After picking up Medjool Dates and heirloom tomatoes at the Borrego Springs Christmas Circle farmers’ market, we traveled north on Borrego Springs Road to Galleta Meadows.  There have been reports that Gomphotherium have been spotted there, so we brought along The Anza-Borrego Desert Region: A Guide to the State Park and Adjacent Areas of the Western Colorado Desert, by Lowell & Diana Lindsay, 5th Edition, 2006, Wilderness Press.  This guide points out that Galleta Meadows is named for the coarse and stiff Galleta grass (Pleuraphis rigida), that grows in clumps, 2 to 4 feet high, making a good forage plant for browsing animals.

Indeed, as we approached Galleta Meadows, Gomphotheriums appeared to be grazing.

We parked the truck a safe distance away and consulted our guide.

Diana Lindsay, in her book (based on her Master’s thesis, edited by Richard Pourade), Our Historic Desert: The Story of the Anza-Borrego Desert, 1973, A Copley Book, writes that millions of years ago, this area was covered with seawater, extending from the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez).  Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (the largest contiguous state park in the United States outside of Alaska) is located in Southern California’s Colorado Desert, a part of the Sonoran Desert.  While crossing the Colorado Desert in 1775, Father Pedro Font recorded seeing signs of former maritime life here, including many piles of oyster shells (see this Fonts Point video).  Many land fossils found in this park date from about two to three million years ago, and include the remains of mastodons, ground sloths, camels, horses, wolves and musk oxen. This is illustrated in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Visitors’ Center.

It is also illustrated by life-size steel, free-standing art structures, such as the Gomphotheriums above, created by artist, welder, sculptor Ricardo Breceda and commissioned by Galleta Meadows Estate owner, Dennis Avery, for his property and open to the public.  The area draws many visitors, especially during the spring desert wildflower season.

These sculptures, such as the Giant sloth below, represent vertebrates of the past that inhabited the Anza-Borrego region during the Pliocene, Pleistocene and Miocene eras.

Along with mother and baby ground sloth…

And mother and baby camel (Camelops)…

And a kneeling camel with a Christmas ribbon on its tail and, perhaps, keeping a vigilant watch for storm clouds, Santa Claus, or the Polar Express…

See desertusa.com’s video of these sculptures at the Galleta Meadows Estate.

We contracted “aluminumitis” over three years ago and after much research we settled on the 23′ Safari SE Airstream trailer.  But before buying the trailer we had to decide on the proper tow vehicle that would best meet our needs.  I quickly found out that this would not be a quick and easy process.  I found a plethora of tow vehicle threads and opinions on the Airstream Knowledge Sharing Forums.  Aside from which brand to buy, it seemed that the first decision had to be which fuel-type to select, gas or diesel. So I started the thread, “Gas vs. Diesel in the New World“, which yielded 15 pages of discussion.

The selection came down to factors of power, geography/topography, and longevity.  It seemed to us that the diesel truck would be better suited to carry us, our dogs, and our “stuff” (cooking equipment, tables, chairs and mats) and pull our trailer up and over our nearby mountains, and continue to do so well into our retirement.  So it was “Diesel for me in the New World“.

Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913), a German engineer, designed and patented in 1892 an internal combustion engine, the diesel engine, which uses the heat of highly compressed air to ignite a spray of fuel introduced after the start of the compression stroke.

Karl Benz is generally regarded as the inventor of the first gasoline-powered automobile in 1886 and he was a pioneering founder of the automobile manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz.  His company, Benz & Cie designed the first truck in history in 1895 and was the largest automobile company in the world in 1899.

Gottlieb Daimler (1834-1900), another German engineer, invented the first high-speed petrol engine and the first four-wheel drive automobile.  Daimler and his lifelong business partner Wilhelm Maybach in 1890 founded Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) which began to produce the Mercedes model of 1902.  DMG merged with Benz & Cie in 1926 and adopted Mercedes-Benz as its automobile trademark along with its logo, the three-pointed star which represented Daimler’s motto: “engines for land, air, and water”.

Modern diesel engines have come a long way from the first one and are much more complex (see this animation).  Modern diesel vehicles of today have also come a long way, as seen in the Mercedes-Benz GL Class SUV, which features Blue TEC diesel technology.  This technology reportedly reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 80%.  A blue urea solution is injected into the exhaust gas flow releasing ammonia which breaks down the nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrogen and water particles in the catalytic converter.

Ken Gross tells more about the Mercedes-Benz GL and diesel power in this video of his test drive in Iceland (shown on You Tube).

