Jeep ride, kitty returns, moving day....

Our Location: Salton City, CA

 

 

 

Again I didn't post yesterday so this will be a double post. 

 

I've been meaning to post this update for a few days now but have forgotten. Kay stopped by and told us that Rascal the wayward kitty has returned home. She heard him at the door in the middle of the night about 5 or 6 nights ago. He didn't look any the worse for wear. He was gone for a long time, I guess cats really do know how to find their way back home.

 

 

 

  Water at the bottom of the open pit mine on American Girl Mine Road. 

 

Love the colours in those layers over there. 

  Doug & Yuma coming up the trail, Tom and I had walked ahead.

 

 

Yesterday morning I spent some time on the computer doing my post, paying bills, and doing a few things on line. Without boring you with details, I waited all morning for a call back from Ontario and of course, since it's the a government agency, the call didn't come until later in the afternoon when I was just about out of cell service range. However, after 5 minutes and a bit of explaining the issue was resolved and things are all good again. 

 

 

Our last sunset on Ogilby Road this winter. Wednesday Jan 8.

 It slips away very quickly......

 

 

The call came when I was in Doug's Jeep with him, Tom and Yuma. We were heading back to the mines that Jerry and I had visited a few days ago. Doug wanted to know where they were and I thought if were lucky I could find them.  We headed back into the Cargo Muchacho Mountains with Doug having more confidence in me finding the mines than I had. I knew I could find the general area but I got lucky and found the mines.

One second it's there and the next....

 It's gone....leaving only fire in the sky.

 

 

We bumped, jumped, walked, bounced, jolted and drove over, thru, around, up, and down the washes and roads but I was eventually able to find them. We all snapped some photos, repeatedly thanked Jerry (even though he wasn't there) and managed some laughs as well. 

 Yuma found Riley's foot very comfortable for sitting.

Tom built us a wonderful fire. 

 

 

Back home around 5 pm Arizona Time, I had a quick bite to eat before heading over to Deb & Tom's  for a fire. Doug & Yuma of course also graced the fire circle. I have to tell you the time just slipped away and before we knew it the time was pushing 8 pm. Where does the time go when one is having a good time? Thanks folks for a wonderful few days. We've had a great time in your company.

 Baby palm trees on our travels today.

 These ones aren't babies.

 

We said our goodbyes to Doug last night before he left the fire circle and I think we'll be seeing him in the near future as we travel around the area. 

A bit dusty in one place along the road today. 

 

 

Either dust or haze, not sure which but there are mountains back there.

 

 

This morning around 8:30 AM Riley and I were all hooked up and just about ready to head over to say our goodbyes when when Deb & Tom stopped by to do just that. Hugs and the usual words of goodbye  were passed back and forth.  You know how it goes right? 

 We are heading close to those mountains. It will be our destination for today.

We are getting closer and closer. Don't you love the shadows?

 

 

Riley and I pulled out of our spot by 9 AM Arizona Time, went east first to the Chevron Station to dump and met Mr. Grumpy Pants, filled a couple of water jugs and then proceeded to the rest area on I-8 to rid ourselves of our garbage before continuing along on our way. Now we switched our time to California time, or Pacific Time, so we are 3 hours behind Ontario. 

 This is the view out our dining room window. I will take a closer shot tomorrow or the next day when the sun light is better and you can see the beauty we see each time we peer out the window.

When I turn slightly to the east I can see the Salton Sea out there and the mountain range behind it. 

 

 

An uneventful trip, the kind we all like and hope for, had us reaching our final destination of BLM land located at Salton Sea. We had to search a bit to find the entrance but after a walk I found it and before long we were snailing our way to a spot we liked. I'm not sure how long we will stay as it's windy here at the east ends of the badlands. Yes I know it's windy everywhere in the desert. However we'll be here a couple of days for sure. 

 

 Sunset tonight here at Salton City. Due to flying dust I took some of the photos tonight through a screen.

It's just amazing how much energy and beauty are in the sky. 

 

 

I called my dad after we got the feet down and the slides out.  It was 1 PM Pacific time when I called, we were thinking about lunch and he was thinking about supper since it was 4 pm in Ontario.  We spent the rest of the day just resting, both of us feeling a bit tired for some reason. 

 I am always shocked by the beauty and awed by the colours.

The wind let up for about 10 minutes and I was able to snap a couple of photos outside. 

 

 

The wind picked up shortly after 2:30 pm and we pulled in the big slide. We expect it to be windy here but maybe not quite this windy. However we'll see how it goes. We have plans tomorrow but if the wind continues we may head out sooner than we thought. We shall have to see how things go.

 

 

 Isn't it amazing?

That's us down there and the Salton Sea way off in the distance. It's very windy up here on this hill overlooking the Igloo and cold enough to make me hurry back home to the warmth inside the Igloo. 

