The Mojave Desert in Spring

The flat top mesas are a good backdrop for the Joshua trees in the foreground. The desert is starting to bloom. We are not seeing great fields of flowers, but there's a hint of green with a few dabs of yellow on the desert floor.

The Creosote bush is blooming right now. But life in the desert is subtle. These bushes are in full bloom, as you can see below.

It's brilliant yellow flowers look like beacons when you are up close and personal, but not from a distance. It's a harsh life and they have learned how to make the most of it. 

Other plants look fuller such as the cholla and yucca.

Always in the background there are the red mountains 

...that erode into majestic shapes looking like the crenellated castles on the Rhine, guarding the place from invaders. 

 

Driving the "Old Spanish Trail"

Slowly we are learning the geography and history of our new location. The exploration is both interesting and fun. The other day we decided to take "the old road" to St. George, UT. Little did we know that the road started as an established trail sometime in the 1500s by Spaniards. The early history of the trail is obscure, but by the time John Fremont mapped the trail in the 1840s, with his guide Kit Carson, it was a well developed trade route with several routes and cut-offs.

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The Old Spanish Trail generally followed a 700 mile trek from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Los Angeles, California. Merchants in Santa Fe would collect Navajo woven goods, such as blankets and serapes, and ship them on sturdy pack mules. Hundreds and men and mules moved the goods. A good Navajo blanket would buy 2 horses in California. The merchants would return with hundreds of horses and mules. The mule trains made one round trip a year, during the cooler months, so as to avoid the heat and lack of water in the Mojave Desert.

This modern desert sculpture visualizes the mules crossing the desert.

Today, the trail is more civilized. The part we drove is SR 18, a well paved 2 lane road that skirts the Virgin River, dips into the Reservation of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, shows some of the wonder of the red rocks that make up Zion National Park, not too far "down the road," before ending in St. George, UT.

Along the way there are a few abandoned buildings, with the no explanation as to what they were. 

Relics of a time and place that we don't understand or know.

This part of  NV, AZ and UT, has more miles dotted with cactus, juniper and yucca than dwellings. You can speed down the road at 55 mph, something unheard of in the 1840s. Then, the unpaved trail was a rut in the landscape made by thousands of feet (men and mule) eeking a living by moving trade goods between New Mexico and California. The trail was a permanent trade route. In the 1850s the pack mules were replaced by freight wagons pulled by 20 mule teams. In 2002, President George W. Bush signed legislation making The Old Spanish Trail the 15th National Historic Trail.

Turtles ... or Tortoises ... or Terrapins?

I've added to my crochet critter repertoire by making turtles. Then I remembered my "Harry Potter" when Hermione fears she will lose some points because her turtle looks more like a tortoise. Naturally, I had to find the difference between the two. In case you did not know, the generic name is Turtle. But if you want a bit more specificity, a turtle is a water dwelling omnivore with a flatter shell/body to allow for better swimming ability;  a tortoise is a land dwelling herbivore with a taller shell to protect it from preditors. Terrapins are the mascot for the University of Maryland, and they live in brackish water and land and are considered to be more tortoise like than turtle like. 

Given the above, here's my critters:

Based on the above description, this is probably a tortoise...a very colorful tortoise ... because it has a taller, rounded shell

...and this is a turtle with a more streamlined shell

...and the last one is named Terry Terrapin. She is a fanciful turtle that can only live in my imagination. But then, I guess that's true for all my turtle creations. I do know they are fun to make, so a few more will be added to the menagerie.

Bunnies...Lots of Easter Bunnies

It started with a pattern I saw on Pinterest...a bunny that could be made by knitting a square of yarn. I don't knit, so I modified the pattern and crocheted a square of yarn and started making bunnies for Easter. The original pattern called for a pompom tail, but I modified that too. Each bunny has a real cotton ball tail. It's only appropriate.

The first two were made from a 6 inch square and a 3 inch square. I gave them to my friend Jeanne. 

Then I made a 4 inch square and I discovered the perfect size for the bunny. This little guy was sent to my 100 year old Auntie. Of course I'm still making piggies. 

 I went a little crazy and started making bunnies every night. Each bunny gets a special name too, so there's Lucinda Hopps, Samantha Spring, Leonora Leaper, and Heather Hopper...the list goes on. I need to get them in the mail by Easter. If you like a bunny to hop your way, just ask. 

