March 11, 2007 at 8:33 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Finally, the Summer magazine is ready for layout, which means I can relax and enjoy the park! Anza-Borrego is a beautiful place, and this is a great time of year, so it is tragic to waste it sitting in the trailer worrying about work. I’ve tied up the remaining loose ends that I can, and placed all other projects on hold for a week. Whatever problems remain to be solved will just have to wait for a while. I’m on vacation.
I was very happy for Bill & Larry since their first boondocking experience was very successful. They seemed to have no trouble grasping the techniques of water and electricity conservation, and had no fear of being “out in the boonies”, away from a campground. In fact, Larry mentioned to me that when they bought their new Airstream, this was the sort of place they had envisioned camping — with few people around, quiet and peaceful.
They packed up and headed home mid-day, but we and Rich C had already headed off for a bit of exploring in the southern end of the park. About 20 miles away, and three miles down a bumpy, narrow, dirt road, we found the trail to the Marshall South homestead. This family tried to live off the land on the top of a hill in a very remote and difficult area, back in the 1930s.
Hiking up the trail to the house
Even today the spot is inhospitable. There is no water — the family used a water-collection system and cistern. All supplies had to be transported via Ford Model T, then carried up a steep rocky trail for a mile. Temperatures in the summer routinely exceed 100 degrees. They lived in a homemade adobe house with no amenities at all, for 16 years, until the wife quit and the family broke up.
The dissolving remains of the South homestead
We did another short hike as well — the Narrows Earth Trail — since it wasn’t particularly hot. (Temps ran 78-88 depending on altitude.) But if you do some hiking in the desert, keep in mind that even on a moderate day you’ll require a lot of water.
By late afternoon we felt like taking it easy, so we headed to downtown Borrego Springs for a Mexican dinner. It was a perfect time for eating outdoors. In Borrego Springs, the tall mountains to the west block the late afternoon sun, so the town gets a welcome shade around 5 pm (this time of year), and it immediately feels comfortable. The downtown has a certain funky feel, with a few old-fashioned neon signs and small-town businesses, and a big centerpiece called “Christmas Circle” where the town provides a big green lawn and palm trees.
This will be the last daily blog entry for a few days. We are heading to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument today, in southwestern Arizona, to meet Bert & Janie, and Ken & Petey. Organ Pipe is a wonderfully remote desert park where there is neither cell phone service nor Internet access. We will be completely cut off from the instantaneous communication that has influenced our travels for the past year.
Organ Pipe has no hookups either, which means you need solar or a generator if you want to stay for long. We had to leave the park early last year for lack of adequate power, but now we have two solar panels and four batteries. We’ve already been unplugged for two days and two nights, but with the constant desert sun we are in no danger of running out of power.
We’ll spend two more nights in Organ Pipe, hiking and taking pictures with our friends, and then head into Mexico for four nights. In Mexico we might have some limited Internet access, but I am going to be taking a break from the blog & from business, so most likely I will not update this blog until we return to the USA on March 17 or 18. Check back once in a while, or make a note to come back on March 17 to see how we fared in Mexico. We should have lots of stories and photos to share with you.
March 9, 2007 at 11:01 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
We moved out of the Palm Canyon campground today to do some desert boondocking. Here in Anza-Borrego, there are places where you can camp indefinitely at no charge. One such place located just outside the Borrego Springs city limits is known as “Pegleg”. We hitched up today at noon and headed over to become desert rats.
Rich C, and Larry & Bill also came over, so we have our three Airstreams parked together for another night. This is a funky spot. Pegleg is named for Pegleg Smith, a teller of tall tales and a prospector, who supposedly found a gold mine around here decades ago. Of course, nobody knows where it is, but everyone would like to find it. If you want to find it, just add 10 rocks to the pile here at Pegleg.
Rudy, a fellow Airstreamer parked nearby, is like many others who come back here year after year. We first met Rudy in January 2006 and he told me about this spot. Ever since, I’ve wanted to come back to check it out … and wouldn’t you know, Rudy’s parked right up the slope. He came over tonight to tell us about his trips to Baja.
It was hot again today, with temperatures in the upper 80s and strong sun. Of course boondocking means no air conditioning, but with the natural breeze, the awning, and our three Fantastic Vents it was very comfortable. In this part of the desert the temperature quickly moderates as the sun sets, and by 5:30 it was perfect for Emma and I to take an exploratory bike ride around the area.
By 7 pm, right after dinner outside Bill & Larry’s trailer, a strong wind came up which encouraged all of us to take the awnings down. It is my rule of thumb that the awning should come down at night, since whenever I neglect to do so there is inevitably a high wind at 2 a.m. Too many times I have been outside in my pajamas taking down the awning in the middle of the night!
