850.....

8:04 am - Thursday - February 29th - GNHS - 59° F, humidity 63%, wind 6 mph out of the southeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 75° F.  On this date in 2012 TLE and I were courtesy parking at the home of Michael and Georgia Day near Austin, TX on the shores of Lake Travis.....

Our view out the front windows of our 1982 Newell Classic on this date in 2012

We had another great night of sleep Tuesday night, and were up around 7 am Wednesday, which was our getaway day.....getaway in the sense that we would be driving back to GNHS to begin the final 4 weeks of our stint there.  All the carpet which got wet in the 'flash flood' has dried in just a few days, which is amazing, but not unexpected in the ultra dry climate in which Wittmann, AZ is geographically located. Parting ways with Tom and Darlene is always bittersweet.  By 9:45 am we had packed the car, and were saying our 'until next times to Tom, Darlene, and Wade.  Five minutes later we were cruising north on US-60 toward Wickenburg where we took on 11 gallons of premium unleaded, and then continued on US-60 through the small towns of Aguila, Wendon, Salome and Brenda before hitting I-10 westbound around 11:50 am (Arizona time).

We crossed back into California around 12:10 pm, regained the hour we gave up 3 day earlier making it 11:10 am, and made a quick stop in Blythe at the local Albertsons to get some Frappuccinos at the Starbucks in the store.....a Tall vanilla bean for TLE and a Venti Mocha for moi.  We were back in the car in 10 minutes, and merging onto westbound I-10 shortly thereafter.

The drive west on I-10 was mostly uneventful.  Traffic did stop one time for about 5 minutes near Desert Center, but we were back up to speed within seconds after the traffic began to move again.  We exited I-10 at Box Canyon Road, and began our 20 mile descent down Box Canyon into Mecca where we stopped at the Mexican Market for some produce and in 15 minutes we were resuming our drive southeast on US-111.  We arrived back in GNHS around 1:40 pm California time without further incident.  Needless to day, but I will anyway, I am done driving for a while....lol!  Starting with our trip to Poway last Monday (19th), until arriving back home Wednesday (28th) we have driven 850 miles....I'm getting tired all over again just thinking about it.  All that being said, I must say we are so pleased at how well the VW has run these past few months compared to last year at this time.

Within 30 minutes we had unpacked our clothes, put them away, and TLE had put away the produce.  I sat down in my recliner around 2:15 pm, and continued reading the current post apocalyptic series.  As I sat in there reading, I thought how wonderful it is to be back with TLE in our tiny 220 sq ft home on wheels!

We'll have a few days to recuperate from all of our social interaction this past week before Charles and Phyllis arrive Sunday afternoon for a week stay here at GNHS.  Again, no pictures were taken Wednesday, but that's cool because I know all of you have great imaginations!

Thanks for stopping by!

RZRing in Wittmann.....

7:53 am - Wednesday - February 28th - Newell House - Wittmann, AZ - 53° F, humidity 57%, wind 5 mph out of the northeast.....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 73° F.  On this date in  2013 TLE and I were in St. Augustine, FL dry camping at a local RV park.....

I slept like the proverbial log Monday night....do logs really sleep?  I just thought they laid there on the ground, in the forest, slowly turning into compost for decades.  I don't feel like I'm doing that when I'm asleep....lol.  I guess the characteristics of a log are where the saying came from...you know, they just lay there, unmoving, for decades.  Anyway, we didn't get up until almost 8 am Tuesday morning, but at least we both felt like we had recovered from early Monday morning's festivities (the 'flash flood'), and the sun was actually peeking through the heavy cloud cover we've had the last few days.

We took a 1.5 mile walk around 9:30 am averaging, once again, 3.3 mph.  It is a little different walking on a gravel/sandy road than on pavement.  It feels like we are walking faster than 3.3 mph, but we are obviously not.....

