It's interesting: five weeks into our time in the 26' Class C last winter and we were claustrophobic. Now six months in the 34' class A and it feels . . . normal. Comfortable. If we were back at the stick house I would feel like we were bouncing around from (cold) room-to-room. Of course we do spend a considerable amount of time in the outdoors.
We love this area in the winter. The temperatures are generally hovering around 70℉. We've had one day of light rain in two weeks.
The above may look like a painting, but in fact it is a phone picture made in the park during an evening dog walk. Coyote Mountain in the foreground with the Santa Rosa mountains behind.
In the evening the mountains go from coral to magenta to violet in the changing light.
We've taken the trail from the campground to the visitor center (.6 miles each way) at various times of day.
The rain is bringing buds to the cholla and green plus red blooms to the ocotillo.
Views of Font's Point (above) and of Indian Head Mountain (below) from the visitor center trail. You can just see the RV campground in the distance.
Every year we find more of the sculptures of Ricardo Breceda as we explore. We need to pick up a map so that we can check them off one-by-one (not to mention find them all). On a recent drive we found:
People working in a vineyard.
Some details of the vines and grapes.
And we found a scorpion and a grasshopper facing off:
Nasty-looking beast.
A family of mammoths:
A nursing baby camel.
And relatives.
And . . . ummm . . .
It's been our busy time of year so we've spent most days working. It's ok: you don't have to feel too sorry for us. On Saturday the 10th we finally got the jeep out for a little drive. This was up Rockhouse Canyon Road, which takes you across the edge of Clark Dry Lake.
Warning: do not venture off of the marked trail!
We understand that the desert is not for everyone. And those of us who love the solitude are fine with that.
Sometimes you have to leave the jeep and explore on foot.
And the best is yet to come.