Did you know that the Popemobile most often used by Pope Benedict XVI when traveling abroad is a modified Mercedes-Benz M-Class sport utility vehicle (as seen here in Brazil)?

As mentioned above, we chose a diesel truck because we haul a lot of equipment.  We are very happy with our 2006 F-250 Super Duty diesel truck, which comes with a 6.0 Power Stroke V8 Turbo diesel engine, Tow Command integrated trailer brake controller, and tow mirrors (seen on left in image below).

Rich L chose the 2009 Mercedes-Benz GL320 and I say, Congratulations and Welcome to the world of diesel power!

Based on Tucson Terry and Greg’s report on snow in Julian, we decided that it would be prudent to once again engage our vertical thrusters and fly over the Cuyamaca Mountains.  The flux capacitor apparently needs some tweaking because our craft still tends to drift higher in interstellar space than we intend,

but our brake actuator worked and we safely landed…

and set up base camp in the light of the waxing Wolf Moon.

The surrounding terrain looked picturesque in the daylight.

Other silver craft had also safely landed at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

An unplanned, rolling party of eight Airstreams settled in to greet the new year. Captains Rich and David are seen below, standing in front of David and Ari’s 28′ Safari LS Slide-out pulled by a silver F-350.

As Rich walked down Airstream Alley, he pointed to other Airstreams that had also landed. Co-pilot and cook Larry set up the array of holiday lights on our trailer (which is seen fully set-up, along with the campsite).

As darkness descended and the temperature dropped, our three Airstreams lit up the night with holiday lights in addition to the running lights that are put on by connecting the two top pins of the 7-pin connector with a 10 watt blade fuse as Larry illustrated here.

The rolling party has just begun… cooking, feasting, entertaining, ukulele playing (we spared Dr. C’s eyes by not wearing Hawaiian shirts this time), hiking and wildlife will be featured in subsequent posts.

My timing was off so we arrived below Ghost Mountain just as the sun was setting, but my spirits were rising along with the anticipated full moon during the second week of November. We’re now on Pacific Standard Time and the shortening of the days is not helpful, except for my skin. (See my August 24th post on Sun Safety.)

Ghost Mountain is located in what is now called Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, in the eastern side of San Diego County. It was the home of poet, author, and artist Marshal South and family from 1930 to 1947. On this dry and sun scorched flat just below the top of the mountain, Marshal built his adobe home, which he called “Yaquitepec“, which means “hill of the Yaqui” after the fiercely freedom-loving Native American Indians of Sonora, Mexico. Due to his successful article, “Desert Refuge” in the March 11, 1939 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, he received a contract with Desert Magazine to write monthly articles on his experiment in pursuing a primitive and natural life style, along with his reflections on family life. (He and his wife raised three children and home-schooled them.)

Wally Byam, designer of the Airstream travel trailer, wrote a letter to Desert Magazine, in the March 1941 issue, praising Marshal South for setting the example of escaping the treadmill side of life, along with being “slaves to businesses, jobs, possessions and conventions” and for living his dream of going back to nature and depending on minimal stuff. Read more about this and see photos of Yaquitepec along with Marshal South and family in the article, “Marshal South & Wally Byam - Parallel Roads, Different Destinations”, pages 36 to 39, in the Fall 2008 issue of Airstream Life.

Additional information, along with the complete collection of his writings from Desert Magazine, is contained in the book, Marshal South and the Ghost Mountain Chronicles - An Experiment in Primitive Living, edited by Diana Lindsay, Sunbelt Publications, 2005. The newly released DVD of John McDonald’s full length and uncensored documentary, The Ghost Mountain Experiment, is now available and previewed here.

Just as I had hoped, the Beaver Moon, also known as the Frost Moon or Snow Moon, rose shortly after setting up camp and bathed the trailer and landscape with beautiful, reflected sunlight which was thirstily absorbed by my Nikon D40 camera set on Auto (Flash off) Mode, as previously illustrated and described in my Cuyamaca spirits rising article.

Rich Luhr pointed out the fun of experimenting with nighttime star photography in his article on his visit to Navajo National Monument, Az, earlier this fall.

The above is really sunlight bounced off of the moon as evidenced by the candle light inside the trailer and the stars above.

It really was nighttime as Larry deep fried potatoes and cauliflower while I cooked steak on the hibachi.

We enjoyed the after dinner glow (Pug is wearing a red lighted collar for safety from REI) as we listened to the crackling fire and coyotes yelping in the distance…

And look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends.