....since I am apparently considered somewhat of a very minor RZR expert nowadays, Tom asked me to take their four seat 2018 RZR 1000 XP for a drive Tuesday and let him know what I thought of its performance (he now has over 5,000 miles on her), and how the clutch felt.  Around 12:30 pm TLE did just that....we needed to go to the local mini market to buy some coffee for Wednesday morning, so we combined some road, and off road driving on the way there.  Tom really takes good care of all of his rolling stock, and the RZR is no exception.  It ran, and drove nicely over the 4-5 miles we drove her.....

....I don't see anything wrong with her at all.  It appeared it had been a while since she was last given a spa treatment, so not being able to help myself, I gave her one after we returned from our short jaunt.  By the way, Tom's RZR is street legal....it is licensed, and has brakes, rear and sideview mirrors, and turn signals.

We both spent a lot of time reading Tuesday as Tom and Darlene had appointments.  We did take a second 1.5 mile out and back walk averaging, once again, 3.3 mph.....just can't break that barrier on gravel....lol....

.....Tom and Darlene erected a street sign in front of Newell House, a few years ago (2020 I think)....the street coming into the compound is Wildcat Drive, and the road in front of Newell House is called Newell Parkway.  Tom's son, Scott, was able to add Newell Parkway into Google Maps so you can actually look up that street in Google Maps, and it will take you right there.....pretty cool, huh?

Tom and Darlene returned home mid afternoon, and TLE and I continued to read, with conversations thrown in here and there.  I'm reading another post apocalyptic series, and have now finished the 2nd of 3 books in that series.  

As always, we had a communal dinner with Tom, Darlene, Wade, TLE and I.  By the way, Wade is a long time friend of Tom and Darlene who lives in Alberta, Canada, and flies down each winter for a few weeks to visit, and get out of the cold Albertan winter.  I think this is the 4th, or 5th time we have been here at Newell House at the same time

Our interlude here at Newell House is coming to and end after just 3 days.  It is time for us to return to GNHS, and our final 4 weeks there before we head north for the summer.  TLE's sister, Phyllis, and Charles are coming in their 5th wheel to visit us for a week beginning March 3rd.....here we go again, from one social engagement to another!

Thanks for stopping by!

A drama less day.....

 7:22 am - Tuesday - February 27th - Newell House - Wittmann, AZ - 55° F, humidity 48%, wind 2 mph out of the south by southwest....mostly cloudy today with a forecast high of 72° F.  On this date in 2021 I had just finished polishing the ALCOA aluminum rims on the Newell.....

.....now that is a 'mirror finish' if I ever saw one!

When I last left off writing about Sunday we had just gone back to bed around 5 am Monday morning following the unexpected 'flash flood' in the bathroom next to our bedroom.  We managed to sleep until after 8 am, but the sun got too bright, and it was time to begin the day, albeit, feeling like I had a hangover without the benefit of alcohol....lol.

After typing my latest missive, and drinking a precious cup of 'joe' TLE and I took an out and back walk which was about 1.50 miles round trip.  We averaged a leisurely 3.2 mph.....

.....after that I headed out to the Jacuzzi for an hour soak.....

.....then took a long nap to kind of catch up on the lost sleep from the night before, then took a long shower in Tom's mancave shower, which has one of the 'rain' showerheads, plus unlimited hot water (think tankless, on demand water heater).

We had dinner around 5:30 pm, after which we played team 'Phase 10' pitting TLE and I against Darlene and Wade (Tom was at another board meeting).  I failed to mention in yesterday's post that we played Sunday night, also, and at one point TLE and I were up 2 phases, plus ahead by 300 points.  We thought we had the win in the bag, but then the cards stopped favoring us, and we ended up coming from ahead to lose by just a few points at the end...doh!  Anyway, we were playing Monday night to redeem ourselves, but the cards continued to favor Darlene, and Wade.  At one point we were behind 3 phases and down by over 100 points.  We did manage to rally and found ourselves with a chance to win on the 10th and final phase, but we had to win the phase outright to win the game, and we did not.  At least we gave ourselves a chance, and at least it became another close game!

Tom returned home around 7:10 pm, and after finishing our 'Phase 10' game we sat and talked for a few hours again in the living room before heading off to dreamland once again.  This time there was no early morning drama, and no fans whirring in the background (drying out the carpet)....just the normal, extremely quiet Wittmann night.

