Head west young man, head west. It was another driving day towards California where we would get ready to head down the Baja.
Typical of the desert routes, there was lots of nothing…then all of a sudden, we say big sand dunes and irrigation canals that reroute water to the lush agricultural areas.
From the highway I saw an occasional glimpse of “The Wall.” I couldn’t resist taking the next turnoff and make a short detour to explore no mans land. Susan was besides herself with concern for our safety, pointing out all the cameras, warning signs, and barbed wire.
After this incriminating evidence of our border wall visit, we continued towards Yuma. We found a traditional Mexican restaurant. I felt like some Huevos Rancheros, eggs in salsa, eggs Mexican Style, and eggs with chorizo – without refried beans. It was delicious.
Feeling content, we continued west listening to the radio. We heard reports of fires burning across California and into Mexico. Susan researched cheaper campgrounds outside of San Diego. We selected Morena Campground in the mountains. When we arrived, there were 86 sites and only three campers – nice and quiet while we waited for the fires to get under control.
Our decision to lay low at Morena Campground was a good call. It gave us a chance to rest, take lovely walks by the lake, catch up on blogging, going for more walks and letting Chloe run around – until she got devil thorns in her paws
Up in the mountains, the night time temperatures dropped down and the water supply pipes froze. The daytime temperatures were sunny and pleasant – but we had a steady breeze fanning the wildfires across the state and Mexico.
We made a shopping run into town to restock on supplies, and on the return drive, we could see billowing clouds of smoke across the border. Occasionally, we saw a thundering S-64 Sikorsky fire fighting helicopter flying over us to refill its water tanks from the lake. Chloe went nuts. We could smell smoke in the air – the fire was far away but the wind carried to smoke towards us.
We took lots of walks around the village, saw wild turkeys, and lots of vicious dogs behind tall fences. Locals even slowed down to stare at us – wondering who were these strangers walking around their village.
We explored the surrounding towns, and stopped in at Campo. We picked up a few groceries and some parts for repairing the trailer. During our six day layover, the fires in Mexico were brought under control, and the highways were opened to traffic.
We packed up and made reservations for our next campground in San Diego