Travel Tuesday: Ocean Shores

The vast expanse of sandy beach, waves a fringe between sand and sky.

Since we needed to move the motorhome anyway, we decided to plan a trip somewhere. Many times we had pulled the motorhome out for some reason, and not thinking beyond that, found ourselves wishing that we could just go somewhere while we were in travel mode.  Instead we just went back to our home park and settled in. Even though our home is mobile, it's a matter of an hour or two of preparation to switch from parked mode to travel mode, especially when we've been parked for a month or more. Things tend to migrate out to the deck, or inside and then I must remember which goes where for traveling. 

We started out with the idea of  two or three days at the coast. A quick getaway that would satisfy the former disappointment of not going anywhere. It rather annoyed me that we have lived less than 2 hours from the beach for four summers and had not made it over there yet!

Finally, off we went to Ocean Shores, parking at the Casino for $10 a night. Since it's only a quarter mile walk to the beach, that's a great deal. It doesn't bother me that it's nothing more than a gravel parking spot, but parking where you can hear the ocean? Smell the salt water? Oh, yeah. Happy Camper time.

After getting settled, I was off to the beach to get some sand between my toes. It was lovely weather, just the right amount of warm with a gentle breeze accompanied by the sound of the surf. Delicious. Walking in sand makes me feet happy--except when it's hot, then, not so much. But the hard wet sand near the surf is cool and inviting. We walked along for awhile, then Jerry went off to run his high intensity interval training (HIIT). I continued to beach comb, then chased the waves letting them catch me. The water wasn't as cold as I expected. Still, I wasn't going in past my knees. Finally I headed for a place to settle into the sand. watch the waves and listen to the ocean song. To me there is no more healing sound than the ocean waves pounding the sand. A God symphony reminding me of His greatness and shrinking my worries.

Right from the first, I knew two days weren't going to be enough time to let the sea-song settle into me sufficiently. In our debate about a third day, we noticed and email from our home park informing us of the road treatment being applied that day. We didn't want to drive on it freshly applied, so we debated some more. Then we read the weather report. With record highs expected (111?!)  it seemed silly to return to Olympia before the weather cooled. A few emails and texts later, we were set to spend a week. Not only would I be missing out on the heat, I'd be able to stay near the beach indulging in my favorite sandy pastimes. I'm pretty sure a Happy Dance was involved here.

We also happened to be there the weekend of the Sand and Sawdust Days where there are amazing sand sculptures and chainsaw artists in various places around Ocean Shores. We enjoyed watching the artists at work with the chainsaws, but we were also glad to duck into the Convention Center with their air conditioning to visit the vendor booths. Yes, even at the beach it got hot, but not as hot as inland.

Sand sculpture near Convention Center. The pop-ups behind are the wood carvers.

Wood carver checking the design.

Three charming bears keeping an eye on everything.

Our picnic lunch was consumed from our truck on the beach in what became a beach parking lot with rows and rows of cars. We were late comers to the activities and found a place one row back from the waves so we could watch them while we ate. We soon found out why cars had moved--the tide was coming in! We watched in fascination as a couple of cars whose occupants were somewhere down the beach were threatened by the waves encroaching. Finally we felt it prudent to move and drove to the back of the parking area to take pictures of a series of sculptures. Jerry had to go back and take pictures of the one little white car with waves lapping at its tires. It got as high as the axles before we left, still wondering when the owners would arrive to discover their dilemma. The heavy duty tow truck we had seen nearby was likely going to get more business rescuing the unwary.

We returned home to discover trees and shrubs whose western facing leaves were burnt, unused to the triple digit temperatures and relentless sun. I was thankful to only loose one plant in the heat wave, with only a few burnt leaves on a couple of plants. My neighbor did a great job of watering all my plants and giving them love while I was away. 

The saying "Timing is everything" was especially true for this jaunt to the coast. What a gift from Father God, showing the depth of His love and care. Sometimes He strengthens us to meet the challenges we face, and sometimes He whisks us away to a place of refreshing and rest. He's a good like that. And I am so thankful.