If you are in the area, instead of shopping at the mall for more stuff after Thanksgiving, you could take advantage of a special event this weekend in Anza-Borrego, the screening of John McDonald’s The Ghost Mountain Experiment, 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 29, at the Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center. Then join John McDonald the next morning at 9 a.m. for a hike up to visit Marshal South’s home site on Ghost Mountain.

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of the selling points for us when deciding which Airstream trailer would best meet our needs was that it would be safer to have two axles rather than one in the event of a flat tire. We chose the largest trailer (23′ Safari) that would comfortably fit in our driveway, and considering all of the stuff that we take with us, it is good that we have two axles.

One of the caveats (as noted in this Airstream Forums thread) to be aware of with multi-axle trailers is that drivers are often unaware of low or flat tires until the entire tire fails which could lead to extensive or catastrophic trailer damage. For years I have followed Rich Luhr’s experience with tire problems as summed up in his Tour of America post, “A tirade about tires“. One way to increase awareness of the state of our tires, especially while moving, is through a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), discussed here on the Airstream Forums.

After reading about Rich’s decision to install (last May) the Doran 360RV Tire Pressure Monitoring System for RVs, Tow Vehicles and Trailers, and after reading the Doran 360RV advantages in their ad in Airstream Life, Fall 2008 issue, page 74, and as our tires are now over two years old, we decided it was about time to add an extra measure of safety and ordered our Doran 360RV directly through Doran Manufacturing LLC. The item was shipped free and arrived within four business days via UPS.

This system can continuously monitor up to 36 tires. We started with 4 sensors for the trailer. This system installed and worked so well during our trip to the desert last week, that we plan on getting four more sensors for the truck. Besides the monitor and sensors pictured above, other system components included are the sensor lock with wrench for each tire position purchased, visor clips and self-mating fastener tape mounting kit, adjustable pedestal mounting kit, Dill valve tester, and the Installation and Operation Manual.

First I programmed the monitor for the appropriate maximum cold tire pressure rating of 50 PSI for our ST215/75R 14C tires. Then each sensor with its own 3-digit serial number is assigned to each tire location. Once the monitor is programmed, the sensors are screwed onto the tire valve stems and the monitor is hooked up to a 12-volt power receptacle. In our 2006 F-250 truck the monitor fits perfectly in the pull down smaller storage compartment and is securely held in place by the self-mating tape supplied. It is then plugged into the 12-volt power receptacle nearby.

The Operation Manual points out that the sensors transmit a coded RF signal and the monitor will alert if the pressure drops more than 12.5%. A second more urgent alert occurs if the tire pressure drops more than 25%. Additionally, we have our monitor programmed to alert us if a pressure is detected to be 25% higher than the programmed baseline pressure, which can assist in the checking of elevated heat in the tire. During our recent trip to the desert, we heard no alerts, thankfully, and it was interesting to see the tire pressure raise from 50 to 55, and to a maximum of 58 PSI coming back due to tire heat.

After unhitching the trailer, I covered the tires to protect them from the UV rays of the sun. The picture above actually shows the trailer being lit up by the full moon last week, as evidenced by the stars over the trailer, candlelight showing through the windows, and trees on other side of trailer glowing from the campfire! (More about that in my next posting).

When we arrive at a campsite, we check for nails, screws and any other dangerous items before backing in. The above picture shows the Doran 360RV sensor in place and the nail and large screw that was in our space waiting to puncture our tires. Another benefit of these sensors (which I added to my routine) is that I can now check the tires during our stay (and not have them lose any air) to make sure they don’t have a slow leak from any inadvertent screw or nail picked up along the way.

Three months ago, Rich Luhr’s Doran 360RV Tire Pressure Monitoring System alerted him of a rapid de-inflation of his right front trailer tire, enabling him to do a quick stop before the tire “shredded into lots of expensive rubber parts”, as described in his Flat tire on I-270 post. A short time later his system warned him of low pressure in his left rear tire that he attributed to bad valve stems.

Overloading and under-inflation are two common factors in why tires fail. Other factors are listed here by Rich Luhr. I found this sobering You Tube video, How to Handle a Tire Blowout in Your RV, made by Michelin for the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, which I urge you to watch.

Although “It’s the end of the mall as we know it“, it is the beginning of the holiday shopping season and time to start buying more stuff to save the economy… at least stuff that will support our RV industry and Airstream Life (Doran Manufacturing LLC continues to be a supporting advertiser, their ad will appear in the Winter issue).

Happy Holiday Shopping!

