Back to the 'silent lamb'....

7:15 am - Tuesday - November 30th - Anza Borrego Desert, CA - 52° F, 18% humidity, wind - CALM....crystal, clear, dustless skies today with a forecast high of 84° F.  On this date in 2014 we had just arrived home after our first 21 months of travelling fulltime....sitting around the fire with our kids and their friends......↴

.....was up in time for sunrise this morning......↴

Way back on October 1st when we left SRRVC* in our rearview mirrors for the last time I was already thinking ahead to another sojourn at one of our all time favorite boondocking places....the Anza Borrego Desert about 8 miles out of Borrego Springs.  As you may recall, or already knew, borrego is Spanish for lamb.  As our plans began to take shape we pretty much knew we would be spending the month of December there with couple of the last days of November thrown in for good measure.  If current plans come to fruition, we'll move back down the hill to Ocotillo Wells New Year's Eve to join our kids once again.

It's not often I think that far ahead in time, but since the first time we came to this place near Rock House Road (off S-22) we have been drawn back time and time again, with each stay becoming longer and longer.  We were here twice in 2016, then again in 2017, 2020, and now 2021.  We arrived here on February 4th of that year, and remained here until March 2nd.....26 days in all....our longest stretch without dumping our black tank, and our longest stretch boondocking period.  

Each day we are here we spend time just sitting in our anti gravity chairs enjoying the giant view in front of us....at the base of those mountains lies, ironically, Clark Dry Lake Bed, so it only stands to reason why we are drawn year after year to this place.  

We were up early Monday morning, were ready to roll by 8:30 am, and by 8:40 am we were headed back east on S-22 to the Travel Center to dump our tanks, take on fresh water, and top off our 60 gallon propane bank.  By 9:45 am we were headed west once again on S-22 for about 22 miles to our Anza Borrego boondock site about 60 yards off the highway.  We had hauled out the turf once again, (I don't remember ever loading, then unloading that turf all in the same day....lol) were set up for a month by 11:30 am, and a few minutes later enjoying the big view I wrote about above.....

....the forecast high for Monday was 82° F, but I'm pretty sure it was closer to 86° F, so I spent most of the afternoon sitting outside napping and enjoying the almost indescribable solitude.  Sundown here comes around 4:15 pm.....much earlier here than down at Ocotillo Wells due to the close proximity of mountains to the west of us.  Usually we are here in January, or February when the sun is setting closer to 5, or 5:30 pm, and enjoy our sunset fire after dinner.......

Dinner alfresco just after sunset....

.....we transitioned from the dinner table to our 'sunset fire' about 5 pm with only t-shirts, shorts and flip flops.  We sat talking, and sipping wine until almost 6:30 pm....

....TLE and I have our best conversations around a campfire.  In fact, when we were planning our full time RVing life we would sit in the backyard of our sticks and bricks home two, or three times a week discussing what our life would look like after retirement.  That we are finishing our 11th year living in our Newell, and 10th year as 'vagabonders supreme' just blows me away.  We feel blessed every day to be living the life we talked and dreamed about all those many years ago, and living here, off the grid, for a month of Sundays is the ultimate fulfillment of those talks and dreams.  It's not often your life turns out almost exactly as you envisioned it, right?

Thanks for stopping by!

*SRRVC - Seal Rocks RV Cove

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All by ourselves gain......

 6:58 am - Monday - November 29th - Ocotillo Wells, CA - 45° F, 54% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the north by northwest......crystal, clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 82° F.  On this date in 2014 TLE and I were supping at Great Basin Brewing Company in Reno, NV.....↴

People began to pull out of our 10 RV circle around 8 pm Saturday night, and by 10 am Sunday morning it was just us.  My son Chris said he was leaving at 6 am so TLE and I were up by 5:30 am, and I caught the first glow of the impending sunrise.....

......after he left the circle gradually diminished until it was just us once again.....

