beluga

beluga

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Another desert drive

It rained Monday night and into Tuesday.    Dave and I are fighting a little cold so we took the rainy desert time to just relax.   We did a bit of grocery shopping but otherwise did nothing of any note.

The "winter storm" moved out yesterday it was a beautiful and sunny day.   Golf happened.

the Wrights herd the 9th hole Wigeons

Today we spent a lazy morning at Beluga then headed out to check out a spot that sounded interesting.

our beautiful site


The Wright's went out on a hike and we took the Jeep to see if we could find a geographic area called the gas domes.

I love riding through miles and miles of emptiness.   The sky is so blue, the sand patterns so mesmerizing, the quiet so absolute.  Peace.



We discovered some interesting concretions and small, quirky rock formations.





and ended up at a couple of small, bubbling gas domes.   The grey volcano like mud pots are cold to the touch with large gas bubbles rising to the surface in an irregular pattern.







We left the gas domes and followed the trail through the stark desert.   We came upon a small artesian well left when a 1919 oil exploration discovered geothermal water instead of oil.  The only evidence was a sputtering pipe at the base of a small palm tree.  Warmish water spurted from the pipe and created a narrow channel of water running off into the desert.



Birdsong.....birdsong in the otherwise silent desert.   We both remarked on the wonderful sounds at the well. 


There was a small flock of what we finally decided were Horned Larks.   From these terribly fuzzy photos, what do you think?    We want to go back sometime and just sit quietly with binoculars to see what the water brings us.




We enjoyed a yummy Mexican dinner at Carmelitas with the Wrights when we returned home and now we're all settled down for the evening.


10 comments:

  1. Awesome post Sue! Love the blue skies and desert photos! You sure found some interesting things along the way. Love the stream of water and the birds.

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  2. Looks like Horned Larks to us, too. :-) What a peaceful drive and beautiful skies. I've never heard of carbonated mud! "Baloop, baloop" haha!

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  3. The cold certainly is going around right now! Those are very interesting formations and quite a unique area.

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  4. How strange that there are no plants other than the lone palm tree growing near the water!

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  5. There certainly is a lot to keep us busy here in the desert. That is the area we visited a few years back at the gas dome. I wasn't sure til I saw the photo. There must be a very high mineral content near that well since there isn't any other greenery. It would seem the birds would bring seeds. Another great day in paradise!

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  6. This is such a popular destination, I'm surprised you there without the roar of ATVs, UTVs, bikes a the loud conversations from them showing off their new toys.

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  7. Another fun and quirky destination. Love those all alone peaceful drives under blue skies. Your pics are wonderful. Widgeon-herding Wrights - I love it LOL!!

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  8. Hmm, never heard of the gas domes - interesting. Al just came down with a cold himself and I'll probably follow suit soon. Really puts a damper on the fun.

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  9. What a treat! so many far flung areas you explored and shared with us! Beautiful photos Sue and I did wish we were there to have fun with everyone!

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  10. You guys find the coolest places and I am so glad you share them with us!

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