MECHANICAL PROBLEMS CHANGE PLANS

We had planned on being home by now, but 2 hours out of Borrego Springs, our motor home radiator cracked and all the coolant blew out.  Fortunately, we were just exiting the freeway at Temecula, CA, to pick up some groceries for the trip home.  We stopped in a parking lot before any further damage to the engine and arranged for a tow to an RV service center.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that we have been stranded here for a week waiting for a replacement radiator to be shipped from Oregon.
More good news is that Giant RV found a place for us to boondock in their parking lot while waiting for the parts. 
 
We’ve been here for a week and have used the time to explore the area and do some more hikes.  It’s been pleasantly warm so the time has gone quickly.  This hike was over 4 miles in the “Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve’.  In the late 1800’s this was a cattle ranch and the hike we took ended at the old adobe ranch house under a 500 year old oak tree.
The 4 hour walk took us through open meadows and cool shady washes. 
  
The meadows were in full bloom.
 

LAST DAYS OF HIKING AND HAWKS

Our last days in Borrego Springs were taken up with hiking and hawks.  The last hike we took was 6.5 miles up the California Hiking and Riding trail.  A climb of 2,500 feet that took us a little over 3 hours.  We shuttled some cars to the top so that we did not have to make the down hill trip on foot.
 
 

The day before we left, we went out early in the morning to take part in the “Hawk Watch”.  The night before, approximately 200 Swainson Hawks had landed in the palms.  With no winds and warm temperatures, it was anticipated that the hawks would start to kettle and move out around 9:30 in the morning.  We gathered with a group along Di Giorgio Road to wait for lift off.
Hal Cohen, the coordinator took the opportunity to educate the newcomers on what was happening.
At about 10 a.m. the hawks lifted off.  These photos are taken on a later day, but they show the beauty of the hawk lift off.
 
Approximately 200 hawks left the valley that day.

WE ARE OFF THE DESERT AND INTO AN RV PARK

We returned from our trip to the dentist in Mexico to find a note on our door asking us to move off the desert where we had been parked.  We were disappointed to see it come to an end, but we knew it could happen, so it was not such a bad thing to happen.  Luckily, we had already made reservations to move into a park to empty our waste tanks and fill up with fresh water, so we moved out the next morning.  Here’s where we ended up.

This place has a heated swimming pool and a whirlpool spa.  It’s not very fancy, but very comfortable.  Early in the morning, the sun streams through our front window.

In the afternoon, the shade keeps our patio area cool and comfortable.

Today, Marlene baked an apple pie in our outdoor gas oven in preparation for Steve, Diana, and the Boys who should be stopping in on their way from S.E. Asia to Texas.  But that’s another story that they can tell you on their blog at http://bluedaisyiii.blogspot.com/ .

It looks like the pie is almost ready. 

TO MEXICO FOR A CROWN

I had a crown come off one of my molars so we decided to take advantage of our proximity to the border to head to Los Algodones, Mex. to have it put back on or replaced.  We’ve had work done there before and are quite satisfied with the quality and quickness.  The crossing is 107 miles from Borrego Springs.  My first appointment was 8:00 am so I left here at 4:45 for the drive down.  My neighbor from Canby, Bill, who is camped here in Borrego also, decided to ride with me the first day.  The dentist took one look at the tooth and decided the best treatment would be to replace the crown with a new one.  The crown would be ready by 12:30 the next day.

Marlene decided to accompany me for the return trip.  When the dentist completed his work, he directed me to no have any solid food or do any chewing for one hour.  He also said it was OK to drink liquids.  We were hungry, but we followed his directive and found an open Plaza café and settled into a large Margarita. 
 
One thing lead to another and before you know it a band came out and not being able to resist, we joined in the dancing.  Lunch at a local taco stand where fish tacos were $1.00 and shrimp tacos were $1.25 came later.  By the way, the crown cost $220.  We saved enough on the dental work to pay for all the fuel it took to get from Canby to Borrego Springs.

ART INSTITUTE AND PINS AND NEEDLES

This is from a couple of days ago.  Marlene was down at the town center and visited the
Art Institute where she came across this quilt on display.

  It’s called Wonderly Galaxy and it is on sale for $3500.  Not having enough loose change to make the purchase, she instead headed back to the Pins and Needles shop where she has been buying fabric and threads to work on quilts in the motor home.

8 1/2 MILES OF THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL

Last week Thursday, we joined a group of our friends here in Borrego Springs on an 8 1/2 mile hike along a section of the Pacific Coast Trail.  This is the second section of the trail Marlene and I have done.  The first being a very short section between Timothy Lake and Little Crater Lake near Mt. Hood in Oregon.

We started at Barrel Springs and walked to Warner Springs.  There were 8 of us and we used 3 vehicles.  We dropped the group at Barrel Springs and ferried two of the vehicles to the end of the hike so we would have transportation when we finished the hike.

This is an easy hike from the standpoint of elevation gain and loss, but it is strenuous in that you have to keep going for 8.5 miles.  We took one short break to have lunch, but the whole process took a little less than 4 hours.

          

The trail cut across the foot hills of the San Ysidro Mountains starting in Montezuma Valley.

     

We came to and stopped to admire “EAGLES NEST”.

    

And finished following a stream bed through a magnificent grove  of Live Oak trees.  Here we saw Red Tail Hawks, Blue birds and Stellar Jays.

     

We also came across Winnie the Po’s, Bee Tree.

 

We ended at the road leading to the Warner Spring’s Post Office.

TWO JEEPS AND MISC DESERT SCENES

Our neighbor, Bill, is here in Borrego Springs in his Air Stream trailer and the other day we took a ride to show him some of the metal sculptures.  Here’s a few of the views.
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The “Serpent” is amazing.  It actually crosses the road.  It is one of the whimsical sculptures, not based on actual creatures that were here in the valley.

   
Here are some others that are interesting.  The detail of these is incredible.
 
Here’s one that blew over in a recent strong wind.  Notice how the inner structure is built from scrap steel.
  
The scorpion attacking the grasshopper is very realistic.  Marlene lends a perspective of the size of these.
 
The weather is changeable here.  The other day a storm came through, left some snow in the higher elevations and a rainbow here in Borrego Springs.
 
And as usual, we took another hike.  This one to White Rock Canyon.  There is no trail.  You start out picking a route across the desert and then you enter a small canyon, the one in the middle of the picture.  And pick your way up the bottom till you come to an old dry waterfall.

  
I learned a lesson on this trip.  Never hike a rugged undeveloped trail while wearing shorts.

The other night we gathered at the Holliday Homes RV park to participate in a sing along with Nancy.  She is a professional, retired, singer, from Baker City, Oregon, who travels with her husband Mike.  She has a beautiful voice and leads us through many of the old favorites.
  This morning at the feeder, we had two Morning Doves, a couple of ground squirrels, and several Finches.   Never a dull moment. 
Coming soon, an eight and a half mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail.