Out and About to 2/6/26

Greetings from Catalina Spa and RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs, CA.  Jimmy and I left our home in Nevada City, roughly 600 miles north, on Friday, 1/30, making our usual overnight stop at Minter Field Air Museum, a Harvest Host site, in Shafter.  Our original arrival date was a week earlier, but Jimmy's hernia flared up again before Christmas (remember Madeira two years ago?), and he needed surgery. The surgeon's first opening (heh, sorry) wasn't till Jan 14th.  So, he's been on the "sick list" for a while, and what could be better than recovering in the desert with those wonderful mineral swimming pools?

Since he's been healing from not one, but two hernia incisions, we've been taking life easier than usual. Taking easy walks and spending quality time in the pools.  He's now three-plus weeks post-op, and Nurse Ratched (me) is officially declaring him on the "almost as good as new" list.

This will be our home for the month of February.

We are snug-as-bugs in our site. 

Our friends, Sue and "Mo" from Oregon are also here at the RV park, fun for all of us.  On Wednesday the 4th, we tried a new-to-us Mexican restaurant in Desert Hot Springs (DHS from now on) named Delicias, which we all enjoyed.  Thursday, they wanted to drive down to Anza Borrego St Pk, roughly 80 miles south, to "'see the spring wildflowers," and we joined them (in separate cars).  By gum, we scored, too!

In 2009, Jimmy and I hiked the Palm Canyon Trail, remembered it fondly, and decided to do it again today.  Sue and Mo went off on their own, and we'd meet up later.  Above, you see Jimmy on the trail.

Brittlebush was the prize winner for its sheer numbers -- great blocks of yellow flowers.  Nice photo mix with Beavertail Cactus, above.

We encountered several large bushes with The. Most. Fragrant. Flowers., each alive with buzzing bees.  Lo and behold, they were Desert Lavender, left.  Spotted a couple of (also large) Chuparosas covered with their red tubular flowers, top, and the spectacular Desert Sand Verbena, bottom, with a Dune Evening Primrose plopped in the middle.  Did you know the Spanish word for hummingbird is Chuparosa?  Now you do.

If a person got tired of eyeballing flowers, they could gaze at interesting rock formations.  Like Joshua Tree Nat'l Pk, Anza Borrego has rocks.  Lots and lots.  Check out the angled rocks, above.

Now, you know I'm going to find a barrel cactus if possible!  See the red x, above?  A cute li'l barrel cactus has found a foothold.  That's it in the inset.

How many flower pictures are too many?  How many did I take?  Way more than I'll post.  Clockwise from top left:  Bigelow's Monkey Flower, Pigmy Gold Poppy, Desert Sunflower, and Desert Chicory.  Each was a beauty.

Here we found and crossed Borrego Palm Canyon Creek -- a perennial, shallow stream which originates from springs in the canyon and which, in turn, creates a lush oasis for/of native California fan palms.  The stream also disappears as the water flows downstream.

Here the stream makes a shallow pool.

More and more and more, oh lucky me!  Clockwise from top left:  Dune Evening Primrose, close up of a Desert Sand Verbena flower, Brown-eyed Primrose, and a critter on a Desert Sunflower.  All in great numbers.  I think my identifications are correct, but don't sue me if I'm wrong.

The rocky trail is three miles R/T, with an elevation gain of about 700 feet.  We found it to be a bit more strenuous this time around, can't imagine why. 😄. The palm grove oasis (yellow x) is closed until further notice due to a fire in January 2020 -- a grove of roughly 60 mature California Fan Palms went up in a fiery ball of flame, but ecologists say the trees will regrow.  Anyhoot, the 1.5-mile trail leads to an overlook, above, where you can see the post-fire recovery of the palms.

Oh sure, we saw many of these ant hills. Harvester Ants march out on warm days to collect seeds from nearby wildflowers and bushes which they bring back to the nest and hull. They then discard the seed chaff outside their hole, building a crater. These ants act as gardeners, planting seeds across the desert. I gave each hill plenty of room.

Datura.  Beautiful. 💕

I remember seeing these animals back in 2009, wondering who? why? and so on.  They're still here, more have been added, and they're remarkable to see.  We didn't get out of the car to show you size, but believe me, they are very large!

