John has been doing the Blogs but I thought I would try my hand with this one.

A beautiful sunrise at Anza Borrego State Park in southern CA. I slept in and missed it.


Many beautiful hummingbirds at Anza Borrego. They come in all sizes and colors. I could watch them for a long time. Hated to leave this very beautiful place.


While on a hike up Palm Canyon, we were lucky enough to spot these two big horn sheep. They're not too people shy.



Les drove over for a weekend and she and John hiked the Palm Canyon. At the end of the canyon is an oasis complete with the huge palm trees you can see in the background and a clear stream. Magical place. John and I were lucky enough to spend time with 14 sheep there about 3 years ago.


This is a great shot of a desert iguana. As we watched him, he headed up the hill and we noticed he was going straight toward a smaller iguana. Turns out this is mating season, and they don't care who's watching.


We went on a fun hike in search of a cast iron bathtub hooked up to a spring. We missed it on the way into the canyon, but spotted it on the way out. There was about 3 inches of water in it so John jumped in for a quick cleanup. The spring covered the whole hillside, thus the very green vegetation.


Many beautiful wildflowers. It was a banner year.




Back at El Mirage RV Resort. Nick, Katelyn and I cooling off in the pool. Was in the high 80's.

Well we are home now until our next trip. It was a great trip but it is always nice to get home to family and friends.

Nancy

We met a man, a true American folk artist who has put his faith in God and Christ for all to see on what he calls Salvation Mountain. About four miles east of the little town of Niland CA, Leonard Knight has built a monument to his faith. Salvation Mountain came about as a result of Leonard's hard landing in a hot air balloon at this desert site in 1986. He decided that God spared him so he would build this as a way of thanking God.

The "mountain" standing some three stories high and 100 feet wide is made from built up earth, straw bales, plaster and covered with donated paint. It is a work in progress. Although 72 years old and with some health problems this is very much a work in progress. It has been recognized all over the world as a true and unique work of art.

We had the chance to visit for a few minutes with Leonard. He is a kind and gentle man who belives deeply in the message he is putting on his mountain. We were blessed to have him in our lives even for such a short time.

Hi all, we have moved from the desert and on to the Fountain of Youth RV Park in Niland CA looking for the restorative waters. Hey anything to smooth out the wrinkles.

Our time at the Imperial dam was interesting. We had a small earthquake, a first for me! On one of our hikes we had the company of Gray wolf. One of God's beautiful creatures.

We were invited to a "dog burn" a weenie roast in our non Boondocker language. Met the usual very nice RV folks.

A little rain gave us a beautiful rainbow and our first desert flower.

The high (low) light of our stay in the desert was our 4 wheel ride into the wilds of the desert. We had seen a group, including a Jeep Liberty, returning from a ride so we figured how hard could it be. We joined them for their next ride. WOW we got into the ride of our lives. A real white knuckle ride. We made it with two flat tires and met a group of great folks. When we had the tire problem the guys jumped in and helped me change the tires. For sure it is a once in a life time experience!

Monday we will move on to Anza Borrego State Park for a two week stay. We hope Leslea will be able to join us for some hiking.

We had some great quality time with Nicky in Suprise. We are now boondocking at the BLM site at the Imperial dam in CA. Yesterday we went to the Farm Smart program put on by UCA Davis in El Centro. Had a chance to pick lots of FRESH veggies. Thursday we will go to the flea market in Yuma. They always have lots of RV stuff we never knew we needed.

Terry had a ball at the Rockies Fantasy Base Ball Camp. His team even won the championship. He had a smile ear to ear. We got to see two of his games and met Rockies manager Jim Tracy. A really nice guy. Some photos attached.

Having a great time with Mike, Sandy,Kate and trying to keep up with Nicky.

Love The Kissn' Cousins

We moved on to Las Vegas . Arrived at Red Rock Canyon BLM campground. This is without a doubt the prettiest spot we've had yet. Got settled in and began planning the next 6 days. Went in to Las Vegas (about 6 miles) and John and I both donated $20 to the economy. Had a huge Valentine's day lunch at Margaritaville. On Thursday we hiked to La Madre springs. I'm always amazed when we hike up these parched canyons to find a beautiful oasis at the end. We weren't as lucky in our sheep sitings, but they do use this spring. Following that, we took some short hikes to see some pictographs and petroglyphs. It's amazing how well preserved they are. Friday was a hike to Calico Tanks. Nancy didn't make it - too many huge boulders to scramble over. But, John did and he took the picture you see. In the evening we got a call informing us that I'm going to be a grandmother in September. Mike's wife, Sandy, is expecting. Saturday we hiked up Ice Box canyon and John did the wonderful rock art that you see here. Today I got even more good news - Leslea is expecting in October. Now we have 3 babies in a row - Aug, Sep, Oct. I call that my Las Vegas JACKPOT!!! Sunday was a hang-out day after church. Monday we moved on to Lake Mead and toured Hoover Dam the following morning - what a structure. Was completed in 5 years and under budget. They're in the process now of builing a bridge across the canyon that will cost $240 mil. and it's already late and over budget. Times change. Weds we hiked White Rock Canyon which was magnificient! Very high canyon walls of several different types of rock, red, white, green, gray. Took us right down to Mojave Lake where we had our lunch. Had dinner at a cute little local place called The Bistro. We've been trying to have lunch or dinner at one of the local spots in each play we stay. Thursday was museum day and I got my nails done. Tomorrow we're off to Bullhead City where we'll pick up our mail. Then more adventures and another blob

