After I left work on Friday I headed straight home and perused the internet until My Darling got home. We were then off to the sporting goods store to purchase hiking boots for the weekend. I had found boots for $16 including tax the day before so we returned so that he could obtain a pair of his own. I also invested in a back pack that fit us both (he is quite tall and thus hard to fit) so that we could both carry it comfortably as need be. We feasted on Hawaiian food (L&L�s the Mickey D�s of Hawaii) before heading home for a quiet night.

I left my sweetheart alone so he could play with his new electronic toy (afore mentioned GPS unit). Experience has taught me not to attempt to communicate with the male animal when he is immersed in a new electronic device. I spent my evening performing some much needed fall cleaning and organizing of my computer in preparation for the upcoming Nanowrimo. Before we headed off to bed he expressed his surprise that I hadn�t suggested a movie or something, I explained my experience and he smiled (just another advantage of dating an older woman, we have learned a thing or two about the male of the species).

The days of rising before the sun to head off on my adventures appear to be behind me because once again we slept in to the most unreasonable hour of ten am. Luckily we were headed again to the desert so we would simply arrive later in the afternoon (not such a bad thing).

With his new GPS device in hand we ventured forth only to find that the accuracy was not at all what he had hoped for. Repeatedly the screen showed us careening off the road into the great unknown when in reality we were tooling along nicely thank you. As we got out of the city and into the more rural areas we had better luck with the thing (we think there may have been some interference from the city stuff).

This hike was in the same park as last week�s (Anza-Borrego). The park extends from the Cleveland National Forest north to Riverside County, just east of Julian to the Salton Sea. In other words IT�S HUGE! I expect we will spend much of the winter exploring it on and off. Our destination was plotted into the GPS unit along with the Cache site located inside the park. This geo-caching is a child of the GPS system of co-ordinates. After locating the canyon entrance (Sin Nombre Canyon) listed on the geo-cache site we headed back toward the slot canyons. The off-roading was tighter than it looks in the photos (below) with bushes scraping the side of the truck in places (better the bushes than the rock wall). There were incredible rock formations along the way, evidence of ancient tectonics bending and pushing the ground. We stopped on our way to explore several slot canyons prior to the canyon programmed into the GPS unit before proceeding on to the treasure hunt.

As we hiked up the canyon toward the cache site (X marks the spot, how cool is that) we were surprised to find an empty campsite. My Darling was surprised someone would leave all those expensive camping supplies unattended but I reminded him that your average thief doesn�t want to work that hard to steal stuff. I don�t imagine there is a lot of traffic through there either. Other than a couple of off road vehicles passing through we saw no one.

The slots were quite narrow which was much less of an issue for me than for my Beau who found himself unable to shoulder the pack and still fit through the openings. I on the other hand was able to move easily through the openings pack and all. As I said then, being small doesn�t bring a lot of advantages but navigating slot canyons appears to be one of them. It was great fun clambering over the rocks, balancing on boulders and feeling like a kid. My Sweetheart does get nervous whenever my foot slides slightly (I have wonderful balance on my feet just not so much on a bike, sheesh!) Halfway up the climb we startled an owl. I half expected to see one because there were owl pellets on the ground but this guy was huge. The wing span had to be at least 4 feet possibly 5. It just took my breath away to see him winging through the canyon, his wing feathers had to be brushing the rock walls at points. On the plateau you could see for miles and miles in every direction. I don�t believe most Americans are used to being surrounded by a whole lot of nothing. Of course it�s not really nothing. The desert is teeming with life if you look closely.

The cache site was well hidden and we circled it a few time before finding it. Turns out once you get the unit out of the vehicle it is quite accurate. Although we missed it the first time it was in fact directly under the X on the screen. Oh, and the goodies? There was a log book fashioned from slips of paper with the explanation that the adventurers who left the makeshift logbook had found the cache in a sorry state, wet and log less. After cleaning things up and placing all the �treasures� into a Ziploc bag they had signed the log and dutifully re-hid the cache. Several others had found the treasure since then, the last group in April. Some had left things, some had taken things. I didn�t know the nature of the game or I would have brought something specific to leave. I had to resign myself to leaving a 2005 dime (I would have preferred a California quarter but, oh, well). In a stroke of kismet there was a map of Death Valley amongst the goodies. Darling and I have been planning a trip there for Thanksgiving this year so we took the map. Perhaps we will leave an Anza-Borrego map at Death Valley, an invitation of sorts.

This was so much fun. It combined all sorts of stuff we like to do. Off-roading, hiking, part treasure hunting, part electronic game, all out under the great blue sky. It just doesn�t get any better.

On the way back we passed the area we were in last week and my Darling had the idea that we could hang out for a couple of hours and see the stars (a little background: I have wanted to see stars since I came to California but my ex was never willing and though my Darling tried last year a couple of time nature was not cooperative). We drove a different route through the valley and found an Indian village site where we parked an awaited the sunset and stars. There was a strong, cold wind blowing so I settled for hanging my head out the window looking up at the great Milky Way. Unfortunately the Moon was bright and not due to set until 9:30 so I didn�t get to enjoy the full light show. For Thanksgiving we will camp for several days in Death Valley so I won�t have long to wait.

The ride home was mostly uneventful (except or one slightly out of control driver ahead of us who I feared would cross the center line one too many times and clip some other car.) We arrived safely at home and slept the sleep of the adventurer (deep and sated). The rest of the weekend was spent lounging around enjoying our private company.

Please enjoy the pictures from my trip. They are a poor substitute for the real thing but they are all I have to share.

I wish you Peace

~alison~

