A Full-time Life

Category: The Whole USA

TUCSON PART 2, 2008 (and 2005-06 and 2003)

We’ve been in Tucson three different times and certainly don’t feel as if we’ve exhausted all its possibilities. This was our second stay at Voyager RV Resort and it doesn’t hurt a bit that Voyager is a great place to live. People are friendly, the resort is well run and nicely located — easy to get to anyplace in Tucson — and there is so much to do that you really wouldn’t have to leave the resort at all to have a good time. You can read about some of the available activities at this website — it really has something for everybody. http://www.voyagerrv.com/home.html

But we still enjoy spending some of our time exploring the surrounding area. Here are a few more Tucson area attractions that we especially enjoyed.

Tucson Botanical Gardens: It’s a beautiful garden oasis in the middle of a lovely old residential part of downtown Tucson. The non-profit garden is dedicated to xeriscaping and natural plant education. In 2005, we visited when it was decorated for Christmas with luminarias. http://www.tucsonbotanical.org

Pima Air-Space Museum and tour of airplane graveyard: This is a huge and well-done museum dedicated to the history of flight, military and civilian. It includes a tour of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARG), also known as the Boneyard, which is on the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. http://www.pimaair.org The airforce base and boneyard are located on the same side of town as Voyager.

Titan Missile Site: This is a short day trip from Tucson — located 20 miles away in Green Valley. During the cold war, Titan missiles circled the city of Tucson. When they were deactivated, the Pima Air-Space Museum received permission to keep one and to make the site available for the public to tour. You can also access more information about this slightly chilling but very interesting place through the the Air-Space Museum site above.

Biosphere 2: In Oracle, about 30 miles from Tucson. It was an artificial ecological system that had wetlands, oceans, plains, and people all living within the 3+ acre completely enclosed atmosphere. (It is called Biosphere 2 because Biosphere 1 is the Earth.) The purpose was to explore the interaction between life systems for ecological purposes and to gather information for possible space colonization. It functioned as a closed system from 1991 through 2005. After running into financial problems, the original foundation sold the structure. It was run for a while by Columbia University. It now serves as a huge research lab and has been taken over by the University of Arizona. http://www.b2science.org

Baseball Spring Training: When we stayed for the entire Winter season in 2005-06, we went to several games that the Seattle Mariners (our favorite team) played with the two teams that train in Tucson. (The Mariners train in Phoenix.) Great fun and we would do this again if we are in the area during the right time. We might even go to see some games that the Mariners weren’t playing in!

The Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum More a natural history botanical garden than a museum, it is pretty much all outdoors, with plants and animals in natural desert settings. We learned the names of many desert plants that we’d been lumping together under the all-purpose title of “cactus.” The bright colors in this picture of an agave plant have not been touched up at all. On a sunny day, this is what the desert looks like.

We had seen most of the desert animals before in real natural settings (even the mountain lion, although that was many years ago), but the cunning little coati was one we’d never seen before, so we took some pictures.

This Museum is a great place to walk and to observe and to learn about life in the desert. If we lived here, an annual membership would definitely be worthwhile.

March 5, 2008
TUCSON’S GREAT OUTDOORS

We like Tucson. The area is rich with things to do and see. It’s a good place to live, with all the big city amenities, but also many easy opportunities for getting out into the great outdoors — a perfect combination for us. Except that there’s no ocean in Arizona and after a while we miss being near the water.

Apparently it’s too dry here for bugs as well. I’m sure this means something serious ecologically, but on the short-term, it’s a plus for people living here. You can sit outside or leave your screen door open during the middle of the day and on into evening (when it’s warm enough) and you get no insects at all. Nor do you see them much at all when you’re out in the parks walking.

Here are some of our favorite places to explore.

Saguaro National Park East and West . The two parts of Saguaro National Park border the east and west city limits. You can drive straight down Broadway from the main part of the city and end up at a trail-head to Saguaro East. Here are some varied descriptions of the giant saguaro cactus, from literature in the Visitor Center: “the monarch of the Sonoran desert, a prickly horror, the symbol of the American Southwest, and a plant with personality.” Their fanciful shapes can seem almost human. (Except that they can grow up to 50 feet in height.)

The desert grows on you and after a while and you really start to really appreciate it’s different kind of beauty. (The Sonoran Desert has the greatest variety of plant and animal life of any North American desert.)