......I spent time on our telescoping ladder wiping 5 days of talcum powder like sand from the solar panels, and put a few things away, but pretty much spent the rest of the day reading, and enjoying the intense silence which has returned to Ocotillo Wells.  

There was a steady stream of Thanksgiving revelers driving by our site to Highway S-22 to head back to their workaday lives.  By noon time the broadband service had improved significantly, and for the first time in days the internet was lightning fast once again.  Out here in Ocotillo Wells they have very good 5G service when there are not 10's of thousands of extra people sucking it dry.  Frankly the 5G is better here than it was in Fontana.

TLE and I went around the large encampment area we occupied and made sure there was no litter left.  Everyone really did a great job of picking up after themselves, but there are always a few things which escape their attention.  We can say with confidence that we have 'left no trace' other than the stone ringed firepit we used for 5 days.

We decided early on that we would not leave Ocotillo Wells on Sunday as we will need to dump, take on water, plus refill our 60 gallon propane tank, and the local dump station at the Travel Center down the road would be jammed with the hundreds and hundreds of RV's leaving the desert Sunday.  Monday everything will be much less crowded.

The dust in the air provides us with beautiful sunsets with marvelous afterglows......

...and that is pretty much it for Sunday.  It took us a while to readjust to being by ourselves.  While we miss having our kids and grandkids around it can be exhausting at the same time.  I went to bed just before 9 pm, and TLE followed shortly thereafter.  Now it's on to our Borrego Springs interlude.  I'll leave you with this song by Eric Carmen.........

Thanks for stopping by!

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Droning on......

 8:30 am - Sunday - November 28th - Ocotillo Wells, CA - 57° F, 21% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the north.....clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 81° F.  On this date in 2009 TLE and I were westbound on US-2 heading toward Coupeville, WA......↴

I think it has been about 1 year since I last flew my drone, and, not surprisingly, it was like starting all over again.  I had gotten to where I didn't have to read through the startup instructions, which involve about 8 steps, to get her ready to fly, but I was back to reading them again.  Finally, I got her airborne and got a few pictures, and one video to share.....

.

An aerial perspective of our encampment

......our group has a lot of 'sand toys', and here area a few of them......

Nick and Kate's Rhino

Miguel and Dan's 4 seat RAZR

Philip and Jeannie's 1971 Jeep CJ-5 with Buick Dauntless V-6

.....a little background on Philip and Jeannie's 1971 Jeep CJ-5....Philip bought this Jeep way before he met Jeannie, and for many years it was his daily driver.  Sometime in the late 80's, or early 90's he got suck in a mud bog up to the floor boards, far from civilization, and was not able to get a tow truck out to retrieve it for a couple of days.  In the interim water got into the transfer case, and transmission, and ruined them. He got the Jeep home and parked it in the driveway where it sat for about 15 years slowly rotting.  Fast forward to around 2005.....I wanted to get a Jeep, and thought of Phil's CJ-5 just sitting there in his driveway. I called him and asked him if I could buy it, and he said he just couldn't part with it.  I then suggested that he and I go in 50/50 to restore it mechanically, and he agreed.  It took the better part of a year to get her done, which involved finding a replacement transmission and transfer case....I found one on eBay for about $150, but it was in Michigan.  It was, however, a perfect replacement as it had been removed from a 1971 Jeep CJ-5 with a Buick Dauntless V-6 about 20 years prior, and had been sitting in a barn for all of that time.  By the time I paid to have it crated, and shipped another $250 had been added to the price, but we had the final missing piece.  There were a lot of other parts we had to acquire, and we also had the roll bar, wheels, and rear tire mount re-powder coated, but decided to leave the original orange paint intact.  In all it cost us about $15,000 for parts and labor (divided by 2), but she was restored.  Until we began our nomadic journeys I had access to the Jeep anytime I wanted it, and used it a lot, but have not driven it in some time.  It was great to see it is still in great condition (Philip keeps it garaged)......