When I was sitting on the beach allowing the sand to flow through my fingers, I was reminded of the verse in Psalm 139:17-18:

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand

This thought arrested my attention: God, who knows me so well, loves me so much that He's thinking of me all the time. How many grains of sand were in just my hand? Looking up at the expanse of the sand stretching for miles, my mind was overwhelmed. Just one beach. Just one part of the world. Wow. His thoughts towards me are MORE in number than the sand. Jeremiah 29:11 says that His thoughts towards me are good! I love that. That's a LOT of good thoughts coming my way. Unfathomable. Delightful.

When I was younger I was unconsciously waiting for Him to strike me with lightning or something for messing up. Discovering that He's not like that has not only been a great relief, but a joy. His thoughts towards me are good. He loves me. I'm cool with that.

In His love I am secure and even when He must correct me, I know He has my best interests in mind. He does it so lovingly that I am strengthened and made better by it. Trusting His good plans for me, I don't hesitate any more to go to Him for everything and with everything. Peace, hope, wisdom. He has it all.

The beach is where I feel His presence the most. It is the place where I see this constant reminder of His love and how much bigger He is than my problems. In the pounding of the surf I hear deep call to deep; the deep of His love calls to the deepest part of me. This has been my best "YES" ever.

Snowbird Migration #6

Slowly packing away the outdoor things in our Summer place, getting ready to leave. 

       The leaves are falling, turning fabulous colors of gold and red. The apples have all been picked, processed and given away. The tree has been pruned. Time to put the Summer place to bed, tucked up in winter protection. The van sleeps the winter through, snug in its tarp garage; dehydrators and mouse traps strategically placed. Chairs and other deck things put away in a shed, refrigerator emptied and cleaned. The Snowbird Migration Ritual of Preparation. Check lists and 'must dos'.

Apples picked, tree pruned.

Hope they winter over again!

     We left on Friday the 18th in the drizzling rain. Although we did get some dry pavement an hour later, we also got a huge downpour south of Portland which slowed everyone down to about 45 mph. Typical Fall weather for this area, and a major motivator for Jerry to head south! This year we left earlier, and Jerry is making plans to leave even earlier next year.
     We arrived in plenty of time to get set up before dark at our Son-in-law's parent's place in Corvallis. It was fun to see them again and to see what changes they've made since last time we visited. Every time we come to visit, we see all kinds of new projects that have been done. They are inspiring! They are renovating this farm and house that was originally settled by ancestors. Such a family heritage.
      After 5 days of visiting all the various family members that we could squeeze in to so short a time, we took off again on Wednesday. This next stretch is pretty short, only a little over 100 miles to Canyonville (Seven Feathers Casino) south of Roseburg, but it's a great jumping off point for taking on the Siskiyou Mountain range. It's a bit over 200 miles to Redding from there, but in a motorhome and over those mountains, it's slower going and more tiring. The weather started out foggy, but eventually cleared to blue skies and warm. We didn't quite have to put on the A/C, but it was close!

The first stop, wet and rainy; oddly appropriate for our journey.

     I see the Geese flying overhead now and feel a kinship. I love to hear them honking their encouragement to each other and it reminds me of how thankful I am to be doing this with Jerry. Not only do we share this Snowbird Journey, but our shared spiritual journey is a great source of joy, conversational topics and "iron sharpening iron". This time the trip over the mountains seemed to go so smoothly and so quickly we were surprised! As we traveled, we listened to Kevin Zadai on YouTube whose story encourages us to see Jesus more clearly, to understand His ways more, to seek Him more diligently. We felt His presence with us the whole way and it made the trip so much fun! As we press in to learn more of Him and to experience His presence more, we are finding more joy, more peace, and a sense of purpose. Some would find what Kevin has to say difficult to accept. But we've been stepping away from the trappings of religious traditions (that don't agree with the Bible) and more into the clarity and freshness and Life of Jesus, God the Father and Holy Spirit. The Bible has come alive to us more than ever before, its relevance more acute. How can I not talk about the freedom, the joy, the peace, the love that we walk in more and more? God is so GOOD!

"Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in His eyes. Fix your heart on the promises of God and you will be secure, feasting on His faithfulness. Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and He will provide for you what you desire the most. Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust Him along the way, you'll find He pulled it off perfectly!" Psalm 37:3-5 The Passion Translation.