Sue and Mo were waiting for us at Coyote Canyon.  We would pile into their car (4x4) and see how far we could go on this rocky, sandy trail before getting stopped by a water crossing.  Lots of wildflowers on this drive, plenty of cholla cactus and ocotillos, etc.  I looked it up to see how long this "trail" is -- 18.3 out-and-back, but some upper sections have vehicle restrictions.  We were glad we didn't take Smartie!  Sue, above, is testing the Second Crossing, and it was deemed too deep for their Tracker car. We turned around at this point.  

Aglow with Desert Dandelions.

Finally, we parted, they needed an RV part in Indio, and Jimmy and I would drive along Henderson Canyon Rd on our way out of the park.  Henderson Canyon is a premier location for wildflowers.  We were awed by the display of primarily Desert Sunflowers, Desert Sand Verbena and Dune Evening Primrose.

Purple and white as far as the eye can see.  Wow!

And this -- THIS is Jimmy's contribution.  No, neither of us knows what it is, except it's tiny.  Jimmy!  You're not supposed to pick the ... flowers?

Yup, it was a long day, but we had a grand time.  Jimmy drove us to Anza Borrego and I drove us home.  We made it back by 5pm, Sue and Mo got caught in Indio traffic and were an hour behind us.

One more thing -- the pools, odorless, mineral hot springs are still heavenly.

Over and out, Friday 2/21/25

 

Our month at Catalina Spa and RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs is over, and it's time to go home, some 560 miles away and a two-day drive with an overnight stop at Minter Field Air Museum (Harvest Host).  We have so enjoyed this time in the desert, happily avoiding those atmospheric rivers of rain pummeling our lonely home in the foothills of Nevada City ... and the cold, and the damp, and the gray.  Jimmy and I packed a lot into this month, going and doing, living life to the fullest we could.  Out and About -- hiking and biking and playing, and swimming -- oh, the pools!  I will miss swimming the most.  (I swam every day but one.)

The places we've gone, the fantastic sights we've seen, most of it new to us this year, and seeing San Jacinto in all its glory every morning when opening the front window curtains, ah, what a way to begin a day!

Being with friends made the time extra-special.  When we first arrived at Catalina, we were greeted by our friends, Betty and Wayne, from Newfoundland.  After they left, we met a pair of Oregonians named Nancy and Doug and formed a fast friendship.  Then our dear friends, Sue and Mo, arrived from Oregon, accompanied by their friends, Joanne and Phil in their RV, also from Oregon.  We were surrounded by Beavers and Ducks!  Wonderful seeing and being with y'all.

Last Monday, Jimmy and I finally met our goal to hike in the Whitewater Preserve, choosing the amazing Canyon Loop Trail, five miles for us, and a 600' elevation gain switchback to where you see us, above, part of it on the PCT.  We started way down below at the V/C, on the other side of the white riverbed (wash).  Quite the hike.  I have many more pics, but I'll keep it down today. 

On Tuesday, we hopped in Smartie and circumnavigated Joshua Tree NP, beginning at the southern entry in Cottonwood Spring and V/C, driving all the way through the park, out the northern end, and back to Desert Hot Springs.  This wasn't our initial intention, but that's the way the day rocked!  Above, Jimmy is being swallowed by Very Sharp Cholla in the cactus garden!  Thousands of cholla line both sides of the road, right up to the mountains.

After that, we parked Smartie and set out to find arch rock.  We saw every other kind of rock, but we couldn't find arch rock.  I added what I considered appropriate captions. 😃

Lucky us, of course, to find heart rock!  We put 141 miles on Smartie and were tired when we returned to Tergel.  This year we've certainly explored much of Joshua Tree NP and enjoyed every minute.

Wednesday was a change of pace and a visit to Living Desert and Zoo.  Though we lost sight of our four friends, we had a delightful time.  The zoo is planning a Glow at the Park function, hence the dragon.  You know I've been hankering to see a Desert Big Horn sheep, and -- yeehaw! -- I saw four here at the zoo!

Thursday afternoon the six of us (in three cars) made it to downtown Palm Springs.  We wanted to share dinner at Tommy Bahama's and then cruise the Thursday night street fair, featuring arts, crafts, food, and entertainment!  Something for everybody, and it's fun.  The restaurant is a block away from iconic Marilyn Monroe -- and it was my turn for a photo op.

