New Year's in the Desert, January in the Tower

[oregontocal]

Yes, it's a skateboard helmet. He's 6 feet tall and some of the walls of the caves are quite low. I even bumped my head a couple of times. He's going to bring me a helmet the next time we go out there. As it was, I was wearing a soft hat that protected my hair from mud, but that's about it.

The road to the cave area pretty much calls for a 4-wheel drive vehicle of some kind as the sand is very soft and deep in places.

[oregontocal]

I’m pretty much settled in now. I was having a hard time getting the rig leveled because the ground is quite soft in places and the leveling blocks had a tendency to sink down too far. The site was just too sloped to work right. So, after talking to the tower owner, I did some light manual labor that felt good after so long not doing much. Across from my original site was a huge pile of junk, mostly lightweight steel and old car and RV parts. So, I put on my work gloves and proceeded to throw, roll, haul, and toss all the stuff onto the place where it was originally supposed to go.

After some weed pulling, raking, throwing rocks into the canyon, and picking up pieces of broken glass, I now have a pretty decent site with even room for my chair. Still need to level it a lot at one side of the front, but nothing like before. And, best of all, now I don’t have to back down the hill any more. I can just drive straight down, back up a little sideways, and drive into my new site, the one with views of the canyon, freeway, desert, and even the Salton Sea on three sides. The only bad view is the Safeway trailer outside the kitchen window. But, since that serves as a good windbreak, I’ll live with it.

They have a washer and dryer in one of the sheds for our use, so that will be good. There are quite a few people living and working up here. There’s the owner, his mother, a couple in one of the little green houses, and another younger couple in a small trailer just across from me. Also, about six dogs and three cats. The weird noise on my roof last night was definitely one of those cats. I found a great seat up in the rocks where I can read and just look out over the desert - very comfortable and private, and just a short little climb from my site. It was so clear today I was able to see the Salton Sea and just about forever.

One of the interesting things here is the collection of carved granite rocks and the rock caves. Kids love them. There's also the hike to the springs higher up in the rocks. There are portions of Old Highway 8 between here and the newer freeway and some performance-type art done by a neighbor. People from Mexico cross over the border up in the rocks and the Border Patrol doesn't let them keep their backpacks, or so I'm told. So the neighbor has found all kinds of clothing in those backpacks and done some interesting things with them. Photobucket seems to be having some problems right now, so I'll post some pictures when it gets better.

[oregontocal]

Finally, the pictures.

Salton Sea view


Salton Sea view, 2


Carved granite critters








Part of old highway


Culvert art


Sign for springs


Tower from the road

[Carolinagal]

What a really interesting place this looks to be. You seem to have the best of times in so many unique places. Thanks for sharing, Chris.

Carol

[snowball]

a really neat place Chris. Looks really interesting!!!
and your quilt was so pretty!!! really nice did a good job
when I wrote Kansas thought this isn't right but don't remember what it should be will
try to remember OK?
sheila

[Paulette]

I love the animal carvings in the stone! Great pics and you do seem to find the bestest places!

[Liz]

Interesting pictures....looks like great weather too!

[oregontocal]

Yes, Liz, the weather is pretty nice. However, it's very, very, very windy up here today; we're at about 3,000 feet. The Safeway trailer makes a wonderful windbreak, though. I've also got the RV parked so the little wind that gets past the trailer hits the back of my rig instead of rocking it from side to side. Learned that little trick in Coffeyville, Kansas with their strong winds.

Played the piano for the first time in over a year today - have missed it so much. Am now trying to decide which comes first in the house--a good keyboard or a microwave.

[Cedar518]

I vote for the keyboard!

[dcricket]

Okay, NOW I've really got to stop by next time I'm out there instead of whizzing on by.
Cute little rock critters. Can you wade in the Spring? Your quilt is gorgeous!!! Glad you were able to make your little site a bit more user friendly. Nice sense of accomplishment