Tuesday, Feb. 14th and we
woke up unsure of what the day was going to bring. First, we see sun, then we
see clouds and more clouds, then the sun began to come back. Nevertheless, the
heat arrived, no matter sun or cloud and this was going to be a good day.
and although this looks like evening, the colour is just off. This is the moment this morning when I knew the clouds were clearing out for me |
Originally, meaning last night, we
thought we’d just sit today, stay put and enjoy the reading outside and save
our exploring days until later this week.
This morning when we checked the
Weather Network it is indicating chance of rain, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
That changes things.
Our spot, views all around us of the mountains and no one too close |
Bill hadn’t tilted the solar panels
yet, pleased with yesterday’s performance and up to this point we hadn’t
completely decided how long we’d stay. This morning he went out and set up our
portable 120-watt panel facing the southeast. Almost immediately the battery
power went from 12.1 first thing to 12.4 and ever climbing.
By this time, we had decided to laze
around for most of the morning and go touring this afternoon.
Clemson curled up in the chair and my sunflower guarding our site |
We could only
have 3 dry days to do that, we’ve choose to never miss an opportunity and come
Friday we’ll know what we want to do beyond that. We had a late breakfast, I packed a cooler with water and
all three of us drove down Borrego Salton Seaway/S22 into the town of Borrego
Springs.
Band setting up to entertain |
Huge trees and shade |
Christmas Circle Park |
In dead centre of the spoke-designed
town, I was immediately reminded of a miniature Goderich, a town back home in
Ontario. The park in the middle is called Christmas Circle and presented us
with the greenest grass we’ve seen in a long time. Well, no kidding! We’re in
the desert most of the time!
Very pretty area with picnic tables
and gazebo shelters and a small band of musicians priming up under one. Today,
being Tuesday, there was no hustle and bustle of the well-known Friday Market
but that is okay. We may come back since it is so close to our camping
location.
We parked and walked the streets to
see what was offered. There was a nursery across from the Circle so started
there.
It was hot and you could tell Clemson wasn’t keen on walking on the hot
sidewalks so we headed back to the truck. He already prances but this was
obvious his tootsies were too tender to keep up the pace.
Thrift Store! Happy Valentine's Day, Patsy! |
Bill drove further down the road to
the Mall and I found the sign I was looking for. It was my Valentine’s Day
present to be dropped off at the Frugal Coyote Thrift Store. Bill stayed in the
truck with Clemmy while I perused to my heart’s content. I found a couple of
tops that wanted to come home with me so with very little effect on my pocket
book, I was in and out of there within 20 minutes.
From there we decided to drive
further south looking for the famed metal sculptures other bloggers have
written about. We had no other instructions but to ‘drive until you see the
sculptures’ so that is what we did. Finally, we started to notice them out in
the middle of the desert along the road. We took the bumpy trail and snapped pictures of a few of them, very few in relation to the total number.
This was our first one, A bald eagle sitting on his nest with two babies and a snake in his talons for lunch Unbelievable craftmanship! |
this couple were geo-caching so Bill and I tried to help them find the cache |
For my sister, Donna and my friend, Brenda |
sorry gals, can't bring these home for your collection! |
Commissioned by Dennis Avery, he set
about creating 130 life-like sculptures of animals that walked the desert floor
millions of years ago. More recently, other animals of today have joined the
display.
It's okay, he realized I would have given him heartburn they don't like sweet things, ha ha |
We were fascinated, not only by his
amazing talent and patience, but also with the genius to place them out in the
natural environment of the surrounding land. Cacti grow wild around the trails
and you’ll even find the occasional rv or tent settled into a spot not far from the
sculptures.
Cleverly placed |
Teddy Bear Cholla, I think |
Thank you for this great adventure, Ricardo!
The narrow bumpy road to the sculptures |
and last but not least, we saw an Airstream trailer not far in off the main road |
From there we headed back to camp as
it was approaching 2:30 already. We had fun, loving the town, the sculptures
and the beauty of the surrounding scenery. We had a few hours left of sun so
took our books outside and enjoyed the peacefulness of the area.
A couple of 3" geckos skittered by when I didn't have my zoom lens |
Way back there, using my zoom you can see our approximate camping location |
On the way in, Bill spotted and captured with his camera this jack rabbit |
Not sure what this pose means other than "girl captures desert" |
Bill barbecued a pork shoulder blade
steak for dinner and I made up a salad for him and steamed some broccoli for
me. He enjoyed his meal but the pork just wasn’t doing it for me, yet again. I
ate enough to satisfy my tummy and will probably dip into the Tillamook ice
cream later. It is as creamy as Chapman’s back home and a couple of scoops will
top dinner off with a bang.
I hope you have enjoyed your day
today and thank you for reading along.
As always, I love to receive your
comments.
Nice that you are getting to see a few things while the weather is good, enjoy your time there.
ReplyDeletewe appreciate the guided assistance< George.
DeleteThe metal sculptures are fascinating! A great story and a surprising find in the middle of the desert.
ReplyDeleteI knew you'd like them. Close up they take your breath away at how detailed his work is.
DeleteI could probably spend a whole day in the desert looking at the sculptures and fotografing every single one of them. How fascinating. I'll be following your footsteps (including the thrift store) ;-)
ReplyDeletewe know there are many many more and are bound to see them all in our travels. I'm happy you are joining me! :)
DeleteLoved the pictures. Glad you made the trek into town because it is well worth it. I never get tired of seeing those sculptures and thanks for the history lesson on Ricardo. Amazing guy!
ReplyDeleteGreta pictures and Thanks for the History lesson. That's a place we'll be adding to our list for next winter.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.