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On one of our visits to Saguaro East, we saw a whole family of javalinas feasting on cacti. Their feeding habits are kind of harsh. It’s easy to see where they’ve fed, because you can see bent over, dying plants where they’ve been nibbling.

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The Sky Islands (Sky Island Scenic Drive in the Santa Catalina Mountains) Sky Islands are isolated mountain ranges rising from the desert the same way that islands rise from the ocean floor. Driving the 7,000 foot climb from Tucson to the top of the Santa Catalina Mountains takes less than an hour, but is the equivalent of going from the desert to northwestern Canada. You pass giant saguaro cactus, then oak woodlands. Then, about halfway up, there’s the first sign of a cooler climate, with ponderosa pines. There are plenty of places to get out and take short walks. You need a jacket by the time you get to the top.

Sabino Canyon. This oasis is located in the southeastern foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The canyon begins at the top of Mt. Lemmon. There is a lot of plant-life and birds and even some water (the river does actually have some, unlike most Arizona riverbeds).

For a small fee, you can board a guided-tour shuttle bus, which takes you into the deep crevice along the winding river. You can choose to hop off and on at any of several stops, but if you ride straight through to the top and back it is about a 25-minute ride. The presentation by the guide is informative. We got off at the top and then walked the 3.8 miles back down. All down-hill is our idea of a good way to go mountain hiking.

Madera Canyon, Agua Caliente, and Tohono Chul Parks : These are three different city or regional parks that are well kept up and have wonderful birding opportunities. They are easy drives from Voyager. We like that it is possible to drive to any one of these parks (or Saguaro NP for that matter), walk a little, maybe watch birds or wildlife for a while, and still have time to buy groceries — or go swimming or visit with friends and neighbors back home at Voyager.

March 1, 2008
NEAR VERNAL UTAH, 2004 (Part 2)

We went to Vernal because we had wanted to see Utah’s famous Flaming Gorge and the Green River and to visit Dinosaur National Monument.

So, our visit to the McConkie ranch (previous post) was a great example of serendipity because we’d never even heard of it until we got to the Vernal KOA where we stayed. It really pays to pick up that tourist literature and to talk to people in the parks where you are staying.

The Gorge was every bit as breathtaking as we had been led to believe. Breathtaking not only because of the incredible colors and formations, but also because you have to hold your breath as you drive into Vernal on a long 8% grade. There were actually roadsigns that read “Vernal, 10 hairpin turns ahead” then “Vernal, 8 more hairpin turns left” and so on. Always fun pulling your house behind you on that kind of road.

Here is just one of many good links to more information about the Flaming Gorge:

http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/flaming_gorge/nra.html

(the nra stands for National Recreation Association, by the way.)

Dinosaur National Monument was truly interesting. However, we should have had a young grandson with us. At that time, we had two of them back in the Northwest who were at the perfect age to be experts in the matter at hand, so we missed them here especially. Little boys and dinosaurs belong together.

For more information about Dinosaur National Monument go to: http://www.nps.gov/dino/

(Don’t think — as I did when I first heard of it — that this is one of the many dinosaur tourist traps. This is the real thing, where paleontologists have been working for many years. There are many acres of places still to be excavated where these bones lie buried.)

February 24, 2008
ROCK ART, MCCONKIE RANCH, Vernal Utah, August 2004

Jean McConkie McKenzie is a woman of about our age, who has lived all her life on the McConkie Ranch in Dry Fork Canyon near Vernal Utah. The Ranch, besides being the family home and livelihood, also just happens to contain hundreds of panels of Fremont Culture rock art. It is listed on the Utah Historical Register. The drawings are on a sandstone “Navajo Formation” cliff. There are petroglyphs (chiseled) and pictographs (painted) figures. Some are a combination.

Jean and her mother, Sadie McConkie, have always done everything they could to honor and preserve the drawings, while still making them available to the public. They ask only that visitors respect their property and do no damage to the panels. There is no admission charge and only a small old-fashioned refrigerator with pop and water available on the honor system. The family has made trails up to the panels and placed a few explanatory and directional signs.

The trails take you up very close to the drawings and some of the figures are very large. One drawing, called the three kings, is nine feet tall, but we could not get a very good picture of that one. We loved this one, which must be a family portrait.

The paths are not especially difficult to navigate, except that the day we were there it was a very warm summer day. It was nice to cool down by sitting in this overhang (where, we decided, the people who carved these drawings certainly rested centuries ago).

