LAST DESERT SUNRISE FOR A WHILE

We left the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground this morning, and are en route to Northern California for some Holiday Family time. Currently we are in a parking lot at an off ramp along I-5...

Sunrise Screen Shot through the back door screen of the Chinook

WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES

They sure grow 'em big here in the desert...we came upon this snake up on a plateau at the top of a mountain above where we're boondocking:

Big Snake

Little Chinook (that little white dot, center right)

BACK AT COYOTE MOUNTAIN

We're boondocking here at Coyote Mountain again; we'll be here a couple of days. Then, a couple of days at the Palm Canyon Campground of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, to hook up, clean out the RV, and take showers. We're not up to much here, just enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful mountains. Light blogging for the next few days.

RAINBOWS AND SHOWERS

Today began with an awesome double rainbow outside our window, followed by showers. Hot, long ones.

Double rainbow

The Pot O' Gold at the end of the rainbow: shower tokens for Anza-Borrego State Park

PIE.

It would be a shame to be within 50 miles of Julian, CA without stopping in for a pie. And some Apple Nut Bread. And some Pie Crust Cookies. And some Multigrain Julian Sourdough Crostini (2 bags). And since the holidays are around the corner, we also picked up a frozen unbaked Dutch Apple Pie and some Julian Sourdough bread cubes for Christmas stuffing.

On the way back to Ocatillo Wells SVRA, we stopped to hike a bit on the Narrows Earth Trail in Anza-Borrego State Park. The trail was a bit hard to follow (some parts washed away), but it was an interesting climb up through mountain clefts.

View from the highest point we attained on Narrows Earth Trail

Back at home, the sun was beginning to set, and the clouds all around us (360 degrees) were forming into amazing shapes. Here's another "Impressionist Screen Shot" (taken out the back window of the Chinook, through the screen door):

COZY AND WARM DIDN'T HOLD

Well, it was just too cold and windy and uncomfortable at the American Girl Mine site, so we hit the road again. We ended up at the Ocatillo Wells State Vehicular Recreational Area (that's where off-road vehicles go to play), on our way back towards Borrego Springs. On the way here, we passed through Imperial Sand Dunes SRA (State Recreation Area) - another place for ATV's, motorcycles, and dune buggies to enjoy. Driving through the sand dunes is like being on another planet - it's beautiful and eery at the same time:

When we finally pulled into our site for the night, I caught the sunset in the Chinook's window:

BACK IN CALIFORNIA

Well, we're back in California, and now we have to change all the clocks back an hour! So it's dark at 5:30 now. We pulled into our new boondocking site just before night fell. On the way through Yuma we stopped for all the tedious tasks: laundry, gas, dump tanks, oil change, etc., but I did also buy some yarn, and we got some dates from the little town of Dateland - they're delicious. Just over the border of Arizona, into California, we're at an area called Winterhaven (which I understand encompasses a rather large area, popular for boondocking, both within Arizona and into CA.). We plan to stay a few days here, to explore the American Girl Mine. The wind is relentless, and it's cold - unseasonable cold, we're told by locals. But we're cozy and warm, and enjoying the sound of the wind against the Chinook.