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Thursday, February 15, 2018

Leaving Luxury for the Wide Open Desert

February 12, 2018

It is Monday morning and time to pack up, leave these luxurious digs, and move back out into the desert. We are headed out to the  American Girl Mine Road. We stopped there for one night last year, it was our first official night boondocking in the desert with the Stinger "B". We were on our way to Borrego Springs at the time and though we liked it there we did not have much fresh water on board and needed to move on. As we left we talked about parking in the same area again in the future so today is the day we will be doing just that.

Before we left I did take some pictures of the area our site was in at the Fortuna De Oro RV Park. We were in site 751 and backed up to the main road into the park. Though, surprisingly even with the traffic coming and going there was no noticeable noise. The noise we did hear was from I-8, since, we were parked in the front of the park we were close to the interstate. Though, again surprisingly it was not as noticeable as we had thought it would be.

Our site, the Stinger "B" is pretty well ready to leave.

The motor home you are looking at is the one a gentleman came out of
to help Tom get the Stinger "B" in her site when we arrived.
I need to start writing down names. We were very grateful for the help.

The road behind us.


Looking off towards I-8

Out our front window.

Looking North.

While Tom finished getting the Stinger "B" ready to roll I walked
down to the end of the road. That is the sports area in the distance.

Looking back from the end of the road.
I can just make out the Stinger "B",  it looks like it has a Palm growing out of it.

It is a large park

that is beautiful and well maintained.

I did get the sign as we were leaving.
This was a wonderful park and we did enjoy our time here.

Looking out at green fields.
This is through my side window and screen.



We are about to enter California.

The road ahead.

We knew we were heading into construction and there it is.

Good news, the Ogilby Exit was open.

Ogilby Road 


We pulled off of the road into the area we planned on parking in and
this gentleman came walking over from his 5th Wheel.
Did not know what the conversation was about at the time
but there was a lot of arm waving and pointing going on.

He had actually came over to warn us about the soft sand.
He had just gotten himself unstuck, arrow above, after going back into
town to pick up some carpets to put under his wheels.
Luckily we had not planned on going any farther and after walking
 the area we did not find any soft spots where we wanted to park.
We really appreciated that he came over and warned us.
Especially since Tom is pretty sure we would need more
then carpets under the Stinger "B" to get us out.

After we got set up I took a short walk around our site and took these pictures.
The blue sky, white clouds, desert floor, and the mountains in the distance
not a bad place to spend a couple of days.

A little while later I noticed the clouds were growing darker and looking, in my opinion, beautiful coming over the Cargo Muchacho Mountains. So I grabbed my Nikon and went outside. A 100 plus pictures later the sun was down and I stopped. Yes, what follows is picture overload but really I did my best to narrow it down.

This is what brought me outside.

and this

plus this

and this.

Then looking towards the West the rays of the sun shining down behind
the clouds through the dust was beautiful.

Now the sunlight started to do a dance on the mountains.

Constantly lighting up different areas.



Looking back again at the sun I just loved how the rays were shining down.

There had to be one picture with the Ocotillo in it.

The light continued to dance across the Cargo Muchacho Mountains.

Then it was done.

Or so I thought, it had just moved a little over to my right

The Stinger "B" just hanging out in the desert.

and the show started again.

I found it fascinating to watch as the light continued to change.

Then it was dark again in certain areas

and in others the light danced on.






I could not stop taking pictures as it kept beautifully changing.



The mountains in the front are light while the ones in the back look black.

Off to the west we could really see the dust hanging in the air.
Which really enhanced the sun's rays.


Then they all looked light.

Then the ones in the front turned black and the ones in the back were light.


Then the sunset took on a golden glow.

Darkening clouds added to the contrast and beauty.




Then a few hints of color could be seen on the edges of the clouds.






Then this wonderful burst of color as the sun made its way behind the
clouds on the horizon.






The sun slipped away and after this one last picture
I put the camera down.

If you made it this far I hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking and sharing them.
Like I have said many times they do not really do justice to what we saw sitting there and taking it in but when I look at them I will remember. I will remember when we sat together watching the sun dance across the mountains with the clouds dark and beautiful with tinges of lovely pink adding to the beauty. 


