‘SHAKE DOWN CRUISE’ BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA:))

(This is Sunday’s post)

 

HEADING WEST:))

We woke up with a destination in mind this morning, & for me, whenever that happens it is a good thing.  Guess we kinda knew we were heading out a couple days ago when we decided we were needing a break from all this house stuff.  Lot of stress with the Sunseeker purchase, the Damon sale, insurance problems, dealership problems, & the list goes on.  I may get into all that in a later post but for now we are happily boondocked at the warm wind swept Clark Dry Lake Bed in Borrego Springs California.

 

‘HAPPILY’  IN THE DESERT EAST OF BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA:))

A quick walk around the block this morning, hooked up the Jeep & we were out the gate & heading down Ghost Town Road by 9:20.  Cloudy skies but no matter.  Weather was on the warm side & we were heading west on our maiden voyage with our little Scooter rig.  What a grrrrrreat feeling:))

  

The Sunseeker is such a pleasure to drive & by the time we reached Aguila I figured it was Kelly’s turn to experience how easy the rig handled.  Just like driving a car. This will be a big help on our journeys to & from Canada each year.

 

WITH HARQUAHALA MOUNTAIN IN THE BACKGROUND WE MAKE A PIT STOP FOR PHEEBS 

DUANNE EDDY WAS PLAYING ‘GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY’ WHEN I TOOK THIS…GAVE ME A CHILL

I took over again before we hit I-10 & it wasn’t long until we rolled into McDonald’s in Quartzsite for a bite to eat & coffee to go.  Last time there, IVAN & WANDERING WILLY were inside but Kelly said no sign of them today.  Guess that would have something to do with Wandering Willy being back home in British Columbia & who the heck knows where Ivan ever is:))

 

YEP, LOOKS LIKE QUARTZSITE ARIZONA ALRIGHT

FOUR GIRLS GET OUT OF A LIMO…FIGURED THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN PART OF A MUSIC GROUP

Rolled through Blythe California & right out the other side making a left turn onto highway 78 heading for Brawley.  Could have stayed on I-10 but I like the back way through Glammis & the Imperial Sand dunes.  Great scenery, very little traffic, & the road has some really neat whoop-dee-doos in it.   We could feel the air becoming increasingly warmer the further west we went. 

     

ROLLING THROUGH THE IMPERIAL SAND DUNES NEAR GLAMMIS CA.

Had on some great tunes from the 60’s & 70’s all the way.  Volume cranked, Pheebs happily looking out the window, big smiles on our faces & all was well.  Ok, maybe not so much the big smiles.  Neither one of us are big smiley face people.   Especially me……

 

KELLY FIELDS A WORK CALL & CHECKS THE COMPUTER

YEP, LOOKS LIKE WE ARE IN CALIFORNIA AGAIN

Winds began picking up west of Brawley.  That’s kind of to be expected in these parts.  This Borrego Springs area is well known for it’s huge winds.  We have wrestled with them before over the years.

STILL GETTING USED TO THE CAB OVERHANG

By the time we made the left turn onto highway S22 at Salton City, we were getting blown around pretty good.  Also realized the haze we had seen on the western horizon wasn’t actually California’s coastal smog on this side of the Santa Rosa & Vallecito Mountains, but dust & sand being whipped up by the fierce winds.  Adding to all that were the countless thousands of off roaders on the move.  Looked like some kind of big event over the week-end was just winding up with countless RV’s rolling out in the blowing desert sand.

The big Arco gas center was a bee hive of activity with rigs lined up to dump, fuel up, & get themselves organized for their varied trips home.

PROPANE AT THE BIG ARCO STATION…SALTON CITY

We needed to top up our propane & fresh water tanks.  Just before reaching the Arco station we had kicked on our cab’s A/C to see how it worked, plus we were getting hot.  Never realized how hot it actually was until we stepped outside of the rig in front of Arco’s propane station.  It was like climbing into a Hurricane force blast furnace.  Hat’s were flying, small kids rolling across the parking lot like little tumbleweeds, Pheebs was airborne, & my mustache was nearly blown off.  Who knows where my hat is by now.  Yikes!!

