Memory Lane

I'm sitting at a little cafe' in Running Springs, California. From January to June of 1986 I worked at Camp O-ongo which was just down the road from here. That's 21 years ago. Wow! I expected to see a lot of change, and there was a lot of change, but I'm actually amazed by how much didn't change. However, lest I get ahead of myself, I better start where I left off before.




The photos above were taken at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Part of me is ready to get out of the desert, but there is so much desert out here, and there's really a lot to see in them. Of course I was only able to scratch the surface of this place. I saved a lot to come back to someday.



From Anza-Borrego I went to the high desert of Joshua Tree National Park. This place is known for it's Joshua Trees, of course, and it's unusual rock formations. It's very popular with rock climbers.


This formation is called Skull Rock. Do you see the skull? It's on the right. I hope you aren't getting too attached to these "can you find it" photos. I don't plan to do one for every post.



I like this photo. It looks like something out of Star Wars. It was at my camp site in Joshua Tree. The sun had been down for a while already but there was just enough light to get the shot. That bright object at the top is the moon.




I got up early the next morning to do a 7.5 mile hike to an oasis in the desert. I was the first one down the trail so I was able to see these Big Horn Sheep. They are attracted to the area by the water.



Here's a shot of the oasis itself. You could easily hike down to the lower palms but the higher area, on the upper left, took some work to get to. It was actually kind of fun, climbing over, under, and around boulders. When I got up to them, what did I see? More palms! I was tempted to go on to them. I'm sure there was a herd of sheep just waiting for me there, but I was low on water and energy. Maybe next time.

Earlier in the week I had my oil changed and the guy told me I had metal shavings in my fluid of the rear end I just had rebuilt. Bummer! some people I went on a bird walk with told me I should go to the dealership in Palm Springs since they're one of the largest in the country. So I took it there and the guy said it was normal to have a few shaving after a rebuild and it all looked fine. He said the noises I've been hearing are some sort of engine Knock that I shouldn't be overly concerned about. OK! Enough worrying about my truck! I'm going to take Reuben's suggestion and turn the radio up.



I got this in the mountains just outside of Running Springs. The sun was setting and there was a haze in the air.



This is in Running Springs. I can remember going here with a bunch of other camp people. We ate pizza out on the deck to the right of the building and ended up in a food fight. I didn't get too dirty, but I didn't know what to do with the pizza covered people who road in my car!




I wasn't able to get into the main camp I worked at It had changed hands and there was a locked gate. However, I did find the facility the camp used to rent. It's right in town. I actually worked there more than the main camp. What a lot of memories.

"It was the best of times and the worst of times". I had been to MSU, but this was my first time really away from home. I remember the anxiety of being thrown in front of a bunch of sixth graders and expected to teach. I remember the having fun with my co-workers. I remember the young counselor who broke my heart... Heavy sigh.



This is Deep Creek, one of the things that did change. I used to take kids down here every week. I used to sit right here and tell kids they could not go beyond where they could see me. That used to be down to the bend in the creek, but now it's so over grown you can barely see that bend. I can remember going down the stream, jumping from rock to rock, but the brush around the rocks won't let you do that anymore. I'm sure there used to be more water in the stream too. It seems to me that there are a lot more trees everywhere around here. A lot of them appear to be less than 20 years old. Go figure.

It's probably a little over a mile downhill from the camp to the creek. I really huffed and puffed coming back up from there. Back when I was a naturalist, 25 and in my prime, a sixth grade girl twisted her ankle and I carried her all the way back up the hill on my back. Oh to have that kind of energy again. Another heavy sigh.

I'm posting this on a Friday because tomorrow I plan to be at my friend Roys place down in the LA area. We "need " to go snake hunting so there will be no time to mess around online. I'm going to make one more attempt at getting into the camp I used to work at and then I'm going to head to Roy's.


Thanks for looking and for praying. Keep up the good work.


Steve