 

 

A Happy Birthday to my oldest niece Amber today as she celebrates another year. Amber is my sister's oldest daughter and the mother of 3. Happy Birthday Amber. 

 

I wonder if I can find a way to walk down in that wash and see where it goes.

 

 I'm sure it connects to that one and I'm guessing I could probably find a way into that for some hiking.

 

 

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

 

Can you see the moon in the clouds? 

The wind has died down suddenly, just like it came.  Goodnight from Salton City, CA.

 

 

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

Deb

Errands, lunch out, friends.....

Our Location: Near American Girl Mine Road, BLM, CA

 

 

I was lazy last night so I'll post this piece a day late. I'll try to post my regular post tonight but no promises.

 

 Sunrise January 7th.

 

 It gets brighter and brighter...

 

Riley and I had some errands to run in Yuma today in preparation for our departure on Thursday. You know the routine a few groceries, top up the Big Dog's drinking bowl, and of course we still had that pesky empty propane tank. Before we left Doug invited us along with him and Yuma to visit Plank Road, we accepted but noted we had errands and weren't sure of our return time. Deb & Tom declined, having been there before. 

 

 

 Sunset January 7th.

Darkness will hasten along quickly.

 

 

It was around 11 when Riley & I left for town. We checked out the Neighbourhood Marketplace on 8th Ave, which is a groceries only Walmart store. We proceeded to Fry's for fuel, a good price for the thirsty Dogsled, $2.89 per gallon. From there we needed to drop into the regular Walmart for some Blue Def, I put the last jug I had in the truck a couple of days ago. I like to have a couple on hand since I usually see the message when we're really not quickly able to get some. Even though we have lots of time to do so, I am more comfortable carrying a couple of jugs with us.

 

 Sunset, January 7th, pink skies over the Stinger Bee and the Cargo Muchacho Mountains.

Sunset over Doug's rig, some pretty fancy pink up there.

 

 

Our next stop was Ferrell Gas (I think it's on 16th Street but I could be mistaken) with our propane tank. We've been here twice before, once the fella that fills the tanks was sick and the second time on a Saturday but they aren't open on the weekends. Mon- Fri 7 - 3. We were well within those guidelines, Tuesday around 1 pm. After a bit of a wait, the lady in the office was setting up a delivery on the phone, a nice young man named Isiah came out to help me. He filled the tank, no questions, no debate.  Propane was $2.66 per gallon.

 Some amazing pink off to the north of us.

Yuma wasn't watching the sunset colours but a pair of dogs strolling by on the road.  

 

 

From there we scooted up the road to the Olive Garden Restaurant and had lunch. Thanks to SIL Barb back home for her generous gift and the "I want to see you doing something with this" comment. I think Barb believes we don't get out enough but the truth is we like being at home or walking/hiking. Twice now she has paid for a meal out here in Yuma. 

 

 

 This morning's sunrise outside our door.

 The sky is getting a brighter yellow over there toward Pilot Knob.

 

A text to Doug to tell him we would be late getting back and to go ahead without us since it would be after 3 before we arrived home. Sorry Doug. 

 

 This morning was almost a repeat of last night.

 Sunrise over the Igloo and the Dogsled here in California.

 

 

Back home we put away the groceries, the filled propane tank and I started putting away some of the outdoor stuff. A couple of things left for today and the chairs we will put inside on Thursday morning.Other than those few things the outside is packed up. It takes only a few minutes to pack up the inside on the morning of departure. 

 Both the Stinger Bee and Doug's rig are in this photo with that beautiful pink sky this morning.

We too are under some amazing skies. 

 

 

While I was sitting outside enjoying the sun and reading my Kobo Deb came by with her cup, Riley came outside, Tom wandered over with a chair and a drink and shortly after that Doug and Yuma also came along with a chair and a drink. Happy hour was under way. We sat around  chatting, laughing, and swapping information until after the sun had set. A wonderful time together. 

 

 

 You can see just a faint hint of yellow over there as the sun is pushing it's way along toward the horizon to begin our day.

Can you see it better now? 

 

 

A birthday wish to my cousin Sheila as she continues to age gracefully. Sheila is the mother of 3 and the grandmother of 5, I think is the last count. Happy Birthday Cuz.  

 

 

 Just peeking over the edge. Somewhere in the world the darkness is coming. 

 

So there you have it, one of our last days in the Yuma area this winter. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.  Please feel free to comment any time, I try to answer each one. 

You can see it easily now. Our day begins and someone else's ends. 

 

 

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

Deb

 

 

 

 

  

A good time .......

Our Location: Near American Girl Mine Road, BLM, CA

 

I was too lazy to blog last night after a lot of hours in the sun and so I decided to do a double blog tonight. Lots of photos, so be warned. 

 

 

 Tom & Jerry, not the cat and mouse, but our chefs for lunch on Sunday. Tom on the left and Jerry of course on the right. 