Once again this evening the bright stars filled the sky and if possible they were even brighter than before. Out here we are clear of even the small amount of light generated by Borrego Springs, although over the mountains a dim glow can be seen from San Diego. We all stood out there admiring the incredible view. I think we’re all happy to be out here, feeling independent and in a real camping mood, eating outside, seeing the stars, and enjoying the quiet.
Google Earth location of Pegleg.
March 8, 2007 at 10:44 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
I needed to spend the day in the trailer working, which required considerable discipline since it has been an absolutely beautiful day outside. Best I could do was open all the windows and let the warm desert breezes fly through the trailer. Eleanor and Emma at least got out a bit, heading into town to do laundry and talk to some of the locals.
While working, I got the following email note:
Hey there, Rich, Greetings from the Komfort 5th wheel across from you! We’ve been using your WiFi since last night, so thought I’d better pipe up and say thanks. My husband Geno and I RV about 7 months out of the year. He’s cycling up Montezuma Pass right now. Instead of working, I’ve been enjoying your site, the IIM site, the Digital RV forum, etc. If it’s OK, we’ll plan to stop by to meet you this afternoon. Thanks again, Pat
It’s strange to meet people as a result of providing free wi-fi, but hey, whatever works. Pat and Geno popped over after lunch and turned out to be very nice folks. Wish I’d had more time to chat but work still needed to be done, and even now (at 10 pm) there’s more to be done.
This afternoon we got another visit, from Mike and Sam. We last saw them in Salem, OR at the International Rally. Their wives were unavailable today so the guys drove nearly 2 hours over the mountains from San Diego just to hang out for a couple of hours with us. And they brought us a Dutch Apple pie from Julian Pie Company, which pretty much puts them on our “A List”.
At 5 pm, Bill put on his lighthouse-keeper’s uniform. He does docent work at Cabrillo National Monument, recreating the persona of Capt. Robert Decatur Israel, who managed the Old Point Loma Lighthouse from 1871 to 1891. Since he also looks a lot like the conductor from “The Polar Express”, he did a little routine for Emma based on that story. Between him and Emma it was hilarious. At the end, he presented Emma with a copy of the book and a little silver bell. If you’ve read the book or seen the movie, you’ll know what the bell symbolizes.
March 7, 2007 at 11:10 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Our month at the park in Tucson is up, and rather than extend we’ve decided to head west to California for a few days. We’ll go back to Tucson later, after I finish the magazine and take a littlIt e vacation time.
Buying a month at a time in a campground is a new experience to us. Generally when you do that, the campground charges extra for electricity. We used about 384 kwH in the past month, which came out to $45 for the month. I was a bit surprised it was even that much, since we were gone for about 12 days. Still, it was less than our deposit, so I got $5 back upon departure.
It was a long pull along I-8 to Borrego Springs, CA, 386 miles in total. Much of I-8 has little to recommend it, but there are bits of scenic beauty to be found, especially as the route heads into California. Our route took us into the heart of the Imperial Valley, where incredible amounts of vegetables are grown in the desert courtesy of massive irrigation projects and canals. Brawley is a small city in the center of this farming valley, which looks like a decent place but seemed to have a constant smell of cow manure.
Around 5 pm we pulled into Borrego Springs, a town surrounded by the very large Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This is one of our favorite places. You can see our blog entries from last January for more information about the park; just scroll down to the Archives in the left column and click “January 2006”.
Rich C is here, as well as our friends Bill and Larry in their new 23-foot Safari, and a few other folks in Airstreams. We had a quick bike ride through the park, and then a very mellow get-settled dinner courtesy of Larry this evening, and wrapped up by sitting outside watching the stars. The air is very clear here, and the stars are bright. Emma spotted Orion’s Belt instantly, and then the Big Dipper, and I showed her the Milky Way — something the folks in Palm Springs or San Diego probably never see due to light pollution in those cities. Anza-Borrego is a special place for us and it’s great to be back.
March 6, 2007 at 8:37 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Work was going so well this morning until Bert showed up around 11 and said, “Let’s go for a hike!” It was a beautiful day, heading into the 80s, and my resolve was weak. So Emma and Zoe the stuffed cat and I threw on our boots and joined Bert & Janie on the Douglas Spring Trail of Saguaro National Park.
(For background, you should know that Zoe the cat comes with Emma on every major hike. She rides in Emma’s backpack with her head sticking out. Zoe has seen more national parks than some national park rangers. She’s a very lucky orange stuffed animal.)
Saguaro forest and the Santa Catalina mountains
Douglas Spring Trail to our destination is 5.2 miles roundtrip, with 1100 feet of elevation gain, “strenuous and rocky,” according to the official park guide. At the trailhead someone warned us that people had spotted “snakes on the trail” this morning, to which we all grinned and thought, “Bonus!” We’ve been hoping to spot a rattlesnake from a safe distance, but thought it was too early in the season to have much of a chance.
