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!