Rick and Cathy Hit the Road

 We didn’t know anything about how Majool dates were grown and harvested until we stayed the night on a date farm. We pulled in and turns out it was also a brewery and bistro with live music on Saturday nights- jackpot! The food- many dishes made with dates, the beer, also date infused, music and overall ambience was perfect for a “ date night”! Majool dates grow on date palms. They are very expensive because it is very labor intensive to grow them.  Date Palms are unique in that they are either a male tree or a female tree. The male trees produce pollen, and the female trees produce flowers. Unfortunately, neither birds or bees are attracted to the flowers, so the females have to be hand pollinated.  https://www.dateland.com/how-are-dates-grown/  read more if interested.

Borrego Springs, CA is truly a marvelous place. Specially commissioned metal sculptures are dotted around the town and just outside the park for all to explore for free! We had a blast locating them all and since the dirt roads to them allowed dogs we could take Hailey for nice long walks.  A few of our favorites… The state park here, Anza Borrego Desert State Park was beautiful too. Nestled in between towering rock mountains there are palm trees and cactus. We took a cool hike to a hidden oasis where water flows freely and is smack dab in the middle of the dessert mountaintop near our campsite. 3 miles of rocky terrain where big horn sheep are known to frequent we hiked and kept our eyes peeled for any that might be coming down to the oasis for water. We were told that the females had just given birth to new babies! Rick just happed to look up at the towering cliffs above us at exactly the right moment and spotted a big ram silhouetted in the sun. It’s a long way off but I got a pictu

 To say that we were blown away by Death Valley is to describe our experience both literally and figuratively. We arrived just in time for the wind advisory to go into effect- up to 60mph wind gusts expected and Mother Nature did not disappoint! Our camper was a rocking all night! The next day- our day to explore and hike the wind had calmed a bit- down to 40mph gusts. We still had fun and we’re able to take in many beautiful landscapes in the park starting with Devil’s golf course.  I had to wear my winter hat (not a baseball cap- Rick nearly lost his!) to keep my hair from blowing in my face. Next, we explored Badwater-a vast salt flat situated -280 ft below sea level, in the middle of the desert flanked by towering mountains 11,000ft above sea level. Incredible! Next up, a drive through Artist’s Pallet.  Finally, my favorite, Mosaic Canyon. A beautiful hike through narrows, over rock scrambles, and through wide washes. Four miles of ever changing desert landscape.  The next morning