RELAXING DAY AROUND THE RIG & WE ARE HAPPY WITH OUR NEW SOLAR PANEL

 

FRIDAY AFTERNOON’S ENCOUNTER WITH A RAINBOW WEST OF SALTON CITY ON S22

First thing I did when stepping out of the rig this morning was look up.  Stars:))  That meant our cloud cover had up & left town in the night.  Knew we were in for a much welcomed & greatly appreciated sunny day.  However, as much as I liked what I saw I did not like what I heard about an hour later when I stepped out.  Human voices.  Not good!!

SALTON CITY UNDER THE RAINBOW

 

Returning from our Jeep trip yesterday we noticed a Class B van had moved in unnecessarily close.  Tons of room out here but it’s the old Boondocker’s lament.  A spacious amount of room between us by RV Park standards but way too close by Boondocking standards.  No thoughts of moving though.  Well that is until I heard the loud voices.  Unbeknownst to us about 6 rigs had rolled in & circled the wagons sometime in the night.  Lots of human noise coming from there including music.  And that was a big contributing factor to our moving decision this morning. 

 

THE SITE WE MOVED FROM THIS MORNING DUE TO THE…………

 

NOISE FACTOR & THE CLOSENESS FACTOR

Many RV’ers familiar with this boondocking area know where the Solar Oven site is.  We were just North-West of there.  To the South-West of the Oven site there is another site which is the highest spot out here.  Great views & we knew our Verizon signal would be better with a clear line of sight to Borrego Springs a few miles distant.  A white van was in that site when we arrived a few days ago but we saw the site empty this morning.  It was a no brainer & 20 minutes later we had moved onto that prime spo5.  (Same site you were on the last time we saw you Keith.  And Kelly met Butch in the grocery store today)

 

DRIVING BACK TO OUR RIG AFTER FRIDAY’S JEEP TOUR

HAD US A TIRED LITTLE POOCH

We are closer to the S22 highway & Rockhouse Road so do get some road noise but I much prefer that than loud laughter, cackling voices, thumping music, snorting dirt bikes, & revving ATV’s.  We have the best view of Borrego Springs at night down in the Borrego Valley as well.  Also have to take into consideration this is the week-end & we are located in one of California’s largest off road areas.  Recreational RV’ers or Week-end Warriors as I prefer to think of them come from far & wide to roar around the desert in their Dune Buggies, ATV’s, Jeeps, Dirt Bikes, & whatever off-road vehicle they may have. 

OUR NEW DIGS THIS MORNING

 

 

OUR NEW SPOT NEAR THE SOLAR OVEN SITE

First order of business was to tidy up the campsite.  Some folks leave sites clean while others just leave whatever mess they have made.  Many times it is the latter.  Our new site was pretty good.  Cleaned out the fire pit & raked up a bunch of sharp stones.  Guess that’s the gardener in me.  I then scooted myself up the ladder onto the rig’s roof.  I was anxious to get our new 240 Watt solar panel up.

 

KELLY CAME UP THE LADDER FOR A LOOK SEE AS WELL

I knew right away I was going to like this solar set-up better than the Damon.  Only one panel so that meant just half the work in setting it up.  Bonus.  This panel is more conveniently located as well making it easily accessible.  And we were pleased at how the already great solar numbers soared as soon as the panel went up.  I WD-40’d our TV antennae while on the roof as well.  Goes up & down much easier now.

 

Kelly headed off to the Library this morning.  Borrego Springs has a great library & our first couple years here we would take our computers there to do our internet stuff.  Pheebs & I stayed with the rig & just soaked up the warm air & sunshine.  I couldn’t help but think back to all our previous boondocking days over the past 7 years.  What a nice feeling it was this morning to see that big solar panel on the roof gathering the sun’s power.  Our awning truffling in a light breeze, chairs, tables, & mats all out just like we used to do.  Will Ackerman’s melodic guitar wafted out of our Bose IPod system as Pheebs stretched out on a comfy pile of California gravel.  It is a nice feeling getting our old boondocking hats back on again.  Despite my irritable & grumbly self at times there still are periods in my day where life is good & I am able to put a smile on my own face:))

 

COYOTE MOUNTAIN ON LEFT & THE SANTA ROSA MOUNTAINS ON RIGHT BOTH HAD CLOUDS RESTING ON THEM TODAY

We tried out our new ‘Buddy’ propane heater for awhile Friday night & were impressed how quickly it warmed things up for us.  Of course this rig is better insulated than the Damon was & holds it’s heat better.  Smaller area too.  It runs on those small BBQ propane bottles so at some point we will probably have it plumbed into our larger on-board propane tank.  Just like our larger Legacy propane heater was in the Damon.

ANYONE WHO HAS EVER SPENT ANY TIME HERE AT THE CLARK DRY LAKE BED NEAR BORREGO SPRINGS KNOWS THE BEAUTY OF EVER CHANGING CLOUDS ACROSS THE FACE OF THE SANTA ROSA MOUNTAINS

I don’t seem to have a lot of luck in keeping my posts shorter lately.  And it’s hard to keep my photos down to a dull minimum when we are surrounded by such beautiful scenery all the time.  When the excitement of travel bubbles so does my interest & enthusiasm.   I seem to end up adding many extra words & photos to my posts.  Old Blabberfingers is on a roll again………..

A comment question wondering what kind of dog Pheebe is.  We’re not sure but we think she is a mixture of Border Collie & Burnese with a whole lot of sweetness thrown in.  She was bought by her former owner in a Pet Store in Exeter Ontario.  She is a galluping 4 years old now:))  Shout Box question asked if I had tried getting any photos of Comet Ison.  No I haven’t but I will be looking for Ison in the morning again if tonight’s clouds clear over that way.  I know what area of the sky it is in but I just haven’t seen it yet.  Another Shout Box question by Eddie asked about our Jeep.  It’s a 2006 Jeep Wrangler Sport.  Six cylinder 6 speed stick shift.  It tows easy with all for wheels on the road.  Our Jeep is stock & has not been altered.  For the type of moderate off-road Jeeping we enjoy it suits us just fine. 

ONE CAN ALWAYS JUDGE THE LEVEL OF FUN ONE HAD BY THE AMOUNT OF MUD ON THE RUNNING BOARDS

Watched a lone Coyote trot through the perimeter of our campsite about 6:30 this morning.  Not often we see them but we hear them howling in the distance most nights.  Guess that is expected when one is parked right beside Coyote Mountain.

GROANER’S CORNER:((    Who Reads Newspapers??

The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.

–The New York Times is read by people who think they run the country.

–The Washington Post is read by people who think they ought to run the country.

–USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don’t understand The Washington Post.

–The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn’t mind running the country, if they could spare the time.

–The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country.

–The New York Daily News is read by people who aren’t too sure who’s running the country.

–The New York Post is read by people who don’t care who’s running the country, as long as they do something scandalous.

–The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren’t sure there is a country, or that a country is a good idea in the first place.

–The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country.

–The Chicago Tribune is read by people who live in the Midwest, which readers of the other newspapers don’t think is part of the country.