Saturday, February 3, 2018

Solutions, landings, and meeting a fellow blogger....




Our Location: just outside Borrego Springs, California


Not the best night’s sleep but that’s okay, we all have those nights when it seems our minds are full of stupid things and sleep is evasive. Last night was my turn I guess. I was awake but just couldn’t drag my butt out of bed until after 6:30 am for some reason. The sky was starting to show it’s painters trend with yellows and reds starting to meld together. Behind me the moon was still up and hanging over what I think is Coyote Mountain. A very nice picture. The temperature was low last night, below 50F/10C, and I had my vent open as well as a few windows in the Igloo and I wonder if it was the coolness that kept me from sleeping well. 


Good morning from the doorstep of the Igloo.....
 
Riley and I were enjoying our hot drinks and discuss our day by shortly after 7:10 am. Always nice to get up and start the day while it’s cool and we can do things that require spending energy without wilting. We prepped lunch which today was a salad for me, meatloaf, veggie packet of mushrooms, green beans and asparagus with thyme and rosemary, and potatoes slices on the Weber.


The moon is still very much in evidence this morning ....

After lunch was prepared we hopped into the Dogsled and headed off into Borrego Springs for a little look see. I’ve been reading about this area for many years in blogs and was anxious to see some of these things first hand. They did not disappoint. The beautiful green grass of Christmas Circle with it’s tiny little farmers market in full swing, the strains of Hotel California by the Eagles could be heard in the background. Riley thought that was appropriate!! We got out to walk on the lush grass and enjoy the atmosphere for a few minutes. 


Back at work for another day keeping us warm out here the southwestern desert...

We checked out the State Park office, and a few other places in the area but didn’t spend any time looking at any one thing. We wanted to get the overall flavour of the place and see a few things to get our bearings. We managed to get ourselves a little booklet to show us where the metal sculptures could be located. So we headed south of town to find a few of those. I know so many people have already blogged about these and I will say they didn’t exaggerate at all. I’m going to include a few pictures today but we plan on visiting more of these sculptures later in the upcoming week and I’ll do a write up then as today I have a few other things to write about and since my posts are usually pretty long I don’t want to make this one even longer. 

 

All evenly spaced....




He's almost down...


















 We managed to find the fire station and asked about a spot to dump our trash. We were directed to the landfill outside of town. On our way to the landfill we were heading toward the airport where Al of Travels with the Bayfield Bunch mentioned seeing the DC 130 in the past few days. He mentioned the parachuters as well,I believe even showing one lone jumper. It was our lucky day today, there must have been 10 at least. All in a tight spiral heading for the ground just ahead of us. These guys are pros as they were in tight formation, circling with an ease of practiced jumpers, they remained equal distances apart and quite literally almost all landed in the same spot within a few feet and I do mean a FEW feet of each other. The landings looked soft and from what we could see they all stayed on their feet. Truly an awesome sight. 

Doug and Yuma stopped by for a visit...

 We moved on to the landfill where we learned it’s $30 for 3 bags, and that is their minimum. I wasn’t paying to dump two bags of garbage, when only one was our own garbage, the other was garbage I’ve picked up around the campsite we’re occupying. Numerous solutions were discussed with the nice fellow Gabe, he was very kind and generous in his bid to help me. He called the Chamber of Commerce in town which is staffed by volunteers and spoke with a fellow named Jim. The long and short of the story is when Jim was presented with my issues about dumping my trash LEGALLY and without leaving it on the ground, he explained that if it is a single small bag of trash it might be possible to come to the Chamber of Commerce building and they would provide a key to their dumpster for my trash. I’m not saying everyone should do this but I’m explaining an option that was presented to me in lieu of driving many miles back to Salton City to find a dumpster. All the ones we’ve seen in Borrego Springs have locks. Now another volunteer may not agree to do that but Jim today said it was an option. 


These battling stallions off in the desert....

 
As we were at the landfill chatting with Gabe about our problem the big DC 130 with the British flag painted on the tail came in for a landing . It too made a perfect touch down. It having landed at least 15 minutes after the jumpers were on the ground. Riley was the one behind the camera for both the jumpers and the plane. 


Riley speared on the tusk....

