Anza-Borrego Desert, CA (2/9 & 2/10/2018)

My plan was to stop at Henshaw Lake for a week or two, since it was in a nice, mountainous area with a lake, close to Mount Palomar and other attractions that appealed to me.  There are two highways that would get me there, one that goes over the mountains with lots of curves and grades.  I meant to take the longer, safer route, but Gertie tricked me by starting on the road I wanted, but screaming "Turn Right" at a new road.  I wrongly assumed it was just a shortcut to my preferred road, and by the time I realized where we were headed, it was too late.As it turned out, the road was in  great shape and the "tricky" part had little traffic, so I actually enjoyed the trip.  We passed through five Indian Reservations, one of them offering unleaded gas for "only" $2.84 per gallon (compared to $3.15 to $3.79 elsewhere).  It seems the Indians aren't required to collect the California gas tax.

Unfortunately, the RV park I went to was a dump.  I drove in and looked around, but the roads were such that the RV's rear end scraped at every turn, and the few vacant sites were badly out of level.  I left without stopping to explain why.  With no other campgrounds in that area, I chose to drive on to Stagecoach Trails in the desert, where I had made reservations for two weeks out.  As expected, they had no trouble accommodating my early arrival.  Their normal rate is $40 per day, plus 12.5% "environmental fee" and 8.5% sales tax.  My club membership got me half-price for the week.

The name "Stagecoach Trails" is because the road through this part of the desert was the original trail of the Butterfield Stage Line that served the West for many years. (Twenty-three days from  Missouri to California.) 

My first full day here was extremely windy and my neighbors said it was due to rain on the way.  The desert could use some rain, since there hasn't been any this winter and the desert bloom of wildflowers I was hoping to see isn't going to happen.  I spent the day driving trails and washes in the desert, most of them having heavy "wash board". 

 Some clever soul found fun in planting a road sign above the intersection of two washes.

It wasn't until afternoon that I found something interesting, the Mud Caves in Arroyo Tapiado.  These hills are nothing but dried mud, no rock whatsoever.  Consequently, when it does rain, there is serious erosion that creates canyons.  There are numerous slot canyons here, and some 22 caves to be explored.  Since I didn't have a flashlight with me, I only went into the slot canyons or more open caves.

 At first, the color of the mud seemed pretty "blah", but when the sun hits it right, color begins to appear.  The later sun really brightens the mud.

I had several good hours exploring the area and meeting others who were there.  It was especially interesting to spend time with a geology professor from UCSD who had brought a dozen students out for "hands on" learning.  What a great group they were.

Back at camp, we experienced a marvelous sunset resulting from all the high clouds.  The west was blocked by Laguna Mountain, but all other directions had wonderful color.

Perris & Riverside, CA (2/5 - 2/7/2018)

My week in this area has had mixed results.  I enjoyed my drive to San Juan Capistrano, and watching the Super Bowl in the clubhouse with a lot of nice folks was a pleasant experience (although my Patriots lost).  My agenda here included a lot of parks, wilderness areas and wildlife reserves that I had spotted on the map and then researched on the internet.  A couple I was unable to find, although I used Google maps and asked people I found in the general vicinity.  Some were fenced with a locked gate, and others charged too much (I thought) for a quick check of the bird population.  So, I've done a lot of driving with little to show for it.  At least the weather here has been pleasant, if a little warm when out in the sun.

For those who enjoy sunrise/sunset photos, I have one of each, plus a carry-over of the Super Blue Moon from the end of January.  Both the sunrise and sunset caught me off guard, since I had not gone out to view them.  In both cases, I just happened to see color out the window and took the photos from the campground, pointing the camera above all the RVs and such.  On the night of the Super moon, we were cloudy early in the evening, but the moon eventually rose above the heaviest clouds and peeked through the thin layers remaining.

  

 Lake Jennings is a man-made reservoir that offers camping and fishing.  I went hoping to see migrating ducks, but only saw a few white pelicans.  This one has his breeding bumps on his bill.

 A couple of recent bird photos, a western bluebird and a white-crowned sparrow, which are very common in this area.

 I drove into the mountains to see Ortega Falls, but it is dry.  This was not surprising, since several days of rain are required to give it a flow, and there hasn't been any rain..  In the photo below, the very center is a grey spot where water has discolored the rock in the past.  Below and to the right, you can see young people who came out to clean the trail of litter.

 Lake Perris is another man-made lake that is a State Recreation Area.  The young lady at the gate let me in free when I explained I wouldn't be swimming, boating or any other of the activities it offers.  I just wanted to look for birds.  After finding a couple, I left and thanked her for saving me $10.

Juvenile Black Phoebe

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Seventh Day Adventist Church in Perris

 It took two tries to find Box Springs Mountain Wilderness Park, which I had read had good 4WD trails.  When I got there, I found the gate closed to vehicles.  Since there were obviously no trees, there would be little chance of seeing birds, so I decided not to hike up the mountain when the temp was 89F.  I did spend a little time with some local firemen who were there to practice mountain rescue, hoisting one of the paramedics out of a canyon by helicopter that would be arriving.  After waiting a little while, I gave up on the helicopter and left.  Going down the mountain, I passed several ranches that raise burros.  I'm not sure why there is a market for them.

 I paid a visit to the University of California-Riverside to see their botanic garden.  On a steep hillside, the garden is lovely, but tough on us old-timers viewing it.  There weren't that many plants in bloom, so I expect it would be even prettier in a few months.

Lake Elsinore & San Juan Capistrano, CA (2/3/2018)

I moved last week to an area north of San Diego in a broad valley that lies between two mountain ranges.  There are several large lakes here, so I'll try to check them out over the next few days.  One of them, Lake Elsinore, is a natural lake that was originally a tourist destination, but now has a population of more than 55,000 living in the town around its shores. 

On Saturday, I drove over the narrow, twisty road to the west side of the mountains to visit the town and mission of San Juan Capistrano.  My family visited this mission in 1979, when the town was small and the mission had little visitation.  Since then, the town has grown and the huge increase in tourism has sparked the development of all the usual tourist places, such as gift shops, art galleries and restaurants.

The mission,  founded in 1776 by Father Junipero Serra (same as Mission San Diego De Alcala), was the seventh of the Spanish missions in California.  It may be the best known and most popular of all, and it is certainly the largest.  It was fascinating to tour the grounds and see all the displays of how they lived is this place so many years ago.

They built aquaducts of stone to transfer rainwater to large cisterns for storage.

They had an area dedicated to making adobe bricks for construction, some square and some diamond-shaped.

There was a large outdoor kitchen to meet the cooking needs for a large group of residents.

They tanned hides in large vats to provide leather for many uses.

Among the residents were soldiers who lived in these barracks.

The grounds are well-maintained, with lots of trees and shrubs to add texture and color to the experience.

The room known as "Serra's Church was built in 1782 and is recognized as the oldest building in California still in use.

A new church was built in 1806 only to be mostly destroyed by an earthquake in 1812.

Two of its bells were cracked beyond repair and are now on display.

In 1986, yet another new church was built, allowing the original mission buildings to be used strictly for tours.  The new church is quite beautiful, as befits a church with its heritage.  It is patterned after the 1806 church, though not an exact replica.  The interior designer hand-painted much of the artwork that adorns the walls.