05-31-2020 Sunday at Hart Antelope Refuge

The winds continued through the night, but we slept really well until about 2 am. A bit of conversation in the dark about our plans for the next day and then Mo fell asleep, but I wasn’t so lucky. I finally got up around 4am to shift positions from lying to sitting which seems to help the leg pain when it hits me like this in the middle of the night.

We got up around 6 to a cloudy day that seemed a bit threatening. The winds had stopped, but there had been just a light patter of rain during the early morning hours although nothing seemed very wet when I stepped outdoors at dawn. Dawn comes a lot earlier this far east, even though we are in the same time zone as we are at home in Grants Pass. Surprising what a just a couple hundred miles can make when it comes to daylight times. After a quick breakfast we were on the road by 7:45

Even though on the previous day we had decided that driving southeast through the featureless desert wasn’t an option, Mo saw a camera marker on the refuge map that indicated the drive might be worth it. There aren’t a lot of roads to explore that go into the higher mountainous areas of the refuge at this time of year, with many roads gated. We did know that the Martin Canyon road had a sign saying it wasn’t officially open until June 15, but the gate was open and unlocked. We decided that our destination for the morning would be Desert Lake marked by the tiny camera on the map. I did mention to Mo that Desert Lake was only an intermittent lake and probably didn’t have any actual water in it.

We drove back up the hill and were surprised that it only takes about 15 minutes to get to the headquarters. Once again we turned south on Blue Sky Road and headed for the Martin Canyon turnoff that we had seen the previous day.

The road was only moderately rough for the most part, meandering across wide alluvial fans and descending gently into depressions and drainages that could hardly be called canyons. I was glad that I had the BLM map because the refuge map wasn’t very clear about the route to Desert Lake, with Martin Canyon road not showing on that map. We knew to turn east at the crossroad with Old Military Road, and then turn again south toward Desert Lake on another road with a strange name that for the life of me I can’t remember. Here is a link to the map.

Back Road to Desert Lake

It was so incredibly quiet except for the birds. The views of the spectacular desert landscape was worth the nearly 7 miles of rough road we took to get there. Colorful wildflowers were everywhere. We saw sulfur lupine, death camas, prairie lupine, various versions of white and pink low phlox, and tansy leaved evening primrose ‘Oenothera tanecetifoli’, which was especially thick on the roadbed.

As expected, the lakebed was dry, but a ridge of volcanic rock on the western side of the lake streaked with orange and chartreuse lichen was spectacular. The rocks were thick with birds that I didn’t recognize but the many types of songs indicated many different kinds of birds make their homes in the rocks. Bright white streaks of bird excrement painted the rocks as well as the lichens.

The one bird we did see and recognize in the low grass in the middle of the road was a horned lark. Of course, no photos since she was bouncing around in the grass so quickly I couldn’t get her on camera. They are ground dwellers, feeders, and nesters, so it may be she had a nest nearby in the dirt because she didn’t want to move out of the way of the car.

We also saw three sage grouse females walking in the sage and then flying low across the brush. I tried to get photos of them, but once again no telephoto, and fast moving birds in the sage didn’t allow very good photos. Still, I’m including one grainy shot because sage grouse are pretty special and are one of the protected species in this refuge. If you want to photograph the amazing sage grouse mating displays in the spring you are required to have a special permit to film birds in the “leks”, or mating grounds of the sage grouse.

We returned the same way we came, passing Old Military Road, turning west on Martin Canyon Road, and then back north on Blue Sky Road to Lookout. Once again, the expansive views were spectacular.  We decided that the next time we came to Hart Mountain we would plan to come just a bit later and explore Black Canyon Road and Military road into places yet to be found.

View to the northwest from Lookout with The Steens on the horizon

We saw only a few pronghorn this time compared to the large herds we saw in September 2013

Our plan for the second half of the day was to return to the Visitor Center and then travel east on the “main” gravel road toward Steens Mountain to Flook Lake. Daughter Melody visited this area last year, camping at the edge of the lake in a tent and bringing back her legal 7 pounds of rocks.

Flook lake is another dry lakebed at this time of year, and there are many surface deposits of small pieces of agate, jasper, petrified wood, and opalized fossils.

We drove across the dry lake, parked on a slight rise, and brought out the chairs for a great lunch of leftover steak sandwiches.  After lunch, we took our time heading back along the playa looking for rocks from the Tracker windows.