Thanks for stopping by!

Flash flood?

 8:33 am - Monday - February 26th - Newell House - Wittmann, AZ - 58° F, humidity 76%, wind 3 mph out of the northeast.....cloudy today with a forecast high of 74° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were dining at Manatee Island Grill near Stuart, FL....one of my favorite pictures of TLE and I......

Sunday morning around 11 am we bid adieu to Tom and Claire after 3 days of conversation, which was sometimes intense/deep, sometimes light, but always interesting.  Our hearts were full, and we really didn't want to say our 'until next times', but life continues to roll, so we did.

By 12 pm TLE and I were in the VW to begin a 4 hour drive to Wittmann, AZ to visit good friends Tom and Darlene.  You may recall our last visit here was in the Spring of 2021 when I replaced the shocks, and air bags on our 1982 Newell Classic.  Since we have Hunter to take over the rental operation Sunday we were able to leave early enough to get to Wittmann by 5 pm, and before sunset....we, of course, lost an hour to the Mountain Time Zone.

We took a different route than we have in the past, mainly because of our location on the east side of the Salton Sea.  There is no direct route to I-10, so the fastest route had us taking HWY-111 west to Mecca, which is 20 miles in the opposite direction from where we wanted to go, but it was the fastest route available by 25 minutes.  We then turned up a highway called Box Canyon Road which took up 20 miles back east where we connected with I-10 eastbound....

Box Canyon Road photos courtesy TLE

....the drive up Box Canyon Road was really quite scenic, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

We made a rest stop, after two hours of driving, at the Flying 'J' truck stop in Ehrenberg, AZ (just over the Colorado River which is the border between California and Arizona) to use their bathrooms, and just walk around to stretch our legs.  From there we we continued on I-10 eastbound to the US-60 exit toward Wickenburg, then south to Wittmann, arriving at Tom and Darlene's around 5:10 pm....without incident....nice!

We were just in time for dinner, so we hauled our bags into the guest room, and sat down to a great dinner, and conversation.  Tom was at a board meeting of a local business when we arrived, but he was home by 8:20 pm, and he and I talked until pretty late before we both headed for slumberland.

Around 2:30 am I heard Tom and Wade (a friend visiting from Alberta, Canada) talking excitedly in the hallway outside our room.  I got up, and as I approached the door to our room noticed the carpet was very squishy, and WET!  Wait, what?  Apparently the rubber flapper in the water tank of the toilet had failed when last flushed, and the water had been running into the toilet for a couple of hours flooding the hallway outside or room, the bathroom (of course), the foyer, and the the long hallway leading to the living room and kitchen.  There was at least an inch of water covering the tile flooring in these areas, and the water was quickly seeping into the carpeted areas bordering both hallways, and the dining room.  I would estimate the water in the long hallway was about 1 inch deep....that is a lot of water!

Wade vacuuming up water in the long hallway

Needless to say, we all sprang into action to get rid of all the water.  Tom brought a 15 gallon Shop Vac to begin vacuuming up the water, Darlene pulled out her carpet shampooing machine, and I used a large squeegee to push the water down the hallway, through the foyer, and over the threshold of the front door onto the front porch.  TLE and I then began mopping up what water was left with old towels.  Finally, around 5 am we had done as much as we could do, and went back to bed....what a night!

As I sit here typing this morning (Monday) I am still a little groggy, and wishing I hadn't lost those 2.5 hours of sleep, but it is what it is.  At least everything is drying out, and we can walk around, and I'm enjoying a wonderful cup of coffee.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Conversating.....

 7:57 am - Sunday - February 25th - GNHS - 56° F, humidity 77%, wind 4 mph out of the southeast.....mostly cloudy today with a forecast high of 74° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I rode our electric bikes from our boondock site near Borrego Springs to Galleta Meadows where we viewed numerous steel sculptures for which the area is famous.....

