Yucca Valley, CA to Borrego Springs, CA

Today we were on the move again.

We said good-bye to our new friends from Monterey and headed down the highway towards Palm Springs. We’d been camped at 4,000 feet and the road to Palm Springs was almost continuously downhill. There was a loss of elevation of over 3,000 feet as Palm Springs is only a few hundred feet above sea level. Of course, dropping that much elevation meant that it got quite a bit hotter.

Although we were heading for Borrego Springs, it seemed a shame to just whiz by Palm Springs. I was surprised at how the city is pushed right up against the mountains. We didn’t have a particular destination in mind and ended up downtown in the heart of tourist country.

We ended up parking not far from a huge statue of Marilyn Munroe and walked around hiding in the shade. What a place for people watching! Within about five minutes I saw two inter-generational couples. One was a man who must have been 50 years older than the Asian woman he was with. He with the comb-over and pants hitched way up above his belly button. He did look rather fit but still. And the other was an older gentleman who walked by with this handsome younger man who was seen to pat him (the younger man) on the bum as they got further down the street. 

I found a little sandwich shop on a little side alley. When the very pleasant Hispanic man who seemed to own the place asked if I wanted my sandwich to stay or to go I said I would eat it outside with my dog. He then asked me if I was a health inspector and when it was determined I was not, he told me to bring Eliot inside. Eliot was thrilled as you might imagine. In spite of the fact that it was lunchtime and busy, he made a point of talking to me about Eliot and his two pugs and brought Eliot a huge bowl of water which Eliot, of course, proceeded to ignore. I do believe that he was flirting with me but it's been so long that I find it difficult to tell any more. I was also stopped by these two young gay guys ... one of whom is a dog groomer and recognized Eliot as a Norwich Terrier. He seemed to know his stuff as he described Eliot's coat and grooming regime exactly.

Anyhow, it was fun to see a bit of P.S. but it was really too hot to linger. I'd definitely like to return if only to see if I can get flirted with again.

Our route to Borrego Springs took us along side the Salton Sea. Our route west to Borrego Springs began at Salton City. So we did a little side trip into ‘town’. Many years ago there were hopes to build a big resort industry on the Salton Sea. Streets were laid out, some even paved and signs put into to mark the streets. But it never happened and so there all these subdivisions and streets with no or at most one or two houses on them. The place is very stark and the sea itself is quite smelly.

The road from Salton City to Borrego Springs took us uphill and through a part of the Anza Borrego State Park. It’s the largest state park in California and the area near the Salton Sea is pretty bleak.

It wasn’t a long drive and we were soon checked in at an RV park in Borrego Springs that had been recommended by some Victoria friends who had stayed there. I’m always a little amused and somewhat offended by the dog warnings I get for Eliot. This particular RV park had a page and a half of pet rules. So far we’ve broken a few of the rules but not been caught or cautioned.