Something funny about the landscape at Hart Mountain is the way it can shift and change in ways that are disorienting.  I was the one driving to Flook Lake and yet on the return trip, even though I knew exactly where I was going,  I still got disoriented. I could see Hart Mountain and Poker Jim Ridge, knew I was traveling west, and still had to double check to be sure I was going the right way. It was a very strange feeling and left once we reached the top of the steep hill going down to the Warner Wetlands. I made maps for a living, have a great sense of direction, and have spent a lot of time alone in wild places. Just a heads up, be sure you have a good map and some kind of GPS unit that works without the internet if you plan to wander around this part of Oregon. There is NO cell signal anywhere for a long distance.

Some people asked for a bit more information about the campground. It is operated by the refuge and there are 14 sites, including a camp host site which wasn’t occupied when we were there. I am not sure if that is because of COVID or if it is just too early in the season. The campground was originally a CCC camp developed in 1937 for young men who came west to help build the Hart Antelope Refuge. There is still a building nearby that looks like an old bunk house. At the main visitor center there are beautiful stone buildings characteristic of the CCC style.

There is no shade, the sites are dirt, but are widely spaced with nice metal fire rings and picnic tables at each site. There is a spigot for potable water at the picnic facility which states specifically that camping is NOT allowed under the shelter. When we arrived on Friday night the only occupants were a big motorhome and a small trailer. Throughout the weekend, a couple of campers came and went, but on Sunday night, to our surprise, there were 8 rigs in the campground. Still can’t quite figure out why all those people showed up at the end of the weekend.

I tried in the last post to describe how I feel about Hart Mountain, but I think part of it is the absolute aloneness, miles and miles of nothing and so much open space with no humans. We saw only one truck all day on Blue Sky Road.   The rest of the day we were completely alone. I always feel we are lucky when we return from these forays unscathed. Thank you to the powers that be.

Although, speaking of unscathed, we didn’t quite make it through the trip without an issue. After returning home around 3 in the afternoon, it was cool enough to nap and read a bit. As dinnertime approached, the cloud cover increased to a dull sort of gray. We ate our bean soup and Mo built one last great fire for our sunset watch. We had been pretty happy that our house battery charge stayed above 12 all the time. We ran the gennie before dinner for just an hour to top the charge.

We came in after the sunset and the charge had dropped to 9. What?? Ran the gennie again but as soon as it stopped the charge would drop like a stone. We pulled in the slide, pulled up the jacks so the lack of power wouldn’t interfere with using these operations. We went to bed. It was the darkest night ever.  We still  aren’t sure if there was a wire  loose or if the water level in the batteries was low. (update: water was low, Mo tightened all connections, and so far the batteries are again holding a charge here at home in the MoHo shed.)

We slept well  Morning came early with the sound of rain. We waited until 6am to start up the engine to at least heat up our coffee. Please note, with the rig on “store” instead of “use”, it is impossible to light the stove because the gas doesn’t run if there is no power. We didn’t realize that until we tried, thinking the gas should work no matter since we do not have electronic ignition on the stove.  We thought it would work since we always need to manually light the stove.  Preparing to travel was quick with the slide and jacks already stored.

We were on the road by 6:30 AM on Monday morning, taking a different route south through Adel to reach Highway 140.  It was a perfect choice.  The lakes of the Warner Wetlands extend south from Plush all the way to the highway and in the mixed morning light and partial cloud cover the views were mystical.  No photos once again, since I was driving, and pullovers on that section of road are rare. In the future I would always choose to travel to Plush from the western cutoff for the first views of Hart Mountain and to leave via the more eastern road to Adel so as not to miss the views of the wetlands.

As we continued west through Lakeview Mo suggested a good hot breakfast at a restaurant.  Sounded great, except any restaurants that might be open would also be much farther west in Klamath Falls, and would require masks and who knows what else.  We decided instead to find a good pullover and cook our own breakfast.

 

The summit of Highway 140 where the Gearheart Mountain road heads north into the Gearheart Wilderness was perfect.  The skies opened up to brilliant blue, the trees smelled wonderful, and we had the large bathroom stop entirely to ourselves with the Forest Service pit toilet still closed for COVID.

Breakfast was superb, much better than anything we could find in a restaurant.

