A Hike Through Alcoholic Pass

The Wind

Here is a poem I wrote in anticipation of the strong winds predicted for tomorrow.

The Wind

The Wind blew my neighbors away

Their behemoth camper

Plastic inflatable pool

Tailgating chairs

Bored teens looking for something to do

Marked them as fair weather campers

Chairs and pool would soon be gone

Blown across the rocky valley

Spread with gray and yellow dust

Like bowling pins

By some invisible bowling ball

Projectile sand driven into cracks and crevices

The wind howls through creosote leaves and tamarisk limbs

Any loose items banging their way across the dirt floor of the desert

The last tail light fades dimly behind the veil of thickening yellow dust.

---Mari

Wind Caves at Anza Borrego Desert State Park

On the Eastern Edge of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park are the Badlands. Amazing wind-carved desolate places.

The famous Wind Caves. When I was there there was a troop of Boy Scouts playing Hide and Seek, hiding in the many holes. A perfect use of the Wind Caves.

At every turn it seems there is a new geologic wonder. This area has be geologically active for the past 450 mya (million years ago). Two tectonic plates are active in this area, creating amazing forces for change and creation.

For millions of years all the silt and erosion from the Grand Canyon made its way here and filled in the Imperial Sea. 

UFO Sunset over my campsite.

This is a little out of order. This is the trail I hiked to get to the Wind Caves.

A surprise on our hike.

Blown Away

We cannot pin down any details about the wind here right now. But it is very strong.

Wind is raising a lot of dust just to the west of us - which is where the town of Borrego Spring is. Wind is generally N-S, so we are hoping this dust won't affect us. 

Ron likes to sleep in the tent under normal circumstances. Last night was definitely not normal - but he stayed out there anyway!

What's left of our blue canopy, which had been sitting calmly erect near the camper door when we went to bed. The bikes had been standing, too, as well as our camp chairs. Ron folded the canopy and chairs up and tucked them under the camper sometime during the night.

California Palms and a Hummingbird

Costa's Hummingbird - female

Today,we were finally able to hike the Palm Canyon Trail. This trail has some endemic California fan palms, which are growing mostly near the creek that runs down this canyon. The literature refers to the area with the palms as a palm oasis.

We walked 25 minutes before coming to running water in the creek, and then soon afterwards, we saw the palms. Since we hadn't started on the trail until 3PM, we knew we only had a little over an hour to go in and come back out before it started getting dark (and cold). 

When we were almost out of the canyon, we saw the Costa's hummingbird on some shrubs with pink tubular flowers. She stayed long enough for me to photograph her, and also take a short video, which I haven't been able to download from my camera yet. I will post a link to that when I get it on You Tube. It's not much to look at, though, she just moves her head one way and another for a minute or two.

Here are some photos of the canyon:

Definitely an oasis!

Here is a link to the YouTube of two hummingbirds we saw:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsDfsOrX7nQ

California, here we come!

We have made it back to California, safe and sound. Made the drive from Los Angeles to Anza-Borrego State Park, and fairly easily picked up our camper from storage, got checked into the park and set up.

After that, there was time to try our bikes out, so we rode into town and purchased a few things from the grocery store before heading back before the sun went behind the mountain in the west at 4:00PM.

We did arrive two hours early at the Kona International airport, as we were advised to do by the lady at the car rental place. It was about an hour's drive from South Kona, including a stop to top of the gas tank near the airport. So, when we arrived in the dark, at 4:20 AM, we were confused to see that the place was closed up, the shuttle van was parked with no one in it, and the gate to the car return lot was closed. We tried calling the 1-800 number for the car rental company, but there was nothing they could do to help us. Finally, we decided that Ron would drop off Mari at the check-in counter with the luggage, return the car with the key in it, and walk the 5 or 10 minute walk back to the check-in counter.

It turns out, there are also no employees present at the check-in counter at 4:30 AM: The airport doesn't open until 5:30!

Fortunately, an employe was at the car rental when he went back, and she said not to worry, we would have plenty of time to check in for our flight, and she was right, of course. We had a fairly uneventful flight.

We had an interesting diversion in Los Angeles, about a block from Fran and Brian's there is a Philipino grocery store where we saw these interesting food items. Did not try any of these, but we did buy some more familiar items, like dried chiles and coconut milk (for the Thai and Indian dishes that we like to cook).

Banana blossoms, regular and brined

Duck eggs

They also had quail eggs, fresh fish of various kinds, and other types of food you might see in other countries at the fresh food markets.

As you approach the town of Borrego Springs from the west, coming down over a mountain, you get a lovely view of the valley below, with the Salton Sea about 40 miles or so away.

Salton Sea in the distance

Borrego Springs sits in the middle of Anza-Borrego State Park

This was after passing through the Temecula Valley, where we saw a lot of grape vines and a few wineries.

It was nice to get to Anza-Borrego with enough sunlight to set up camp and relax just before darkness settled upon us.

Dora was no worse for being left parked in Borrego Springs for 5 weeks

Not much color with the sunset, and the sliver of moon setting in the west over the mountain ridge is difficult to capture, but pretty, nonetheless.

Good night!

Mari and Ron