Parked at the Farm, a beautiful and quiet place to spend a few days. 

A quick shot of Mount Shasta while driving. We're getting closer to the warmth and sunshine!

Throwback Travel Tuesday: Canyon de Chelly

Overlooking the canyon where farms operate alongside centuries-old ruins.

  We went to Chinle, AZ last Spring in mid-April on our way home. I didn't blog about it then, but I plan to catch up on some of the spectacular and fun places we visited. This is in the NE corner of Arizona on Navajo land. We enjoyed it more than the Grand Canyon. The people there are so ready to share their culture and we were able to talk to several and learn different aspects of their life. In the Visitor's Center when I asked how the name was pronounced, I got a very interesting lesson in semantics and history. It's pronounced Canyon de-SHAY and is derived from the Navajo word "tsegi" which means "rock canyon". So it means "Canyon of the rock canyon". An amusing redundancy. Also, the Navajo people call themselves the Dine (di-NEH) which means "The People". They claim that 'Navajo' is a Spaniard word for 'horse thief'. You can easily see why they would prefer their own name for themselves! However, I think they're stuck with 'Navajo' at least to outsiders.

   We stayed in the Cottonwood Campground near the Visitor's Center since there really isn't anywhere to boondock nearby. It's a beautiful place and we appreciated the services. Within walking distance is a nice little motel and gift shop and we enjoyed browsing and then talking to one of the Navajo weavers and she explained how the beautiful rugs were woven. It was fun to get that first hand. They are quite expensive, but worth every bit, I'm sure. Just not in my budget!

It was an impressive site, and well worth the hike.

Proof I made it to the "White House' ruins.

   It's free to enter the park and drive the rim drives both north and south. You're able to see quite a bit, but from a distance.There are tours with local guides which is the only way to get into the lower canyon with the exception of White House trail. We opted not to do a tour, but perhaps we will next visit. There are many families that still farm in the valley and it was amazing to us to look down and see the farms, the fences, the animals, houses, etc so near the ancient ruins of the Anasazi. We did do the White House hike, 2-1/2 miles round trip with a drop of about 800+ft. It was a great trail and they did a good job of making it reasonably gradual. We took our time and did fine. It was well worth it to get closer to the ruins. On our return and near the top we chatted with a Navajo who had some artwork he was selling. It was beautiful work and I was sorely tempted, but I contented myself with learning about his childhood living in the canyon and his grandmother who still lives and farms there.

Spider Rock, a rock climbers challenge! 

Farther up the Canyon stands Spider Rock, a spire that is a lofty 1000ft high. I asked why it's called "Spider Rock" and was told by our Navajo friend that the story is passed from the elder women to the younger women in the Hogans where the women gather. I got the sense that it would be a privilege to be allowed to know this story, so I let it go. He was so gracious and fun to talk to, and we learned many other things. He now lives 'up top' where cell phone reception is better and life is not quite so hard as it is for his grandmother. There are many enterprising and artistic Navajo who sell their wares in the parking lots or wherever tourists are likely to be stopped. Some of their work is whimsical, some quite exquisite. As much as I wanted to help support them, the question of 'where to put it' or 'how much does it weigh' keeps me from getting carried away. The rock formations are spectacular and we enjoyed our visit there very much. Even after seeing some of the more famous parks, it still remains our favorite.

Looking down at the floor of the canyon and trail near the White House Ruins.

Travel Tuesday "On The Road Again"

Departure Day!

My Featherweight set up in the rig.

    To most people it's known as Halloween. Yeah, clearly we're not 'most people'! Pulling out of Olympia was a bit harder this year since we've made so many good friends here. In Canby, OR, we parked at our friend's place.  Last year while parked there, there were no trick-or-treaters all night, but this year they ran out of candy! Fortunately, they ran out of kids at the same time. Or maybe turning off the lights helped....!
     We went on to Albany the next day to park in front of my sister Sue's house where she taught me all the steps to oiling my Featherweight Singer Sewing Machine. I haven't used it a whole lot, but it did need the oil and I was glad to get that done and learn of all the places the oil goes. Modern machines make this unnecessary, but I love the dependability of the vintage machine! Plus they're cute.