Google Maps of our Trip

02/11 and 02/12 Meandering Arizona, family, Prescott, and Jerome

Ahh. from this -----

to this -----

After the open spaces of the desert at Quartzsite and traveling east along Interstate 10, we dropped into the greater Phoenix area and one night at a well located RV park.  Phoenix Metro RV Park was a good place to land, north of the city near I-17 and Highway 101, out of the main city and yet easily accessible to Mo’s cousin . Jim Ross and lovely wife Linda live in Phoenix during the winter and we sere surprised to realize that it has been 9 years since we last visited in 2011.

When we arrived at their charming home Linda was at an educational class on “creative reading”.  We were given a lesson by Jim on “creative remembering” as he took us to halls and rooms lined with literally dozens of photos of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.  I have already forgotten how many there are in total, but something in the 40’s. 

When Linda returned home, we laughed and chatted as Mo and Jim reminisced about old family stories.  Jim is an avid genealogy buff and has tracked the family back through many generations.  He loves to tell the story of the distant uncle who was hanged in North Dakota for something or other.  Always have to find a black sheep somewhere to keep it interesting.

With their home in a lovely resort area, it was an easy walk to a nearby restaurant for supper.  Aunt Chilada’s Restaurant is located in a lovely hacienda like space that has been around since the 1800’s and is family owned.  Last time we visited in 2011, it was much warmer and we enjoyed dinner on the patio. This time it was too chilly to eat outside, and the hostess who knew Jim and Linda very well took us to the back of the restaurant to the best table in the house, right in front of the huge blazing and warm fire.  Perfect.  Our dinner was perfect as well, and we had delightful leftovers to carry us through the next day at our next boondock site.

It was dark when we returned to our home in the RV park, a perfectly decent place to land for just one night, but there were many people who obviously lived there for long periods. The homes were reasonably spaced, and you could tell who was permanent by the large pots of cactus and palms in their tiny yards.  There was a small dog park for Mattie, filled with logs and rocks and dirt piles, which kept her quite happy.

As we drove into town the previous day, we saw a thick blanket of snow on the mountains to the north.  UhOh.  Our original plan was to drive north on 17 toward Flagstaff, and find someplace to boondock as we continued west on I-40.  The snow scared us a bit and when it came time to leave the next morning, we started west on the 303 thinking we would return to Quartzsite.  North of us, however, the brilliant sun beckoned, and the snow seemed to have completely melted except for the highest elevations.

At Peoria, we turned back east toward I-17 and followed our original destination north.  Perusing our memories as we traveled, it was clear that Mo had never been to either Prescott or Sedona.  She did have some vague memories of visiting Jerome.  We decided it was time to meander north and figure out where we might stay as we traveled.

With AllStays, we found the possible boondocking site at the Cliff Castle Casino in Camp Verde, and decided that it would be a great place to park and then take the Tracker to explore Jerome and Sedona.  On the way, though, we traveled back west over the hills into the Prescott area. 

I had memories of the beautiful Courthouse Plaza in Prescott and knew that Mo would love the historical cowboy vibe there.  As we drove the 6 lane traffic filled roads through Prescott Valley into Prescott, I was aghast as how much the area has changed since I last visited in 2004.  Goodness!

We meandered all the way into Prescott, past huge shopping malls and every box store that exists, into the lovely historical area that is bisected by very narrow streets all jammed with angled parking.  It was a bit scary for the MoHo mirrors as we tried to find someplace to park where we could walk the inviting downtown area.

It was not to be.  There was no place to park anywhere that we could find, and if there was any kind of city parking lot for large vehicles, we never saw it.  Instead we traveled north toward Watson Lake County Park, where I hoped there would be some kind of turnaround for the MoHo.

There was still a bit of snow on the roadsides as we entered the park, declined to pay the day fee of $3.00 because we weren’t even sure we would stop, and continued up to a large parking area where there was enough room for the MoHo to turn around.  whew. 

Watson Lake was beautiful in the morning light, reflecting the magnificent weathered granite boulders that are the hallmark of the area.  March or April would be a great time to visit, perhaps a bit warmer and yet still enough water in the dammed lake to launch our kayaks.  It looked like just the kind of place we love to kayak.

We continued back north on 89A, which routes over the very steep and curvy Mingus Mountain road down into Jerome and on toward Camp Verde.  Mo was a bit frustrated with me because I resisted taking that road and instead routed us back to I-17, a few miles farther than route 89 would have been.  For only a moment, I thought about all the driving we have completed safely on Highway 1 on the California Coast, and yet still my memories of 89A into Jerome were ringing very loud warning bells.  Later, as we traveled through the town of Jerome, Mo was more than happy that we hadn’t made the attempt to do that road in the MoHo.

