New Year’s Eve–Rockin’ in Galleta Meadows

On our venture out to Galleta Meadows this morning, we entered the Christmas circle round-about and Whoa!  There’s a Farmer’s Market!  Check out our good eats… smoked fish, fresh produce, gluten free bread and honey!  Yum!

Provisions in hand, we could now continue our journey to…

We entered a time from long ago with beasts rarely seen today.

We tried to hide behind the barrel cactus to go unnoticed by the ferocious Sabertoothed Cat.

We were lucky but this unsuspecting wild horse was not.

But then we found this friendly one that allowed Caleb to give him a jolly pat on the head.

We crept through the desert until…

We came upon the Sloth family rockin’ out for New Year’s Eve!

Papa Sloth got his groove on!

Meanwhile Laser, our fierce German Shepherd, warned these ferocious party animals to stay away from our truck!  So to calm him down we ran into this pup playing fetch.

Once safely back in camp, Chris ventured up to the Overlook Trail to see which campsite has the best view!

Happy New Year’s Eve!  May God fill your lives in 2011 with peace & joy!

Hiking the Palm Canyon Trail

This morning the wind was calm and it appeared that we’d be able to venture outside!  We rode our bikes over to the visitor center where Caleb completed a Jr.Ranger program.  Since the “adults” were not allowed to attend, we watched a short video about the park, meandered through the interpretive displays, and walked around the short trails around the center.  We contemplated listening to a ranger talk on the endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep, but decided it was time to go hiking!

We replenished snacks and water at the trailer and then headed towards the trailhead.  From the trailhead, the Palm Canyon trail is 3 miles round trip.  One thing we learned from the nature trail guide is that Ocotillo cactus lose their leaves when they are too dry.  But once it rains enough, they will leaf out completely within 5 days.  We hiked up the sandy wash and over boulders to see a native Palm oasis.

The trail followed the creek, with small waterfalls over the large boulders.  But along the way there was evidence of massive flash floods.  Palm tree trunks were lodged into boulders 20 feet or more from the current creek bed.

The California fan palm is the only palm native to California and it is rare to find one in the wild.  Finding palms ensures there is a water source.  From the craggy desert mountains lined with Ocotillo, one’s eyes are then drawn to the tall, green tops of the palms! 

Our feet got a bit wet boulder hopping to get into the oasis but the site was worth it!  We had never seen native palms clustered in the desert!  While watching our step on the trail, we kept an eye open for the well camouflaged Bighorn Sheep, but didn’t see any. 

Back through the desert, the sun was setting behind the mountain shading much of the trail as early as 3 in the afternoon.  When the sun sets it gets chilly in the arid West and we were glad to be heading back to camp.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park- Borrego Springs, CA

We arrived in San Diego over a week ago in the rain, so it was only fitting that we left in the rain!  Over the mountains and around the bend to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in Borrego Springs was our destination.  We are staying in the park’s campground, appropriately named Borrego Palm Canyon.  This rainbow would come and go as the storm circled and swirled. 

This is the largest state park in California!  We plan to scratch the surface and hike the Palm Canyon Trail with hopes of seeing the endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep. 

With the wind sweeping through the canyons around us, we enjoyed a game of Yahtzee inside.  Tomorrow is supposed to be clear to check out the trails!
Review of Santee Lakes- Santee Lakes is a great option for camping near San Diego.  It provides easy access to the freeways and is close to many major attractions.  It is a park like setting, even though there are lots of sites.  They offer many amenities.  Weekly/monthly pricing is reasonable for this area.  But watch out for the ants!  The park suggests some “natural” ways to deter them…go straight for the Raid!  We tried the natural first to no avail.  Even with the Raid, we had to be on the lookout for new points of entry and trails in the trailer.  We had planned on taking out our Sea Eagle Kayaks on one of their 7 lakes.  However the park staff informed us that only their boats are allowed.  Although the rains while we were there broke records, it did make for a wet site that didn’t seem to drain.   They have several different areas and we were in a deluxe pull thru at the farthest end of the park.  The deluxe sites are very wide.  I would easily choose a standard site in the Willow loop (sites 129, 135, 136, 137, 152,153,163*,167*,119 all seem to be well suited for a 5er but check their website to be sure. *preferred*)

Christmas with Shamu

After opening the presents that Santa left under the tree, we went to spend Christmas with Shamu at SeaWorld!

SeaWorld is all about the shows!  We laughed as Clyde & Seamore parodied some of today’s popular TV shows.