I know, I know is already a long post with picture overload but I was
sitting inside looking out the window, working on this post  and thought, 
why are you sitting inside. So I grabbed my phone and went outside to take
 a couple of pictures of the wonderful mountains, white fluffy clouds,
sunshine and blue skies. Tom put out our chairs, brought out our coffee
and we just sat and enjoyed the moment. 



,






We truly are enjoying our time out here off of Ogilby Road. 
Hope you are enjoying your days.
If you would like to leave a comment, know that we read and enjoy each one.

14 comments:

  1. Awesome pictures, and love that area where you are parked. Glad you enjoyed the 3 nights free as we did last year and this.
    Soon off to Borrego Springs and more enjoyable scenery to take in while there. Travel safe and enjoy the journey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was nice to have three nights of full hookups and free was really, really nice...:)
      We are happy to be back out in the wide open spaces, though and looking forward to spending time in Borrego Springs.

      Delete
  2. Glad that guy gave you the warning about the soft sand area.
    Great Pictures. I know what you mean about being captivated be the changes in the scenery from one moment to the next. No such thing as Overload.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was really nice of the him to walk back and let us know. Getting stuck with the Stinger "B" would not be fun.
      The way the light changes everything so quickly is beautiful.
      Be safe, also.

      Delete
  3. This desert is just amazing with the ever changing light conditions giving the landscape those incredible color hues. I thought it was just me! Thanks for sharing from the 'other side' of the mountains from Q.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No it is not just you...:)! and you are welcome.

      Delete
  4. Wonderful pictures. I too have problems trying to select only a few. Not an easy task! The beauty is something that you want to share, and like you I can't stop the click, click, click every few minutes.

    The ever changing light and shadows keep the view in constant motion. It's never the same any time you raise your head to look. Truly inspiring views that leave me humbled to have been graced with the good fortune to see them.

    Enjoy your new spot!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Deb. We agree with you, we feel so fortunate to be able to have the opportunity to see all the beauty of the southwest.

      I keep telling myself you need to stop the click, click, click. When that does not work I say you need to delete, delete, delete. Unfortunately, it seems I am not a very good listener...:)

      Hi to Riley and stay safe.

      Delete
  5. I never would have thought about soft sand. Nice of him to warn you. Getting unstuck would be a test of my patience!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We always try to think about the possibility of soft sand and usually try to get out and walk ahead when we are pulling into an unfamiliar area. Unfortunately, sometimes by the time you realize it is there it is to late. Which is what happened to him and it was nice that he let us know.

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  6. I seem to always be drawn towards the golden sunsets. All pretty, but those make me linger.

    Been awhile since Ogilby Road. Almost went in that direction before friends wanted to meet at Joshua Tree.

    Saw a huge RV like yours stuck in sand at Font's Point. Four young people.

    Didn't think they could dig out but hours later saw them driving into Clark Dry Lake. Guess they had the energy and persistence to make it happen. Not something we would want to do.😛

    Enjoy your stay.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know what you are saying the golden sunsets are beautiful.

      We really enjoyed the quiet on Olgilby Rd. Right now we are on Rockhouse Canyon Rd missing that quiet but enjoying the views.

      My first thought was why would anyone drive any motorhome out by Font's Point...then I read the part..."four young people". Glad they got it unstuck and no not something we want to tackle...lol

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  7. Oh Deb what beautiful pictures! The sunset is so beautiful, don't blame you for taking so many pictures! The rv park was really pretty and nice for free, but I've got a feeling you're really going to enjoy the little piece of heaven you're at now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Shirley. You are right the RV park was really pretty. I mean what is not to like about full hookups and free...:)? You are, also, right we really, really liked our spot out on Ogilby Rd.

      As we were hooking up to head to Borrego another couple pulled up on the Road behind us and asked about where we had been parked and as we pulled away we could see they had pulled into the spot we had left...it was their first time there. I loved pulling away knowing someone else would be enjoying that spot.

      Delete