I asked some nice lady walking by if she would snap a few photos of us all and of course she said yes. Left to right, Tom, Deb D, Riley, Doug, Elva, Deb K, and Jerry. 

 

 

Yesterday (Sunday, Jan 5) Riley and I started the morning with a bit of food prep for later in the day. After that I chatted with a few folks back home, walked down to Ogilby Road to meet Doug Laning (Miss Adventure Travels) to help guide him to the neighbourhood. Yuma was pretty excited! 

Yes we drove up here. 

 We didn't take the washed out road.

 We are heading back into the middle of the Cargo Muchacho Mountains.

So many different types of rock. The textures, colours and even the feel is so very different. Some welcome, others repel, and some are neither inviting nor threatening. 

 

 

Around 2:30 pm Riley and I loaded a few things into the Dogsled and drove the short distance to the Stinger Bee where Deb & Tom (Celebrating the Dance) are parked.  We sat around chatting for a bit before friends Elva & Jerry Shannon arrived and just after that Doug & Yuma drove up as well. A happy hour lunch/visit enjoyed by all, lasted until after the sun sank behind the western horizon. Lots of laughter, a few stories, maybe a little taller tale here and there but it's true, RV'ers are such wonderful people. Back home I had a quick chat with my dad and decided I was too tired to do a blog. 

 

 

 I love the views, and never tire of them. We took the road you see down there on the left and then it curves out toward the center of the photo. It then drops down into a wash which I show a bit later on in the photos.

 We turned around up here at the top and went back down the same way. We couldn't get out if we had continued down the path and would have had to turn at the bottom anyway.

I thought you might like a nice photo of your Jeep Miss Elva. 

 

 

This morning (Monday, Jan 6) Jerry drove up in Miss Elva's nice silver jeep right around 9 AM and he didn't miss the turn this time. Yeah Jerry!!! Jerry and I headed back past the open pit mine and points further off into the Cargo Muchacho Mountains. We visited a few old mines, looked in some holes, climbed some steep banks, splashed through dry washes and dropped down some steep paths. Over rocks, around the corners, up the hills, down the hills, on the road, off the road. We played in the sand for a while and we even enjoyed some water views along the All American Canal. It was a wonderful ride and I enjoyed it very much. 

 A very large gopher made this hole.

 

 

And we know that because a person couldn't even come close to standing up in there.

 

 

 I adjusted this photo so you could see how deep it is but it never gets any taller. Of course we didn't go into this gopher hole but it was interesting to see it.

 

 

Jerry is an excellent driver and a very knowledgeable fella. Thanks for taking me along Jerry, it was a great adventure!! Thanks Miss Elva for the jeep and the driver again. You are a sweetheart!! 

 

 Deep in the Cargo Muchacho Mountains.

 Can you see the mine entrance over there in the middle right of the photo?

The views are always amazing. I love the colour. 

 

Back home I had some lunch and read my book for a while. I think I may have closed my eyes a time or two but only for a quick peek at my eyelids, and there are no holes, I assure you. 

 We followed that little road for a while.

 Again I adjusted this photo so you can see how deep it is. This is straight down and we couldn't see the bottom. Notice the broken ladder on the right, I couldn't imagine climbing down there.

We traveled that road down there and if you look you will see the stone walls of an old building down there. No roof but the partial walls. I am standing just in front of the large mine shaft in the above photo, turning around I snapped this photo. 

 

 

A quick text or 5 from Deb and we were grabbing our chairs and drinks before walking over to the Stinger Bee for a quick but later happy hour. Doug & Yuma also dropped by to enjoy the chatter. Deb & Tom found us all a spot out of the wind and we talked until after the sun slid, once again behind the horizon. We do enjoy spending time with these folks, lots of laughs and easy chatter. 

 We came down there and made a left.

 So we could go this way...

And it was a bit bumpy. I took a short video of Jerry coming along there but I've never posted a video here and I'm quickly coming to the end of my blogging limit for tonight, so maybe I'll post it another time. 

 

Back home I edited photos and typed this post. I'm tired tonight and I think I'll sleep well, I did last night too. This may be getting to be a habit. 

 

Made it with a little slippin', slidin' and bumpin'. Good job Jerry. 

Do you recognize that mountain over there? I bet you do. It's Picacho Peak.

 We are now all the way thru the Cargo Muchacho Mountains and not far from the Valley of the Names.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you all had a fantastic couple of days. 

 I never tire of the views. 

 I think this view is stunning. The colour difference is so eye catching.

 We played here in the sand for a while.

Again I adjusted this one a bit so you could see the natural hole here. The wind, rain and sun all helped to make this natural hole in a massive sand wall. 

 

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

 

 

                                                            

                                                I thought this was something stuck to the side of the tire.                                                     

 

But it isn't, it moves. 

 

 

Deb