50 Years

In a few days we will be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. Great plans for a cruise or exotic trip to mark the occasion have been dashed. What has not been dashed is friendship. My dear friends have created a wonderful gift to help us celebrate 50 years of love, sharing and caring for each other. Thank you for this lovely commemoration of our wedding day.

Thank you Pam and Sam for this wonderful gift for our special day

Framing is Complete

The framing is completed. This is always a good sign. If we stay on schedule we might make our due date.

The east side showing the master bedroom/bath, den, main bath and second bedroom

The back or north side showing the bay window in the master bedroom and the patio

The front or south side show the garage, arched entry way and second bedroom.

Each of the rooms is clearly defined so we mentally placed furniture in them. That was fun. Now we wait for the trusses. The framers said the trusses had arrived, but they have not been delivered to our job site. There are many homes waiting for trusses. 

We Are Being Framed

 More progress is being made on the house. The garage was framed and braced. We can now get a good idea what the front of the house looks like.

In addition, headers for windows were put in place, making it easy to visualize the view from each. The view from the living room looks at Flat Top Mesa.

We watched the framing team work for about an hour before they started cleaning up. When they were done I talked to one of the fellows. He said they had one more day of framing, then the trusses would be installed. I was surprised the trusses had arrived. I want to be there when they fly the trusses on the house. That's always exciting. Needless to say, I'll keep you up to date. 

Progress

 Today we drove past our new home site and discovered that there were STICKS! Progress is happening. Hooray!

I talked to the contractor the other day and his report was grim. He said there was a shortage of trusses, wood, plywood, sheetrock, coils, and appliances. I was told that trusses might arrive on March 24, so the progress we saw today was a great surprise.

A crew of 3 were framing the house...2 were busy nailing and one was cleaning up. Keep watching this spot as I'll have more pictures tomorrow.

Driving Through Town

On Thursday we went to a Meet and Greet at the local library. We were asking a lot of questions about doctors and dentists and the like, when the conversation moved to driving around the town. Today we took one of the roads recommended and discovered a mighty vista. These are the jagged Virgin Mountains to the south and east of town. The highest points on this range are Mt. Bangs at 8012 feet and Virgin Peak at 8075 feet.

Facing the Virgin Mountains are flat top mesas. In fact, this one is called Flat Top Mesa at 2589 feet. This is the mountain I expected to see in the desert, not the sawtooth mountain range at all.

The soft sedimentary rock of the mesa seems to be a carver's wonderland and one man has decided to etch, carve and sculpt the soft rock. If you look carefully, you will see a row of 7 emojis.

This is our "Little Mount Rushmore." As we were looking at it, a driver in another car said the sculptures can erode in the rain, and we've had 2 days of rain...then he said, "I wonder how long these will last?"

We think this is a sphinx. It's fitting. The last time I saw a sphinx was in a desert in Egypt. 

Then we saw Cowboy Joe, the symbol of Wyoming. The carver is a native of Jackson Hole.

 There are several carvings in the red rock and they all have a story behind them. Mr. Karns, the man behind the examples of sandstone art, decided he wanted people to smile when they looked at his work. That's exactly what we did.

It's hard to think that all these pictures were taken from the same location near Flat Top Mesa. The snowy Virgin Mountains and the arid mesas living in harmony in the Mojave Desert.

Two New Critters

 Two more critters have been added to the menagerie...a tiny bunny and a round piggy

The bunny is a new pattern for me...

..as I've only made 3. I'm going to send one to my 100 year old auntie for Easter. If you would like one, let me know. Crocheting keeps me out of trouble.

Snow and Palms

Welcome to the desert in the wintertime where we are experiencing a strange (for us) phenomena...snow on the nearby mountaintops and palm trees lining the streets. It's not often you see snow and palm trees in the same place.

Lucky for us, there is no snow on the valley floor. It's cooler than it has been recently, but if the weather report is accurate, it will warm up soon. 

This and That

 We've been in our new wintertime home for one week. We are getting settled in. We know the main streets in town, we can find our favorite stores, post office and bank without getting lost. The weather has been wonderful. No snow or rain, some wind and nice warm days. I'm trying to get in the habit of walking again. I fell out of practice the past few months due to a series of accidents. I'm healed up and ready to walk. Amidst the change there is stability too. I'm still crocheting teddy bears.

