Saturday, February 11, 2017

Return to Borrego......

(CLICK ON PICTURES TO MAKE THEM LARGER)

7:34 am - PST - Saturday - 63º F, humidity 68%, wind 5 mph out of NW.......feels windier than that.......mostly cloudy, but forecast is for partly cloudy with a projected high for the day of 70º F.....quite a bit cooler than yesterday!

We didn't awake until almost 8 am (MT) at the 'Q', but no worries.....we're retired, and there was no rush to cover the 121 mile northwest drive to Borrego Springs (actually just shy of Borrego Springs on Rockhouse Road).  This is essentially a 2 hour drive, however, there is road construction (a lot) an agriculture inspection station, an immigration check point, dumping our tanks, taking on fresh water, buying gasoline for our Predator, and buying some firewood between us and our destination.....all of that turned a 2 hour drive into a 4 hour drive.  

When we left the 'Q' it was just after 10 am (MT), however, we were driving into Pacific Standard Time (California), so it was really a little after 9 am (PST) at our destination.  It was partly cloudy, quite humid, and getting warm quickly.  The drive west on I-8 was idyllic.....flat and smooth with occasional construction zone.  The posted speed in the construction zones was 60 mph, and that is how fast we drive anyway, so no slow down.  We did come to one work zone near the Imperial Sand Dunes where they were removing drifted sand from the highway......we had to stop for this.  As we merged from I-8 to HWY 89 northbound the traffic was light and we managed to get through the series of 4, or 5 controlled intersections without stopping.....soon we were coming up to the immigration checkpoint where there is always a line.....it took us about 10 minutes to get waived through and we were now just 10 miles from Salton City and the ARCO Travel Center at which we always stop to dump, take on fresh water, and propane if necessary.  In all it took us about an hour to dump, fill up our fresh water tank, fill up two 5 gallon gas cans, and buy 5 bundles of good hardwood for future campfires.

It was another 20 miles west on SR-22 to Rockhouse Road, a popular boondocking site in the Borrego Springs area.  You can stay here for an unlimited amount of time for free.  We love this area because there are plenty of hiking trails, enormous views in every direction, very moderate weather this time of year, and we are close to the kitschy town of Borrego Springs where there are several RV parks, thrift stores, a good grocery store, and numerous fine restaurants for one's dining pleasure.

We found a great, level site to park the coach and trailer with plenty of distance between us and our neighbors.  It took parts of two hours to get set up, and since we will be here at least two weeks we have taken some stuff out....chairs, awning mats, recliners, the portable fireplace, etc.


These pix do not do the view justice....I shall endeavor to do better

As we sat outside enjoying the big view, and balmy zephyrs I could not help but reflect on how much I love this kind of boondocking site, and how happy it makes me feel to be back 'doin' the Borrego' once again......this location definitely has the 'IT' factor for us, and we can no longer ignore her calls.  We are at about 700' elevation where we sit........Borrego Springs is about 100 feet lower at 580' elevation.  

We had planned to have our first campfire, but as sundown approached the light breezes quickly became winds and made it quite undesirable to be outside, so we retired to the salon area of our Newell for the evening.  We did some reading, then watched 'Gold Rush', and then some recorded shows (NCIS and 'Hunted') before heading for pillowland for the night......so nice to have our windows wide open and only hear the sound of the wind softly caressing the Newell's port side window awnings.


Just took these panos.....gives one a litter better idea of the view

Thanks for stopping by!

5 comments:

  1. I thought that was you guys setting up yesterday afternoon, enjoy your stay, we heading out in the morning from Peg Leg, If you like drop by and say Hi.

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  2. It is our first time in the Borrego Springs area and we arrived yesterday and are parked on Rockhouse Road, also. Looking at your pictures I am pretty sure we pass by you on our way to our site.
    Already, we think it is a beautiful area.

    Celebrating the Dance.

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  3. Tom and Deb....would love to meet you. Please stop by and introduce yourselves! We'll be here for 3 weeks.

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  4. We would love to meet you two, also. We hate to just interrupt your day if there is a good time in the next couple of days let us know and we will walk on over.













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