The Fremont Culture flourished in this area from 1 to 1200 AD. They were farmers, but apparently not so domesticated that they lost their fighting abilities, because some of the panels show them carrying weapons.

When we returned from our hike, we were fortunate to run into Mrs. McKenzie, who was replenishing the refrigerator after a trip to town. She told us that her family has not tried to translate the art but that they’ve had fun speculating. She said ten people can arrive at ten different explanations and definitions as to the true meanings.

We told her that we hoped our pictures would turn out and thanked her for allowing us to roam about her property. She said that she had made a little book of photos and drawings and had a few copies. We purchased the small paperback for four bucks. It’s a lovely little pamphlet and we were happy to have it.

I did a google search today because I wanted to check that the ranch was still open to the public and to see how the family was doing. The first thing that came up was a rare-book website which has Jean’s booklet for sale at $45.00.

We always pick up reams of tourist literature and pass it on or toss it when we move on from an area. I’m glad this one didn’t get put into the toss-out stack.

From what we could learn, apparently the ranch is still open the same as it was, but we were unable to find out anything more about the family.

If anyone has heard anything new about the drawings or the McConkie-McKenzie family, please leave a comment or e-mail us.

The number by this successful hunter was put on by one of the Universities about 50 years ago. Of course, now they know better. An archeology class from the University of Utah was coming to the ranch later that day. Jean is happy for all the work that students have done over the years to learn more about this legacy.

February 24, 2008
CHACO CANYON, June 2006

The Four Corners area is high on our list of places to go back to, because we didn’t see nearly enough of the area during our first visit. We did get to explore Chaco Canyon, a National Cultural-Historical Park.

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The Chaco buildings were a center for Pueblo cultures about 850 to 1250 A.D. It was during that time that the Anasazi (ancient ones) began to settle into a more urban culture after what had been a nomadic existence. Tree-ring dating establishes that there was a severe drought in the area beginning in 1150; by 1250 the buildings and area were abandoned. Nobody knows for sure what happened to the Chacoan people, but Pueblo Indian people of today trace part of their ancestry to Chaco. The area is a spiritual center for Hopi, Zuni, Acoma, Zia, and other Rio Grande Pueblo people.

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In the visitor center, we learned that archaeologists working in the Chaco buildings have uncovered evidence of advanced engineering and astronomy projects as well as artistic and architectural achievements.

We toured Pueblo Bonito, a 600 room Kiva (ceremonial structure). All of the rooms were for public use. It was built over the course of 300 years. Nobody really knows where the homes were or where the people went when the area was abandoned.

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Some of the doorways that we went through were very small, so exploring the Kiva can be a little bit daunting.

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Chaco is one of the few places where our RV is too big. It was 50 miles from the RV Park where we stayed (in Bloomfield, New Mexico) — and then a very rough road down into the canyon. There is a small RV park near the monument, but ours wouldn’t have fit into the spaces. It would be nice to stay there and have more time to explore and less on the road. But you can’t have everything, and 99% of the time, our home is perfect for us.

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Here are some close-ups of the Kiva construction.

February 16, 2008
LOUISIANA Spring of 2005

We took a long-weekend side-trip to New Orleans while we were staying on the Gulf Coast. We had fun doing all the tourist things. But in retrospect, this trip has very sad associations because Hurricane Katrina happened the following September. We were back in the Northwest by then and watched the TV coverage in horror, seeing places that we recognized totally destroyed. Of course, we would have been horrified anyway, as everyone was, especially with the aftermath, but having been there so recently put a personal face on it.

This is one of the many street bands performing in the French Quarter.

New Orleans’ cemetery with above-ground graves.

As it turned out, we got there on St Patrick’s Day weekend (not really on purpose) and as if we hadn’t seen enough Parades during Mardi Gras in Mobile, here New Orleans was throwing a huge St Pat’s party and parade. The floats were similar to the Mobile ones (mostly green of course) except besides the usual stuff, the Krews also threw cabbages and potatoes. Apparently it’s tradition, so that parade-goers can go home and make an Irish Stew. The fellow standing next to us was happy to take any of ours (which we caught only out of self-defense — believe me, you didn’t want to not be paying attention). Wild!

We’re glad we saw New Orleans (while it was still its old self) and hope it get backs to what it was (I was going to say back to normal, but New Orleans wasn’t ever exactly that.)

After we left Alabama, we spent the month of April in Louisiana Cajun Country. We stayed in New Iberia and in Carencro.