Then we hurried over to be amazed at Blue Horizons, the new dolphin show.

While we waited for Shamu’s Christmas Celebration, Caleb decided to try out the ice!

He did pretty well for an Arizona desert boy!  We have two more days of zoo or SeaWorld fun!

San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park

We found this monkey at the zoo and decided to take him home for Christmas!  We thought about adding a gorilla but decided that might be a bit much.

But we seriously considered the shiny Polar Bear for Christmas decorations outside the trailer!  You know the ones that inflate wouldn’t even compare to this guy!
Like all good shoppers, we decided to look for a better deal…and came upon this ginormous elephant!  It is perfectly baffled to allow for good airflow, so we could just strap it right on top of the fiver!
Ultimately we opted for the smashed penny.  Much more ecofriendly.  Copper is the new gold.  Reduce-Reuse-Recycle…that’s what the tour guides kept telling us to do!

Caleb saddled up an Okapi and careened through the park…round and round to the left.   I think that Okapi has copied that carousel for far too long, he just wouldn’t veer off course!

With all that excitement we finally broke the centrifugal force and rounded up the family for a camera on a rock picture… Merry Christmas Eve!

Phew!  Our feet are tired!  Time to go back to the fiver!

Santee Lakes “Pineapple Express”

Waking up to the orange glow in the roof vent, I knew the desert sunrise must be a beauty.  So my photography assistant, Chris, rushed outside to get me a shot.

We pointed our rig towards the Pacific Coast and smacked right into the Pineapple Express!  Being Christmas we’re thankful that it’s not the Polar Express!  According to Wikipedia…
Pineapple Express is a non-technical term for a meteorological phenomenon characterized by a strong and persistent flow of atmospheric moisture and associated heavy rainfall from the waters adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands and extending to any location along the Pacific coast of North America. 
We navigated the Interstates, they let us past the border patrol checkpoints, and we pulled into the Santee Lakes Campground.   I knew from the website that there were 7 small lakes, but didn’t know that you could order one right outside your door!

I woke up at 3 AM wondering if we’d hydroplane.  We’re going to stay buttoned up in our trailer today, watch Christmas movies on cable and enjoy our fiber optic Christmas tree!

California Dreams- December 2010

After a long hiatus at home, we are on the road again for Winter Break!  We’ve added a new state to our list of camping spots…California!
 
We’re boondocking overnight off of American Girl Mine Rd. outside of Yuma.  We’re on our way to San Diego and then to the Anza Borrego State Park.

And it’s our 12 year anniversary today!  We asked Caleb what he was going to make for our dinner, and he said quesadillas.  Hmmm… maybe we’ll make our own.

The sky is overcast and the breeze is crisp, but it sure beats shoveling snow somewhere! 

On the Road to Home

We’re on the road to home in Arizona.  Stopped for the night at a casino RV Park in New Mexico, we are still hooked up and ready to hit the interstate in the morning.  We are Arizona bound!  We’ve been so many places this summer it’s almost hard to remember!  As of today we’ve been on the road for 2 months!  So here’s a recap of where we’ve been…

Red Canyon, Utah and Bryce National Park

Then north through Utah before heading into Wyoming for a stop at Grand Teton National Park.

Where we saw rambunctious buffalo, beautiful lakes, grand vistas, roaring waterfalls, and mama moose with her baby!
 




We continued north through Grand Teton into Yellowstone National Park for views of buffalo and babies, prismatic springs, and a junior ranger.



On to another national park!  At Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s North Unit we enjoyed more hikes, ranger programs, and watched out for the grumpy buffalo!



We kept travelling north and crossed into Canada to visit Grandma & Grandpa at the cabin on Lake of the Woods in Ontario.  Kayaking, boating, swimming, fishing, blueberry picking, tubing… so much  fun!


Then we started south again and made our way to the northern Black Hills of South Dakota to view the stunning Spearfish Canyon and look over the airplanes at the Air & Space Museum.

 

Then south into Nebraska to Chadron State Park for Caleb’s 10th birthday!  We rode horses, sat out under the shade trees, hit the bullseye at the archery center, swam in the pool and hit the trails.





We moved on to colorful Colorado before moving towards arid Arizona.

Staying at Cherry Creek State Park near Denver and then moving to Trinidad Lake State Park in the southern part of the state, we mused at the animal antics at the zoo, marveled at the wonders at the museum of nature & science and relaxed by the lakes!


Now you’re all caught up on our summer adventures!  We’ve had so much fun travelling as a family with our two German Shepherds!