The wind is picking up again…

 

Our Location:

Ogilby Road, Winterhaven, California 

Very windy all day, except for Tom, we didn’t do more than venture outside the doors of our rigs today. Tom being brave drove to get water and get rid of our trash. Thanks Tom. We even by passed happy hour today. Deb and I chatted as we snapped pics of the sunset. 

The wind died down for a few hours but is once again picking up as I type this at 9:00 pm Arizona time. We spent the day with the two living room slides pulled part way in keep the toppers from ripping off. I may end up bringing them both back in tonight too. We shall see.

The only pics taken today was sunset pics. I hope you enjoy them.

Until next time….

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Another windy day....friends leave....

 

Our Location: 

North of MM 4, Ogilby Road, Winterhaven, California

 

The wind howled all morning, blowing dust everywhere. Our friends Ken and Shirley pulled out this morning but we hope to see them again soon. We hugged, said our goodbyes and waved as they pulled away. 

 

 

 

The rest of us sat around for a while but soon the dust drove us into our homes. The winds howled off and on for a long time today. However by late afternoon the wind had died down significantly and we spent some time outside for afternoon happy hour. Soon I was heading home and chatting with my dad, catching up on all the news from our Rock. 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you had a great day. 

 

Until next time.... 

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

Very windy....and we've moved....

 

Our Location: 

Ocotillo Wells BLM, Salton Sea, California 

 

The day started right where the night left off, major winds and lots of dust. The slides in and hunkered down we watched out the window all day as the dust obscured the views. Finally just before 4 pm PST the winds dropped significantly and we attached the Dogsled to the Igloo and pulled out. We headed off down the road for about 5 miles and are now parked at the base of the overlook where the White Lion and the Stinger B are keeping watch. A visit from our friends had us chatting until dark. 

 

 

A note for yesterday, I forgot to mention my oldest daughter's birthday. Courtney turned 35 yesterday. We chatted on the phone for a while, getting caught up. Happy Birthday Courtney. 

 

Our neighbour didn't pull in his slides all day.

The Santa Rosa Mountains are becoming visible again.

 

The winds have died down and the dust is still settling but I think we will enjoy this spot more than the other. We will have some protection from the winds here and I'm happy about that. 

 

The ground is tilted but not quite this much (sorry I didn't straighten it), but the Salton Sea isn't visible.

There is no hint of the hills over there.

The dust is starting to settle.

It just kept getting more clear as the day passed.

 

Until next time...

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb

 

Not as far as planned today....

 

 Our Location: Gage Rest Area, near Deming, New Mexico

Shortly after leaving our overnight at Van Horn, Tx we crossed into Mountain Time, which puts us 2 hours behind Ontario. I need to pay attention when I call!!

 

We can start to see the mountains off in the distance. New Mexico is over that way.

Closer now...

The stop last night was good for what we needed and expected. It's a rest area with traffic whizzing by on the Interstate just a few yards away, vehicles coming and going all night. I put in ear plugs and never heard anything until 5:30 am this morning. Considering I was sleeping before 9:30 last night, I think I had a good night's sleep. 

Yep, they are definitely mountains off in the distance...

If you listen closely you can hear them calling......

We pulled out at 8:38 am Central Time and within a few short minutes we were changing the clock on the dash to read 7:45 am Mountain Time. It made for a good but long day. The roads were good and we motored right along. Lots of traffic today, a few slow downs and even a couple of rolling stops due to construction and accidents. 

 

Welcome to El Paso, Texas. Yes that's dust in the air.

Lots of streets cross over the interstate and those walls need repainting I think.

We rolled through the heart of El Paso, TX before 11 am and entered the beautiful state of New Mexico around 11 am. We stopped at the Anthony Rest Area just to stretch and look around, a beautiful place to stop but few spots for overnighters or even just travelers. 

A massive Old Glory was starting to flap in the wind and the wind increased steadily from this time.

For Deb D.   The ocotillo are green here Deb!!!!