Once we arrived at Camp Verde and the casino, we settled into a lovely spot on the hill behind the parking garage, helped by the friendly guy in a little cart that showed us where to park.  We decided that it was cool enough that we could take Mattie with us on our visit to Jerome, so locked up the rig and took off west toward the tiny mining town.

Jerome is fun to visit, if you are prepared to walk steep streets and don’t have a problem with heights or vertigo.  The history of the  famous copper mining town built on a sliding hill is long and complex, too much to write here.  If you have visited, you know it, if not you can read about it here.

We found a parking place, cool enough for Mattie to wait for us, and started walking.  There are some amazing galleries and gift shops, a beautiful hotel high on the hill, and lots of things to see.  Two sticks served me well, and I managed to get up the steep streets for the art and the views. 

We had arrived late enough in the day that many of the shops and coffee shops were closed, but one beautiful gallery filled with a great variety of local art was still open.  We asked the owner about someplace to get a coffee, and she suggested that we have a cocktail with a view at the historic hotel at the top of the hill.  On the way back to the car however, we were seduced by Paul and Jerry’s Saloon.  One of the oldest family owned bars in Arizona, it was funky and fun, with a great old wooden bar with marble counters, and a bartender in white shirt, vest, and sleeve garters.

We ordered Irish coffees with Baileys and Jamison and lots of whipped cream.  Yummy.  And strong.  A bit shocked at the ten dollar price for each drink, we laughed, listened to the great music coming from the speakers above us, and talked with the bartender and other locals who had some fun stories. We had a great time, and the drinks were less than we would have spent if we had decided to entertain ourselves at the Casino in Camp Verde.

Returning home just before dark, we heated up our yummy Mexican leftovers from the previous day and settled in for an early night.  Sometime around 8, with us in pajamas, there was a knock at our door.  A security person said we had to move down the hill to the lower parking lot.  Really?  Mo, in her most kind voice said, “Oh, that nice man in the cart told us we could park here and even helped us park.”  The guard relented almost immediately, “Oh OK,” he said.  yay.  We didn’t have to put on clothes and pack everything up to move a few hundred yards. 

The night was lovely and quiet if very bright, although the brightness didn’t bother us.  We have enough protective shades in the MoHo that we were able to travel weeks in Alaska with midnight daylight, so a night at a brightly lit casino was a piece of cake.

01-30-2019 Traveling South to Organ Pipe National Monument

Current Location: Organ Pipe NM Twin Peaks Campground Arizona

Mostly cloudy and 55 degrees F at 8am

Last year when we were on the way to Tucson, we decided to cut south from Gila Bend and visit Organ Pipe National Monument along the way.  We thought a simple drive through would be OK for this time around.  However, the charming little town of Ajo caught us off guard, and we spent many hours of our free time exploring the museum, architecture, and colorful murals.  By the time we were ready to leave, it was late in the afternoon, and we needed to get moving to check in at Davis Monthan Air Force Base before 5.  So much for Organ Pipe.

Thus it happened, that when planning this year’s route east, I opted for a couple of days at Organ Pipe.  Now I know several people, including Al and Kelly, who think 2 days at Organ Pipe isn’t nearly enough, but at least it is something.  This trip east is supposed to be a fast run to Florida, without all the meandering along the way that we did in 2014, so 2 days is actually a big deal for us.

Border Patrol is very active on Highway 85 entering Organ Pipe

We even decided on making reservations at the Twin Peaks Campground inside the monument rather than taking our chances with a boondock site.  When we have all the time in the world, wandering around hunting for a good boondock site is fun, but not this time.  On our way in to the park, we did see a ton of boondockers in the desert in the area before the park boundary.  Next time perhaps.

Then again, there is something very nice about this campground.  We are on an end site, number 70, in the area that allows generator use between 8 and 10 and then again between 4 and 6.  Plenty of time to charge up batteries for phones, computers, make a pot of real coffee, process photos and write blogs.  Surprising to me, I also have 4G Verizon reception out here in the middle of nowhere.  Perfect. However, there is no television reception with our new digital tv and antenna.  I suppose someone with a satellite would have wide open skies.  We won’t have time for TV anyway, but still wanted to test our new system.