We headed back home, happy to have a solution to our problem and will try it in the future if necessary. We didn’t however stop at home, instead we took a drive up Rock House Road to check out the spots there with just the Dogsled. Too crowded for us but some spectacular views if you’re back far enough. The washboard road makes one not want to go back very far though. We did spot Doug and Yuma’s home dirt but didn’t stop in as it was pushing noon. We toured a few other spots as well to see if we maybe would enjoy a site a bit more off the beaten path. We’ll have to study that a bit more in the future. We like where we are but we also like a bit more distance between us and the roadway. We don’t have any close neighbours right now and we like it that way. 


Christmas Circle....so green...

Back home I tossed the meatloaf on the grill, we both sat outside reading enjoying the warmth and the breeze. I just tossed the veggie packet on the grill when a little silver jeep pulled up behind the Igloo and sure enough it was Doug and Yuma of Miss Adventure Travels What a wonderful surprise. Yuma was his regal self and hopped out of the jeep with grace and poise before getting truly excited and doing one of his tall jumps. It was nice to meet Doug, he’s a sweetheart. We sat and chatted for a nice long while, enjoying the easy conversation, swapping notes and telling stories. Yuma and HRH Miss Kitty had a staring contest through the screen door and at one point Yuma voiced his opinions of the whole situation, HRH Miss Kitty didn’t respond. After a nice visit it was time for Doug and Yuma to head home. We said our goodbyes, see you later and off they went. We slipped inside to have lunch. Noting the time was just about 4 pm, we’d chatted the afternoon away. Riley and I both enjoyed the visit very much. 


He's looking to put his big wheels down...

They were in a tight spiral all the way down...

Shortly after we’d finished eating and doing the dishes we heard a horn just outside the door. Turns out Doug was back, he had forgotten to take a picture, a quick snap, snap and he was once again gone like a ghost that may or may not have been here. I apologized for not inviting him to stay for lunch, I don’t know where my head was at but it never crossed my mind. I was enjoying our visit and it just didn’t occur to me.   I sat outside reading for a while and started snapping pictures of the sunset, walking around snapping more pictures. Like I needed more pictures today. 


This little Ultra Light probably flew right over Doug & Yuma's home....

The sunset did not disappoint in the least. With some darker wispy clouds highlighted with reds and pinks, whimsical twists and turns flashing colours here and there with tendrils of darkness intermingled. While in the east the  mountains in the distance were bathed in a pink hue that started with warm soft tones and hints, but built to bright pink radiating across the entire eastern sky. As the sky in the west heated up it’s dance ever more brightly the skies in the east once again began to fade to soft hues of pink and finally a mottled mixture of dusky blue with the no trace of any pinks. The western skies also began to tire of the dance and slowly the colours faded until only darkness was left. Truly a wonderful sunset here in Borrego Springs, California. 


Just amazing colours and shapes....

So there you have it, our most excellent day. We enjoyed it immensely and look forward to more excitement tomorrow. I hope you’ve enjoyed your day doing whatever it is that you were doing. Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment, I enjoy reading them. 


Off to the east the sky was so pink...

From the north east to the south east...pink, pink and more pink...

 

Until next time… take care, be safe, 
These clouds dancing while shifting the colours and shapes across the western skies...

They slowly faded into the darkness...



Deb





14 comments:

  1. Wow $30.00 for 3 bags?! That's ridiculous, but that's CA for ya..The sculptures are something else, look forward to more pics of them! Great job Riley on the pictures of the jumpers and the plane! Such a nice afternoon of visiting with Doug, time does get away from you doesn't it? The skies are awesome!

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    1. Yeah I thought it was a bit excessive for the bags but then again it didn't specify bag size.
      I'm looking forward to seeing more of the sculptures and taking some pictures to post here. I think they are just incredible.
      Thanks, (says Riley) she was fascinated to see them coming in for a landing.
      It was a fantastic visit with Doug and Yuma. Truly comfortable and relaxing. So true, the time just slipped away at least for Riley and I.
      The night skies were absolutely awesome and I loved the show.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  2. Nice to see you two are already enjoying Borrego Springs. For dropping off small bags of garbage we generally make a stop at Christmas Circle when in town and drop our garbage off in the plastic garbage cans there. As well as the State Park, the Nature Center right across from Jilbertos or west of Carleys near Christmas Circle also has a list of interesting events going on and things to see and do. Oh and be sure to get yourselves some directions and head on up the mountain to Julian and Santa Ysabel for some yummy apple pie. Santa Ysabel is where they actually make the pies and you can see them doing that if you get there early enough in the day:))

