March Madness . . .

It took us three days to tour and photograph the Sculpture sites in and around the Anza-Borrego Park and we did miss some because they had been damaged by the recent storm and the road was not passable. The sculptures were exciting but we were disappointed with the lack of wild-flowers and not too anxious to stick around. 
Pay-It-Forward
Just before we left last fall there was a rash of pay-it-forward  incidents of people buying rounds of coffee for all the folks in a local favourite coffee shop (Tim Horton’s). The practice spread like wild-fire in Canada and we found ourselves experiencing the same thing at the ice cream shop in Borrego Springs. The fellow in front of us insisted on paying for ours and a few others. It was a very strange experience.
La Quinta and Lake Cahuilla
BUT it was time to leave the dry and desolate part of California and find a spot that felt more alive. A County campground (The Lake Cahuilla in La Quinta) filled that goal – in a couple of days we felt revitalized and needed to leave the cultivated city and head back to Arizona and Quartzsite..

  

The Highlights of our visit were spending time with our Truth and Consequences friends, Deb & Jer, Deb’s Mom’s Gum Gallery, and our trip out to Palm Canyon.
The Gum Gallery!



Deb’s Mom, Joanne Brunet has been collecting gum and gum paraphernalia since she was a young child. It is now housed in a dedicated building on their property in Quartzsite.
Joanne is hiding behind this huge crocheted gum ball machine that one of her fans crocheted for her.


Palm Canyon
Quartzsite is comfortable for us. We love our spot along the wash where we can treasure the flora and fauna around us.
I don’t remember ever seeing the Palo Verde in full bloom like it was.

Palm Canyon is in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge and the subject of the painting done by our friend, Elizabeth Lauder. that travels with us no mater where we go. Until now, we had never been out there . . . but now we that have the Tracker . . .

Seven miles off SR 95 a windy, desert road takes you to the entrance to Palm Canyon. Along the way, Fred managed to capture some flowering cacti spied by Sheila’s eagle eye.

 
 As with most canyons, Palm Canyon is the result of thousands of years of volcanic eruption, wind, flooding and erosion that continues to this day. The name comes from the unique grove of California Fan Palms that exist in the canyon. Apparently they are Arizona’s only native Palm trees. Some believe seeds were brought into the Canyon by birds and grew in this protected environment.