Hobbit House designed and built by my nephew-in-law.

    My other sister, Judy,  came on Saturday morning and we had a gab-fest catching up on everything. I played my songs for them and we sang them together which was a huge treat for me! Love those harmonies, love singing with my sisters. Blessing on blessing.

    There are only a couple of places we can park a rig this size, but my niece's driveway is a pretty nice landing pad and we moved there on Saturday. From there we were able to visit my other niece next door, and drive up to Salem to visit other members of the family. On Sunday morning we had a mini family reunion at Gateway Foursquare Church in South Salem. It was a great service and fun to share with a good dozen family members, 3 of which were littles previously not seen in the flesh. Love Facebook for helping me keep up!
     We got to see my Dad on Monday. As soon as he saw us he said "You've just made my day!", a very fun start to the visit. Having my brother Dave join us made it even better. He had some questions for Dad and pictures of his 'project house' and the ladder firetruck he bought off Craigslist. He got it for dealing with 4th story siding, also helpful for trimming trees. It was good to see that my brother is doing well and staying stable and that Dad is better than the last time I saw him. At 92, he's doing pretty good!

Jerry wearing one of Dad's "Hooton Electric" hats from when he had that business.

    Wednesday we said our goodbyes and headed out. We did a fairly short hop to Canyonville, OR  where we stayed at the Rest Area overnight. We got up early to head over the Siskyous. It was such a beautiful drive and by 10am we were seeing blue sky after the fog had lifted. No snow, yet, but there was plenty of frost in the passes. We arrived in the early afternoon in Redding, CA where we plan to spend the next 4 days attending different services at Bethel Church. More about that adventure later. We were glad to be north of the big fires with a north wind keeping the air fresh. But our hearts went out to those who lost everything and to the whole town of Paradise that is now anything but. The town of Redding knows very well what they are going through and plans for help were under way.

"Travel Tuesday" and changes coming

My peony dressed up for Fall.

You may have noticed a lack of posts lately. I got behind and couldn't figure out how to 'catch up' on our travels, so I didn't post. But now I'm ready to start blogging again, this time with some changes. I want to add a bit of diversity. What had started as primarily a travel blog for family has become a resource for teaching fermenting. To add to the mix I want to include musings of my spiritual journey. I hope you'll want to join me on this journey as well.

This is the format I'm going to work with:
"Travel Tuesdays" where I write about our travels, thoughts about our travels, or catch up on those I missed--we saw some awesome places last Spring that I still want to post.
 "Foodie Fridays" where I talk about recipes, fermenting ideas and experiences, and other food related topics.
"Sanctified Saturdays" will be about my Big God Adventure as I learn more about pressing into the great big heart of Father God, learning more of His ways and seeing where He leads me.

   RIght now, travel preparations are under way to prepare for 6 months of absence from the Lacey area. It's been a beautiful Fall here and I've enjoyed watching the leaves turn. It seems to be colder, sooner, and even though I enjoy my brisk walks, I'm starting to look forward to wearing my summer type clothes, especially sandals!

   This summer we emptied our our storage unit and purged more of our stuff. I am nearing my goal of making my shed functional even with all the stuff I've kept. I used our 'Harbor Freight' garage as a sorting and purging station for all the boxes and tubs of stuff. While we are gone the van is stored in there, so it's been a race with time to get it all done before we leave. But now it's done with time to spare and I'm doing a happy dance! 

   This past week we took the motorhome in to have the engine looked at because we'd had some problems on our return trip. It turned out to be an oxygen sensor, which we suspected. They took good care of us, but they had to keep it over night to finish fixing it. So we made up beds on the floor of the shed. I did some final purging and stacking to make room, but it's all in there and we still had room to sleep and eat!. I cooked on the BBQ on the deck and used our fridge in the "Costco garage".  We had decided it was a good time to defrost the RV fridge, so all our food was in there. Not terribly convenient running here and there, but it worked and we felt like we were really camping! I'd have been more comfortable wearing my only warm coat that I'd left at my daughter's the previous weekend! Waking up to temps in the 40s and 100% humidity made for some interesting challenges; besides the bone-chilling damp cold, all the tables and dishes on the deck were covered in heavy dew. I washed dishes the night before and left them to dry in the drainer. Odd to wake up and find them wetter than the night before! But I managed fine, and when you're camping, pancakes and bacon hit the spot, so it was worth it! 

