In trying to come up with a name for this Post we wanted it to say something about us and what we like. It really makes you think about what your
interpretation of what joy and comfort are in your lives. For us it is definitely many things, some
the smallest and others that can be a WOW experience. We think that many of you will know just what we’re talking about.
For the month of January camping off the grid at BLM land at Ogilby Road in SE California, we put on a little over 1,300
miles on the jeep which included trips into Yuma (15 miles away from where we are) for needed supplies, services,
going to a movie or meeting up with friends for a meal out and some lively
conversation. And of course, we can’t
exclude our road trips that we take for the sake of adventure, rock hounding opportunities
and seeking out new sights. This being our third winter here in the desert definitely draws us here because of the lower elevations which mean warmer temperatures. We love it and so does our health.
We travel not
to escape life, but for life not to escape us.
Since we are only a few miles from the Imperial Sand
Dunes here in California, we had to check out the story about the Plank Road which was constructed in
1915. This road made of
wooden planks effectively connected the extreme lower section of Southern
California to Arizona at the start of the automobile age. It provided the last
link in a commercial route between San Diego and Yuma and definitely a challenge to those that travelled this road - now known as Interstate 8.
Few people have heard of the town Felicity,
California. Known as the Official Center
of the World it is indeed a place that shouts loudly with historical facts –
also known as Museum of History in Granite.
For a small fee of $5/person, there was so much
information to absorb in one visit that it was pretty mind boggling to take in just one visit.
Click on this site Felicity California if you’re
interested to read more about the museum and the man who has put all of his energy into this place.
This place might be small, but the Yuma Conversation
Gardens which started in 1950 on BLM donated land includes a duck pond and
27 acres of trails winding you through unique botanical specimens native to the
Lower Sonoran Life Zone. Some of the
garden features include the turtle enclosure that houses Baloo, a 75-pound desert tortoise who refused to show his face when
we were there at feeding time. One cactus that we did see that was fairly new to us was the Cow’s
Tongue Prickly Pear. The place needs more care but was a nice visit for us on a Sunday afternoon.
Another new area for us was Laguna Diversion Dam located 13 miles NE of Winterhaven, CA-Yuma, AZ. Constructed
between 1903-1905 the dam was the first dam built on the Colorado River.
Engineers studied dams in other countries where the foundations were built on
sand and silt. Over the millenniums the Colorado had deposited so much
silt that it seemed financially impossible to dig to bedrock. Adding to Laguna Dam's unusual design were 9"
swastikas embedded in its masonry piers. These originated from the trip
engineers took to India where they "came across a symbol that represented
a Hindu goddess with power over water. They thought it would be
appropriate to place the symbol on the Laguna Dam." It wasn't until years later that the swastika became
controversial as a symbol of Nazi Germany. No trace of these piers exists
any longer.
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| Wooden bridge over the dam |
You
can't escape the fact that you need water when you're in the desert. Jeff
has pretty much got this down to a science in our years of boon docking.
Our new coach has a 115 gallon fresh water tank that Jeff replenishes with
water that we get from Grey's Well which is about 8 miles from where we're
parked. He has multiple containers that fit neatly into the back of the
Jeep that hold a total of 22 gallons of water. Upon returning to the
coach, we have a pumping system that syphons the water into the rig and walla,
it's done.
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| Pumping fresh water collected into the motorhome |
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| At the RA called Grey's Well is where we fill up for fresh water |
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| Drop in the quarters and fill your containers. |
Drinking
water is another story and we have two 5-gallon jugs just for that which we can
fill up at any location throughout Yuma. Our best deal yet is 5 for
$.50. We can go through a 5-gallon jug in 4-5 days. Conserving
water and electricity is important when you're living off the grid and we have
the stories to go with it.