BLOWING DESERT SAND

Heading the final few miles west on S22 upon leaving Arco, we were faced with fierce wind driven sand.  Reminded me a lot of blowing snow in a winter storm.  And then………. the blowing sand just simply stopped!!  Not the wind, just the sand.  The last 5 miles or so on our final approach to Clark Dry Lake bed was fine.  What a great feeling it was once to be approaching the awe inspiring Santa Rosa & Vallecito mountains once again.  One of my favorite southwest views.

 

COYOTE MOUNTAIN AHEAD, OUR BOONDOCKING DESTINATION

We knew exactly where we were going, but seconds after turning onto Rock House Road we sadly realized we would not be going to our favorite spot alongside the Coyote Mountains ever again.  Signs were up & the whole landscape as we remembered it had drastically changed.  Big earth moving machines had been at work reconfiguring the area we had loved so much over the past few years.  The old gravel pit was totally filled in, roads & pathways were gone.  Quite a shock for us to say the least.  We’ll have to see if we can find out what is going on here.  We think it has something to do with the Anza-Borrego State Park recently taking over this area.

Luckily, we know this Clark Dry Lake Bed area well so it only took us a few minutes to reconfigure our temporarily confused geographical selves & we soon had another spot.  Compared to other years I was surprised at how few people are here.  Wow, what an absolute great piece of luck for us.

 

‘WOW’ AND THE VIEW IS ALL OURS:))

Had ourselves set up in no time flat.  No slides to put out, no solar panels to put up, no levelers to put down, no furniture to re-arrange & no satellite dish to set up.  Bonus.  We were relaxing in our loungers in record time & we had a reasonably stable internet connection. 

We have always loved the wide sweeping  panoramic vistas & surrounding mountain ranges & canyons here.  Located about 4 miles east of Borrego Springs it has been one of our favorite spots for a long time.  And especially this year with far fewer rigs here.  Sitting in our chairs facing the Santa Rosa mountains we have no RV’s in site.  Just the wide sweeping desert leading to the foot of Coyote Mountain to our center left.  Not one human made structure in sight.  Now, how great is that for people who appreciate the quietness & solitude of the great outdoors:))))))))))))

 

Despite the gusting winds we had supper outside & I am typing this post on my laptop, outside in my gravity lounger.  Because of glare on my computer screen, Kelly had to put a blanket over my head so I could stop the glare & see the screen.  It’s kind of like being in a wee little pup tent with a howling warm wind trying to bring the tent poles down.  Only tent pole I got in here though is my head with a ball cap on.  Kinda groovy.  I’ll have to move inside later though in order to download today’s pics from the 3 cameras I used today.  Not safe for a camera sitting on a table outside in this wind.  But hey, I don’t mind, it’s kinda fun & the wind is warm:))    

 

THE HUGE WINDS KEPT BLOWING ON THE BLANKET PUSHING MY HAT DOWN ON MY GLASSES WHICH IN TURN WERE TRYING TO SNAP MY NOSE OFF

Looking forward in the next couple days to touching base with some of favorite spots here for sure.  A nice shoe shuffle on Christmas Circles lush & thick green grass.  Hamburger & fries at Jilbertos & of course, my annual trek to one of my all time favorite & special places, Ghost Mountain.  Pheebs & I will Jeep over into the Blair Valley early one morning & begin our climb up the steep rocky switch backed path to Marshal South’s homestead.  Long time readers know of my love for this place.  Just type Marshal South in our search bar.  I think this will maybe be my 6th hike up to the old ruins.  Pheeb’s second:))

 

So anyway, that’s about it for tonight & thankfully the wind has slowed down a bit.  Because we sat out under the stars for so long tonight, I am really late with this post.  I will probably get up early in the morning, add the photos & publish it then…..zzzzzzz

 

P.S. The winds came back in the night & tried their hardest to dump us upside down…..neither one of us got much sleep:((

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Bob was riding a Harley on the highway & is pulled over by a police officer, also on a bike. The officer says, "Pull over", and the driver pulls over to the side of the road.
Bob says, "I'm sorry, officer, was I speeding?". The police officer says, "No, mate, but your wife fell off a couple of miles back".
Bob replies, "Oh, that explains it. I thought I was going deaf."

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- 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.