We had an absolute blast! While we wouldn’t necessarily go back to New Orleans, we would LOVE to go back to Cajun Country. It’s a different and exotic world. Even the language is not English as we know it. And the food is wonderful and not as we know it either. We ate at two famous Cajun restaurants — Prejeans and Mulettas — where you also get music and dance along with dinner. We loved Cajun food and even learned to cook some of it ourselves! (You could make a pretty long list of the foods you can get here that you don’t find in other places: crawfish all different ways, boudin sausage, andoille, gumbo….)

Avery Island is where McIlhenny Tabasco Sauce products are made. You drive by acres of red peppers, and get a very nice tour through the plant (and gift shop of course). This is Bird Island, right near the plant. One of the McIlhenny family was active in saving the White Egret from near extinction. (Like a lot of exotic birds, its feathers were once prized for ladies hats.)

We took a swamp-boat tour of Vermillion Bayou. Our tour guide, Marcus de la Houssage, who owned the boat, is a proud native Cajun. He could drive that boat through swamps that looked totally clogged with duckweed — and get up really close to these denizens of the Bayou.

We went to several parts of the Jean Lafitte Historical Park, getting history lessons and even good Cajun music and dance.

We really do hope we get to go back to Cajun Country sometime!

February 9, 2008
A TRIP SOUTH — Fall, 2004

We took a long journey to new territory in the Fall of 2004. After summer visits with our family in the Northwest and Colorado, and some time in South Dakota (now our home state) we drove through parts of the middle of the United States – Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana.

Then we spent quite a while in Louisville, Kentucky. (We actually stayed in a KOA across the Ohio River in Clarksville Indiana – it’s just a drive across the bridge). I’m standing on the high school campus where my mom’s family home used to be.

My mother was born and raised in Louisville and her family had lived there for generations, but she came out to the Northwest before she met and married my dad. Mom took us to visit when I was three or four (when my dad was overseas in the service) but I hadn’t been since. There were lots of Kentucky stories when I was growing up though. So Louisville had a kind of mythical status in our family. It was enjoyable and kind of sad all at the same time to see places we’d only ever heard about.

Generations ago, the property where the Louisville Zoo is now belonged to some of my ancestors. This memorial is there. It’s not everybody who has family buried at a zoo.

We also stayed for a while at Bardstown. Kentucky, of course, is famous for its bourbon and I think it’s illegal to go to the state without sampling. It was really quite interesting to learn the process of how it is made. It’s the water from Kentucky’s creeks running over the limestone rock that makes it so good! These are barrels of whiskey aging at Maker’s Mark Distillery. The open vat is whiskey mash before it goes into the barrels. I guess no germs can survive in the alcohol.

We toured Mammoth Caves National Park. Caves are very difficult places to take pictures.

Then we spent a while in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and Asheville, North Carolina. We saw the tourist stuff at Pigeon Forge (Dollywood!) and the Biltmore Mansion in Asheville (the grandest home we’d ever seen at that point, before we went to England).

We drove and hiked in the beautiful Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

When we started on this leg of the journey, we didn’t have advance reservations anywhere and we had no concrete plans except to see the Louisville area. Everything else we did was just a matter of enjoying whatever we happened upon. But it was already getting cold in Louisville in October and we got a sprinkling of snow in Asheville, so we needed to move South before Winter really set in.

Bill did some research on winter weather and RV parks and we decided to head to the Gulf Coast. Tired of being on the road, we settled down for the winter at an RV Park called Plantation Harbor. It’s in the village of Elberta – between Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida. We really lucked out by landing there, because we met some wonderful people and had some great times. The Park is on Wolf Creek, which drains into the Gulf. Our good neighbor in the park had a boat and often invited Bill to hitch a ride; fishing was great. We did a lot of exploring in the area too, since everything about the South was new to us. These two pictures are on the walking area by the Creek in back of the RV resort.

The Lower Alabama area is very friendly to its winter visitors. Scenery is beautiful and there is a lot of good local food. We almost lived on shrimp and other seafood and learned to like grits and collards (sort-of). There was a good artisanal cheese-maker right outside of our little town and a nice farmer’s market. (We bought just-picked farm strawberries — in February.) Restaurant food was good and inexpensive. Local groups had dinners and other events that welcomed the winter visitors. We even joined the Friends of the Library in Foley (the neighboring town) and Bill took a photo software class at Faulkner State University In Foley.

