WEDNESDAY DEC. 26/07
First, let me thank a couple of folks who were reading the blog for pointing out an error in my sheep identification. Guess I had cows on the brain that morning (Palm Canyon Hike) instead of sheep because I called those nimble footed rock scramblers, "long horn sheep" instead of "big horn sheep." Yes Toto, there is a difference & thanks, Kris & Al. Of course I am feeling a bit sheepish about that mistake now:))
I had fully expected my wrenched knee to be totally seized up this morning & couldn't believe my luck when I realized all the pain was totally gone & it was fine, but I can tell I'm going to have to be careful with it. Celebrated my good fortune with a 2 mile doggy walk. Now, that wasn't too smart, was it!!
Figured it was a good day to take a drive to the little town of Julian about 28 miles up in the mountains to the southwest. It was a loooooong 28 miles because the road is a never ending series of twists & turns. A lot of the time I had to gear down to third gear in the corners & some of them I was down into second. It's a real fun & challenging road for anyone confident in their driving skills. The higher up into the mountains one goes, the greener it gets. Trees begin to appear & a lot of them were still holding on to their fall colors. Slipped through a little place called Banner Springs which reminded me of some spots I had seen in the Smokey mountains over in Tennessee years ago. A really pretty area.
Julian suddenly appeared out of the curves & we rolled into a very busy & colorful high altitude town. And because of that altitude......it was cold!!!! And the wind made it even colder. Streets were lined with cars & people so it took us a bit of back street cruising before we found us a parking spot. I was ok but Kelly was wearing shorts & flip flops because it had been really warm when we left Borrego Springs. We quickly ducked into the Julian Bakery & Cafe for a bite to eat & a coffee. We were hoping to get warmed up but it was cold in there too. I think a lot of people had the same idea because the cozy little place was overflowing with people......and some of them with shorts & flip flops too. We didn't spend too much time in Julian because of the cold winds so we jumped into the car & headed out of town in the direction of Santa Ysabel. More scenic twists & curves as we made our way through the mountains heading in the direction of Borrego Springs. A couple quick checks of the road map confirmed we were on course & before long we were in the clutches of Montezuma's mountain road & began the long winding 8% drop to the valley floor at Borrego Springs. This stretch of mountain road is a real brake line burner & would be a real challenge bringing a motorhome down. I would put it right up there with that real nasty stretch of road going over Mingus Mountain back in Arizona. I think Mingus had some tighter corners though & the road was definitely much narrower. Regardless, they are both a real challenge!!
Back to the campsite, out came the lawnchairs, & away went the Julian chills. Thanks California for another nice day. To-morrow it's Yankee potroast at the local community center & Friday Kelly has signed us up for a free jeep tour at the Anza Borrego Nature Center. Lots to do here:)))))
P.S. We are under attack by HUGE wind gusts at the moment so our next transmission may be from somewhere a couple hundred miles east of here somewhere by morning!!!!!!!!!!
First, let me thank a couple of folks who were reading the blog for pointing out an error in my sheep identification. Guess I had cows on the brain that morning (Palm Canyon Hike) instead of sheep because I called those nimble footed rock scramblers, "long horn sheep" instead of "big horn sheep." Yes Toto, there is a difference & thanks, Kris & Al. Of course I am feeling a bit sheepish about that mistake now:))
I had fully expected my wrenched knee to be totally seized up this morning & couldn't believe my luck when I realized all the pain was totally gone & it was fine, but I can tell I'm going to have to be careful with it. Celebrated my good fortune with a 2 mile doggy walk. Now, that wasn't too smart, was it!!
Figured it was a good day to take a drive to the little town of Julian about 28 miles up in the mountains to the southwest. It was a loooooong 28 miles because the road is a never ending series of twists & turns. A lot of the time I had to gear down to third gear in the corners & some of them I was down into second. It's a real fun & challenging road for anyone confident in their driving skills. The higher up into the mountains one goes, the greener it gets. Trees begin to appear & a lot of them were still holding on to their fall colors. Slipped through a little place called Banner Springs which reminded me of some spots I had seen in the Smokey mountains over in Tennessee years ago. A really pretty area.
Julian suddenly appeared out of the curves & we rolled into a very busy & colorful high altitude town. And because of that altitude......it was cold!!!! And the wind made it even colder. Streets were lined with cars & people so it took us a bit of back street cruising before we found us a parking spot. I was ok but Kelly was wearing shorts & flip flops because it had been really warm when we left Borrego Springs. We quickly ducked into the Julian Bakery & Cafe for a bite to eat & a coffee. We were hoping to get warmed up but it was cold in there too. I think a lot of people had the same idea because the cozy little place was overflowing with people......and some of them with shorts & flip flops too. We didn't spend too much time in Julian because of the cold winds so we jumped into the car & headed out of town in the direction of Santa Ysabel. More scenic twists & curves as we made our way through the mountains heading in the direction of Borrego Springs. A couple quick checks of the road map confirmed we were on course & before long we were in the clutches of Montezuma's mountain road & began the long winding 8% drop to the valley floor at Borrego Springs. This stretch of mountain road is a real brake line burner & would be a real challenge bringing a motorhome down. I would put it right up there with that real nasty stretch of road going over Mingus Mountain back in Arizona. I think Mingus had some tighter corners though & the road was definitely much narrower. Regardless, they are both a real challenge!!
Back to the campsite, out came the lawnchairs, & away went the Julian chills. Thanks California for another nice day. To-morrow it's Yankee potroast at the local community center & Friday Kelly has signed us up for a free jeep tour at the Anza Borrego Nature Center. Lots to do here:)))))
P.S. We are under attack by HUGE wind gusts at the moment so our next transmission may be from somewhere a couple hundred miles east of here somewhere by morning!!!!!!!!!!
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