Jojoba Hills and a Mini Sculpture Safari

 

Jojoba Hills at dusk.

Usually when we choose a landing spot it’s because there is something – a park, a trail, a town – in the area that we want to explore. Rarely do we pick a destination for the RV park itself (the exception being any place with “Hot Springs” in the name. Lol). But we’d heard so much about Jojoba Hills, a 55+ Escapees co-op RV park, that we added it to our itinerary and booked a whole week there.

We arrived on Sunday, 2/20, and the park did not disappoint, but our luck was mixed. Riley must have put extra effort into his snow dance because a cold front moved through during our stay and we had SNOW! The last time it snowed at Jojoba Hills was 2014, so our boy must have some strong mojo. It was cold and rainy for a couple days and then slowly started to warm up. Temps in the 80’s forecast for the week after our departure. Of course. 😊

 

That isn't an Impressionist painting, it's snowing!

We weren’t idle though. Our spot was in the "boondock" overflow area. Most of the spots are dry camping but we had full hookups and a view of the boulder strewn hillside. We were also just steps away from one of the laundry rooms and I spent 5 ½ hours on Sunday getting three weeks’ worth of laundry, bedding, and drool towels washed, dried, and put away. Whew!

 

Yay, full hookups! I don't think you can call this "boondocking". Lol. 

Rog and Riley explore while Momma does laundry.

Monday we drove around the park and spent some time checking out all the activities and amenities. More on that in a minute. Tuesday and Wednesday were the worst weather-wise, so we used those days to catch up on coach stuff and get our workout done. We also drove into Temecula twice for shopping and errands. By Saturday, the weather had warmed up and we took Riley for walkies in the hills.

 

We were happy to take advantage of the well-equipped exercise room.

Trails wind through the hills around the RV park.

Riley strikes a Pride Rock pose. Lol. 

Golden poppies blanketed the hillside. 

Floral sunshine! 

Now for a little background on Jojoba Hills. In 1989, the Escapees purchased 145 acres of land adjacent to Hwy 79 about 17 miles east of Temecula, CA. There was a ranch house, garage, and a small 18-space RV park on the property. The ranch house became the office and headquarters, while the garage was turned into a maintenance shop, and the RV park was used as a construction camp. Over the next several years an amazing transformation took place. The hillside was terraced to maximize views and 283 RV sites were built on 80 acres. Each site is approximately 50 ft x 70 ft plus common areas, which is huge compared to most private RV parks. Large areas were left as open space for nature trails, etc. The park also has five small ponds, several waterfalls, and a mind-boggling array of activities.

 

Founder's Falls.

Friendship Hall is the community club house with a heated pool, two hot tubs, an exercise room, large library, full commercial sized kitchen, sewing/quilting room, billiards room, card room… I’m sure I’m forgetting something and that’s just one area!

 

Entrance to the clubhouse complex.

Stained glass window created by
one of the volunteers for Friendship Hall.

Heated pool with...

...a gorgeous view, and...

...two spas. I could get used to this. Lol. 

There are separate pottery and art studios, a metal and woodworking shop, community garden and two fenced off-leash dog runs. Don’t forget the meditation garden, mini golf, bocce ball courts, and an air gun range, radio controlled car track, and airfield for RC planes. Free RV storage too. Unbelievable! There are also classes and activities scheduled throughout the week. Throw in weekly happy hours and gatherings and I just don’t see how anyone would have time to be bored!

 

Pottery and Art studios are located near the RV storage area.

Community garden and greenhouse.

Riley liked the dog parks, Rog was interested in the air gun range
and RC car track. Boys and their toys. Lol. 

The park is beautifully landscaped and maintained by a staff of just five employees. Much of the work and all of the social activities are done by volunteers and everyone is expected to pitch in as time and talents permit. In fact, most of the original construction was completed by volunteers! Contractors were hired to oversee the work, grade the site and cut in the roads, do some of the stucco and woodwork for the clubhouse, as well as install the pool and spas and HVAC. All the other construction, including miles of culverts, installing concrete patios and sheds at each of the 283 sites, landscaping and rock work (which is beautiful!), installing telephone and cable systems was all accomplished by Escapees volunteers. I have never seen anything like it. And let me assure you, the work all looks professionally done.

Most of the sites have either a territorial view of the hills or a
sweeping view of the valley. Either would be fine by me!

One of the few open sites.
There is typically a wait list for spaces in the park.

Another thing about the park that struck us was how friendly everyone is. Walk or drive through the park and EVERYONE waves. On Monday we drove up to the clubhouse for the ice cream social. They were taking names and a $5 donation for the annual dinner. As guests, we needed a sponsor and Nancy Wall, who was a total stranger, immediately said she’d sponsor us. We also reconnected with Dee and Ron Steubing, who we’d met at Quartzsite during the Escapees Party on Plomosa and again at the Boomer fundraising auction for the CARES facility. (FYI – all together they raised $10,001 for CARES!) We made new friends too. We were fascinated by the stories of so many incredibly talented and active seniors. If we ever wanted to sell the house and go full-time in the RV we would really think hard about making Jojoba Hills our base. 

 

Making new friends at the annual dinner.
Yes, there was karaoke and No, I didn't sing. Lol. 

Ok, pop quiz. Who remembers the Sculpture Safari blog post from March 2019? If you need a refresher click here (trust me, it’s worth it!): Go Around the Bend: A Sculpture Safari  Well the artist, Ricardo Breceda, who created all those amazing metal sculptures around Borrego Springs has his studio just a couple miles down the road from Jojoba Hills! On Friday, 2/25, we went to check it out. I really think the pair of hungry dinosaurs would look great flanking our driveway. Lol.

 

Come on, wouldn't a pair of these look great flanking our driveway? 

Love the detail!

I would be happy if this guy followed me home too. 

Or maybe one of these? Please.

I love they way Ricardo arranges the sculptures in vignettes. 

 Rog's Mom loves giraffes. Thinking about Christmas. Lol. 

A friendly bison. 

Where the magic happens. 

A snake charmer or a charming snake? 

In addition to the amazing dinosaurs, dragons and more mundane animals, Ricardo added some really fun characters - Transformers, Marvel heroes and some Sci-Fi baddies like Alien and Predator. Everything was for sale, and although I really would have loved to take home the winged dragon for $30K, I contented myself with a small roadrunner and a couple of tiny doggos. Maybe someday a dragon will follow me home…

 

Ricardo's representation of the global pandemic and some fun Sci-Fi characters.

Take me to your leader. 

Bigfoot. World Class Hide and Seek Champion. 
Another of my favorites. 

Our next stop is in San Dimas, CA. We’ll be spending a few days in the LA area so we can visit Randi and Jose. I’m sure we’ll find something fun to do too!