Hostas sporting their best Fall colors.

   With only about a week left, it't time to put away the deck chairs, make sure everything is ready for winter, and do the last minute checks. Did we get it all? Did we stock up on what we needed? Did we purge enough stuff from the motorhome? Did we sort through everything we want to take? Jerry is so good with lists; I have good intentions that often fall short! First you have to get it ON the list, then you have to read the list without skipping any lines! Both present challenges for this random thinker! I rely heavily on visual cues: Does it look as it should? Is anything left out?  Sometimes my visual cues don't get me where I need to go, so I rely on The List Maker to double-check me. We make a good team, and I'm thankful for his sequential and methodical self. We don't have a specific day to depart, but my next Travel Tuesday could very well be on Departure Day! Wahoo!

On the Road Again!

Fun gift and perfect for the road.

    After several months at our summer home in Olympia, we have put away the deck furniture, battened down the hatches, and hit the road. This will be the first time to leave so soon, and we don't expect to return until May when the weather get nicer. I've really enjoyed the Fall weather which has mostly been beautiful, but I'm happy to be back on the road and headed for the desert and the many friends we've made on our travels. Before we left, we had a Holiday Celebration, rolling them all together; giving gifts, and eating until we were stuffed! And all before Halloween. Crazy! But efficient. I love the tea towel I got from my daughter; it says it all!

Looking out their kitchen window to our parking space, home for one night. 

Dad is 91 and hanging in there!

My sisters, Judy and Sue sharing pics at Dad's place.

    Our first stop was in Canby, OR to visit some dear friends we've know for decades. It was handy to be able to park right across the street from their house in the field they own. We had a good visit and the next morning it was on to Albany and sister Sue's place. As soon as we got parked on the street across from her house, we took off for Turner to go visit my Dad, with sister Judy meeting us there. It was fun to gather there and visit with Dad. He was greatly cheered up by our visit. After relaxing for the evening, we were off to bed early and then up before dawn the next day so we could get over the Siskiyou Mountains before the coming storm made our trip difficult. We had thought to spend a couple of days in the area, but the weather changed our plans and added some urgency to our departure. Thankfully, we only encountered a few sprinkles and had a good trip. Stopping several times for breakfast, potty breaks and walking helped to keep us from getting too tired. But now, settled in for the night in Corning, CA, we are glad to no longer to moving, and to be able to relax a bit before another day of travel.
    Dinner was a green salad with avocados, steamed California Blend frozen veggies (appropriate!) with  and beef heart previously cooked, sliced and frozen and put in the steamer with the veggies. Yum! Top that off with Bubbies live sauerkraut and my homemade Curtido fermented cabbage mix and you have a delicious dinner. Desert you say? But of course: kefir cream with toffee flavored stevia, cocoa powder and nuts. I may have to cook all my food, but we're definitely not suffering.

Traipsing off to Page, AZ

snow capped mountains near Flagstaff, AZ

While the roof was being repaired, we enjoyed spending the time with my friend Ruth and her new husband Tim. We 'moved in' for 2-1/2 weeks and had a great time. The second week we were there we went on a road trip to Page, AZ. What a beautiful place! It's about a 4 hour drive and our phone cameras were busy. We discovered that we had no way to recharge our phone enroute, so that put a bit of a damper on it. It was a fun surprise to pass snow along the way.

Wahweap overlook of Lake Powell

 We were able to get a 'room' which was like a small 2 bedroom apartment with a full kitchen for a very reasonable price. The owner of the Red Rock Motel was very helpful in pointing out places of interest around Page. We made it to the Wahweap Lookout just as the sun was setting, and it was gorgeous! 360 degree views and fascinating rock formations all around. But the wind was cold, so we didn't linger.
    The next morning we went on a tour of the Glen Canyon dam which was quite interesting. The town of Page essentially grew up around the people who came to build the dam.