Yesterday morning, we left Catalina about 45 minutes later than planned .  The brothers and wives came down to our site to wish us safe travels and with lots of conversation and laughter we found ourselves pulling out at neatly 9 am instead of 8.  We decided to take the I-10 route all the way east to Highway 85, and then south to Gila Bend. On our last two trips to the desert we have traveled past the Salton Sea and south to I-8 to cross Arizona.  Thought it might be time for something different.  Interstate 10 definitely is not exciting, but it is fast and mostly smooth and easy.  I didn’t mind that part at all. No dallying along the way, with a fuel stop at the Love’s in Gila Bend, and we arrived at our campground just after 5. 

I didn’t even try to get windshield photos during the time Mo was driving.  The desert is so beautiful, and it is amazing to watch the transition from the Mojave to the Sonoran Desert.  As Mark has mentioned, the Sonoran is rich and lush compared to the Mojave.  There is every shade of olive, lime, and soft sage green that you could imagine, with palo verde, mesquite, and the stately saguaros, plants that do not grow in the Mojave. Creosote is thick in both kinds of desert, but here in the Sonoran, with the recent rains it is especially lush.

Once we turned south from Why, on Highway 85, the desert opened up in ways that give your eyeballs a real workout.  The open, wild desert stretches from horizon to horizon as far as you can see in all directions.

The mountains around here are gorgeous.  Crazy wild things in all shapes that make them look like they are brand new, just emerged from the center of the earth.  They can’t be that new, since there are huge ancient alluvial fans spreading out in all directions from those mountains.  Still, I can’t wait to get to the visitor center this morning to get the skivvy on all the rocks and mountains and plants  and animals.  We have spent time in the Sonoran desert but not in an ecological wonderland like this.

Our space was waiting for us, with a nice little sign with my name on it.  It had been a crap shoot until last Saturday when at last the government shutdown ended.  Prior to that, we knew that there was no one taking care of the park, the visitor center was closed, and there were squatters in the campground.  Our prepaid reservation would have been worthless if the shutdown had continued to this week.

We were prepared for trying to level up on rough ground, worrying about the jacks sinking into the sand.  Imagine our surprise when we found a long, smooth, level cement pad waiting for us.  There is plenty of room to open our slide on one side and our awning on the other, and a nice big patio area and cement picnic table.

Mattie wasn’t impressed with the Pet Area

At sunset, I walked around the perimeter of the park, where there is the “Perimeter Trail” where dogs are allowed.  There are so many bathrooms here that I had a hard time figuring out where I was, but I didn’t bother checking them out yet.  The campground is about half full.  At six, the soft generator sounds stopped almost entirely, (always has to be one that pushes the envelope) and the park was incredibly dark and quiet the rest of the night. If you choose to skip the generator noise entirely, there is a large section of the campground that allows no generators.  We don’t have solar so we do need the generator.

As I returned from walking, I noticed a lot of people with their hoods raised.  Why would everyone be having car trouble?  Then as I looked at the signs at the restrooms, I saw the notice that there are pack rats in the desert that love the kind of insulation inside the hood of vehicles.  They suggested you could protect your vehicle from the damage by leaving the hood open.  I came home and told Mo, and we opened both hoods.

I think people who come this far out of their way to visit a desert must love the desert.  Unlike Joshua Tree which is so close to such a huge population, here it is an effort to visit.  I do think people who love the desert for something other than a place to run their 4 wheelers have a different ethic.  Nothing against all 4 wheelers, because I do know lots of good responsible people who love to ride in the desert.  I wish all people who had 4 wheelers were like them.  People here seem to be more intent on hiking and appreciating the environment, and treating it with respect.  So far at least.  That makes me very happy inside.

Love this baby organ pipe cactus by our campsite

We hope to learn and hike and drive and explore this lovely place today, and the partly cloudy skies and moderate temperatures are quite welcome.

01-25-2019 A Day or Two in the Desert

Current Location: Catalina Spa and RV Resort Desert Hot Springs California

75 Degrees F and brilliant sunshine!

We last visited with the brothers at a wide spot in the road along Highway 247.  Hugs all around, a walk for the dogs and directions to the Pilot on I-10, not far from our destination at Catalina Spa. We continued south with them to fuel up, and then waved goodbye as they continued west on I-10 and we drove back north along Indian Canyon Road toward Dillon Road.

Once again, the Tracker was dead, after two days of being towed, even though Mo started it up in Lodi.  Not sure why this is happening, but an easy fix.  We unhooked at a wide space along Dillon Road, turned the MoHo around and jump started the Tracker without any problems.  Mo left it running for some time after we got settled into our campsite, and today it started up just fine.