Here are the six of us in a selfie, taken just before we pulled out.  Clockwise from me, you see Joanne, Jimmy, Phil, Mo, and Sue.  Impromptu and everyone is smiling!

Last, but not least by any yardstick, here I am on a rare day by myself in the pool on Thursday and loving it.  All the pools (there are four) feature odorless hot mineral springs water.  You can't believe how therapeutic it is to take a step into the nice warm water and simply let yourself melt into it, like a hand inside a warm mitten.  Jimmy favored the hot spa, feeling rejuvenated by every dip.

That's our month away from home.  Maybe to you, the desert is a barren, even desolate place.  To us, it's an opportunity and, if you've read our posts, you'll see what we mean.  Joyous opportunities abound in a landscape that is rich with surreal geologic features and critters and plants.  It's great.  We'll be back ....

January scenes, to 1/22/24

 

In early January, Nevada City received its first snow, an unremarkable two-and-a-half inches, barely enough to allow sledding down our sloped driveway.  No complaints about snow lack -- recalling last season's over-performer!  Son, Matt, and granddaughter, Evie, visited Sunday, the 7th, for a bit of snow play, and you know we had a good time!  After a couple of sled runs into the bushes, Evie decided she'd like to paint the snow!  (Huh, I've never thought of that.)  She ran into the house, got brushes and paints and commenced.

A rainbow was her aim,

and it made her happy. 😊💖

Matt (with Lucy) after dodging the bushes!  I had a few dashes myself down the driveway, before we all gravitated inside where it was warm.  I hope we're not pushing our luck ripping along over icy snow because it sure is fun.  The snow was gone in a couple of days and we haven't seen any since, but the clouds have dropped a couple of buckets of rain.

The following Sunday, Jimmy and I went for a muddy canal trail walk.  During rainy, gray days, you gotta get out of the house or risk cabin fever, so you walk when you can.  I was surprised to see this fantastic bit of Lion's Mane fungi (Hericium erinaceus) growing on a Black Oak tree, too high for us to reach and, too bad, because it's edible.  We don't carry step ladders with us on our hikes!

Then we had to climb over this large Doug Fir

littering the path.

This big guy has been hanging around.

 (he was across the street when I got his pic).

Not a bear!!

* * * * * * * * * *

A year ago when we left Catalina Spa and RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs, we reserved the same site for 2024, this time for a whole month, from Jan 21 to Feb 21, oh boy!  A whole month of swimming in their odorless mineral HOT springs pools, with hopefully warmer and drier weather.  Plus, hiking and biking (we brought our E-bikes).  Desert Hot Springs is one town over from Palm Springs, and roughly 600 miles south of our house.

We packed our Tergel with yummy things to eat and all sorts of clothes, from bathing suits to parkas, such is winter weather wherever!  And we had to pack between rain storms.  In fact, we set off a day early to avoid last-minute packing in rain, departing Friday afternoon, the 19th, and driving the short distance to Matt's in Fair Oaks, where we could "camp" in front of their house.  And we did just that, because Evie was sick with a virus of some kind (think schools = petri dishes).  We visited for a while (masked), and then returned to Tergel.  It rained all night long.

Saturday, we headed south on I-5 in light traffic, and no rain!  The Kettlemen Hills always fascinate with their shapes and colors.

We planned to spend the coming night at Minter Field Air Museum, a Harvest Host site in Shafter, CA, a new place for us.

OK!  Really, Shafter?  Potato Capital of the World?

Maybe not any more!

Minter Field was the largest U.S. Army Air Force flight training base on the west coast during World War II. It's a museum now, in Shafter, which is only 15 minutes north of Bakersfield.  We arrived too late to tour the museum, but we were free to walk around.

Isn't this cute?

A look-out tower of some sort.

We had the place to ourselves,

just the way we like it.

We parked on the dirt/gravel, as instructed, but away from the mud behind Jimmy.  It didn't matter, 'cause it rained (pitter patter on the roof) most of the night again, and the entire lot was a wet mess.  Not a problem:  We pulled out into the street to unchain our bikes (for travel), and then we were on our way.  We'd spent a peaceful, quiet night camped here.  Lucky us, the rain quit by 8:30am when we pulled out and we drove the rest of the way to Catalina Spa without rain!

