A picture post....

Our Location: Truckhaven BLM, Salton City, CA

 

 

A quiet couple of days here at the Igloo. We enjoyed the views and this morning Riley and I headed out for a 3 mile round trip hike. I chatted with Dad last night and my sister this morning catching up on the latest gossip from back on the Rock. Later this afternoon Doug & Yuma arrived and are parked just a few yards from us.  I'll leave you with photos taken over the last couple of days. 

 

 

 Haze always seem to hang over the area coming from Coachella. I believe it's probably pollution or smog but whatever it is, it is constant.

 Those fellas are parked way off in the distance and I'm not sure how they got there. The dust in the background is from a couple of Razors spinning around. Up on top of you can see rigs along the Borrego-Salton Sea Parkway.

 Can you guess who lives there?

I stood on a hill top to the left of this guy to take the above photo. Not of course while he was up there. 

 

 

 If you look to the rear there are two dirt bikes bringing up the rear and a third one was about 2 minutes behind.

 The weekend folks are gone now and all is quiet today. Two jeeps went by all day and one of those only went one way, while the other made an in and out trip.

 We went for a three mile hike this morning. As you can see it's not all flat.

 See the arch down there? The washes or arroyo's go on and on and on. 

 

 

 We walked along here for a bit. Not a bad climb down, we just followed the paths.

 But NOT this path.

 Some stranger I met while walking around down there. No, not really. Riley came with me.

 We walked out this way...

 

 

 We climbed out of the wash and headed on into the badlands a wee bit farther.

 Some of the area is very hard sand, almost clay or cement like but so many washes run off here and there.

 Trails everywhere, in all directions and all different adventures waiting for you.

Very steep but well used as you can see by the slimness at the top. 

 

 

 We started through the hills here, wanting to come out on the other side and make a loop back to the Igloo.

 We eventually found a way to the top after a bit of a climb and came to a flat top mesa type area. The views were pretty nice.

 I can't describe the trails that wind and twist and climb in here. The paths in some places are almost straight down and are impossible to climb up or down on foot They twist back and forth thru the hills and curve almost back on to themselves.

 The green tinge is easily visible.

 The mesa top ( I guess you would call it a mesa top) is flat for a bit and then slowly curves in various directions and all ways down are steep and rough.

 We came along to the right of the round red/white dome type hill you can see, then followed a path you can see at the foot of the red/white formation in the foreground. It curves off to the left where we climbed up a path that was filled with larger stones, made for easier climbing than the soft, fine sand and hard packed clay/sand that went almost straight up. 

 

 

Easier walking now but we still have to get down some where. 

 I think one could get very dizzy down here.

 We came along the top of the mesa on the left hand side of the photo. Those trails are very, very steep and we were looking for a way down to the bottom to follow that wash. We never did get into it though.

 I imagine it gets quite busy here at times.

 I have no idea what this is, but there are a few of them here. They don't seem to be lower in the middle like a drain to carry the water and they don't seem to end any where specific. I thought perhaps they were old sidewalks but truly I have no idea. 

 

 Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed the photos!

 

Until next time.. take care, be safe, 

 

Deb

 

  

A resting day....

Our Location: Truckhaven BLM, Salton City, CA

A coolish night but I slept well, it seems I was very tired. I didn't hear a sound until the sky was light and the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. It has been a quiet day here and I'll leave you with photos taken out the window as it was a bit on the coolish side for us today. 

 A bit more of a close up of the mountains out our dining room window.

 They change colour with the sun's rays and the shadows the sun casts, the time of day and the haze in the air.

 Stunning, isn't it?

 So different depending on time of day.

 I'm sure this guy was very good but he spent a great deal of his time that we could see him teaching his friend or younger sibling to ride a quad. You could tell from the way he rode that he had a great deal of experience. He reminds me of my nephew Jason. I was hoping to see him strut his stuff so to speak but I never did see it.

 The buggy was full and this little guy was riding behind. He did well, I think he would be about 9 or 10 maybe. The two in the back of the buggy were smaller than him.

 You can barely see the roof of the one down in the wash. He seemed to be stuck down there and we could hear the revving of the engine as this guy looked on. Before long they were both sitting up there side by side.

 I'm pretty sure this is father and son, they rode up that hill just about 5 minutes before this photo. The little guy did very well and stayed upright the entire time. He was pretty sure of himself as he started up but you could see him hesitate as he hit a rough patch. However like I said he made it just fine.

 However in the photo above you can see that coming down was going to be a whole other thing. We could hear him crying and saying No, no, no. We could hear the father's calm voice but the little guy wasn't going to have any of it. I wondered if he had perhaps had a spill while up on the top but I don't know that.

 Finally Dad had no choice but to take the smaller bike down, it was a bumpy ride for him and the little guy walked down behind him.

