Thursday, February 4, 2016

Home in the Desert

 

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It was after noon before we finally got out of Yuma Tuesday, with stops to dump, get water, gas, propane, veggies at the wonderful farm stand, and a new BBQ grill cover for the bikes at Home Depot.

I always forget about the Imperial Sand Dunes area that we pass by along I-8 shortly after entering California. Can’t imagine how much sand must have been blowing around over the weekend.

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We’re parked off Rockhouse Road at a very popular boondock area that we’ve stayed at twice before. Since we were last here Anza Borrego State Park acquired more of the surrounding land and there are stricter regulations regarding dispersed camping, which means there are more rigs in this area than we’ve ever seen. Jim and I arrived first and were able to find a good sized vacant piece of desert with plenty of space for Mark and Bobbie, Suzanne, and Chris to spread out. We have great views of the mountians and a few bars of 4G Verizon, although it’s a bit slow at times.

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After getting settled in we took a two mile walk down the road to Clark Dry Lake.

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Unfortunately being on Pacific Time now means it gets dark (and cold) shortly after five.

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Yesterday we hiked from camp up into the Coyote Mountains. Chris was parked in another boondocking area about a half mile away and had been exploring the hills. He thought we might be able to get up to the highest point, Coyote Peak, so we worked our way up the rough old jeep road and trails to a summit.

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Our summit, after climbing over 1,000’ in 3.25 miles. We think we could see a faint trail that would take us up to Coyote Peak, but nobody was interested, since we still had almost 3 miles and 1,500 more feet to climb. Maybe another day….

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Wonder what this sign used to say.

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Citrus groves on the outskirts of Borrego Springs.

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A glimpse of Clark Dry Lake bed from above. We could even see the Salton Sea, but it was too hazy for photos.

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On the way back down we took a little detour and found the snake and quite a bit of additional rock art since our last time here two years ago.

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It took a little imagination to try and figure some of them out.

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I discovered what I thought was a fish, but Bobbie had me look from a different angle.

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Where it looked like an eagle.

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I thought this was a lobster, but then Bobbie decided it was a scorpion, which would make more sense in the desert.

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Time to use your imagination. Coyote?

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Big horn sheep? A lot of work went into making these.

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Today we hiked through a slot canyon and more, but I’ll save that for another post. Although the lows have been in the 30s, at least the daytime temps have been pleasant, in the low 60s, and with no wind. But it looks like we’re in for a warming trend and 80 degrees by the weekend. Not that I’m complaining, but our Colorado buddies might think that’s a little too hot.

12 comments:

  1. Love the rock art! It's supposed to get to about 80 here in Poway as well...I much prefer 60's during the day!

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  2. I wish we had hiked up to see the snake again when we were there. I didn't realize there had been so many other items added til someone posted them. My favorite is the new starfish. There are some very creative people out there. The high 70's, low 80's are too warm to hike. I'm happy with low 60's:) I saw we have the same weather here next week.

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  3. Those are awesome rock arts! That's what I love about camping, hiking, generally being outdoors. Lots of stuff to see out there!

    Recreation Space

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  4. I just love these gatherings you guys do out there in the desert. I have wanna be there syndrome. Amazed at citrus growing in the desert. Where in the world do they get the water? From the poor Colorado I suppose. Great rock art and I love that you really can look at some of them from two different angles. Neat little RV. All very cool indeed. Maybe you guys should do a group creation.

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  5. Great rock art! There was a sign on the Alcoholic Pass approach that the property is part of a private holding. The park acquired the land some time ago.

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  6. Did you get to meet up with Jerry and Wanda?

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  7. We hate Pacific Time Zone. We get so screwed up on our time when we are out there.
    Pretty cool rock garden.
    We really enjoy the Borrego Springs area.

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  8. Way more rock art by the snake than last year. With warmer temps the slots and palm canyons will be very nice. Seeing any wildflowers yet?

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  9. If you see a white Travel Supreme with a ton of solar panels on it, stop by and say hi! We are hiking beyond the Clarke dry lake bed in the morning, so will drive down a ways before heading out. If we see you out, we'll holler! Love to meet you while we're here.

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  10. We drove through Yuma today and couldn't believe the number of boondockers out there. It seems to get more crowded all of the time. Love the rock art.

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  11. I love the Clark Dry lakebed area. It is also warming up here in Oregon. Should be about 70 today.

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