As happens some days I completely neglected to take any pictures Saturday, nevertheless, here is a word pictorial of what transpired.  TLE and I took a day off walking, and just lazed around first thing Saturday morning.  Around 10 am we walked over to the hot pools/tubs to take a soak with Tom and Claire.  We had planned to just be there for 30, or 40 minutes, but the conversation kind of took over, and we didn't head back home until after 12 pm.

After changing clothes TLE and I headed back to the Bombay Beach Bungalow to meet Tom and Claire for some snacks on their veranda, and continue our endless, ever morphing conversation.  Again, we only intended to be there for about an hour, but didn't return to the Newell until after 2 pm.  We agreed to meet up for dinner around 5:15 pm on the 'lido deck' for cocktails whilst I grilled a couple of large New York steaks for dinner.  TLE added a tossed salad, and baked, stuffed mushrooms.  I wish I had taken pictures, but take my word for it, the food was restaurant quality, and was only exceeded in quality by the conversaton!

Around 7:30 pm it seemed we had talked ourselves out, and were getting ready to bid Tom and Claire adieu for the evening, but then the conversation took off again, and all too soon another hour had passed into the rear view mirror.  As we hugged Tom and Claire goodnight our hearts were bursting with love and admiration, and knowing they will be heading back to the San Gabriel Valley in the morning only served to make our parting bitter sweet.

It has been years since Tom and I have had the time to spend day after day with each other.  During our junior high, high school and college days we were inseparable, and even for a few years after college, but then Tom and his wife at the time moved north to the Sacramento area, and our visits became limited to us stopping by to see them when we were traveling to and from Lake Tahoe.  Sometime in the late 90's Tom (he was divorced at the time) moved back to SoCal, and we would meet for lunch, or dinner on occasion, but he was busy reconstructing his life, beginning a new marriage, and raising kids, so our get togethers were infrequent. The last time I saw Tom in person was back in March of 2017 when we both attended one of our college reunions being held in Las Vegas, and even then we did not get enough time together, so this reunion, of sorts, for he and I was so sweet.  Being able to spend the past 3 days talking, reminiscing, laughing, and sometimes shedding a few tears was such a tonic for both of us.  Our 62 year connection and relationship only exceeds that of TLE and I.  When I first met Tom in 1962 I was very shy, and a little introverted, and Tom was extremely extroverted.  In spite of the differences in our personalities there was this inexplicable, immediate connection, which has stood the test of time.  Needless to say, over the formative years in junior high, high school, and college he contributed much to my social development, and his influence has contributed a lot to who I am today.  I don't have words adequate enough to fully describe our time together these past three days.

On a side note, this morning (Sunday) is the first morning in over 2 months that we have not had to turn on any of our heaters in the Newell.  We'll enjoy the next couple of weeks with no heating, or air conditioning running, but by the middle of March I am sure we will be turning on the A/C once again.

Thanks for stopping by!

RZRing, a cabin, the Oasis, and the alfresco.....

7:01 am - Saturday - February 24th - GNHS - 52° F, humidity 79%, wind 3 mph out of the northeast....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 75° F.  On this date in 2018 TLE and I were wintering at the Grand Canyon.....here I am walking to work after an all night snow storm....

Around 3 am Friday morning the wind began to blow out of the north, again.  I lay there listening to the sail shades flapping up and down, and the sound of our flag straining at its restraints as the wind did its best to dislodge her from the top of the flag pole.  At first there were just brief gusts of wind, but by 4 am I could tell it was getting to be a steady 20-25 mph, so I roused TLE from her beauty sleep to tell her we would need to take everything down before the wind did it for us.  Thankfully, this does not happen often, but when it does TLE and I become a well oil machine, working together, and within minutes everything is secured.  Then the task becomes going back to bed, and back to sleep....not always a simple thing after a burst of adrenaline like that.

We didn't get up until after 7 am, and it took us both a while to become fully conscious and coherent.  Our plan for Friday was to take Tom and Claire for a RZR ride up to Amy's Cabin via the Canal and Bradshaw trails, then down Amy's Wash to the Bradshaw trail again, ending up at the Oasis.  But, before all that would occur TLE and I had a walk to take.....one of the 2 mile out and back variety.....

