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.

The Big Little River! Dec/Jan

Or the Little Big River.  Either way, the 65-mile-long South Yuba River originates at Lake Angela in Nevada County just north of Donner Pass at 7,000+ ft, way up in the Sierra Nevada Mtns. Dozens of creeks empty into the river as it continues west (downhill) into the foothills, flowing into South Yuba River State Park where the covered bridge is, and it joins the (main) Yuba River at the upper end of Englebright Lake.

Shallow!  December 15, Covered Bridge

We've seen this river so shallow you could wade across it and not get your knees wet, like above.  We've also seen it after heavy rains, combined with snow melt, so fast and furious it takes your breath away.  I'll show you both.  Two different locations on the Yuba, but not far apart.

A few weeks ago, on December 15th, Jimmy and I hiked the Buttermilk Bend trail, which parallels the So Yuba River.  The day was chilly and sunny, quite tolerable and good for getting in some steps before the "atmospheric rivers of rain" began, buckets and gallons of rain.  Weeks of rain!

On January 5th, we drove to the Hwy 49 bridge to see how the river looked after tons o' rain  This is upstream from our December hike, but not by much.  Wild!

December 15

January 5

December 15

January 5

December 15

January 5 (Hi, Jimmy)

And a video, be sure to turn on the sound.

Toyon berries, orange lichen, 'shrooms, and a lethal pinecone

at Buttermilk Bend.

December 15. Jimmy wouldn't have been able to sit in this spot yesterday (Jan 5th).  He would've been swept away and dumped into San Francisco Bay!

With the wet, we've had outstanding fungi samples,

in our yard!  These were HUGE.

December 15

January 5

We didn't tarry on the bridge taking pics yesterday -- we were in between rain showers!  The power of water is frightening to behold when it's like this.  We're lucky that we're not impacted by floods at our house as you've seen on the news.  Cabin fever is what we get.

That's it from here now.  We had a hiatus from the rain today.  Hooray!  Tomorrow is another story.  More rain forecast.  Boooo

PS:  No snow at our house this season ... yet.

Oh, rats! 2025

We returned from our overseas trip on October 14th. After a week of rest and recovery, we commenced getting on top of household chores and yard work. We'd been gone five weeks and had plenty to do. The RV sat in its place off the driveway, as always, and we had no thought to go into it or check it out. Till mid-November, that is, when I needed to get the heated mattress pad off the RV bed to place it on the guest bed in the house (for Nannie's upcoming visit).

We keep the slides in when we're not using the RV, so I hit the button to release the bedroom slide. It stuttered open. With the carpet now exposed, I spotted bits of torn tissue paper on the floor in front of the bed.  Uh-oh.  I knew what that meant:  A critter aboard.  No doubt an unwanted rodent critter.

Jimmy brought out the rat and mouse traps, baited and set them.  Two nights in a row, it enjoyed free meals, and on the third night, WHAM, we caught a big ol' rat.  UGH.  OK, problem solved.  Jimmy kept the traps baited for a few more nights, with no more takers.

Deep cleaning began.  Under the bed, too.  That slide had been recalcitrant, to the point of almost not working at all.  We thought it was simply worn out.  But, in the spirit of cleaning, we pulled up the wood barrier that separates under-bed storage from slide workings.

OMG, no wonder the slide wouldn't work.  Look at the pics to see what we found!

Close to 15 pounds of ACORNS!

This mess extends under where you can see.

 

Covering the slide mechanism on one side,

and a nest of torn tissue, toilet and paper towel papers

on the other side, part of which you see.

15 pounds of ACORNS and junk!

Into the trash.

Also in the giant acorn pile were some bizarre items stolen (STOLEN, I say) from our bathroom drawer and some of the under-rig bays, e.g., a small toothpaste, all my ear plugs, a couple of six-inch pieces of gray foam, a "dumping" glove, toothpicks, string, a clothespin, my hair barrette, a small package of Listerine lozenges, lots o' bits of Kleenex, toilet paper (and paper towels from a utility bay) ... and more that I've forgotten (or deliberately erased from my brain).

I can't even begin to tell you how grossed out I was.  Jimmy, also.  We cleaned and vacuumed and used anti-bacterial wipes, and then did it all over again.

So, the question is, how long have those acorns been in there and who stuck 'em there?  Not the dead rat (WHAM!), 'cause the slide's been bad-wonky for a while.  How long?  We can't remember exactly.  Did this dead-as-a-doornail rodent add to the pile?  Could be.  We have bazillions of acorns.  But he ain't talkin'.  And was it a roof rat or a pack rat?  Do rats even eat acorns?

A puzzle.  A mystery.  We'll never know.  PS: The slide works fine now.

* * * * *

See you in 2026!

Nannie comes to town! Nov-Dec 2025

The days are foreshortened this time of year, sunset comes early.  Maybe that's why the two weeks Nannie was here flew by so fast.  Or perhaps it's because we packed in as much as we could.  We were very lucky with the weather, none of those 95° afternoons or a foot of snow or atmospheric rivers of rain of years past, nope, we enjoyed sunshine and cool temps every day!  Perfect for playing in these abbreviated late-autumn days.  Two weeks of fun!