It felt great to head east on Dillon Road toward our destination.  We have been coming to this part of the Mojave desert for several years, choosing the luxury of hookups and hot pools before we wander off in one direction or another into wilder places.  New places are wonderful but familiarity also triggers good feelings. I like both for different reasons.

Catalina Spa certainly doesn’t stay the same from year to year.  We knew things were changing two years ago, and last year was proof of that.  This year, even more so.  The park looks different, and I haven’t quite figured out if it is the new landscaping, the heavily pruned trees and shrubs, or the fact that it is wall to wall, bumper to bumper full of a LOT of RV’s. 

We had requested a spot on the back row where we have spent many good days, but it wasn’t to be.  Like last year, once again we were assigned to a middle site with rigs right behind us.  So far it isn’t a problem, and I was told when I asked about it that the park has to be flexible about assigning sites no matter how far in advance we made our reservation.  They have to consider all the long term folks and do a lot of juggling of spaces.  Also, cable is now 2.50 USD per day, which I only found out when our cable wouldn’t turn on.  I asked what the problem was, and was told, “We need a credit card”.  Ah well then.  Internet was an additional $5.00 per day, with specific directions that it was not to be used for uploading, downloading, You Tube videos, or any kind of streaming.  So much for that.  I thought I might save some bandwidth by paying the extra, but certainly not worth it if I couldn’t use it.  So we simply hooked up the Verizon again and will find out at the end of our billing cycle just how much bandwidth we will use as we go along.

Of course, these little changes were minor compared to the best change of all.  After a year of limiting pool hours, once again the lower pool near our site is open 24 hours a day.  Anyone who has read this blog for any time at all knows about my love affair with crack of dawn swimming under a starlit sky.  I was so happy that they reverted to the old policy.

After settling in last night, we ate an easy reheated supper and enjoyed relaxing.  I thought about waiting until this morning to swim, but my body was tired and sore from all the riding and driving, and the pool and hot tub was beckoning.  I swam laps in between a bunch of people bobbing around on their noodles.  It felt great and I do love swimming at night in the dark.

We woke up at 5 or so this morning, and this time Mo decided to go to the pool with me.  Such a lovely perfect time to swim.  We had the pool almost completely to ourselves, except for one dedicated lap swimmer who managed to stir up a lot of waves.  The pool maintenance man, Jesus, showed up at 6 saying the pool would be closed until 7 for cleaning. Not a problem, it was getting lighter out and we picked up a free cup of coffee in the game room and sat out on the covered porch to watch the morning light brighten.

I took Mattie for her early morning walk into the desert and then we came back and made a tasty breakfast.  It was cleaning day, after three days of travel, and within an hour we had shiny mirrors, clean floors and well shaken rugs.  Always feels great when things get cleaned up and organized.

We then decided to take Mattie to the little dog park, another place of big changes.  They have removed all the grass and now the park is all sandy, but they added play toys and a dog pool.  I miss the grass, but not the muddy puddles that would happen after they watered the grass.  Our timing was perfect, as there was a little dog just about Mattie’s size who matched her energy perfectly.  They had a great time chasing each other and playing and by the time we left, Mattie was pretty darn tired.

Perfect for us, since we had to drive into Cathedral City and Palm Desert for my annual visits to the two great quilt shops that I love.  I did well at the first one, and didn’t buy a thing.  The second store caught me, however, with fabric that was the perfect choice for the next big quilt I will be doing for Daughter Deborah.  She has some specific color requests, and while yellow and blue is easy to find, yellow and lavender is a bit harder.  I was thrilled to find the perfect little print to be the focal point for her someday quilt.

We did a Costco run, including the perfect lunch, a Costco hot dog, something we only manage a couple of times a year. Home along the back road yielded gorgeous vistas of wildflowers blooming all over the sandy hills between the interstate and the back roads of Desert Hot Springs.

This afternoon is all about relaxing, writing and reading a bit, grilling some chicken breasts for supper, and waiting for darkness so we can go back to the pools.  So much nicer under moonlight than the bright sun. 

The next few days will be simple, with a special treat tomorrow at the College of the Desert where we will see the “Singing of the Birds” celebration by the local tribes.  On Sunday the brothers and wives will arrive after their three day stint in Quartzsite, and we will have some more time to share with them here at Catalina before we continue eastward on our own.