....it was a leisurely walk in which we averaged a modest 3.3 mph.  It was cloudy, with a little breeze...just enough to keep us comfortable.

We left on our 3+ hour RZR adventure in one of the 4 seat Generals around 11:20 am, and within an hour were half way up Amy's Wash to the cabin where we took a break amidst a grove of Ocotillos....at least I think one might call it a 'grove'.....

Ocotillos

....on our way up to Amy's Cabin we stopped at the train trestle where I switched seats with Tom so he could drive the General......

....this is the first time we've been to Amy's cabin since last year after we had just arrived at GNHS in October.  The cabin still looks pretty good....

Amy's Cabin

....from Amy's Cabin we continued our trek along Amy's wash back down to the Bradshaw Trail where we took another break at the train trestle.....

The train trestle

....then it was on to our last destination of the RZR ride, the Oasis......

The Oasis

....by this time it was after 2 pm, and I think all of us were ready for a shower and a nap before heading off to dinner at the Ski Inn in Bombay Beach, so we began the 30 minute drive (Tom driving again) back to GNHS arriving home just after 2:30 pm.  By the time TLE and I had taken our showers, and changed into clean clothing there was no time for a nap.....doh!! I really needed a nap...oh well.  We left in Tom's car around 4 pm, and within minutes of arriving at the Ski Inn had placed our dinner orders, and secured our adult beverages.....

The Ski Inn - alfresco 

.....we enjoyed the funky ambiance of the alfresco dining area, great food, and conversation until well after 5:30 pm, and I was able to catch the last remnants of Friday's sunset over the Salton Sea.....beautiful.....

....the by the time we arrived back home just before 6 pm we all decided we needed long naps, so we bid Tom and Claire adieu and headed for the Newell for the evening.  After unlocking the Newell door for TLE I stopped to take a picture of the newly 'new' moon.....

.....TLE and I sat down to relax, and the next thing I knew it was almost 9 pm.....a 2 hour nap for moi...I finally got that nap I've been wanting for a couple of days....lol!  I think Saturday will be a relaxing day with a trip, or two to the hot pools/tubs, and maybe another nap, or two for good measure.

Thanks for stopping by!

What a night!

7:46 am - Friday - February 23rd - GNHS - 56° F, humidity 67%, wind 5 mph out of the north.....mostly cloudy today with a forecast high of 74° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I were wintering at the Grand Canyon, and in the middle of a winter snow storm.....

 TLE and I were out the door around 9:30 am on Thursday to do a 2 mile out and back walk.  Why 2 miles?  Well we were expecting guests early afternoon, and wanted to be sure we got in at least 2 miles early as we didn't think we'd have time to walk in the afternoon.  We managed to walk the 2 miles at a 3.4 mph rate.  The air was crisp, and there was a nice northwest breeze blowing to keep us from overheating. As it begins to warm here on the east side of the Salton Sea we will need to begin to physically adjust from temps in the 60's to temps in the mid to high 70's now for the foreseeable future, and gradually will have to adjust to temps in the 80's and 90's before we leave April 1st.....

.....after our walk we settled into preparing for the arrival of long time friend Tom Carrozzo and his wife Claire.  I've known Tom since 1962 when we were in the 7th grade (12 years old), and over our coming of age years we embarked on one great adventure after another.  We had 17 kids in our private school graduating class and Tom and I are just two of a very few surviving members of that Class of 1967, which I think now stands at 6.  Tom and his wife live in West Covina, and do a lot of world traveling now that they are retired, so we haven't been able to hook up for about 7 years, but whenever we do get together it is as if no time has passed.  TLE has known Tom since 1967 when she moved to Pasadena, CA from Miami, FL, so we share a lot of common history.

Tom and Claire arrived around 2:30 pm, and we go them settled into the Bombay Beach Bungalow, which is right behind our site.  We spent time reminiscing before heading home to begin to do dinner prep, and take showers.  Tom and Clair came over about 5 pm, and we sat on the 'firepit deck' sipping cocktails, and more reminiscing.