Travis and Deana's 4 set RAZR

On the left (beige and black) is Chris' side by side CanAm, and on the right is Michael and Bea's 4 seat RAZR

......TLE and I spent a lot of Saturday visiting with our kids, their kids and friends as this was to be the last full day everyone was here.  We knew that by 10 am Sunday we would be all by ourselves again, just as we were last Tuesday.  We had a very dusty sunset, and a great bonfire to end the festivities....

.....as is always the case, saying our 'until next times' is always bittersweet, but we know we will see them all again on New Year's when they all return once again.  In the meantime we'll be boondocking to our heart's desire!

Thanks for stopping by!

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The circle is complete.....

 7:34 am - Saturday - November 27th - Ocotillo Wells, CA - 45° F, humidity 21%, wind 3 mph out of the north by northwest.....clear blue skies today, but very dusty from all the sand toys racing hither and yon....forecast high today is 79° F. On this date in 1978 TLE and I were celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends......↴

Left to right: Good friend (now decease) Jeff Smith, my brother Dwyer, my mother, Virginia, moi, and my son, Chris....the long hair days....lol.

My daughter Kate, her husband Nick, and children apparently pulled in at 9 pm Thursday night, but I was napping at the time, and then went directly to bed, so I had no idea they had arrived.  I awoke Friday to see they had arrived.  By 10:30 am the final two RV's had arrived delivering my brother Philip, and wife Jeannie safely to our clan, as well as Miguel and Danielle (Philip and Jeannie's daughter and son-in-law) along with their two children, making our RV circle complete......

.....TLE spent time taking pictures of the grand children......

Jameson, great grand child (Cynthia's son)

Left to right: Gema (Danielle's daughter), Jolene (Kate's daughter)

Daniel - great grandson (Cynthia's son), and Jolene (Kate's daugther)

....we spent a lot time just visiting with everyone, and sitting outside on the 'lido deck' until the dust from the thousands of dirt bike, and RAZR riders became too much.

We got dressed and took a drive up to Borrego Springs to check on our favorite boon dock site, refill our 5 gallon propane bottle, and to get 15 gallons of filtered water.  Our boondock site is wide open with not a single RV there yet, awaiting our return after an almost 2 year absence.

In all it was a fine day filled with family and friends.  That the entire Ocotillo Wells area was filled with dust clouds did not seem to matter to anyone.  Spending time with family and friends is its own reward.

Thanks for stopping by!

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A day of thanks giving......

 8:10 am - Friday - November 26th - Ocotillo Wells, CA - 50° F....clear, blue skies today with almost not wind....how many miles per hour it is I have no idea, and what level of humidity we have is a mystery.....it is, however, quite low.  Why don't I know, well, the broadband service out here at Ocotillo Wells has deteriorated with the influx of thousands of people over the last few days.  On this date in 2010 TLE and I were riding our Cannondale Tandem bicycle in Chino Hills, CA......↴

The wind howled all night long, and strengthened throughout the morning until it topped out at 28 mph, then began to gradually subside over the afternoon to around 11 mph at 6 pm when we sat down to our Thanksgiving dinner.  Our first daughter-in-law, TAR* (The Amazing Rochelle), took many of the following pictures throughout the day.....

Great grand children Jameson and Daniel (Googs)....Cynthia (our granddaughter)  and Daniel's children

Left to right: Travis, Daniel, Peter, Eddie (TAR's* brother), Christopher (Chooch - grandson), Chris (son)

Moi and Ed Estrella (TAR's* father)

Chris putting the 20 lb. turkey into the deep fryer

Left to right: TLE, Christopher (grandson), Cynthia (granddaughter), and moi

Chris, Cynthia, TLE, moi, TAR* and Christopher

......we didn't sit down to eat until after 6 pm hoping the wind would abate, and it finally did.  We got a beautiful sunset in the process......