 We could hear Dad giving him some instructions about waiting and the little guy sat and waited very patiently while Dad had to walk back up the hill to fetch his own ride.

He seemed less confident even down on the flat which makes me think he spilled it on the flat top up there. Dad was soon down and leading the way once again. 

 He followed along at a pretty good speed and seemed to be happy to be heading back toward home.

 These folks seemed to be doing some kind of repair or off loading, they were quite a while behind the dune before they pulled out leaving that quad upended as they moved. They came back again pretty quickly which makes me think they needed to fetch something from where ever they are parked.

 It was much darker when I took this photo but I lightened it a bit so you could see the colourful whip aerial. This one came with the upended quad above. 

 Blurry but it's dark outside or getting dark and two jeeps were heading back toward the main road after coming up out of the wash. 

We spent some time cleaning and cooking today before just resting. The last few days have been kind of busy for us and we both wanted to sit and watch out the window or read, which is what we did. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your Saturday. 

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

Deb

 

Family visit, lunch out, some pretty neat views....

Our Location: Truckhaven BLM, Salton City, CA

A wonderful night's sleep even with the bright moon light. Truly it was almost like being outside in the early morning, it was that bright.  Perhaps one of these nights I'll take my camera out and take a few photos of the 'city' lights over by the Salton Sea area. Very colourful, almost like Christmas lights. 

Out our dining room window this morning. 

 A larger view. 

 

 Looking out toward the Salton Sea and the mountains behind.

We had plans today to head north to Indian Wells for a visit with sister in law (Aunt)  Janet, who's farm we stay at usually spring and fall before we leave Ontario. Buttercup Ridge is the name of the farm, I've mentioned it many times in this blog. 

 Can you see the snow on two different mountain tops in this photo? The snow covered mountain on the left is Big Bear and we can see that from Janet's back yard.

 I'm not sure if that is sand or salt but it isn't snow on the side of the road. Since we are very near the Salton Sea which of course is sea water I'm not sure. 

A street in Indio, California. 

 

We left the Igloo about 9 AM and arrived about an hour later. We truly enjoy the drive with the dirty white sand/salt reminding us of snow, the snow capped peaks off in the distance, the trees loaded down with lemons and oranges, the palms swaying in the breeze and amazing greenery we can see as start getting into the urban areas. 

 The entrance to Janet's community.

Sorry for the glare, the windshield needs to be cleaned. 

 Pretty, isn't it?

A wonderful visit with Janet, sitting outside on the edge of the golf course that runs behind the house, enjoying the company, warmth and views. We haven't seen Janet since we out here last winter. They were late coming home in the spring and we didn't stop stay this fall due to weather.  

 I know the colour looks off but from here on our side of the Salton Sea the mountains on the east which truly are an odd colour. The water also is an odd colour from our spot. The buildings below are Salton City. The white car is one of our neighbours.

 I didn't walk INTO that wash but I was over there around it so I could see it up close.

Can you see all those different trails down there? 

We went for lunch at Mexicali's, a wonderful little Mexican restaurant on Indio Blvd. It seems to be a tradition now, we've been doing for 3 years, so I think it's safe to assume we'll be visiting Mexicali's every year. The food is excellent and the folks very friendly. We have another date for dinner a week from today with Janet as Dennis will be back in Canada for a day or so. We had a great time today and are looking forward to dinner as well. 

Now wouldn't you like to ride down there?
 

 I think the ride up that trail would be fun.

I walked down on that flat floor (which isn't really flat) on my way back to the Igloo. 

Back home we both enjoyed what was left of the afternoon in our own way. Riley stayed at home and did whatever it is Riley does on her own and I headed out for a bit of a picture taking walk. 

Which trail would you choose first? 
 

 Many trails meet at some point.

Oh what fun this one would be, a thrill at the top I'm certain!

This is a beautiful spot with some pretty amazing views and I don't have far to walk to see some more pretty amazing sights.  I hope you enjoy the photos. 

 Right road, left road, wash, upper road, lower road? So many choices.

 Do you think one could get lost down there?

Joy riding has a whole new meaning out here in the Badlands. 

Dad called around 4:30 PM Pacific time just to chat. It's always nice to chat with Dad and I do it often as I'm sure you know. Sounds like bad weather is due in Ontario over the weekend but I'm not sure it will hit his area, more southern Ontario I think he said. 

 The Salton Sea and the mountains in the background.

 Lots of green out here as you can see.

So there you have it, our first full day here in the Salton City area. Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a message if you like. 

 Lots of choices to make, which road to take, which hill to climb, which direction to turn....

 The Mountains, the Salton Sea and Salton City. (Those roof tops are Salton City)

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

I think I need one of those! Haha. 

Deb