It was just before 10:00 when we all headed out on our ATV's...it was a beautiful morning and was going to be a very warm day. Steve was in the lead today, taking us to our first stop up on top of Devil's Slide...to a fabulous view of the area...
Looking towards Blowsand Hill...we camped just to the left of it last year...
Allison and Bob at the site of the first geocache find of the day...
We continued along Shell Reef Expressway (the trails are well marked) until we came to Shell Reef. Eric, Earl, Allison and Steve all climbed up top. "About 4 million years ago, this desert was covered by a sea. At the top of Shell Reef, you can see the proof...a five-foot thick layer of fossilized shells that projects at an angle. This hard "coquina" resists erosion so well it has preserved the ridge, and a window into the past."
Can you see the shells?
There's Sue, Bob and I along with our quads way down there...
Allison and Earl on their way down...with Eric lingering back up there...
We took Pumpkin Patch Trail...
...to our next stop, the Pumpkin Patch. "This remote field of round rocks is a popular destination in Ocotillo Wells. Created long ago when the climate here was wet, then shaped through years of erosion, the Pumpkin Patch has sadly shrunk over the years due to collecting."
We were looking for a geocache (that we never found) when Steve lifted up a rock and found this scorpion, his first...
We continued on to the north side of the park...
...where we had lunch in the shade...Bob, Earl, Allison, Eric, Steve and Sue...
After our lunch break, it was time to continue on into Tectonic Gorge. "This huge canyon and its accompanying badlands is one of the "sickest" terrains in Ocotillo Wells. Not only is this a popular place for riding, it was also the location for the series finale of The X-Files. The filmmakers blew up the set...then completely cleaned it up."
At the end of the Tectonic Gorge Trail, we went down to the Tierra Del Sol Trail...
Time for a break in the shade...so nice to get the helmet off...it's pretty darned hot out there!
Sue found a geocache...
We finished riding the Tierra Del Sol Trail...and headed back south...
A small Desert Sidewinder Rattlesnake coiled up under a creosote bush. Earl and Allison found it earlier when they were looking for a geocache...
Photo-op with our quads...Sue, Allison, Earl, Steve, Bob and Eric...
Back at camp, Steve and Earl rode up into the hills just east of Holmes Camp...that's the camp down below at the tree line with Blowsand Hill in the distance...
Earl taking in the view...
There are hill climbs all over the place in front of our campsite! That's Earl heading up...
It was Sue and Bob's turn to make dinner...ham with all the fixins'...delicious! After dinner, we relaxed around a campfire until it was time to call it a night. We'd had a great day of riding and even managed to find some geocaches along the way.
Tuesday was another full day of riding. Today, though, Bob and Sue took off geocaching to the south of the park, while Eric took Janet up to the top of Devil's Slide and then to the Discovery Center. Earl, Allison, Steve and I decided to head out to Gas Domes and Artesian Well and do some geocaching along the way as well.
Steve found a full can of Coors Light beer in this geocache!
Earl and Allison on their 2-up Can-am...
We came across a bunch of desert lilies...amazing that they are able to grow in this environment!
We found schist at an aptly named geocache..."Well Schist!"
Gas Domes..."Amazingly, this weird waterhole stays wet year-round. If that isn't strange enough, an almost constant stream of gas bubbles up through the muddy water. This "crown jewel" of Ocotillo Wells also offers views of the Salton Sea, a very salty, below sea-level lake accidentally created in 1905."
How nice of them to have put a covered picnic table nearby...just what we needed to enjoy lunchtime!
After lunch we continued onto Artesian Well..."In 1919, a massive derrick was built here to drill for oil, but hit geothermal water instead. The well was abandoned and has since become a local landmark. A plane fuselage holds water and recently palm trees were planted. Panels here, and elsewhere, detail the captivating search for "black gold" at Ocotillo Wells."
Water spews from this pipe intermittently...
Oil Well Casing...
This geocache ammo box, called "Rubber Ducky" was full of rubber duckies...
On our way home, we spotted a V-22 Osprey
The Osprey stayed around for quite awhile.Once home, Steve got out his big Nixon camera and put the telescopic lens on it...for more pictures...
The next 3 pictures show the engines transitioning forward as he fly's away...
Time for happy hour! Starting at the top and going right, around the circle...Bob, Earl, Allison, Sue, Me, Janet and Eric...
Dinner tonight was at Janet and Eric's...Irish Stew...YUM!!
Wednesday, Bob and Sue went out on their own again, while Earl (Allison decided to stay home today), Eric and Janet, Steve and I headed out.
We started out by going to Blowsand Hill...
"The strong winds that blow through the park have piled sand in this notch. The finest sand grains, being the lightest, are deposited on the top; the larger, heavier grains collect at the bottom. This is the most impressive concentration of sand at Ocotillo Wells SVRA and a popular, fun spot to ride." Time to head up...Great view from the top...
Eric and Janet...with airstrip in the distance...
Last year we camped down there...
Everyone did a lot of playing in the sand! (Okay....I only went up once.)
Eric and Janet...
Steve heading up the steep side...
Steve went in search of a geocache way above the sand on the steep rocky hillside. He eventually found it but it was in a very dangerous spot...glad he made it back down safely!