We really enjoyed this whole trip and we had a great time on the Third Coast, which is what the locals call this area of the Gulf. Traveling clear across the country from Northwest to Southeast was a great learning experience.

February 2, 2008
MARDI GRAS 2005, MOBILE

We went to our first Mardi Gras celebration while we were staying in Alabama. Every year, when we were kids growing up in the Northwest, we had to have Lent and give up candy or something, but nobody ever told us that there were people in this world who got to have a month-long party to get ready for Lent. Gosh, it would have been fun to have known that back then! Even In later years, when we started to see things about Mardi Gras on the news, I still thought that it was a one-day party and only in New Orleans. And attending that party wasn’t at all high on my priority list.

But in Alabama we learned that Mobile was the first American city to celebrate Mardi Gras – starting in in 1703! They think that New Orleans is an upstart. Mobile calls its celebration “America’s Family Mardi Gras” and it really is fun. It’s hard to explain why. Partly, I guess, it’s the Mardi Gras motto “Laissez les bon temps roullex” – (Let the good times roll.) The attitude is infectious. You’d have to try pretty darn hard not to enjoy yourself.

There are Mardi Gras parades for two weeks, sometimes two or three on one day! Each parade is put on by a different Mystic Society. As far as we could learn, these are Civic groups (kind of like really happy Rotarians) with their major goal being to put on these parades for everybody and a party that night for their members and guests. The Societies that have been around the longest get the choicest days.

These floats are not like those at any other parade.

People from our RV Park would carpool in a convoy. Those who were veteran attendees knew the best parking and standing places.

For our first Parade, we just went along for the ride since our neighbors were all going, but after that you couldn’t keep us away. We cannot explain why it’s so much fun to catch the silly ”throws” – beads, doubloons, stuffed animals, candy, and moon pies. But I guarantee that anyone who goes will enjoy it. The Krews (those on the floats) are generous – and, remember, this is Mobile – the family-friendly Mardi Gras. All you have to do is holler “throw me something, mister” — sometimes we ladies would say “throw me something for my grandkids.”

We went to, maybe, a dozen parades within the two weeks – probably more than we’d been to in our entire lives and way more fun than any other.

One major rule for Mobile Mardi Gras – another difference from New Orleans – is that watchers are absolutely not allowed to cross the barriers. Anyone who does will be arrested and fined (we saw it happen). Note the long-handled catcher. Some people use them to make it easier to catch more of the throws. (You really don’t need it.)

After the last parade on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), the streets are swept clean and downtown gets back to its normal business-like appearance. Kind of like Brigadoon. Fun while it lasts.

Our RV Park celebrated the occasion with dinners and parties and our own parade (just around the RV resort) on the last Saturday. Bill was elected King! The election involved a very rigorous process — I think it was drawing the lowest card after a potluck dinner. But it was fun. We still keep in touch with the lovely Queen (chosen through the same process) and her husband. After all, when you’ve shared the throne — or being spouses of royalty — it gives you a special bond.

Back home, at the end of the two weeks, we collected all our loot and packaged it up to send to the to grandkids. So it turned out not to be free after all, because of the UPS bill. (The clerk at the UPS store couldn’t believe what we were sending.) But it was worth it — Northwest kids deserve to know about Mardi Gras too.

February 1, 2008
SALVATION MOUNTAIN AND SLAB CITY, 2007-08

Niland is the closest town to Fountain of Youth. It was our mailing address, but it’s actually about 20 miles from the resort. Hitch-hikers and boondockers (RVers who park out in the desert for free) know Niland (which is a tiny, dusty little village) as the “gateway” to Slab City, the former WWII Camp Dunlap. The camp was used by General Patton for tank and desert warfare practice. The land has been used by squatters ever since the camp was closed after that war ended.

Seasonal snowbirds (often in high-end motor homes) and full-time desert dwellers in junk-yard rejects reside next to each other on the crumbling concrete. There’s no running water or electricity. One article I read described Slab City as “post-apocalyptic.” This kind of snow-birding isn’t for us, but some RVers really enjoy it. The picture on the right is one of the “buildings” It doesn’t give the full impact. This is one of those you really have to see it to believe it places.

Even before you reach Slab City off of the dusty back road from Niland, you can see Salvation Mountain, also on the old Camp Dunlap property (and also “squatting” there for free). It’s a surreal, technicolor mountain, built by one man who has a kind of singular purpose that is incomprehensible to most of us. Leonard Knight is 74 years old and has been living and working out here for almost 25 years. The Mountain is the height of a three-story building and is a couple hundred feet wide (so far). It looks like a 3-D vision from an odd coloring book, standing up there out in the middle of the flat scrub land.