We were not too happy with our campsite until we realized we couldn't see people on either side of us, or in front of us. Plus we had a dead tree where we could hang the Christmas present hummingbird feeder. Turns out we loved our spot. Unfortunately, both John and I are suffering from allergies - don't know if it's dust or something else. I ended up going to the clinic and got nose spray and eye drops. Has helped a lot, but we still have problems. On Feb. 6 we hiked up Palm Canyon which started right in the campground. We were told we might spot some bighorn sheep at the oasis at the end of the canyon. The first person we met who was coming out said there were no sheep. However, just before we arrived at the oasis, we met some people who said there was a herd of 14 ( 5 rams and 9 ewes) just above the waterfall. When we arrived, a ram showed his head above the waterfall and began his descent to the right of where we were standing. He watched us for a few minutes, and then started down. Then came another, and another, and John and I were in total awe. All 14 came down and were feasting on watercress in the stream about 30 feet from us. Neither of us had ever seen such a sight. What a treat!

The following day we did the"hike from hell 'for me. It was called "alcoholic pass" and I can see why. I would have done much better had I had a drink or two or three. The path followed along the side of the cliff with lots of loose rock and some large rocks you had to climb over. Besides that, there was no pretty lake or bighorn sheep at the top. I was GRUMPY.

We followed that up with a trip to Julian, AZ where they are well known for their great apple pie. Not only was it a cute town, it was GREEN!!!! We indulged in apple pie ala mode and checked out the town. John got a soaring eagle at a neat bird store who now flies above the coach when we're parked. We ended this great day with an earthquake. We were watching TV that evening, and all of a sudden the coach began to shake. I looked at John and said "earthquake". By then, it was over.

Next day we joined an organized hike to a slot canyon. We have done slot canyons before, but they were rock. This one was hard sand, and quite different. Had quite a climb out at the end, and one of our leaders had to take it very, very slowly.

The following day we headed out to Yucca Valley, CA, where Les was going to meet us that evening. She arrived about 6:30PM in time for dinner. She wanted to check out the Twenty Nine Palms Inn, so we stopped there before we went for a hike up another canyon on Saturday This time to another oasis surrounded by palm trees. After we enjoyed a nice crab cake dinner and a game of Mexican train, Les got a call from Cyndy saying she was in the hospital and her blood pressure was very high. By now, it was getting late, and Les was tired after our hike, so she decided she would head home Sunday morning. John and I helped load her stuff about 6:30 AM and she headed out. Cyndy was due for some more tests on Sunday and Monday, but seems the high blood pressure was causing her problems.

We were going to spend a week in Joshua Tree National Park, but we are getting tired of the allergy problem and decided to head to Las Vegas on Tuesday. We visited Morongo Preserve today for a nice walk and some bird watching.

On to our next adventure.

On Jan 25th we headed out for Yuma, AZ. Toured the Yuma Territorial Prison and had Lunch at the Yuma Landing, one of the longstanding places in town. The following day, after partaking of a pancake breakfast at the RV park, we hiked an interesting canyon to see a grove of palm trees growing in a steep side canyon.

After church on Sunday, we went to the Arizona Marketplace. This was a really great flea market. It was set up under rows of big white tents with each row having an assigned letter. They had a lot of hard to find stuff. I bought orange peelers, a butter dispenser for corn on the cob, and some trains for my domino set (to play Mexican train). John bought an antenna to put on the coach to improve cell phone reception. They also had an ice cream booth, so we indulged.
After 6 days in Yuma, we moved on to a hot springs on BLM property where we dry-camped.

We've been having an ongoing problem with losing voltage during the night when nothing is running, so we don't even try to watch TV unless we're hooked up. While at the hot springs, we attended an educational program at an experimental farm run by UC Davis, CA. Had coffee and popcorn on arrival, then a video and lecture, fresh salad lunch, and then jumped on hay wagons for a trip to the fields. We got to pick cabbage, beets, white radishes, and broccoli. When we got back to the RV, our neighbor brought us over some cauliflower. We feasted on fresh veggies for the next week. John and I were invited to sing with the entertainers during lunch for which we received a CD. Our part...we got to chime in with "I'm getting old.....".

On Feb 3, we arrived at Anza Borrego State Park.