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    1. We are enjoying the area very much. Someone mentioned the cans at Christmas Circle as well but as they were having the farmers market with plenty of folks around I didn't know if it would be a good idea or not.
      Yes we noticed that board on the corner of the building and did catch a peek at it. Thanks.
      The pie company is on my list, apple pie is my all time favourite and I wouldn't miss it. We're looking forward to a driving trip into the mountains. Thanks for the tips, we do appreciate them.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  3. For dumping garbage we have done the same as Al and Kelly usually early in the day. Lots of fun interesting things to see in the area and a drive out Henderson Canyon Road a self serve stand with oranges and grapefruit very reasonable and a bit further Galleta Meadows sculptures and many more past the serpent etc...
    Have too much fun.

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    1. Thanks George. The farmers market was in full swing and I didn't feel comfortable dumping my garbage there at the time but will keep it in mind for the future.
      Oh we'll have to check out the fruit vendor down that way.
      Yes someone mentioned there are lots more sculptures out that way, many of them for sale.
      We're working on the fun part!!!

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  4. Glad you are enjoying Borrego Springs. The Chamber of Commerce is where we dumped our garbage last year. They do that for the dry campers in the area, just go in, tell them that you are dry camping and ask if you can put some garbage in their dumpster. They will give you the key to unlock the dumpster, dump your garbage and return the key. The Coyote Mnts. are the ones that run along side the west side of Rock House road and the ones that run east west at the back of that area are the Santa Rosa Mnts. If you go to the very west end of main street towards the state park, there is a visitors are where you can see gardens of different cactus and plants. There is also a information building with lots of neat stuff. When you come out of the building, there is a set of stairs that will take you up onto it's roof where there are pictures of the surrounding area naming the mountains. Enjoy the area we agree with tips that Al and George have given you,are worth seeing.

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    1. We are indeed enjoying the area. Thanks for the confirmation on the garbage issue.
      Thanks for naming the mountains, I'm not great at keeping those things straight.
      Thanks for the tip about the visitors area, we'll have to look that up in the next day or so.
      I'm looking forward to a trip into the mountains and some apple pie. I figure that if even just one of those fellows George or Al told me to check something out, it's well worth the effort but since both of them and now you have also mentioned, I have to go see it.
      Thanks for the tips Bill.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  5. From you pictures it looks like you had a wonderful day in Borrego Springs. Our one dilemma last year was the garbage sounds like you got a lot of good advice above.
    The metal sculptures in the desert are wonderful. The pie in Julian is worth the trip but the views coming and going are really beautiful.
    Thanks for the reminder to get out and see the moon set.
    Stay safe.

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    1. We are truly having a great time, and so very happy we've made this side trip.
      We often dump our trash at a gas station or a public area but there didn't appear to be any other places that we could see except the circle and as I said it was pretty busy. We couldn't find the Chamber of Commerce Building or I would have gone in there, as it turns out we drove right past it and didn't see it.
      We've visited a few of the sculptures but will do them all on Wednesday when we play tour guide.
      The pie company is definitely on the list, so many people have mentioned it and I love apple pie, so you can be assured I'll make the trip.
      You're welcome, glad I could be of help.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  6. Looks like you got your first flavor of Borrego Springs. I think you two will find it an enjoyable area.

    Glad you two were home when I came by and truly enjoyed meeting both of you. We certainly have a lot in common.

    Beautiful pictures as always.

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    1. We are truly enjoying Borrego Springs area. It is definitely a place we can relax and putter around enjoying the many sights and interesting places near by without too much effort.

      We were so happy to have you drop in, again I apologize I should have invited you for lunch but I was having such a great time chatting with you it completely slipped my mind. We certainly do have a lot in common. Drop by any time.

      Thanks, it's such a nice area to see through the camera lens.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  7. Borrego Springs has been on our list of places to see for years. Seeing it on your Blog only makes that feeling stronger. Glad you are enjoying the area and meeting other RVers.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. Thank you. I would say it's a definite must see and we've only been here a couple of days. There seems to be so much to see here and I have no doubt we will need to return many more times to fully appreciate all the beauty and interesting sights and places there is in the area.
      We have indeed enjoyed meeting a few folks, it's always nice to see a familiar face you've not met yet, if you know what I mean.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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