After Blowsand Hill, we headed over to the Discovery Visitor Center...
The information center is very well done, showing the diverse world of Ocotillo Wells. Geology, history and ecology exhibits unmask the desert's secrets. The center also has maps, weather reports, trail updates and OHV regulations.
Once we left the Discovery Center, Eric and Janet head off. Earl, Steve and I plan on geocaching in the area and they aren't cachers. Earl and I found one up on the side of this hill...
We stopped for lunch at one of the covered picnic tables...
Earl found another geocache up on Devil's Slide...
Down we go...time to head back to camp now. It's going on 2:00 and it's Earl and Allison's turn for dinner tonight, so Earl has the main course to make (we found out later that Allison did some baking instead of coming out on the quad)...It was hot! Especially out geocaching...not bad when riding but really hot once we stopped to look for geocaches. Steve took this
We used Bob and Sue's picnic table for dinner tonight...it holds 8. We discovered last night that the rest of us have smaller tables. Earl made a big pot of chicken curry and Allison had baked soda bread and cookies...a delicious dinner!
Time for another campfire...the end to another great day!
Steve took this "selfie"....too funny!!
Thursday, Earl, Allison and Steve headed off on the quads to the site of a huge airplane graveyard that Bob and Sue had found the other day. Eric and Janet had the same destination but were going in their truck instead. Bob and Sue had gone out on their own again and I had decided to stay home and read.
Before taking off, though, Steve took a picture of our camp. Bob/Sue, Eric/Janet, Earl/Allison, and us...
Steve, Earl and Allison took off at about 10:00...their plan was to visit the site and then geocache on their way back and be home around noon or so.
Going under Highway 78 in San Felipe Wash...
Part of a B-25 Mitchel Bombers and a jet. When Bob and Sue were here the other day they were told that the owner has the largest collection of B-25 Bomber parts in the world...Cool!
I guess they weren't able to get into the compound to chat to the fellow there but at least they managed some pictures.
Earl and Allison found a geocache...
They followed a string of geocaches in this really cool wash....
This looks like a very interesting canyon...
It was shortly after noon when they arrived back at Holmes Camp...now it was time to load the quads back into the truck in preparation for leaving tomorrow. This whole area is a very popular spot on weekends and this is a long weekend coming up...we definitely don't want to be here then. The best time to visit the area is through the week.Because Steve was in the lead this time he wasn't able to take as many pictures as he normally would (which is too many :-) You can view more of the area from our visit last year starting January 18, 2013.
At about 3:00 we all piled into two trucks...Bob and Sue went with Eric and Janet, and Steve and I went with Earl and Allison...we are going into the village of Borrego Springs.
Borrego Springs is fast becoming known for its magical menagerie of freestanding life-size sculptures of creatures that roamed the valley millions of years ago...all situated on the grounds of Galleta Meadows surrounding Borrego Springs. The sculptures, many of which are based on renditions in the book Fossil Treasures of the Anza-Borrego Desert, are painstakingly crafted of metal by sculptor Ricardo Breceda of Temecula, California. They are really quite amazing! Although we had a guide book to the sculptures, it was really hard to understand...hopefully I got most of the following correct.
Steve and I, Janet and Eric and Earl and Allison under the Columbian Mammoth...
Horses...
Allison and Earl next to the Aiolornis (Giant Condor) in its Nest...
Grasshopper and Scorpion. I'm looking for a geocache...
It was in the mouth of the Scorpion...
The road runs past the second hump...the Serpent continues on the other side...very cool...
Janet had never kissed one of these before...
We stopped for one final geocache before heading for dinner....Earl, me and Bob...
We went to Carmelitas in Borrego Springs for a delicious Mexican dinner...
Back at camp, we sat around a campfire enjoying the evening and then called it a night.
Friday morning we were up, all packed and ready to go shortly after 9:30. Earl/Allison, Eric/Janet and us stopped at the Red Earth Casino to take advantage of the free sani-dump. The Arco Station we used last year for free now charges $10.00. Earl and Eric also filled up with gas. Bob and Sue decided to wait until they got back to Quartzsite to dump their tanks.We continued north on highway 86 until we were just past the Salton Sea...
...then Serena, our GPS, took us on a route through Mecca, CA and then Box Canyon ...Vineyards...
It was a very cool area...
Eric/Janet and Earl/Allison behind us....
Some RVers found their place in the canyon to camp....
We are just about to turn onto I-10 east...
Earl/Allison and Eric/Janet stopped in Blythe for groceries, while we carried onto La Posa South LTVA, Quartzsite. Before we headed to our site, we filled the trailer up with fresh water. It was just after 2:00 when we arrived. We got leveled off...and then it was time to get all set up...boy, it was hot! I didn't think that I would find myself saying this...but it's just too hot with temps in the low 90's F (30's C).
At 6:00, Earl and Allison picked us up and we went into Quartzsite for a Valentine's Day dinner. We went to the Quartzsite Yacht Club for their Friday fish and chip special.Yacht Club?...you say...well here is the story behind it...
It was a busy place inside, but we managed to get the last table outside...
We enjoyed our fish and chips and then headed home. Ahhh...it's good to be back to our spot in Q after our week away!
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