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With so much to do here, it seems that only 2 nights is not enough time. Next time a week! I really want to do the raft trip that starts at the base of the dam and goes to Horseshoe Bend and back. It's hard to see in the picture, but there are blue rafts in the river.

Jerry and Ruth coming through the slot canyon,

Ruth coming up the ancient aluminum ladder!

Tim climbing up to the rock formations.

This shows the scale of Cathedral Canyon.

The Four Sisters rock formation, a part of our tour.

Ruth had especially wanted to see Antelope Canyon, the most famous of the red rock canyons, but tours were booked out weeks in advance. I think the tour we took to Cathedral Canyon and to see a couple of other rock formations in a group of 7 was much better than dealing with the crowds in Antelope Canyon which can be as many as 200! It was a fun tour and well worth the time and money to see it. We had a 4-wheel ride in to see it on sandy roads which just added to the fun.

Panoramic view of Horseshoe Bend, just south of Page, AZ

When we headed back the next day, we stopped at Horseshoe Bend and hiked the 3/4 mile to the rim. It was pretty amazing to see in person and there were lots of people there. I heard all kinds of languages, and people came from many different countries: China, Japan, Australia, England, Mexico, France, Germany, etc. were some that I identified.

Selfie at Midgley Bridge in front of Oak Creek as it flows towards Sedona, AZ

    What a fun road trip and a great way to spend my birthday.

    But wait, there's more! Not only did I get to spend my birthday with Ruth, but when we got back to Phoenix, she had a dinner party for me. She invited a couple of friends over and after a yummy dinner and candles in gluten free cupcakes, we played games. She even got me a dozen red roses! 

   But wait, there's even more! My cousin Stephanie was able to come from Deming, NM. I haven't seem her for over 30 years and it seemed as if we just picked up where we left off--but with quite a bit to catch up on! The next day we went and had pedicures and manicures together for a fun girly time. Next year it's on my "must-do list" to go to Deming to visit with her and her family.

Indio and sunshine

Front row view of the new gas station.

We had a surprise when we showed up at Tachi Palace Casino. In the area we like to park, they are building a new gas station and convenience store. When we woke up the next morning, we were surrounded by the workers' cars and trucks! But we had a great front row seat to the action. It was fun to watch to big equipment move stuff around and men framing up the walls.
   We got to talking to our neighbors who turned out to be Fulltimers from Qualicum Beach,Vancouver Island, Canada. They are on their way home, but wondering if they should delay a bit due to the weather; and no wonder with reports of snow in the Seattle area again. It got down to freezing in the night here, and without hookups, it was pretty chilly until we could get the generator going. But under the covers, it was all cozy and warm. Who needs to get up? We're retired, right?!
    We did manage to get out and about, getting groceries in nearby Hanford. Then I went over to the Kings Outreach Ministry. The peace of this place permeates and refreshes. There is an area set up for people to pray, to meet with God. It's a shoes-off area with a really soft smaller carpet where you can kneel if you want to. His presence there is palpable, peaceful, loving, majestic, compelling. The sense of rest I came away with was profound. It's a special place run by such loving and kind people. Very memorable, and I'm so glad I got up!
    I needed all that rest for the next leg of the trip all the way to Indio. Going over the Tehachapi Pass was easy, but of course I was a passenger. But we switched drivers near Boron, and heading south on 395 was a pretty rugged ride! Not only is the pavement rough in lots of spots, the wind kicked up to make it even more interesting. There were a few white knuckle areas and I was glad to switch drivers someplace past Redlands. We finally reached our destination of Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio. They have a large RV parking lot and there are about 30 or more rigs here. We stayed here last year and found it a great place to stay for a few nights, plus it's close to stores where we cans stock up before we head out into the desert.
  What a treat to wake up to warmth and sunshine! Although there are a few clouds today, we've had the windows open on the RV to enjoy the fresh air and warm breezes.