While that was going on I had lit the Sea-B-Que, and was grilling two large Ahi steaks TLE had purchased at COSTCO on Wednesday.  By 5:45 pm we were sitting down to a great dinner, and much more non-stop conversation......

....it is amazing to me how both of us recall events from our youth exactly as I remember them.  One example was from the time we spent two weeks on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu in 1969.  There was a 60's song by the Archies called 'Sugar, Sugar' that debuted while we were there, and he remembered hearing that song for the first time, just as I do, being played on a my transistor radio while we were in our hotel room one morning.

The conversation took many twists, and turns over the course of the evening, and by 9:30 pm we were all ready to call it a day.  What a night!

Thanks for stopping by!

Another round trip....

6:34 am - Thursday - February 22nd - GNHS - 52° F, humidity 82%, wind 4 mph out of the north by northwest.....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 72° F.  On this date in 2013 I was standing in the batter's box at Holman Stadium at the Dodgers former Spring Training facility in Vero Beach, FL where Dodger pitching greats like Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale plied their trade each Spring.....this facility was owned by the Dodgers from 1948 to 2008....they now do Spring Training in Arizona......

....I can almost hear the voice of Vin Scully announcing the next pitch.

We awoke to rain on our riveted aircraft aluminum roof around 6 am....what a surprise, but what a great way to begin any day!  The rain was gone within the hour, and soon the sun was shinning, and drying out everything.  After that whirlwind 28 hour round trip to Poway we wanted to spend Wednesday kind of vegetating at home doing mostly nothing, but alas it was not to be.  Dr. Jou, my dermatologist, had faxed a prescription to the COSTCO Pharmacy in La Quinta that I needed to pick up Wednesday, so I could begin the 3 week treatment of my sun damaged lower lip, and be recovered in time for my next appointment on March 25th.  The cream will cause my lower lip to become inflamed over time, and I will need a week for it to 'heal'.  The cream is a kind of 'chemical peal', and will take off a couple layers of skin over the 3 weeks to, hopefully, reveal a fresh, healthy, non sun damaged layer of skin.  I called COSTCO around 10 am to see if the prescription was ready, and was advised it would be ready around noon time...fine. 

TLE and I planned to leave around 11:30 am  to make the 2 hour round trip drive (one of the few downsides to living in extremely rural America) to COSTCO, but before we left we wanted to get in a 1 mile out and back walk.  We averaged just 3.3 mph on this walk as I mistakenly began the walk wearing my flip flops....lol.  Instead of returning to change into my hiking sandals we just continued.  Kind of hard to walk fast wearing flip flops, but I managed to do okay.....

....we were in the car shortly after 11 am, and on our way, arriving at the COSTCO around 12 pm, where we first topped off our fuel, then while I headed for the Pharmacy TLE did a little shopping.  The medication I needed normally costs $136, but I belong to the COSTCO drug program, and got it for $41.  TLE purchased a couple of Ahi Tuna steaks to grill this weekend, as well as a few other food items.  We managed to avoid buying any more clothing, although it is hard to pass up some of the good deals COSTCO offers...lol.

We arrived back home around 2:30 pm after another uneventful drive, put away the groceries, and settled in to read for a while. Around 4 pm we took our second 1 mile out and back walk of the day, this time I was wearing my Keen hiking sandals, and we averaged 3.4 mph.....

.....we had grilled tuna sandwiches for dinner, and then spent the balance of the evening reading.  I finished the 3rd book of the current post apocalyptic series I'm reading, and found out that the 4th and final book of the series will not be available for release until the end of June....doh!  Had I known that in advance I would have put off beginning the series until then.  The new series is also four books, but they are already released so I'll be able to finish this one without interruption....lol!

Thanks for stopping by!

The rest of the trip......