Despite the Red Flag warnings, we returned last week to William Heise County Park near Julian, CA., in anticipation of the full moon lighting up the night sky, and we were not disappointed. As others may be about to winterize their trailers, we are just starting our camping season and will follow the sun, moon and seasons, somewhat like our local Native American Kumeyaay Indians did in finding the most comfortable sites to set up camp, ranging from the mountains to the desert and down again to the coast.

This park is in the Cuyamaca Mountains. Cuyamaca is a Spanish corruption of the Kumeyaay phrase “Ekwiiyemak”, meaning roughly, “the place where it rains”. The Indians had seasonal mountain camps near streams and springs where acorns and pine nuts were plentiful. The Kumeyaay Nation lived in this and other areas of San Diego County for at least 10,000 years before the arrival of Spanish and other European settlers. San Diego County has more Native American Indian reservations than any other county in the United States. Richard Carrico, professor of American Indian Studies at San Diego State University, author of Strangers in a Stolen Land, (Sunbelt Publications, 3rd edition, July 31, 2008), can be heard here as he explores the culture of San Diego’s original inhabitants (KPBS’s These Days, August 25, 2008 program).

Shortly after we set up camp and ate dinner, the moon rose and lit up our trailer and truck.

The stars are hard to see in the above picture, but the visual clue that this is actually night (and the reflected light is really moonlight and not sunlight) is the light coming out of the trailer windows. (By the way, the refrigerator vent is propped open to help the fan do a more efficient job… details of this can be seen here.) This and the other night images seen in this article were taken with our Nikon D40 camera set to the new feature, Auto (Flash off) Mode, useful in situations where the use of a flash is undesirable.

Click on the image to enlarge it and see the stars. All of these night shots were also done with the camera and its heavy 18-200 mm lens supported and stabilized by the Slik heavy-duty Pro 700DX tripod.

Sleeping under the stars…

By the way, other than resizing, there was no image editing or manipulation in any of these images. The images were directly loaded into the iPhoto program of our MacBook Pro, resized and uploaded to this article.

We traditionally celebrate the fall harvest season by eating apple pie. The nearby town of Julian celebrates Apple Days from September 15 to November 15. Also shown here is a pumpkin, carefully hand picked from the market (as opposed to the field of spikes) and maize (not to be confused with maze).

Let us toast to the spirit of the season…

And to the spirits of the sky and land and nature…

And to Native Americans and all peoples of the world…

May we live in peace, freedom and harmony with a respect for life in all of its variations and life styles…

May we focus on the positive and inclusiveness…

Let our spirits rise as we listen to our hearts… and music.

Our pets are our family. We love them and want them near us, but many pet owners are not aware of the potential consequences of not restraining pets while traveling. There are reports that the American Automobile Association indicates that tens of thousands of accidents are caused each year by dogs in front seats.

Christina Selter, founder of Bark BuckleUp, a pet safety educational program similar to “Click it or Ticket”, is on a nation-wide campaign promoting pet safety in vehicles. “Be Smart. Ride Safe”, she said at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show (hear her message in her own words).

In 2006 we carefully researched which tow vehicle would best meet our needs upon ordering our Airstream Safari. One of those needs was to have a tow vehicle that would easily accommodate two dog carriers on top of a folding back seat. We continue to be very happy with our choice of the Ford Super Duty F-250 (despite the rising price of diesel fuel). Our dog carriers (Vari Kennels) rest on the folded back seats and are secured with a ratcheted strap to bolts in the back of the crew cab.

Our dogs are safe, and seem to be comfortable, and enjoy the view, while we can keep an eye on them.

Carriers work well for our small dogs (Corgi and Pug), but for larger dogs, a pet harness might work better. Either way, they will be out of harm’s way by keeping them in the back seat. (Airbags can kill or injure a loved one.)

There are many good reasons why pets should be restrained while traveling in vehicles:

• Unrestrained pets can distract the driver, jump in driver’s lap, block driver’s vision, or get in or around pedals.
• Unrestrained pets can easily fall off the seat while you are braking or turning, sustain an injury and distract you.
• Unrestrained pets could get you a ticket depending where you drive.
• If you have an accident, your pet can become a projectile with a force of up to eight times its regular weight, risking injury to the pet and all others in the vehicle. Your pet could also be ejected through a window.
• If you have an accident, your dog might interfere or bite the emergency responders, run out of the vehicle into more traffic and possibly cause another accident, get killed or run away. (If your dog caused a second accident, your insurance rates might go up.)

See the ASPCA’s “Top ten tips for safe car travel with your pet“.

So, as Christina Selter says, “Be Smart. Ride Safe.”