Anza Borrego

We took the Mangie Wrangie out for some sight seeing at Anza Borrego in search of wildflowers and were not let down. We’ve had a bit more rain this year, so they’re coming up rather nicely, stretching their colorful blooms to reach the bright sunshine. I did get a little carried away with the 4 wheeling and hardly took any shots of the flowers… but oooh, what fun. I drove over a small river, chomped up and over some gnarly boulders, stirred up dust and sand…and zipped by some slow-moving vehicles stuck on the level 2 trail. All those inferior Honda’s, Toyota’s and Mazda’s were left eating my dust. This was level 3. The power of the big red jeep a-coming with me yelling yeeehawwww out of the open windows, hair whipping my face and huge grin… well, they were left to bow down. Mike was either yelling or hanging on for dear life in the passenger seat after he gave me the wheels. But the other Jeepers (old and new) and a sprightly Land Rover were right there with me…all thumbs up. It was wonderful! I pulled over momentarily to take one shot. This is all ya get 😉

The Towers

I live across the street from the State Beach and each year I see the life guard towers towed in for another winter. They sit huddled together until close to summer and that’s when they get their yearly makeover. This year I saw some new kids in town…sitting off to the side…all fiberglass, modern sleek and shiny new. I fear for these elderly statesmen.

The maintenance is costly…all that sanding and painting…but I can’t help but be saddened by the thought of them finally gone. I woke up real early today with a bad case of Asthma which I’ve been fighting for a while. I threw on my baggy jeans, grabbed my trusty 5D, hopped in Mangie Rangie and rode over to the beach. The poor booth attendant couldn’t understand a word I was saying…all that wheezing and arm waving. He finally looked me in the eye and said…”Ahh…Just go on in Lady”. I smiled to myself…

I wasn’t about to pay for parking that early in the morning. I wasn’t there to surf. I came to visit…to breath freely…and to capture a moment in time. The old towers all stood at attention, patient and willing to be my subjects…while off in the wings, the new kids on the block took notice of my neglect. Good. I hope they were jealous…