Tom is our designated social media manager. So I rely on him to track where everyone is and what they’re up to and what’s going on in general. When he found a group to join up with for Thanksgiving, it was fine with me. I was shocked he wanted to drive back into California, but I think he didn’t want to spend another Thanksgiving on our own.
The only research I did before arriving was check the weather and it didn’t sound much colder than Yuma (where I consider the perfect winter weather). I did not realize that we would be in the desert. For some odd reason, I thought Borrego Springs would be in a pine-treed area.
Well, as we were making the drive out of the beautiful desert area of Tuscon, into the not so beautiful desert area of Yuma, I was surprised when the landscape didn’t change. Borrego Springs, California is only thirty minutes west of the Salton Sea——, and as we got nearer, the area reminded me of the Badlands of South Dakota (without all the beauty).
It also reminded me of California City, where we’ve spent several Thanksgiving dinners, so it seemed rather familiar as we pulled into camp.
When Tom first told the Escapers group we’d be coming, I didn’t think I’d know anyone there. But then our friends Ray and Pam (SantanaRVing) had a change of plans and were going to meet us there. 
So that was pretty exciting since we hadn’t been with them since last March.
They arrived first and saved a spot for us. They even made dinner for us that first night since we had a long travel day.
We did the whole six hour trip in one day – probably because Tom was so excited to be with people again – and especially the Santana’s.
The next day we met with the whole group at the usual Boomer happy hour at four. Turns out there were some familiar faces in the group: Boomers we met last January in Quartzsite.
We weren’t the only Escapee group in the area. There was an Xscapers group next door, and across the road was a Boondockers group. The Anzo-Borrego area is a popular spot!
Being Thanksgiving week, there were also many large groups in the OHV area, with all their motorized toys. There was also a big jeep group parked nearby. We had no idea this off-roading haven existed!
We went into town to the visitor’s center the first day, and it turns out there is a lot of stuff to do in the area. Art sculptures, hikes, and off-road trails galore. We took our info back to camp and Pam and I mapped out activities for our next two weeks together. Ray and Tom had input as well, of course!
After we settled in, I had some work to do, so Tom and Ray and Pam went on a local hike. They got so see some cool rock patterns and a nice view from above of our campsite.
It sucked to be missing out, but then again it was nice to have quiet time in the RV alone to concentrate.
The first week flew by with happy hours every evening and our big Thanksgiving meal in the middle of it. The weather had been absolutely perfect, but Thursday morning a breeze kicked up. They moved a couple of rigs for windbreaks, and we all enjoyed our Thanksgiving potluck at a long string of tables set up for just over thirty people.
It was sunny and clear, but just as we were finishing, the wind picked up and made clean-up go extra fast. We were lucky because the wind started howling after that. It was one of those nights where we pulled in the slides because it was blowing so hard. Lucking we were parked in the right direction and didn’t get rocked too hard. It also rained a couple of days while we were there, but for the most part it was sunny, warm, dry, and bug-free. We had several very nice group camp fires.
As Tom was checking social media one day, our friends (Gary and Stacey of Pau-Hana Travels) said that Gary’s parents were coming to the same spot. Tom replied “I’m looking at them out our window right now”, as we had noticed them pull in across the road. So we got to meet up with Ken and Lynn, a couple that we had met at Nomadfest. It’s always amazing how small this RVing community can be, and we’re really happy to have met so many wonderful friends along our way.
So I’m thankful that we’re able to have this sunny time to socialize during this holiday. And I look forward to staying put here for a while.
Happy Travels,
Peace & Love, Joy