We had planned on reaching San Simon West Bound Welcome Center at the New Mexico/Arizona state line but the winds picked up considerably and we opted to get off the road as we were being pushed around pretty good. So we backed up to a little casita and put the feet down to help stabilize us in the wind. We put the slides out only enough to make getting around easy and will pull them in overnight. Hopefully the wind dies down before tomorrow. It's even hard to walk it's blowing so much.  We did pass by the Roadrunner shortly after entering New Mexico but alas he was on the other side of the interstate and too far away to get a photo with the phone

I believe this is an Agave plant. It's at the New Mexico Welcome Center.

A much bigger one near one of the casitas.

 

Talked to my sister today for a few minutes after we parked. Things are going well at her house, she was busy making supper and so I didn't keep her on the phone long.Called and left a message on my dad's answering machine but will call him again later. 

A staghorn cactus, I think. Also at the Welcome Center.

And yet another cactus at the Welcome Center.

Happy Birthday to Leah today as she celebrates. She is my nephew Jason's lovely wife and mother of the adorable Hudson. She is a very classy young lady with expressive eyes and a beautiful face. Friendly and social, she makes every room she enters shine. Happy Birthday Leah, we hope it's a fantastic day. 

Reminder to myself, everything is picky, pointy and sharp in the desert.

The little courtyard at the NM welcome center.

Temps are running between 50F/10C and 70F/20C today. Fuel prices are still running in the $4.69 to $5.40 range. The winds are high and running at about "blow me over" speed. 

More of the little courtyard.

The entire restroom/welcome area is in this adobe building with beautiful little arches everywhere.

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

 

The view out the living room window tonight.

A little further to the right.

 

Until next time..

Take care, be safe, 

Deb

Very windy, change of plans, birthday wishes....

Our Location: BLM South Entrance, Joshua Tree National Park, 

California

 

A very, windy night from early evening, all through the night until well into the afternoon today. We ended up pulling in all the slides and Riley slept with me for over half the night. The wind was rocking us and even with the toppers tied down they were still flapping fiercely. Better in than ripped. We ratchet strapped ourselves to a couple of Palo Verde trees, added some big rocks to the back of the Dogsled and hung on for dear life. All of this we did in the extremely bright wee hours of the morning as the moon was bright and showed us everything we needed to see. 

Just a few of the many grapefruit I picked off the ground yesterday at Janet's. The wind had knocked them down overnight.

 

Today we were planning on leaving this area and moving to Quartzsite, AZ but with the high sustained winds and heavy gusts we opted to stay put and wait for tomorrow. Even the traffic on I-10 seemed much lighter than usual until this afternoon when the winds started to noticeably diminish.

Gives you an idea of size.

 

We stayed inside out of the wind and flying sand but enjoyed the views outside. A few folks coming and going but mostly just everyone hunkered down and stayed put. As the afternoon progressed the rigs started moving around on the interstate and began coming up the long grade to the BLM area, but only two rigs left. 

The view out our door. That is the road into the park.

 

A call to my dad to inform him of our change of plans, the rest of the afternoon was spent reading, napping and just gazing out the window. As I write this at 4:50 PM California time the winds have diminished to a slight breeze with a few little gusts but nothing to shake or rattle the Igloo. We’ve even taken away the ratchet straps and stones. Tomorrow we will be up and on the road heading east to new scenery for us this year. 

 

Looking north west from our door.

 

A special note today. Happy Birthday Courtney. My oldest daughter turns 31 today. Courtney is a true delight, bubbly, excitable, enthusiastic and just a very nice person. Courtney is with the Toronto School Board for the last couple of years after her return from Switzerland with hubby Matt who had a 2 year research grant there. Courtney and Matt live in Toronto and love the feel and atmosphere of the big city. So obviously a call will be placed to Courtney a bit later. Happy Birthday Sweetheart. 

 

Stuck in a rock outside the door.

 

So that’s it, our windy, stay inside day here at Joshua Tree National Park in California. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your stay.  

 

I think this person may have spent the night in a motel. The car was gone early this morning.

 

 

Until next time… take care, be safe, 

That is toward the Coachella Valley. A few rigs that weathered the wind with us.

 

Deb