Local Sculptures

At the visitors center, we got the Borrego Springs Village Guide which tells about the many things in and around Borrego Springs that one can do. In it, they tell of Galleta Meadows with the sculptures. When talking to anyone in town, inevitably they ask if we've seen "the sculptures". So of course, we had to check them out. Handily the Guide has a map so you can find them. There are quite a lot of them, it turns out. They are a gift from "visionary town benefactor Dennis Avery and the craft of sculptor Ricardo Breceda". There are roughly 30 of them. We saw a large percentage of them. The day we decided to explore turned out to be quite windy, and a sandstorm created visibility problems. It also created a pretty cool picture of these sloths (or whatever they are) trekking through the sand.

Very interesting jeep sculpture with intriguing details!

Velociraptor looking ferocious

a prospector and his horse carrying all his supplies

One of many big horned sheep sculptures.

Indio to Borrego Springs

As we left Indio, we dumped tanks at the nearby water treatment place for free, always a nice thing! They didn’t have potable water, so we waited to find that later. Turns out the Red Earth Casino where we parked near Salton city had water. That was nice surprise. They also have a place to dump for $8, so we were glad to have found the place in Indio. We were visited by Bob and Trish Nesbitt as soon as we got there which was fun. We've known them for years and they have recently gone full time in their RV and we discovered they were in the same area as we were. Nice surprise! We visited them in their Thousand Trails park when we were nearby in Indio, then they decided to see the Salton Sea area again and visiting us gave them a good excuse. It was so nice to catch up!

this shows the mud flats exposed as the water recedes in the Salton Sea

Where once there was a pier and yacht club and resort at the Salton Sea

A nice little hike up a hill overlooking our rig.

We left the Salton Sea area heading West over a seriously bad road! For about the first 5 miles, it was pretty rugged. In spots we could go no faster than 3 – 5 mph, sometimes as much as 15mph. I got pretty excited when we got all the way up to 35mph! Then suddenly the road was good (we crossed the county line) and it was full steam ahead. Up over some hills and around some curves we passed the off-road vehicle areas where there was lots of sand and hills. Farther on we entered the Anza-Borrego State Park which is HUGE! It completely surrounds the town of Borrego Springs. We were following directions to a Boondocker Group’s previous gathering and found the spot easily. Jerry had read that it was a favorite boondocking site for several people and it's easy to see why!

After finding our spot, we saw another Mountainaire nearby, so went over to introduce ourselves and found fellow Escapees! (Dean and Judy) We had never met, but they knew people we knew. Another couple (Jan and Chuck Moore) joined them a few days later whom we had met the previous year. It was fun to join them for some social time. Since we all have Moutainaires and are Escapees, there was no lack of things to talk about.

It was so wonderful to be back out in the desert after parking in casino parking lots for most of our trip so far. The wide open spaces, the gorgeous mountains surrounding us, the warmth of the sun during the day, the amazing sunsets. We even had hummingbirds do several inspections of our rig, and I saw a roadrunner chasing something in the bushes!

 

Farther up Rockhouse Rd from where we are camping there is Clark Dry Lake.

Desert Christ Park

"The Last Supper" relief

Always on the look out for free things to do in the areas we visit, we found this little gem: the Desert Christ Park. A reasonable drive from Indio, we took off one windy day and after doing some hiking in the Big Morongo Preserve (see the other post) we went on to the next town to see this. We enjoyed this, and found it to be a great lunch spot, as well. There was a little chapel nearby which was quite unique as well. Very peaceful spot.

I apologize for how messy this post looks, but the formatting is not cooperating at all, so I will have to leave it as is!

The above link takes you to a website describing this interesting little park: 

Desert Christ Park overlooks the high desert town of Yucca Valley in southern California.  Here the visitor may find more than forty snow-white statues and images portraying scenes of Christ's life and teachings. 

Dedicated on Easter Sunday 1951, this park was the vision of Eddie Garver, known at the time as the Desert Parson. Through a series of events, the Desert Parson was introduced to artist-sculptor Frank Antone Martin, the creator of these remarkable works of steel-reinforced concrete, and together they began a journey that would span time and test, and produce one of California's most iconic and historical parks. The park transcends denominational considerations and we welcome all to remember and celebrate not only the visionary and the artist, but most importantly, the life and teachings of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

 

 







the tomb is empty!