Sunday, December 20, 2015

BIG STONEY, THE FRUGAL COYOTE, CHRISTMAS CIRCLE, ILBERTOS, & MORE:))

DSC_0035-001We can see lots of stars at night from our property in Congress but once we get out here to the Clark Dry Lake Bed near Borrego Springs we can even see more.  This is a favored area for Astronomers & astronomy classes & seminars are popular in Borrego Springs.  Friday nights bright half Moon lightened the surrounding desert & with a slight glow trickling overtop the Santa Rosa & San Jacinta mountains from big cities to the West it was a beautiful sight.  Long luminous bands of cloud streamers stretching up from the South-west added their magic to the night sky as well.  Sure nice to be back in one of our all time favorite boondocking areas again.  We spent a couple Christmas's camped here at the Dry Lake Bed in our early RVing years.   DSC_0051 OK DAD LET’S GET SOME BREAKFAST GOING ON HERE OK
Not sure in Fridays post why I said I would climb up on the rig's roof & take a few photos of how many rigs are out here when all's we had to do was hike up Coyote Mountain for an overall view of the whole area. 
DSC_0020
BOONDOCKING IS NOT ALLOWED FURTHER OUT IN THAT AREA DOTTED WITH CREOSOTE BUSHES ANYMORE
DSC_0048
YEP THAT’S US DOWN THERE
We were out the door at 8 a.m. California time headed for you know where.  Yep it was our annual first hike up Coyote Mountain with our destination again being the shallow bowl like area where the Great Stone Snake resides.  Happy to report all is well with Big Stoney & we noticed there has been some additional stone works added to the shallow bowl like area where Big Stoney calls home.  Always an invigorating walk along the rocky gravel paths at the extreme southern end of Coyote Mountain. DSC_0001-001 IT IS A BIT OF CLIMB TO REACH THE GREAT STONE SNAKE BUT THE MUCH NEEDED EXCERCISE FELT GOOD DSC_0008-001 AT LAST WE CAME UP OVER A RIDGE, ROUNDED A CORNER & WE WERE THERE DSC_0010DSC_0022
THERE ARE A FEW MORE STONE SCULPTURES HERE NOW & BELOW YOU CAN SEE A TURTLE & STARFISH AMONG OTHER CREATIONS
DSC_0011
DSC_0012
DSC_0013-001
DSC_0016
DSC_0037
DSC_0033
I DON’T THING PHEEBS IS TOO WORRIED ABOUT THAT STARFISH CRAWLING OVER ANY CLOSER
DSC_0015
NOT TOO SURE WHAT THIS IS
DSC_0017DSC_0041
KELLY STARTS PUTTING SOMETHING TOGEHTER HERE & COMES UP WITH A DUCK
DSC_0043DSC_0034DSC_0036DSC_0040DSC_0050
ROUGH & ROCKY TERRAIN MAKES FOR COMING DOWN THE HARDEST PART SOMETIMES
We know this boondocking area will be filling up soon now that area restrictions are in place but plan to be long gone before the RVing crowd arrives.  The post Snow Bird Christmas rush will soon flood southern destinations like a tidal wave & the area we are in right now will bare the brunt of that crush.  I counted 10 rigs at Peg Leg right now & that will easily triple & quadruple over the next few weeks.
DSC_0006-001NOT TOO MANY RV’ERS AT PEG LEG YET……. BORREGO SPRINGS LIES AT THE FOOT OF THOSE MOUNTAINS TO THE RIGHT DSC_0005AT PEG LEG’S THEY WILL SOON PACK 30 OR MORE RIGS IN THIS TINY SPACE
Our morning walk lasted a couple hours & although we started out dressed warmly we had to peel off our jackets long before we began our downhill descent back to the valley floor & our Motorhme.  Lounged around the rig for awhile basking in California’s warm sun before heading off to enjoy more of our annual customary habits & haunts in Borrego Springs itself.  A walk on Christmas Circle’s lush green grass is always a must for sure.  The market there was Friday morning so we missed it.
DSC_0025-001
IT’S A RARE TREAT OUT HERE IN THIS ARID REGION TO FIND GREEN GRASS TO SHUFFLE ONE’S FEET ON BUT HERE IT IS & IT’S CALLED CHRISTMAS CIRCLE BECAUSE IT IS A BIG CIRCLE OF GRASS WITH A BORREGO SPRINGS MAIN STREET RUNNING RIGHT ROUND IT
DSC_0031-001DSC_0027DSC_0028DSC_0026-001DSC_0029
AND THERE’S LITTLE LIBBY HER VERY SELF…..IT’S HER FIRST VISIT TO BORREGO SPRINGS
The Frugal Coyote store is always a big stop for Kelly & last year I did buy myself a shirt & a camera case there which actually had a camera in it.  Today a $2 small wooden bowl caught my fancy.  Borrego Outfitters is another favorite stop for Kelly & of course what would a trip to Borrego Springs be for us without a stop at Ilbertos.  No the photos below are not of Ilbertos, I just got the photo sequence mixed up & I’m too tired to change it.  Photos below are of Pablitos Mexican Bar & Grill.  We have never been in here but I just totally love all the great colors.  Imagine how nice it would be to start one’s day off with a relaxing cup of coffee here every morning. DSC_0002-001DSC_0012-001DSC_0004-001DSC_0005-001DSC_0006-001DSC_0008-001DSC_0003
<<< THE FRUGAL COYOTE
At Ilbertos Kelly had a couple FishTacos while I stuck with my burg & fries.  I look forward to that burg every year.  The burg & fries come with a drink & it occured to me while sitting there today that it is actually at Ilbertos that I drink my one & only pop/soda of the year….Root Beer.  It’s their double patty burg which has been ‘dragged through the garden’ that I particulary like & I always leave there feeling perfectly stuffed.
DSC_0015-001
I’D SAY THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST POPULAR PLACE IN BORREGO SPRINGS
DSC_0016-001
AND HERE WE ARE AT OUR FAVORITE LITTLE EATERY….ILBERTOS
DSC_0017-001
KELLY CHECKS THE MENU
DSC_0018-001
LUCKILY WE MADE IT IN JUST MINUTES BEFORE THE LUNCH CROWD CAME IT & FILLED UP MOST OF THE SEATS
DSC_0020-001
TWO FISH TACOS & YEP KELLY ATE THE WHOLE WORKS TOO
DSC_0022-001
WORKING ON A SMALL DISH OF ICE CREAM THAT i HAD TO FINISH
Another stop across from Ilbertos to pick up a ‘program of events’ at the Borrego Nature Centre & we were on our way back to the rig with one last stop for a big sack of grapefruits.  I don’t care much for grapefruits so Kelly will eat the whole darn sack of them herself.
DSC_0042-001
PICKING UP A BIG BAG OF GRAPEFRUITS
DSC_0042-001DSC_0043-001
WITH COLDER NIGHTS UPON US THESE CACTI HAVE THEIR WARM TOP HATS ON
DSC_0048-001
MUCH GREENERY HERE IN BORREGO SPRINGS
DSC_0046-001DSC_0049-001DSC_0044
A WALL OF TAMARISK TREES ALONGSIDE THE ROAD 
After hitting the 'Publish' button on my Friday night post the #403 error message again appeared.  Kelly clicked around on some stuff & this time an 'account' page came up.  Our blogsite addy was correct but the password window was empty so Kelly typed in a password & the blog published.  But the post never showed up so checking Blogger's settings under 'Posts' we again saw it was 'scheduled' to post around 4 in the morning & Kelly again had to change the setting to Automatic.  I'll sure be glad when the OLW folks get these bugs worked out.   I plan to stick with OLW through it's growing pains………….. DSC_0036-001DSC_0034-001DSC_0038-001
STOPPED AT THIS NICE LITTLE MEXICAN TYPE STORE TODAY AS WELL
GROANER’S CORNERSad smileIt was coming up to Christmas and Sammy asked his mum if he could have a new bike. So, she told him that the best idea would be to write to Santa Claus. But Sam, having just played a vital role in the school nativity play, said he would prefer to write to the baby Jesus. So his mum told him that would be fine.
Sam went to his room and wrote ' Dear Jesus, I have been a very good boy and would like to have a bike for Christmas.' But he wasn't very happy when he read it over. So he decided to try again and this time he wrote 'Dear Jesus, I'm a good boy most of the time and would like a bike for Christmas.' He read it back and wasn't happy with that one either. He tried a third version. 'Dear Jesus, I could be a good boy if I tried hard and especially if I had a new bike.' He read that one too, but he still wasn't satisfied. So, he decided to go out for a walk while he thought about a better approach. After a short time he passed a house with a small statue of the Virgin Mary in the front garden. He crept in, stuffed the statue under his coat, hurried home and hid it under the bed. Then he wrote this letter.
'Dear Jesus, If you want to see your Mother again, you'd better send me a new bike.'
Q: Why was Santa's little helper depressed?
A: Because he had low elf esteem.
Q: What do you get when you cross an archer with a gift-wrapper?
A: Ribbon hood.
Mum, can I please have a cat for Christmas?
No. You'll have turkey the same us the rest of us.







