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Recently spent a few days wandering NYC while there for my brother's wedding. Here's a sampling of images.
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About an hour later, we hit the dirt. Our first view point was the fence line.
I'd never seen the fence and it is a sight to be seen. All of the dirt within 20' of the fence had been plowed clean. The next 10' was freshly laid gravel under which was buried old tires. Not sure of the meaning of that. Dillen asked if she could touch Mexico and ran off the fence to stick her hand through and grab some dirt.
From there, we headed north, under the freeway and up into Anza Borrego State Park. I'm still not sure exactly where we are or where we are headed. It doesn't really matter anyway, I'm just enjoying the wilderness. Learning. Building my confidence with the truck.
At the bottom of the hill, we stopped to stretch our legs and explore. We took a walk through a tunnel that ran under the freeway and Dillen absolutely loved it. She kept asking why she couldn't hear the cars going overhead.
The freeway fell away to our left as we climbed our way back up the hill. We dropped onto a road that ran along the Tecate Divide. We pass a group of backpackers. The landscape kept changing the further west we went. Less desert like. Huge formations of boulders towered around us. I should have taken more pictures but for me, the driving was getting very technical.
At the end of the road, we were overlooking the Carrizo Gorge. Along the east side of the gorge, railroad tracks ran down to the desert floor. Dillen stood and gazed in awe trying to take in the view and the topography lesson that Wes was giving her.
Wes found a different road on the way out. More sand. Less rocks. A bit less technical. Dillen had gotten a second wind was giggling over every bump. The day was drawing to a close. Within no time we were back at the thin ribbon of asphalt that lead back to the freeway and home.
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Not sure if we're going to be able to take her out for the maiden voyage today (karate tourney and the grandparents are coming down for dinner) but we're on it first thing tomorrow.
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We pulled up right about lunch, found an empty campsite and borrowed the table for a quick lunch. Piper went to town on the watermelon. The wind was cranking but the weather was absolutely gorgeous.
Once the watermelon was gone and dripping down everyone's chin, we hit the trail. Both Roxy and Dillen found walking sticks and took the lead. Piper, not to be out done, blazed her own trail and wanted to hike over everything that her big sisters did.
We made it about halfway to the palm oasis and found a small pool for the girls to dip their feet. This was by far the highlight of the trip. They ran up and down the creek bed, hunting for rocks, splashing, screaming, laughing. Nature's playground at its best.
We stayed in the creek for quite awhile. Piper got shoulder ride from Bec on the way down while Roxy and Dillen pretended to be Indians hunting bears. They brought smiles and laughs to all the people heading up the trail.
Once we got back in the truck, Dillen asked if we were going through Julian on the way home. Why? "Duh, Dad, there's pie there!" Smart girl. We stopped at the Julian Cafe since the line at Mom's was out the door and down the street. A quick bite to eat, an apple boysenberry pie to go and it was time to call it a day.
Everyone had a blast and the girls really want to see the palm oasis. We'll be heading back out very soon.
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