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| The Dolphin pump that we use is pretty efficient for our drinking water |
Our annual trip to Berryman Farms in Bard, CA for Medjool
dates is another highlight of our stay in this area. The dates are FANTASTIC! We made sure to ship some back to Minnesota
for Jeff’s mom to enjoy and that’s all she can talk about now. We will make sure to pick more before we
leave the area and keep them in the freezer for her when we get back to see her
this Spring. We'll pass on the Date Shake though. . .way too sweet!
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| Date trees that have been harvested |
Be prepared
to ROCK!
Having a passion for digging into rocks you’ll most often
see us looking down at the ground as we are hiking – also to keep on the
lookout for unwanted snakes - or other crawling creatures! We were
able to find some pretty unique rocks of color and shape but because of our
weight restrictions on what we can and cannot take in the coach, we are
definitely limited. We will leave rock treasures for others.
We were lucky to find some petrified wood, unique quartz pieces (smaller in size) and what we believe may be a mineral by the name of Sodalite. Pure Sodalite is blue is color, light and fragile and relatively rare. We were told by a camper here in the desert that it sells for $8/lb in Quartzsite at the rock store. We are just excited to share with others in its beauty.
What a find ~
Never under-estimate what type of treasure you’ll find at
a local thrift store. They are always
fun to browse around. Maybe pick up a couple of good books. Or better yet spot a fly fish rod case or a
unique piece of pottery. Yep, that's what kinds of treasures we found.
This particular
pottery piece is called Nemadji Pottery
and shares a Minnesota connection with us also.
We were excited to say the least on this small treasure!
“Never waste
any amount of time doing anything important when there is a sunset outside that
you should be sitting under!” - C.
JoyBell
There isn’t a sunrise or sunset that doesn’t give us an
Ah-ha moment each and every time. These events are also appreciated by some of
our special friends this year as they shared their Ah-ha moments with us. Yes, this is definitely one of our joys of comfort for there are never any
that are the same and they are uniquely different.
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| Just one of many beautiful sunrises here at Ogilby Road |
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| Sunsets of many colors here in the desert |
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| Another breathtaking sunset at Ogilby Road |
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| Out friend from Canada, Rollande, shared this sunset from Puerto Penasco, Mexico |
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| Sunset near Sacramento CA from our friend, Karen, while on vacation this winter |
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| A friend snapped this sunset over San Carlos, Mexico |
Learn how to
cook, try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have
fun!
Just having the time to enjoy food preparation from start
to finish on the retirement road is so much fun. What more can we say on this except to share
some pictures. And on
leftovers, think about when you were a kid and we’re pretty sure that this
little quote will definitely bring a smile to your face.
“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for years she served the
family nothing but leftovers. The
original meal has never been found.”
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| Biscuits & Gravy |
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| Hot Cocoa from scratch, compliments of Rollande! |
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| Apple Slices |
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| Fresh vegetables, citrus and Medjool dates...yum! |
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| Chef Salad Supreme |
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| Steak with Spicy BalsamicGlaze |
Happy cooking to all!
A journey is
best measured in friends rather than miles.
Never truer words ever spoken as memories are made while
we’re Down
the Open Road. We are grateful for friendships made.
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| Roger & Susie from Ohio |
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| Bob and Rosemary from California |
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| Rollande, Melissa and Denise holding Salvia |
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| Kay with Betty who is from Prince George, BC |
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| Jeff with Heidi and Rollande who are from Ontario |
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| Super Bowl Party at our place |
And on the family front ~ Congratulations go out to our niece, Lindsey and her husband, Kyle on the birth of their first child. Quinn Marie was born on 01.20.16 at 7:43p. 6#-12 oz. 20" long. She is definitely a cutie!
Our 3 year old grand-daughter, Julia (aka Princess Julia) with her first attempt at writing her name. Way to go, Julia! We are anxious to see her when we get home!!!
Travel Notes: We are just finishing up our second month here in the desert. Current plans are to leave within the next couple of weeks heading toward Tucson to spend time in and around this area. We have always been just passing through so it will be a good change.
Hugs to all!
