like days of old in the Damon, we rocked, we rolled, & neither of us had a good night’s sleep.  We are also having quite a time adjusting to our much smaller digs.  But, several things are clear.  This useless dinette thing in here has to go & the sooner the better.  We will put 2 nice wall hugging recliners in that space.  Waaaaaay more practical.  And, we will definitely be stopping by Solar Mikes in Slab City next winter to see about a small solar system for sure.

DSC_8551

WARM MORNING WINDS BLOWING PHEEBS EARS AROUND

Pheebs & I were out the door & on the trail by 7:20 this morning heading for Coyote Mountains southern trails.  It is a mountain but at the southern end just behind Peg Leg Smith’s it is more like high hills with rocky pathways.  Winds had died down & not long after starting out I took off my heavier lined flannel shirt & laid it by the trail to pick up on the way back.  What were my chances eh.

DSC_8541DSC_8544DSC_8545DSC_8546DSC_8547DSC_8548

ONE SHORT WHISTLE BRINGS PHEEBS ON THE RUN:))

The old wind Codger must have seen me shed my shirt, waited until I got on up the trail near the ridge & then hit the switch on his dam wind machine full blast.  Almost blew all the fur off the Pheebs.  Fastened my baseball cap to my belt & we soldiered on.  After all, we had a destination in mind.  And, that destination was………a snake!!

DSC_0006

DSC_0007 DSC_0008

Atop the hills at Coyote Mountain there lies a very shallow & slightly sheltered little dip in the rocks.  If one follows the paths carefully, one can find this place.  Three years ago I came across a couple of large stone Inukshuks here.  Two years I returned to the sheltered place but the large Inukshuks had been toppled.  But….there was something else here that quickly caught my eye.  A snake, & a very large snake at that.  I’m guessing a 40 footer & it was our mission this morning to return to that sheltered spot in the rocks & see if that big old snake was still there.  And, it was:))

DSC_0010

BORREGO SPRINGS IS AT THE FOOT OF THE VALLECITO MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND

DSC_0009 DSC_0011

BYE BYE NICE SNAKE, GO BACK TO SLEEP NOW……..

What do you suppose were the chances of me remembering to retrieve my heavy flannel shirt on the way back to the rig.  Or, even seeing it lying about 2’ off the trail.  If you would have said, nil to none, then you know me well & would have been absolutely correct.  Walked right by it on my way back.  Had I been walking with eyes downcast like many rock hounds do, I would have seen it.  But, with an eye always out for photos, I’m a horizon looker when walking.  I had stopped to build 2 little stone markers along the trail when I remembered my shirt, which of course was by now back up the trail behind me.  So, it was back up the trail Pheebs & I went to retrieve my shirt.  Burned up some valuable & limited daily exercise units there.

DSC_0019

YEP, WALKED RIGHT BY IT COMING DOWN THE HILL 

Later on, another mid morning walk with the Pheebs took me around the area that has been altered.  I was able to find a few  familiar landmarks & get my bearings.  In fact, I did find the area around our old favorite spot unaltered, but signs are up restricting admittance. 

DSC_0001

Noticed a curious thing.  All the earth that has been bulldozed is a different color & texture from the surrounding normal surface.  I’m guessing it has been seeded with something.  Kind of like one might see alongside road construction banks.

IMG_0835

NORMAL GROUND COLOR IN FOREGROUND & DARKER RE-WORKED EARTH IN BACKGROUND

 IMG_0838 IMG_0839

MACHINES HAVE SMOOTHED OUT THIS PREVIOUSLY RUGGED AREA

IMG_0842 IMG_0841

I DID RECOGNIZE THIS GULLEY & THAT LOOKS LIKE A SPRAYED GRASS FORMULA ON THAT ORANGE MARKER

IMG_0843

AND YEP, I THING WE HAVE SOMETHING SPROUTING HERE

Kelly is an avid book reader, literally devouring books two at a time.  She was in her element today not straying more than 30 feet from the rig.  Tipped back in a lounge chair I could hear her very contentedly plowing through page after page of happy bliss.  Pheebs hung out in the shade & I spent time in my upgraded anti-glare blanket tent working on this post.  Warm day & a slight breeze made for a totally perfect day.  We were long overdue for that.

IMG_0844 

TRADED IN MY HEAVY GREEN ANTI-GLARE BLANKET FOR SOMETHING A LITTLE COOLER TODAY

I’m sure many RV’ers are familiar with the many coincidences that happen in their travels.  ‘It’s a small world’ comes to mind here.  For RV Bloggers it is even more so.  And, it happened this evening as Kelly & I were out gathering up a few bits of firewood for a small campfire.  I had remembered seeing a large piece of wood nearby this morning so slipped over to get it.  On my way back to the rig I saw a truck camper couple kind of approaching.  They had just rolled in this afternoon & were parked just west of us.  As I approached carrying my piece of wood I could the lady was on a cell phone.  No sooner had I noticed that when she directly approached me saying, “I’d like you to say Hello to someone”.  Ok, this has got to be candid camera or something, right?  I said Hello & the lady on the other end said, Hello, my name is Rita & I am in Ottawa.

