Rockhouse Canyon and Coyote Canyon

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Had a leisurely morning, drinking coffee and eating a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs with toast grilled on the stove.

Here are some pictures of our boondocking spot and the views from our motorhome:
   
Looking north                                             Looking west

Looking southeast into the rising sun            Looking to the southwest

Dolly stuck around the motorhome to give Fergie his bath and I decided to take a jeep ride down Rockhouse Road to the canyon just northwest of our campground.  This road is the main road into the BLM area we are boondocking in.

Mostly a sandy road going into the dry lake and then on back into the canyon a long way.  Drove for a long time on sandy washboard roads, stopping to take pictures of an old camp in the desert and an old mining area way back in the canyon.  Good to have 4-wheel drive when you get into sand.

Camouflaged camp                                        Dry lake bed in Rockhouse Canyon
 
Another view of the dry lake bed
 
Old mining site
 
Heading across the dry lake bed back into the canyon.

Heading further into the canyon

Came back to the motorhome about noon and rested for awhile.  It is sunny and quite warm today.  I had broken down and bought two pair of shorts at Walmart the other day.  Glad I did!

In the afternoon, I went back into Borrego Springs for more pictures.  While at a shop in town, I bought Dolly a couple more surprises. A little rock heart shaped keepsake, that had a top so you could put trinkets in and an arrow shaped polished stone that had fossils of crustaceans displayed.
 
I went down a side street because I could hear musical bells chiming and found three churches right together:

Episcopal Church                                            Catholic Church
  Got all the churches in Borrego Springs covered
Lutheran Church

Stopped to fill the jeep and while at the gas station, one of the guys with a group of jeeps, was saying they had just gone down Coyote Canyon.  Asked him where it was and it is very near where we are staying, so I headed out Borrego Springs Road north till the pavement ended.  I was then back in the Borrego Springs State Park and the road was nothing but sand from that point on.  Put the jeep in 4-wheel drive and headed through the sand for about a mile.
  
Entrance to Coyote Canyon                          Sandy and washboard makes for really rough road 

As I was going, I pulled over to let a group of three jeeps heading back out pass by.  Road is too narrow for both of us.  I started getting a little nervous as the sand got deeper and the road got narrower.  I was recalling how all the others were in groups and here I was a dump Illinois hick all by myself out here.  Decided to turn around while I could and do a little reading on the internet before going back, hopefully more prepared for what lie ahead.

Narrow sandy road 

Got back home around 3:30 and Dolly and I decided it was time for a little outside hair washing.  Didn’t want to waste water, so just used a gallon jug and poured it over us and washed, rinsed and we were done in a jiffy.  A little complaining by Dolly, because I didn’t heat the water.  Just used cold water.

Been running the generator one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon to keep it at 12.7 volts (100%).  That way we can watch the TV news in the morning and in the evening and not run the generator for hours to keep the batteries charged.  Evan doesn’t know it yet, but solar panel installation is in our future.  I am going to read up on types of solar panels and what all is involved, so next winter, I won’t have to run that stinkin’ generator every day!

About time for dinner and a little news, so see you later.