8:16 am - Wednesday - February 21st - GNHS -  59° F, humidity 77° F, wind 5 mph out of the west......skies have clear now, and we are in for a sunny day, so the rain earlier was just a passing cell.  Forecast high for today is still 70° F.  On this date in 2023 TLE and I, coincidentally, were overnighting in Borrego Springs at the Palms at Indianhead hotel after having visited our dermatologist that morning in Poway.....

We awoke around 6 am Tuesday morning, and had a leisurely 2 hours before we had to leave for my dermatological appointment, so TLE went down to the office to get a couple of cups of coffee for us, then we spent the next 90 minutes reading, and slowly getting into the day.  The rain forecast indicated it would begin raining around 9 am, so we were hoping to be done with the appointment and on our way before then.  I like doctors appointments in the morning, because they are usually still on schedule, and you usually get seen on time, which was the case Tuesday.  

This was a follow up visit to my initial visit back on November 2nd (2023).  At that time Dr. Jou had frozen a couple of spots on my lower lip, and wanted to check them again, so we set the appointment for February 2oth.  I have spent a lot of time in the sun over the course of my life, and those proverbial chickens have come home to roost.  I have a number of 'sun damaged' areas on body, including my lower lip. After examining my lip again he believes it is just sun damage, but wants me to apply some topical cream for a month to see if that clears it up, and if so, I'm fine.  Anyway, we'll be making one more return trip to Poway on March 25th for, hopefully, the final follow up.

As we were finishing setting the follow up appointment it began to rain, so we had to dodge rain drops on the way out to the VW.  We made a quick stop at COSTCO to top off our fuel tank for the return trip, and then began the 3 hour drive home around 9 am.  It rained for the first 50 miles, but stopped as we were approaching the top of the Montezuma Grade in Ranchita.  By the time we arrived in Borrego Springs (around 10:30 am) it was still partially cloudy, but no rain, so we stopped off at the Frugal Coyote thrift shop to see if there was anything there without which we could not live.  As it turned out we each bought a few clothing items to update our wardrobe.  To make room for them I am sure there will be a few items of clothing going into our 'donate bag' in the trailer.

After our successful Frugal Coyote shopping spree we headed over to the Red Ocotillo for a late breakfast.  Red Ocotillo is our favorite breakfast eatery in Borrego Springs, and it is difficult for us to drive through Borrego Springs without stopping in for a bite....

.....they have wonderful coffee, and breakfast items which are the things of which dreams are made.  I had their Huevos Ranchero (one of the top 5 best I have ever had), and TLE their Biscuits and Gravy with an egg over easy.  We lingered there for the better part of an hour before deciding it was time to finish our drive home.

As we descended into Ocotillo Wells we saw what we first thought was a large thunderhead in the distance, but as we got lower in elevation we could see it was a large smoke column on the east side of the Salton Sea between North Shore and Bombay Beach.....

.....frankly, there really isn't much to burn out here, but that fire was enormous, so we wondered what the fuel source was.  

After arriving back at GNHS I called Kyle to see if he knew what was going on....Kyle always knows what is going on, and this time was no different.  Apparently the local fire departments were doing a 'prescribed burn', but what they were burning that would cause such an enormous column of smoke, we have no idea.

We arrived home around 1:30 pm without incident, and were gone just over 28 hours, but it seemed much longer than that....in a good way.  After unpacking, and taking a much needed nap I decided to go for a 2 mile walk....TLE wasn't feeling it, so it was a solo 2 mile walk for moi.  I averaged 3.6 mph covering the 2 miles in just over 36 minutes.  I took a couple more pictures of the smoke plume....

....as I walked by the pond in front of the entrance to Bashford's Mineral Hot Spa Resort I spied this odd sign by the pond.....WARNING - VENEMOUS FISH....wait, what?

.....then, about a hundred feet past the entrance to Bashford's, I came upon two 'everything bagels' neatly stacked on the shoulder of the road....why?  Who would do such a thing?

....we had a spectacular sunset Tuesday evening, which neither of us saw coming.  It was quite cloudy as the sun set, and you just never know what you're going to get, but this one was worth taking a few minutes to photograph....

....and with that I have now brought you all back up to date. 

Thanks for stopping by!