....Chris, Daniel and Michael (husband of Bea, TAR's sister) erected a couple of EZ-UP's, and a couple of wind screens to deflect what wind was left, and we began to gather around the long table for Thanksgiving dinner.....

I managed to get an 'usie', which was a little blurry, so I took a second shot without me in the frame

....Chris, TAR*, Linda (TAR's* mother) and Eddie (TAR's* brother) prepared most of the dishes, and they were perfect.  Of course, it is a well known fact that food prepared outdoors, and eaten outdoors tastes significantly better than indoor food eaten indoors....lol!  Additionally, even indoor food consumed outdoors always tastes better.

This is the fourth, or fifth time we have been able to join our kids, friends, and extended family out in the SoCal desert for Thanksgiving, and it is always a great time.  We have much for which to be thankful, and family/friends are right at the top of the list.  TLE and I wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend filled with family, friends and way too much food!

Thanks for stopping by!

*TAR = The Amazing Rochelle

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"The Wayward Wind"

7:51 am - Thanksgiving Thursday - November 25th - Ocotillo Wells, CA - 66° F, 16% humidity, wind 18 mph out of the north by northwest.....crystal, clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 76° F.  On this date in 2020 I was working a rain abbreviated shift at Seal Rocks RV Cove.......↴

We last used our 'Cowboy Wok' about a year ago while in Seal Rock, OR, but as the Fall waned, and Winter waxed it became apparent that the Coastal Oregon weather would no longer be conducive to doing much cooking outside, so I stowed her away, not realizing how long it would be until she made another appearance......how's that for a 'run on sentence'?  

Wednesday morning, as I began to regain consciousness from my nighttime repose, it occurred to me that it might be time to pull the 'Cowboy Wok' out of stowage, and make use of her once again.  Amazingly, TLE was thinking the exact same thing as she egressed from the bedroom into the kitchen a few minutes after I.  It's apparent to me that we have achieved a perfect 'Vulcan mind meld' after 50 years of wedded bliss.....lol!

After publishing my latest missive to the blogosphere I proceeded to retrieve the various components which make up the 'Cowboy Wok', assembled them, and then turned them over to TLE to work her morning 'break the fast' magic......

......within 20 minutes the fruits of her loving labor were placed before me on my TV table......

.....I'm certain the 'Cowboy Wok' will get plenty of use over the next few months as we continue our desert sojourn.

While TLE prepared breakfast I took a few pictures of the surrounding area......

....there is something about the starkness of the desert combined with the enormous views which have always appealed to me.  Between 12 and 2:30 pm two more RV's arrived....Travis and Deanna Jacoby (Chris' high school friends) along with their daughter, Cora,  in their large 5th wheel, and then my son, Chris, and Rochelle arrived in their 2007 Fleetwood Class A, four slide motorhome......

Now 4 RV's

.....and by this morning (Thursday) we had a total of 7 RV's on site with three more to arrive tomorrow, for a total of 10.....

Now 7 RV's....3 more to come!

.....the winds, which arrived Tuesday afternoon continued to freshen throughout Wednesday, and got up to the mid 20's overnight.  I missed the actual setting of the sun, but managed to catch the afterglow.....

.....our kids had a fire last night, and I walked over to greet the new arrivals (too dark for my camera to memorialize that).....Ed and Linda (Rochelle's parents), Eddie (Rochelle's brother) and Veronica and their 4 boys, Christopher (Chris' son), Michael and Bea (Rochelle's sister).  Daniel and Cynthia (Chris and Rochelle's daughter) along with their two sons arrived after I went back inside.  Nick and Kate (our daughter) and their kids will arrive Friday along with my brother Philip, his wife Jeannie, and finally Miguel and Danielle (Philip and Jeannie's daughter) with their two kids in tow.

As I write the wind is howling, and the dust is flying!  We are hoping the winds will abate by this afternoon....we'll see.  In closing, here is a song sung by Gogi Grant which seems to describe our weather.....

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to buy a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!