So I reminded Emma of what to do if a snake appears or is heard (more likely), and we headed up the rocky trail. No snakes, but plenty of saguaro forest, early desert flowers, and heat. Our greatest challenge was making sure we were all well covered with sunscreen. It was a long slow slog up the slope and I was glad I’d brought a pair of water bottles for each of us.
Ultimately it reached 85 degrees in blazing sun, but of course with the extreme aridity the sweat would dry on our bodies in seconds. We found a shady spot by a tiny bit of water with cool rocks and made that our turnaround point for the hike. Sitting on the rocks was enough to make me extremely comfortable, but Emma went the extra mile and dipped her shirt and hat in the water, wrung them out, and put them back on. Her cotton shirt was dry before we got back to the truck.
Charlie, Lynn, Janie and Bert outside our trailer
While were gone we found that Mike & Tracy had come by, but we missed them. (Eleanor was out grocery shopping.) But not long after we arrived back at camp, our friends Dr. C and Lynn showed up, and so we gathered up Bert & Janie and went out for dinner.
I was particularly happy about this fortuitous meeting because Dr. C and Bert have both been contributors to Airstream Life since the very beginning of the magazine, and I had not until now had the chance to introduce them to each other. We’re all leaving Tucson this week, so this was our only chance to hang out together. Dr. C and Lynn are heading back to their home in the frozen north on Friday, and Bert & Janie are heading down to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument where we will see them on Monday.
To see Bert’s recent blog entries about our hikes in Saguaro, see www.gildartphoto.com/weblog
March 5, 2007 at 9:39 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
E&E are back in the Airstream, and that means the fun begins anew!
We all tried to sleep in this morning, since their flight was a little late, and we ended up getting home around 12:45 a.m. But with the ladies on Eastern Time, “early” was earlier than I would have chosen. Oh well, at least my bed was warmer than it has been in weeks.
The “bad” OPD valve on our propane tank that I mentioned yesterday turned out not to be bad at all. Too bad I had to drive across town 30 minutes to find out. I was given bad information in Texas by another propane man, apparently. Now the tank is full and mounted back on the trailer, so we’re ready to head out into some very quiet places in the desert for a little vacation, starting Wednesday.
Today we had a warm-up, hiking in Saguaro National Park (east side) with Bert & Janie. (Eleanor, still afflicted with a cold, stayed home.) For the past 36 hours we’ve been whipped by very dry winds, with the relative humidity dropping into the single digits, but finally they calmed and the sky became the sort of stunning blue that the desert is known for. We grabbed the cameras and headed out.
Our two short hikes weren’t long, since we started around 4 pm and paused frequently to check things along the way (cactus, birds, washes, views). Hiking like this, you often discover things about your friends. Conversation seems to flow easily when hiking. Today, for example, I discovered that Bert was carting around a sample of alligator poop in his camera bag, a souvenir of Shark Valley in the Everglades. Apparently he’s something of an amateur scatologist. The sample will be used for some sort of naturalist “Show & Tell” later. I wish I could be there to see the faces of Bert’s audience.
March 4, 2007 at 9:47 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
I have been thinking about whether Eleanor and Emma will make it back tonight. I woke up at 6:15 a.m., before the sun rose, and since I was up I decided to head right to the computer and get some work done. The next thing I knew, it was 12:30 and I was starving, thirsty, and still wearing my pajamas. Sometimes that happens when I get absorbed in work.
But at least I got a lot done on the Summer magazine, and being busy, I hadn’t been fretting all morning about the flight tonight. For the past day my concern has been whether Eleanor and Emma were sufficiently recovered from their colds to fly. Emma seemed OK but it’s hard to tell with her. Eleanor is definitely still sick but could equalize her ears with a Valsalva Maneuver this morning, so I knew she’d be OK on the airplane. Even still, I’ve been apprehensive, probably because we’ve had such rotten luck flying lately.
By 2:30 I was done working and finally emerged from the trailer, dressed and ready to tackle a few other tasks. One of our propane tanks needs a new OPD valve, and so we’ve been unable refill it. The other tank ran out of gas in the middle of the night, which meant no hot water until I got it filled again. That was the first outside errand. I’ll get the bad tank valve replaced on Monday.
I got a few other things done too, and then Bert & Janie arrived. It’s great to see them again, and we’ve already made some interesting plans for the next week. We went out for some groceries and spent the evening catching up on things, especially their recent trip to New Orleans to survey the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
As I write this, Eleanor and Emma’s plane is running late. I’ll be heading to the airport at 11 p.m. to pick them up. The wind has been howling all day here, and the trailer is rocking in the gusts. It seems a fierce night to be going out anywhere, but it will be well worth the effort to finally get them back home.
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