Coyote Mountain in San Diego County, California Anza-Borrego Desert

We enjoyed Coyote Mountain so much earlier this month we returned again before the annual closure.  The closure which occurs January 1st to June 30th every year for the birthing of the endangered  Peninsular Bighorn Sheep.



We spotted 2 Bighorn Sheep as we approached the top.

Alabama to San Diego

Waxahachie, Texas

 $2.99 Diesel
We are loving these prices

 Dinner with Mary, one of Cindy's former Delta co-worker.
She was my work Mom.

Monahans, Texas

Although desert-like the Monahans Sandhills are not a desert, they are a part of a semi-arid ecosystem. There average annual rainfall is 12.3 inches.  So far this year they have had 17.25 inches.

Benson, Arizona
Kartchner Caverns

 

 The caverns were discovered in 1974, when 2 cavers found a narrow crack in the bottom of a sinkhole, and followed the source of warm, moist air toward what ended up being more than 2.5 miles of pristine cave passages. Hoping to protect the cave from vandalism, they kept the location a secret for fourteen years, deciding that the best way to preserve the cavern. In 1985, after gaining the cooperation of the Kartchner family and working with them for ten years, together they decided that the best way to achieve the goal of protection through development as a tour cave was to approach Arizona State Parks. The discovery of the cave was finally made public in 1988 when the Kartchner's sold the area to the state for development as a park and show cavern.The state spent $28 million on a high-tech system of air-lock doors, misting machines and other gadgetry designed to preserve the cave.

 

Discovered inside the cave were fossil remains of a Shasta Ground Sloth. Testing of the travertine where the bones were found proved the fossils to be 80,000 years old.

El Centro, California
Visiting Snowbird friends from Washington for a little Jeeping.

Painted Gorge and Coyote Mountain

December 14th - All good things must come to an end

What a trip!

 We had a great time, saw lots of beautiful places, met lots of nice people, ate lots of good food, didn't have any problems to speak of and had great weather.

We were gone 5 months or 153 days

We drove 10,182 Motorhome miles,

 6,539 Jeep miles and took 8,964 pictures.

A special "Thanks" to our great neighbors who take care of things back home for us.

We are already starting to plan our next trip.  Anyone ready to join us?



Alabama

 Florence, AL 

Again this year we visited Tom Hendrix and his Wichahpi Commemorative Stone Wall.  A memorial he built for his great-great grandmother, a Yuchi Indian who was part of the American Indian removal to Oklahoma. The wall is the largest, un-mortared stone wall in the United States.
 For more pictures see our  Nov 2013 post.



This time we had something for him to add to his wall.

Back in March while camping in the Anza Borrego Desert we took a jeeping adventure to the abandoned Dolomite Mine.  Dave had picked up a piece of Dolomite with Tom Hendrix in mind.  Tom has one section where he places all the different rocks given to him.  His wife photographs and keeps a log of all these rocks.  He has many rocks from all over the world, but this was his first piece of Dolomite.  He told us that most people just mail him their rock.

Tom and his dogs

Tom is quite a talker and has lots of facts and stories to tell about the wall.

These are a couple of my favorites...

“I have worn out 3 trucks, 22 wheelbarrows, 3,700 pairs of gloves, 3 dogs and 1 old man."
 “I love it when Master Stonemasons visit and ask me how many helpers I've had.”

He also has a special section for all the rocks with faces.

We were shocked to see such a large Mexican Restaurant in Alabama.  Our first Mexican food in months.

Dave figured out he has been away from San Diego too long.  He read the restroom signs and chose Damas.


Red Bay, AL

No trip to Alabama would be complete without swinging through Red Bay, home to the Tiffin Motorhome Factory and Service Center. 
We had a warranty item and a small list of maintenance items plus the toilet.

Knowing the service wait was around 2 weeks we checked in and pulled a service number on our way to Corinth, Mississippi.

We arrived Sunday afternoon after Thanksgiving.  We were surprised at how empty the service campground was.  The Rigs continued to file in all afternoon and by bed time the campground was 80 percent full.


 Our new toilet :)

New wet bay floor.

They finished all our items today.  Now it's time for us to start heading West.

In the laundry room there is a book exchange shelf.  While checking it out, I noticed a book on tape that I thought sounded interesting.  With a closer look I found that it had come from the Ocean Beach library in San Diego.