She flew in (from her home in Maryland) two days before Thanksgiving -- great timing.  Son, Matt, and granddaughter, Evie, arrived on Wednesday for an overnight visit, meaning he'd have an early start for prepping "da bird" on Thanksgiving.  (Daughter-in-law, Jen had to work [she's a nurse].)  Nannie, Evie and I had a ball on the swing set.

Naturally, Matt brought Lucy, seen above with him and his aunt, Nannie.  You might notice that we're not a formal family 😄, ours is a wacky, fun-loving family.

I took lots of photos, so some were corralled in collages.  The one picture I took of the five of us at our festive table was the only Thanksgiving disaster.  Instead, at top is my plate FULL of our delicious dinner.  Matt "spatchcocked" the turkey, bottom left, and stuck it on the grill -- turned out yummy.  He also made his signature green beans, and a corn-y cornbread casserole.  Nannie made a pecan pie.  Yessiree, we ate well!  I don't know who the skinny guy is, bottom right.  Nannie arrived in time for the last of our beautiful Dogwood tree color.

Evie and Nannie spent time coloring turkey pictures before we ate.

Everyone had a great time Wednesday/Thursday; the youngsters went home Thursday evening. I think we were all pretty tired, especially us older folks. Friday Nannie, Jimmy and I did a bit of shopping and sightseeing in iconic downtown Grass Valley, which was all dressed up for Christmas.  

Saturday the three of us checked out a Craft Faire at the fairgrounds, followed by a cool visit to Mt. St. Mary's Convent and Academy, also in Grass Valley, and its historic museum, with exhibits on local history, especially women's roles, and featuring artifacts from its past as an orphanage and convent.  Built in 1865, it's the oldest standing convent building in the US west of the Rockies, and it was placed on the Nat'l Register of Historical Places in 1974.  We'd not been in the museum before, it was really interesting.

Nannie (upper) and me (lower) at the main entrance.

The oranges and reds of autumn provide color, and these roses prove it.

This scene is on the lovely church/museum grounds.

One day we drove up-the-hill to Truckee with the intent of going for a walk/hike, stopping first at the Donner Memorial St Pk visitor center and Pioneer Monument.  But at 6000', the 37° temp was bone-chilling, and we didn't last long outside.  At left, above, we're standing next to some tall critter at Layton Park by Lake Tahoe.  At right, Nannie poses with the Snow Sheds as a backdrop, plus a dusting of snow on Donner Peak.

Me 'n Jimmy at the Monument.

We enjoyed lunch at Jax @ the Trax in Truckee, a diner with good food, then walked across the tracks to the Truckee train depot where a kind stranger took our pic, above.  Best of all, we watched an Amtrak train pull into the station, drop off a few people and pick up around the same number.  That took roughly three minutes, then it blasted off, down-down-down the mountains toward Reno.

In between gadding about, we played cards (Hand 'n Foot), met friends for coffee, bought veggies at our Saturday farmers market, picked up a couple of books at the library book sale, attended a (very bad) community concert, went on walks, and tried to beat each other at Scrabble many nights ... and more.  We had such a good time -- I wish she could've stay longer ....

And we sat with Santa (at the fairgrounds)!

* * * * *

Here in the foothills, we've basked in above-average temps and daily sunshine, while the central valley has been bedeviled by weeks of tule fog -- chill, damp, and depressing.  We hoped the fog would've lifted one early afternoon when we drove down to the Woodruff rice towers and Gray Lodge to view the birds, but we were skunked on this one.  Not much action and not many birds, and the damp cold hurt; thus, no hiking.  Instead, we did the auto tour.  The Snow Geese, above, stand as statues.

In November 2019, Jimmy and I encountered so much birdlife

it literally made my head spin.  Not so much today.

Cormorants.

Can you count how many?

Top left looks like a juvenile Snow Goose, and top right features a "wake" of turkey buzzards, bottom left is a ginormous rose bush covered in elongated rose hips.  Bottom right:  Blackbirds disguising themselves as leaves. 

Even with a cold wind and a dismal sky, we enjoyed our outing.

Double your pleasure!

Haha, every time I see this picture, I laugh.  You should see the outtakes, hahaha! On Saturday, the 6th, we drove to Matt's (new) house in Fair Oaks (approx an hour away) where this pic was taken, spending several hours visiting, talking, laughing, and playing silly games with Evie.  (We missed Jen again, but she was working.)  Oh my, if I could grant the world one wish, it would be to have as much joy and love and fun as we do!

Finally, on Dec 7th, Nevada City held its first Victorian Christmas of the season.  We go every year, and Nannie comes with us when she's in town, it's "the thing to do," and we usually end up buying something we need (or a present), so it's a win-win.  This year was no exception.  After a few hours on our feet, we were ready to go home.

Like I said, the two weeks disappeared in a flash, but we're soooo grateful we had them!  Jimmy and I drove Nannie to SMF (Smurf) on Tuesday the 9th.  We miss her lots, but we know she's enjoying time with her own family in her new Maryland home (which makes US happy).  Now we'll play catch-up for the looming holiday.  I know, Nannie, I know, it's our turn next!