Tonight I finished Lily. Somethings don't change. On another note, our new home has not made any progress in the week we've been here. The foundation is curing...that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Meandering to Mesquite

 We are making progress toward our next destination. We have bid farewell to friends and family (which is difficult to say the least) and in 2 days we will be in Mesquite. We received our second Covid vaccine. Our RV has proven it is ready for full time living. The new adventure is officially afoot!

Home Progress: Foundation

Every other Sunday our agent at our new house, sends pictures showing building progress. Today I received 2 more pictures, showing that the slab foundation has been poured. 

I believe this is the front of the house.

I think this is the west side of the house showing the electric panel.

We'll be onsite in a few days and then we'll show regular progress. 

This is very exciting.

This is the second time we've had a home with a slab foundation. When we built our first home, our builder said it did not matter what form the foundation took--raised or slab--as they worked the same. Our home in Texas was on a slab. Our home in Wyoming has a raised foundation. We will be able to compare the feel of them as time goes by.

Winter Booties

 We might have blossoms on trees, yet it gets cold at night. To that end, I've been making booties for big people. Here are two of my latest creations.

The yarn is soft and cozy and super cuddly...and I know who is going to get them. Surprise!

Mid-February

There's a huge blast of arctic air freezing much of the USA. Texans are suffering from the catastrophic cold weather. New York City is bracing for yet another snowy blast too. Given that, I have to post these pictures of took of downtown Chico, in northern CA.

The trees lining the streets of downtown Chico

...are blooming. It's a minor miracle amidst all the cold weather the nation is experiencing.

It's a joy to see, but one we are relatively used to around here. This part of northern CA gets a "long spring" as trees will start to bloom as early as the first week in February. This cold winter is no exception.

A Little Late

 50 years ago on February 14, we became engaged to be married. Happy Valentine's Day!

Red Fred and the Kitty

I made "Red Fred" for my friend Bernice, but her Kitty adopted him. 

That's the way it goes! He looks happy with his Kitty.

 

Groundbreaking

It's official...our new home is underway. The ground was "broken" on February 4

It might not look like a lot, but it's the beginning.

Every house has to begin somewhere...and this is how our new house is beginning. It's exciting to see  progress. Our agent will be taking pictures of the property as the structure grows. 

Milestone

As of today, we no longer own property in California. Escrow closed on our home at 10:30 this morning. Our real estate agent said it was time to cancel the fire insurance on the house, so that was done. 

We are now full timing in our fifth wheel trailer,,,

...while our new winter home in eastern Nevada is being built. We plan to get to the summer home in WY as soon as it begins to thaw out. The DrCs like adventures, and we are embarking upon a big one. Watch this space to see what unfolds.

Chinese Temple in Oroville

Oroville, CA has a "rich" history, no pun intended. The name of the town explains a lot...ORO is the Spanish word for gold and VILLE is the French word for town. Oroville is literally "gold town, USA." Gold was found along the banks of the Feather River--millions of dollars of gold was found. The news spread rapidly and people from all over the world came to get rich. A few of them did get rich, such as John Bidwell, the founder of Chico, CA. Among the miners, were about 10,000 Chinese men. They were not allowed to bring their wives, so they came alone. By the 1850s they requested artifacts from the Emperor and Empress of China to build a Temple. After the first two wooden Temples burned, a third was built of local brick (from Palermo, CA) in 1863.

That Temple is still standing, and during normal times, it's open to the public as a museum. (Due to Covid restrictions, it's not open right now.) Don't let that stop you from walking around the Temple to see the 3 main buildings and enjoy the beauty. 

A bright red Moon Gate leads into one of the 3 parts of the Temple which houses tapestries and carvings from ancient China. As a treat, the redbud tree beside the gate is starting to bloom.

Sadly, the Temple has had hard times. It is located near the Feather River and in 1907 the river flooded not only the Temple, but Oroville too. Lots of work was done to restore the Temple, but the Chinese community was getting smaller and smaller. Remember, only single men came from China and by 1907 they were not young any more. The remaining Chinese restored the Temple and by 1935 they knew they could not keep it so they donated it to the City of Oroville with 3 provisions: 1) the Temple would be a museum to house their artifacts 2) The Temple would be available for worship and 3) that volunteers would teach about the importance of the Chinese culture in the area.  

The Temple is a California Historical Landmark and as Huell Howser (of PBS Fame) would say, "Part of California's Gold." If you have some time, follow the green line in Oroville to discover more of the history of the town.