Good Bye Borrego

 

This week we said good-bye to Borrego Springs.  However, we did not leave without making a few trips into some back country.

We started off by a final trip up Grapevine Canyon, but first we took a little hike on Cactus Loop Trail. 

It was an easy hike and finally we found some cactus starting to bloom.  It’s always amazing to see a rough  and prickly plant (here it is the hedgehog cactus) have such a show of flowers. 

Even the bright colours of the barrel cactus is pretty.

Back on the trail and as always, the views were outstanding, and everyone got to play on some big rocks. 

The real icing on the cake was the sighting of some bighorn sheep on our way back home.  One doesn’t often get to see these animals as they are usually back in the mountains.

One last trip out to Coyote Canyon to see if there is any sort of recovery of the trail but the water was still running.  Apparently the park service has plans to rebuild the trail which was destroyed by Hurricane Hilary last summer but until then, we get to see some great scenery.

Our friends, Reto and Shelley, wanted to go on one last ride and we managed to lead them on a couple that they have not been on before.  Reto has spent many years in this area so it was very unusual to show him something new.   We went out to Mine Wash and visited an ancient Indian Village.  Many large rocks have morteros which are areas that are worn out from grinding grain on the rocks – that would mean a lot of grinding has taken place.

The scenery was beautiful and while there were really no flowers to speak of, we did find a century plant which will soon be blooming (I love how they look like a giant asparagus).

One has to marvel at the hardiness and resiliency of some desert plants.

On our way home, we stopped by Quartz Vein Wash and lo and behold, another sighting of bighorn sheep.  These sheep were a bit further up the mountain but again, we were thrilled to see them.

It's always sad to leave Borrego Springs but it is time to visit some old friends.  Have a great week and I'll be back next week!!

Back on Track

Here it is Saturday evening and I'm back telling of our weekly activities just as I have intended to always do.  Somehow, I got a little off track.

We had a pretty relaxed week and spent much of the time enjoying the weather and enjoying friends.

We started off by making a quick trip into Yuma to do some visiting.  On the way, we pass by the Algodones Sand Dunes which I find quite amazing as well as beautiful.  It is often very hard to get a photo that is not filled with dune buggies, atvs, and other types of off road and sand buggies.  Plus, a photo doesn't always turn out when taken out of the window at highway speeds!  For some reason, this year does not seem to have the same traffic.

While in Yuma, our friends discovered that their motorhome had a broken door latch - only to be opened from the inside.  Fortunately, there was someone young, and lithe, to get in and get things working again.

I did get to spend a day inside, mostly in bed, because I was feeling somewhat punky and extremely tired.  I did catch up on some sleep (I didn't even know was needed some) and recovered pretty quickly.

As a group, we all go for a daily walk.  One day, back at some of the rock art that is displayed up the mountain, I saw a couple of new creations.  Actually, the artwork wasn't new, but it was new to me.

Our trip this week was to the pumpkin patch.  They are actually concretions which are  concrete balls formed from the sand.  We see them scattered here and there and sometimes jut out from wash walls but in this particular spot, they are very numerous.

  On our way, we stopped at 5 palms, a spot that there werefive5 palm trees; however there are now only four left.

And of course, no week is complete without a repair job on someone's motorhome.  And for once, it isn't even ours.  But the say many hands make work light so that must be true as the job was quickly done.

This week was valentines so all went out for a late lunch at Ram's Hill, a local golf course.  We sat on the patio and overlooked the golf course with is a lovely view.

Another week has come to an end.  May you all have a great week and I'll be back in seven days!!