Palm Oasis, Rock Art and More!

On Tuesday, 3/12, we got back from our awesome wildflower tour and sculpture safari to find our good friend, Bob Wells, had arrived in camp. If you recall we met up with Brother Bob last year in Bishop, CA. Bob was Rog’s partner when he was a paramedic for Tacoma Fire Department. A kindred spirit, Bob also takes off for long trips in his truck camper. We love it when our paths cross and we get to spend time together on the road. It is great fun to swap tips and tricks and when the guys get to telling tales from their years together on the fire department it is both hilarious and *ahem* educational. Nope, we won’t be sharing those stories, you’ll have to grab a beer and join us around the campfire.

 We have a neighbor!  Welcome Brother Bob!

On Wednesday, we took Riley for a walk to a nearby abandoned compound. From the looks of things, a couple survivalist type families tried to make a go of it. Without a source of water, it seems doomed to failure. We adopted a look, but don’t touch approach. There were several outdoor rooms including a full bar, and a couple metal containers converted into living space. A couple of photos in the windows showed a bunch of guys in military gear with assault rifles with the following handwritten admonition: “Please, we beg of you with tears in our eyes, respect our right to private property. Beware of ‘big brother’ filming your every step but fear ‘little brother’ who will haunt you and invade your private property on a dark and cold night and know from that night forward your life will never be the same again. PLEASE leave now and don’t encourage us to do what we love most in life, hunting men.”   It was very interesting and more than a little creepy. I could hear the Deliverance banjos playing faintly in the background, ok, maybe that was just my imagination. 😊

Rog and Riley on a desert stroll. 

Interesting remnants of a survivalist homestead.

Our Palm Canyon hike in Anza-Borrego State Park on Thursday had none of the previous day’s melodrama. The hike was a relatively easy 3 miles round-trip, but Riley had to stay back in the RV. Unfortunately, California state parks seem to be adopting the National Park policy of no dogs on the trails.

Sigh. Doesn't seem fair to our four-legged family members. 

We were hoping to spot some of the resident bighorn sheep but struck out. Just warm sun and the unusual treat of listening to running water and froggies croaking in the desert. We did see some different wildflowers and a couple cute lizards.

Rog and Bob on the trail.

The Palm Oasis.

A busy stream provides water.

Between the warm sun, burbling stream, and croaking frogs our lunch break nearly turned into nap time.

Swaths of color.

More wildflowers.

Hello!

On Friday, 3/15, we hit the local Farmer’s Market in Christmas Circle Park. It was dog friendly, so Riley was his charming self. The park is the center of a huge traffic circle and it is lovely – lush green grass, tall trees, restrooms, water fountains, lots of picnic tables, and a covered area. It was also the location for the annual Circle of Art Show which we also visited.

Friday Farmers Market in  the lovely Christmas Circle Park.

Loved the succulents for sale.                                Riley being his charming self.

The Circle of Art Show is an annual event. 

One of my favorite hikes was in search of a giant rock snake. Rog had read about some desert rock art not far from where we were camped. You can see the snake on Google Earth so we had a rough idea where to look. It was a fun hike and we found the snake and lots more besides! 

We ended up on a bluff above the rock snake.

Impressive and the only kind of snake I'm happy to find in the desert!

We also found a coyote howling at the moon, Darwin's fish and an eagle.

Folks have been busy, here's a lizard, flowers, and cupid's heart.

While we did a lot during our week here, we also spent a fair amount of time just kicking back, relaxing, and reading. We gave up putting out the patio mat since Riley insisted on laying in the cool dirt. After a week here, it’s going to take some work to scrape all the dirt, dog hair, and drool from the inside of the RV. 

Riley is a shade connoisseur and has abandoned us in favor of Uncle Bob. :) 

Our plan had been to head next to Cibola and then Kofa National Wildlife Refuges. Unfortunately, Murphy had other plans. Our refrigerator in the RV has always been temperamental but it decided to totally quit working. Arrgh! Rog did some detective work and found he could get it to work by disconnecting the thermistor, the sensor that is supposed to regulate how often and how long it runs. So, it was either totally on (which means it would keep chilling until everything was frozen) or totally off (obviously not good in the desert). Sigh, change of plans. We opted to shoot for Yuma, AZ where there is a huge snowbird population so lots of RV repair places. Fingers crossed we can get it fixed quickly and get back to having fun without worrying if the milk is spoiling or the steaks are thawing. 😊