13 comments:

  1. Pheebs sure does have a way of getting her point across, Al !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Al, I just love that intro picture you have now... What a beauty. Your home looks so neat under the lights while it is dark outside... Good Job !
    Enjoy your boondockin..... I only wish I was parked about 100 yards from you!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sure was a very busy fun day, hope we can make it there again this year.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Borrego is so beautiful with all that green around. Made me long for the south.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So far Open Live Writer has worked for me..Now that I have said that it will begin to act up. Great and colorful photos..I love the Southwest flavor and flashy colors!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful colourful pics Al. Yes I would like to have coffee there this AM. Kellys tacos look yummy too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad OLW is working so far for you. Great post! I'd be bereft if i couldn't read your blog every day! And we have snow here - but four days of rain forecast. Be glad you're down south!

    ReplyDelete
  8. We didn't make it up to the snake this year. Darn! I like the new rock art work! That Starfish is beautiful. I'm glad you had Pheebs next to it so we could see how large it is. Enjoy the rest of your desert visit before the holiday crowd arrives:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. The state park is due to fill up mid week as well, but it's only about a quarter full now. That was quite the wind that whipped up in the afternoon! Love this little town, your pics capture it so vividly. Carlees' fish tacos were pretty scrumptious too :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey neighbor! It is good to see you in our neighborhood! You, Aluminarium and usns make a triangle!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sure enjoyed this post about Clark Dry Lake Bed and Borrego Springs. It sure brought back a lot of good memories. I am hoping to get there next winter.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nice to see these ole stomping grounds and look forward to returning after the holiday bunch is gone, and have lunch at Ilbertos. Interesting new rock art added around the snake.

    ReplyDelete