California for the rest of the year!

We're all settled into our spot at Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego.  We'll be here, at the water's edge, for the next month.      Pretty nice views on the edge of a pretty nice city.

We managed to get in and set up before the rain that teased us all day finally arrived in earnest.

The ride here was a pleasant one, until we hit the big city traffic.    No incidents, just lots of traffic that we usually try to avoid.

We drove through the Imperial Sand Dunes, along the All American Canal, and "the wall",  past huge energy producing fields.     I-8 took us from sea level to over 4,000 feet in one long, continuous ribbon, then down again.

the great wall

acres of solar panels

it must be a long hot climb in the summer

moving on

Room enough for two?

After another relaxed and beautiful morning yesterday we managed to get out and do a bit of exploring.    We know that there are lots of wild burros in the area and I wanted to see if we could see a few.

Last time we were in this area we stayed a little south of here (Buckskin Mountain State Park) and encountered plenty of the fuzzy little guys.

look at those beautiful eyes

They were habituated to humans and very precocious.

We had no particular plan, just to follow a dirt road here and there to see if we could spot them.

We ended up at Lake Havasu Wildlife Preserve where we parked and followed a trail to the water.      There was no one around and it was a beautiful walk.   No Burros though.

We walked along the water for a while then turned back into the huge sand dunes bordering the marshes.      Dave scrambled to the top of Castle Rock and enjoyed some lovely view, but no Burros.

In the end, we had to content ourselves with much evidence of their presence and be thankful that we had seen so many on our last visit.

Since it was our last evening lakeside, we didn't want to do too much, just relax and watch the show.

Just before noon we left Lake Havasu City and tonight are in an overnight spot in Winterhaven, California, just past Yuma, Arizona.     I don't know what time we arrived or, for that matter, what time it is right now!    Our two phones show different times and one of the tv programs that is listed as being on at 8 is on right now, at what I think is 6 p.m.  Once again, we're right next to the Colorado river which is the border between California and Arizona, so I'll blame that.

I'll think about it tomorrow.    

and again

Another exciting day.   Except today was very windy.

After lunch we managed to drive the jeep a few miles into Lake Havasu City and doot around looking at things.    There are more car/rv/boat dealers per capita here than anywhere we've ever seen.   New and used.    We'd seen a couple of nicer looking motorhomes so we braved the hungry salesmen and took a look.    Upon closer inspection they were very well used....and their windows were all fogged!
  One place had a lot full of classic and unusual cars on consignment so, of course, we had to stroll around.      I won't bore you with more car pictures.

Well, just this one.

this gives new meaning to "high clearance vehicle" says Dave

and maybe this one for you, Nina.

FLAMES!

By then we were exhausted and it was time to head back for happy hour outside beside the beautiful blue lake.

Different day, same day

Well, as Pam predicted, we've done nothing different, haven't explored, haven't even started the Jeep.    Boring?   Not really.

We watch the water birds, the coots, grebes, kingfishers, great blue heron's, cormorants, and mallards.    We watch the hawks and seagulls.   We watch the boats and planes.    We watch Lewis steal away to try and enjoy the water.....

are they watching me?   shhhh don't tell, I'm going in for a quick dunk

mom, mom, come on in, its fun, mom, come on!

We read, we talk, we take short walks along the water, we marvel at the changing faces of the lake, we eat and we sleep.   Sigh.    Somebody's gotta do it.....

  

I'll check back in when I have something more exciting to show you.

Waterfront property

We're transfixed.   We did nothing today except sit outside and look at the view.

water views from every window

Yesterday afternoon we arrived at our site at Lake Havasu State Park along the Colorado River in Arizona.    Somehow the time changed - again - so now we're really mixed up.     When we pulled in we had gained an hour, I think.   This confusion is compounded by the fact that we're in Arizona (in one time zone) but directly across the river is California (in another time zone).      So when we're inside Beluga the clocks say one thing, when we go outside for second cup or happy hour my phone tells me something else.       Sigh.

And.....we don't care what time it is here.    We're in our glory in this site and all we really feel like doing is sitting still and experiencing the views of the sand, the water, the mountains, the clicky, buzzy sounds of the busy little coots, the thunderous sounds of the high performance cigarette boats, the gentle lapping of the water in front of Beluga.    We love how the sun sparkles on the water and how the huge super moon turns night into day.

We enjoyed second cup outside under the light shade of our funny little tree and didn't come in until after happy hour tonight.    We read and talked and not much else and it was a perfectly lovely day.

We're here until Saturday morning.....I suppose we'll get around to a bit of sightseeing by then, but perhaps not.

Last day in Boulder City

We've had an incredibly good time here in Boulder City.   The Elk's Lodge RV park is wonderful, good hook-ups, friendly people and a perfect location.   In between jeeping marvelous desert backroads,  hiking and sightseeing we've managed to take care of mundane tasks of life and complete a safety upgrade to Beluga.

Dave works on his project in our outdoor laundry room!

outside portion of the fire suppression installation

working hands

 sprinkler head installation in the engine bay and the system is complete

We've washed and mowed the poodle.   Fuzzy Wuzzy really needed it this time.
Hiking makes his hair grow.....

Friday was our last hike for this trip.   All the other hikes we took were at the end  jeep roads, but this time our start point was at a parking lot/picnic area (33 holes overlook) in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.     After we parked and put on our boots we followed the birdandhike instructions and walked to the western most picnic table to look for the trail.    They couldn't be right, there was nothing past the table but a steep and stony erosion gully leading down to a wide wash with several paths and elevated saddle areas.    I wasn't crazy about scrambling down that gully without knowing which way to head for the trail to White Owl Canyon.    We got back in the car and went to the Visitor's Center for a map of some sort, or at least some better directions.    No luck, no map.   All the ranger said was that the Canyon hike was very worth the trip down.     Do we go back and see if we could figure it out?    Yep, that's what we did.

Dave scouts ahead while waiting for me patiently......

  
We (I) took our time, used our hiking sticks and were at the bottom before we knew it.   After a few changes of direction we came upon a clear trail and we were on our way!

Is this the right way Dave?

The Canyon walls became more narrow as we approached the slot area.

 We could see evidence of the Canyon's namesake, white owls, along ledges and outside deep holes in the porous rock sides.

We never actually saw an owl but their sprays of "white wash" were everywhere.
Pam wrote about finding numerous owl pellets below these roosts so we were on the look out as we walked along.

Dave found a pellet outside one of the large holes.   After teasing it apart he found the remnants of an owl's recent meal, a small rodent of some sort.  Tiny, delicate bones and fur were all that was left...burp.

Not fun for everyone, I suppose, but we were fascinated by these pellets and the minuscule remains contained in them.

We spent quite awhile in the Canyon, walking and looking.   We enjoyed the cool respite the high walls offered.   It is still quite hot here and the steep crawl down combined with a shade less hike along the wash made the dim White Owl Canyon feel luxurious.

Here and there the hot sun found its way to the bottom and lit sections of wall in a most beautiful way.

Once through the narrows we came upon a huge culvert carrying the trail under a road.     It gave us an odd sensation as we followed each other through it.   Sound was deadened and accentuated at the same time and the rings of steel made my vision zig about.....twilight zone!

Don't go into the light Dave!

We decided to head back, the sun was beginning to sink in the sky and we knew we had limited time left.    We didn't want to be wandering about in the dark.

ready to hike back up that hill?

he waits patiently

the two Italian cars eye each other jealously....

Mother Nature showed up tonight to wish us beautiful farewell.

Tomorrow we'll be in Arizona at Lake Havasu State Park.