We’ve been home from our odyssey for almost three weeks now, and it’s time for a regularly scheduled weekend rally with WBCCI South Coast California Unit. The Airstream owners club is divided into 12 regions and several hundred local units. South Coast California Unit includes people from Orange County and portions of San Diego, Riverside, and Los Angeles Counties, although there is no specific geographical boundary for any Unit.
Borrego Springs is a tiny town set in the center of the giant 650,000 acre Anza-Borrego Desert State Park:
The State Park is named after an early explorer who passed through here on his way from New Spain to Alta California in the 18th century. A local sculptor created this image of General de Anza:
We arrived at Borrego Springs RV Resort at about 2:30 on Thursday, Nov. 2, and by the time we were set up it was time for Happy Hours. There are six Airstreams here, the day before the rally officially begins. We brought a special treat to Happy Hours: Imported Wine!
Happy Hours ensued and we headed to be early…
On Friday, we had a beautiful morning. My brother, who has been wintering in Borrego Springs for six or seven years now, sent a text asking how we liked Borrego. I replied by sending this photo:
He replied with this photo of Bellingham, Washington, and the 6″ of snow they got overnight:
This morning we walked to town, just to get some exercise, and to stop in at the Visitors Center to get some information on local hiking spots. The town is pretty quiet on a Friday morning:
Why they have a mail box here is beyond me…
We continued into town, walked around the traffic circle, and we saw this sign:
This guy must have a booming business! Where else could you possibly find gravel or boulders here in the middle of the desert?
Friday evening was our usual “heavy hors d’oeuvres” happy hours. We have 20 Airstreams in attendance. This is the first time we have seen many of the club members in five or six months! It was great to catch up…!
Saturday morning, after breakfast with the club, Lynda and I went to the State Park and did an “easy hike” into Palm Canyon. It was a three mile round trip, with a native palm grove at the top of the canyon:
The rest of the day was spent recuperating from this “easy hike”, Remind me to stay away from “moderate” or “difficult” hikes!
On Sunday we drove to see Font’s Point. It is an overlook offering a spectacular view of the Borrego Badlands. The fun part was a 4 1/2 mile drive (each way) over sand: four-wheel-drive required!
The view shows the work of erosion and seismic activity over many, many years:
It was quite exhilarating, being all alone in the midst of this environment!
Sunday evening there were only 8 Airstreams left, most folks having returned home at the official end to the rally. We had a shared meal in the clubhouse…
Monday morning we hitched up and returned home. An enjoyable time was had by all…
Adventures in the Villa 