moving day

We said our goodbyes to Nina and Polly this morning and followed Pam and John to our next stop in Borrego Springs.

We drove by the Salton Sea, past date and citrus groves, vineyards and field crops.  

We survived the road from hell, S22, and saw large groups of ATV and OHV enthusiasts camped together in the desert, kicking up clouds of dust.    We passed Rockhouse Road where many people enjoy boondocking near Clark Dry Lake.   This year there is much confusion about new rules connected with Anza Borrego State Park's recent purchase of many acres of this boondocker's heaven.   The situation isn't clear, no one actually knows where the park ends and private land begins.   No one likes change.

We're here at The Springs at Borrego Springs, a lovely RV park and golf course.  We have a site until Wednesday and after that, who knows!

Oh, and I baked a Julian Pie Company's Apple Cherry Crumble pie for dessert tonight.... my goodness, they make yummy pies.

pleasant last day in the Palm Springs area

McCormick's Classic Car Auction in Palm Springs is where we spent the afternoon.

We've been there before and shown you pictures before, so I won't bore you with very many this time.

1957 Buick restomod

 It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day and we enjoyed strolling among the row after row of classic cars to be sold during the 3 day auction.

Some of the cars were stunning, some were quirky, some were rough, some were collector cars, and some took us down memory lane.    There were Ferrari's, Corvettes, Bentley's, Rolls, old and new Mercedes, MG's, a vintage Austin who started its life as a British taxi, street rods, vintage Chevy's, Pontiacs, Cadillacs, rat rods, resto mods, Austin Healeys, tricked out Jeeps, on and on.

interesting side mirror detail on this cool rat rod

down my memory lane......

under the hood of a hemi Barracuda
that will probably sell for near a million dollars.

fun house mirrors in chrome

The dry desert air and the strong sunshine combined to make everything shine and sparkle.    Of course, my eye was drawn to our reflections in the chrome and perfect paint jobs....indulge me.

Siamese Suzi and twin Pams

see me standing in front of that green Austin Healey?

When we'd had our fill, we stopped for lunch at my favorite pizza place - Bill's.
The pies were delicious, as usual, and on the way back to our car we strolled down N. Palm Canyon Drive looking in the glitzy windows and reading the stars on the sidewalk.  

A few mundane stops on the way home, a very pleasant happy hour with Nina, Polly and Armando and our day was over.    Time flies when you're having fun!

Tomorrow morning it's slides in, jacks up, engine started and we're off to Borrego Springs.

clean

Nina took a great picture of Lewis yesterday on our hike (thanks Nina).    You'll see why we were so excited to have scored an appointment with Mr. David's Mobile Dog Grooming and Hair Salon's Dirty Desert Dog specialist today....

wild man of the desert

He was a bit late getting here, but Lewis was patient.

patient boy

He finally arrived and set right to work.  First task was to wash off all that desert dust....

Pam's view of the proceedings

Sasha enjoys being part of the action, even though there was very little dry ground on which to doze.   The groomer didn't have time to squeeze her in so she'll get a nice warm bath another day.

voila

Whitewater Preserve

This morning we (Pam, John, Dave and I, Nina and Paul's dad, Armando, Lewis and Polly) went for a hike in nearby Whitewater Preserve.   We all drove separate cars to allow for different hiking tastes and distances...it worked out well I think.    After much discussion, we decided that Sasha would be happier staying home in air conditioned Beluga.  She's such a trooper that we knew she'd try to keep up with us, and we also knew she couldn't possibly.

The other evening, at our margarita dinner, Nina suggested we take this hike.
Sadly, Paul was out of town and couldn't join us today, we all missed him.

Whitewater Preserve is a 2,851 acre wilderness preserve, the Whitewater river running through its center.   Barely running at this time of year, but the presence of any running water in this desert environment seems so otherworldly to me.

The stone lined sandy trail begins alongside a beautifully clear pond and between two huge palms.

Dogs are allowed on this trail, on leash, and Lewis was almost beside himself with excitement.    My right arm and his neck are now at least 6 inches longer as a result of his constant pull on the leash.    The trail was narrow and we walked along mostly single file.  Nina and Polly were first, and Lewis wanted to be up there with those two.   Oh my...  He chortled and whistled and cried with sheer excitement.    After a half mile or so, we let both dogs off their leashes and they were free to move at their own pace.

It was quite warm out, and we were happy when we came to the slow moving, shallow river.  It ran along in the shade of huge fanglomerate cliffs, we enjoyed the shade and the dogs enjoyed galloping around in the water.

Lewis smells a dead thing

We continued along the trail until we came to a fork.   John and Pam decided to take the trail that wound up into the mountains and the rest of us turned back to check out the trout ponds and picnic area.

a required sit for treat at the fork in the trail

After Pam and John left us we explored more of the riverbank on our way back.

In 1939 this canyon was home to the Whitewater Trout Company, a family owned company supplying trout to the lakes in the San Diego area.    In 2006 the company closed and a group of conservationists bought the land to keep it from being developed.   The Wildlands Conservancy was then able to buy it at a discounted rate, dismantle the commercial trout hatchery and build what is now the Whitewater Preserve to provide free access for hiking, backpacking, picnicking and outdoor education.

The picnic area and remaining trout ponds are simply beautiful.   We walked along the different ponds, watching the huge trout swim lazily by.

Dave looks at fish, Lewis looks for Polly

  Trees shading the granite picnic tables were teeming with birds - flickers, woodpeckers, vireo, phainopepla and more I couldn't see well enough to identify.

Dave and I decided to stay and enjoy lunch under the huge cottonwoods and sycamores.

tiny yellow blooms on a brittlebush 

mounds of brittlebush line the road

On our way home we stopped at the Windmill Market, home of the best date shake in the valley (self proclaimed).   It was very good.

Tomorrow Mr. David's Mobile Dog Grooming and Hair Salon has promised to send his much sought after Dirty Desert Dog Specialist to wash and clip Lewis.