We always like it when we get the opportunity to meet local “characters” and Leonard is certainly one of the most interesting and eccentric ever. He says that the Mountain is his testimony to God’s universal love. We aren’t capable of judging the Christian merits of the project (nor would we want to try). We just admire it as folk-art.

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And we really enjoyed visiting with Leonard and getting a glimpse into his very different world. Leonard didn’t do any proselytizing or preaching to us (probably recognizing that it wouldn’t do much good.) He and Bill talked about how to make adobe and discussed the finer points of mountain construction. We talked about travel (he is originally from Vermont). And just told him that we admired his work.

He has built the mountain mostly with donated paint and adobe that he makes from the soil of the desert.

Right now, he is expanding the dome that he calls his museum. He has piled up tractor tires with poles and limbs that he found out on the desert to make “trees” that help support the hay bales that form the dome. He coats everything with adobe, forming a smooth coat on the hay and giving texture to the trees and flowers. We asked if he was a little bit afraid working up so high in the “trees”. He said the they rose up so gradually that, by the time he got up so high, he was used to it.

Leonard sleeps in one or another of the several inoperable vehicles that are parked beside the mountain. You can see one of them in the picture on the left.

We’ve driven the 25 miles to look at the Mountain each time we’ve stayed at Fountain of Youth. Leonard said he is getting quite a few more visitors these days because he and Salvation Mountain are briefly featured in the book and movie “Into the Wild.” (He wasn’t sure what the movie was about, but he said the film-makers were really nice people.) Nobody else was there on the weekday morning we went, but as we left, about 10 other people stopped by.

He has just finished creating a miniature version of the Mountain, which is going to go into the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.

This is the outside of the dome, with window panes from scrounged glass. You can see one of his work areas.

Anyone who enjoys seeing things that are out-of-the-ordinary and meeting people who are one-of-a-kind would enjoy a visit to Salvation Mountain and Slab City.

January 25, 2008
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH 2007-2008

We have stayed several different times at Fountain of Youth RV resort. near Niland, CA. and the Salton Sea. FOY (as it is known) is a gated RV resort in the middle of a salty desert. There is a lot of friendly energy here, even though the “Fountain of Youth” part doesn’t exactly seem to be working (we are still at least middle-aged and so are most of the people here). There are enough activities within the resort to keep you as busy as you want to be. These include two large swimming pools, six hot tubs (some fed with mineral springs), game areas (outdoor and indoor), planned activities and entertainment, and even a convenience store and cafe. The FOY website shows off all of the pools and in-park activities much better than our pictures could. http://www.foyspa.com

We’ve never stayed a full season, because the resort is a bit isolated. Although there’s a little convenience store at the resort, you have to drive an hour to either El Centro or (the other way) to the Palm Springs area to shop at any kind of larger store. This year, we stayed a month. We had a nice view of the Chocolate Mountains out our window. We enjoyed swimming and soaking, water aerobics, the exercise room, playing games and visiting with our neighbors.

But even when we’re living in a resort, we enjoy exploring the surrounding area. Here are a few of the things we have gone to see in the area. (Click to enlarge)

A convention of pelicans on the Salton Sea and a view of the sea and mountains from the shores of the nearby State Park. Although the resort is isolated, its advantage is that is the only place where you get the winter-time benefits of desert living and also be close to the excellent birding area that is the Salton Sea.

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There is geothermal activity all around this area. These boiling mud pots are just out in a farmer’s field. People are neither encouraged nor discouraged from visiting. There are no keep-out signs or fences, but neither are there any signs pointing the way. It’s kind of an explorer’s badge of honor to find them.

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The Glamis Sand Dunes, about 40 miles southeast. High rolling dunes as far as the eye can see. Highway-type snowplows are stationed at frequent intervals to keep the windblown sand off the roads. There’s a fortune in rolling stock parked out there every weekend. There’s a common dune buggy hauler bumper sticker that says “It’s a sand thing. You wouldn’t understand.” Yes, exactly.

This is really the low desert. You can see the sea-level mark on this huge tank is at a sugar factory on the highway toward El Centro. There is a huge pile of sugar behind these tanks, just out in the weather. It’s almost enough to make you give up desserts.

January 22, 2008