DSC_8540

Well, here’s the coincidence.  It was the lady on the phone’s daughter who handed me the phone.  Her name was Esther & along with husband Steve, part time Bayfield Bunch readers, had just randomly pulled in to the Clark Dry Lake Bed here just outside of Borrego Springs.  Saw a spot they liked & as chance would have it, parked not too far west of us.  Esther happened to be talking to her Mother on the phone in Ottawa later & mentioned where they were.  She described the spot to her Mother by telling her there were some ‘area closed’ signs nearby.  Her Mother Rita, said, ‘hey, that’s where the Bayfield Bunch is right now”.  Rita, in Ottawa Canada, a long time reader, described our rig to Esther & sure enough, they were parked right near to us.  Esther, on the phone later, spotted me walking with the piece of firewood & came right over.  So when I said Hello on the phone, I was talking to a former RV’er who has been following our blog for years.  How nice to talk to Rita & what a huge coincidence it was that her daughter & husband parked right next to us.  But wait, a few more coincidences coming up……….

DSC_0002

INSIDE MY ANTI-GLARE TENT:))

Turns out, after talking further that Steve & Esther also knew some other folks we knew.  JoAnn & Doug Dubrouillet we had also met.  They knew Mark & Bobbi Johnson who are on our side bar as the BOX CANYON BLOG.  They had just been spending time with well known Bloggers, Howard & Linda Payne down in Organ Pipe south of Why Az.  We never met Howard or Linda but knew of them through the blog channels.  I’m sure Esther mentioned a few other folks we both had either met or knew through our blogs as well but at this hour of the night my brain is even more glazed over than usual.  Yes, a small world indeed.

DSC_0007    

In the morning, Pheebs & I will head for Ghost Mountain over in the Blair Valley southwest of here.  Love that twisty winding drive through the Yaqui Pass.

DSC_0004 DSC_0003

GROANER’S CORNER:((  HIM: "I'm sorry dear but I'm up to my neck in work today"
HER: "But I've got some good news and some bad news for you dear"
HIM: "OK darling, but as I've got no time now, just give me the good news"
HER: "Well, the air bag works"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

11 comments:

  1. small world you live in and being in the right place at the right time! how nice that you got to speak to a long time reader on the phone in the middle of nowhere!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Someone worked hard on that snake! What a great job they did.

    ReplyDelete

  3. Just what I was thinking ..... Small world indeed !!!
    And how that Bayfield Bunch gets around !!!!
    So glad you are all relaxing and having a grand time doing so ..... The grill looks familiar, I like mine ... Enjoy tomorrows adventure.... I knew that dinette arrangement would get dismantled ..... Recliners the sooner the better !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey, Al, you weren't too far from us, then! Borrego Springs is about an hour and 45 minutes down past Palm Desert! :-) Yes, the wind sure was blowing. We have a storm moving in Thursday and Friday with rain forecast and snow for our local mountains, so hope you are home nice and snug by then!
    Cheryl Ann

    ReplyDelete
  5. Such a small world for sure. Its just amazing where you can run into people you know.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You might have to stop announcing your location..your fans will turn up in droves for autographs ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Steve and Esther? Never heard of 'em...
    Just kidding :))... but it took a second to engage that memory. Talk about a coincidental day! Did they tell you where we met? And on the same day, on the same trail... way down in the remoteness of Chirachua Mountains in southeast Arizona.... we ran into two other rv'ers (two scamps) that we had met just previously. It was an improbable convergence... a Twilight Zone. Do do do do...
    Box Canyon Mark

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pheebs is one happy pup! Do you ever worry about real snakes? Our big dog Wrecks was bitten by a water moccasin...not good!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love those blogger connections! We just made 4 different connections with fellow bloggers in the span of less than 2 weeks! And found out we are a day or two behind Marianne and Randy of http://www.frugal-rv-travel.com/rv-blog.html the last three places they have been, so have we, right behind them. Finally made email contact and will find them somewhere in the next few days in Big Bend Park TX.

    Oh Al, we tried 2 recliners, and instead bought a wallhugging loveset from LazyBoy, it took up less width than 2 separate reclining chairs, plus you can kinda nap spread out on it without putting up the leg rests if you wish. My blog post with pics is here: http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/2012/08/family-picnic-and-new-la-z-boy-loveseat.html

    ReplyDelete
  10. We boondocked very close to your area in the fall. It was our first time in the area. We then moved into the state park campground. Anza Borrego is an amazing place. Really broke the Jeep in there. Terrific Jeep roads. Not to mention unbelievable hiking.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Pheebs looks like she's in her element running wild with the wind!
    Molly would love to run along side her!

    Pretty spiffy anti-glare tent and I bet it protected you from the wind & Sand too!

    Glad y'all got to do a "shake down cruise" in your new RV!

    ReplyDelete