Sure was cloudy, though, especially here (Tehachapi, elevation 4000')!

We call this route The Tehachapi Wind Tunnel.  Guess why?

Look at this welcome to Desert Hot Springs!

We're all set up now, it's pouring, as it has off/on today.  Our friends, Sue and Mo (with Mattie, the doggie) are here for the next week.  Sue visited this morning and we made plans.  In a break after lunch, Jimmy and I donned our suits and hit that divine warm water, spending an hour in the pools.  We're ready for Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come Again Another Day, so we can go out and play!

You'll be seeing more posts in the upcoming weeks from our California desert adventures!

Onward we go toward home -- November 2023

 

Still heading west, toward home.  Into Arizona from New Mexico, following secondary highways, two-lane, scenic routes along the border with old Mexico.  Skirting by Chiricahua National Monument, one of Arizona's wonderful sky islands (below).  Past Bisbee and the Queen Mine's seriously deep (at 435') copper pits!  And into Sierra Vista, AZ, which we thought had grown exponentially since the last time we were here.

Craggy Chiricahua.

I'd made a reservation at a Harvest Host site for the night at Marquis Ranch in Sierra Vista.  We stopped for groceries before finding the ranch nestled in low foothills, bracketed by higher ranges.  Harvest Hosts are marvelous places for a "sleep-over" as long as you're self-contained, which we are.  Our host, Mark, met us at the gate.  We backed Tergel into a comfy spot and then ventured out to see the farm.  

Mark took us around.  They raise and breed sheep.  There's also lots of chickens, and Great Pyrennes dogs to guard all the animals.  The sheep were low to the ground and cute.  The dogs were HUGE, especially Charlie, which you see above with Jimmy (and a younger dog).  And nine wee two-week-old puppies who couldn't walk yet and whose eyes weren't opened ... and they're already spoken for!  They mewed.  I bought a dozen eggs, too.

It was a fun afternoon. Mark and his wife, Margaret, were very congenial hosts.  We four sat around at happy-hour time and visited, told tales, and enjoyed each other's company.  The dogs do bark at night, especially when the coyotes start singing (or howling), so I wore earplugs to sleep.  We were up early the next morning, pleased with our overnight stop, but ready to hit the road. 

Arizona is cactus!  Gambel's quail.  A curve-billed thrasher.  And plenty of Cholla.

Into Tucson on I-10, and then another scenic route from Tucson to Phoenix, a route that took longer than we expected, past Phoenix and up toward Kingman, AZ.  Darkness was descending by the time we hit teeny-tiny Wikieup, and we were done and done-in!  Thankfully, we found a (ho-hum) RV park, but any port in the storm and all that. 

Next morning we crossed into Nevada via the Hoover Dam bridge.

Mountain scenery in these parts is fabulous.

A long curving road took us to the Hoover Dam bridge.

November 5th -- driving through Las Vegas -- sin city -- didn't take long.  Besides it was Sunday morning so I figured most folks were in church.  Right? 😀  Once away from the city, multi-colored mountains appeared.  Some of that involves mining, photo above.

Our goal for the night was Beatty, Nevada, which is on the Nevada side of California's Death Valley.  We figured we could find a place to park Tergel (no problem).  After setting up, we went out for an explore.  

Awwww, look what we found!  Burros.  Tamed burros.  Burros looking for a handout (not good), but c'mon how sweet is this?  (We were camped across the road, but Tergel's just out of the picture.)

Howdy, y'all!

Spied this elegant old clock near the RV park.

See a burro in the background?

Here are two more.

Don't they fit right in with the mural?

All aboard!

We walked and walked and walked.  The weather was ideal.  Felt good to be on our feet.  I told Jimmy I'd live in Beatty if I could see this magnificent mountain outside my windows every morning.  Bet there's a trail to the top ....

Think we could buy this place cheap?  Fixer-upper!

Tonight's sunset was brilliant.  Another great day, and tomorrow we'll move on again, north toward home.  We're watching a weather system approach and don't want to be caught in snow on 7239' Donner Pass as we go up and over.  to be continued ....