Yesterday (Jan. 27) we walked Big Morongo.  It got a bit windy (& cool) so we didn’t stay too long.  No new birds, but some nice views of Nuttall’s Woodpecker & Bewick’s Wren.  Bill took a few bird photos with his small, easy-to-carry camera & also snapped some scenery shots.  Well, those shots turned out so well, we went back again today with his good camera & took more.  Here is a sample, which gives a little idea of some of the scenery around Big Morongo Valley:

We had some great views of the Calif. Thrasher – but as usual, Bill’s camera didn’t work.  Actually the card dropped out of it onto the ground, which we saw as we turned to leave the place we were photographing from.  (I don’t know what it is with him!)  Anyway, the thrasher landed not much farther away – so this is what we got (not the greatest, but a record):

Jan. 29:  We are now leaving the area of famous names.  Where else could you have a lineup like this:  Temptations & Four tops (Jan. 19); Earth, Wind & Fire (Feb. 2); Don Rickles & Tony Orlando (Feb. 8); Bonnie Raitt (Feb. 16); Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (Feb. 24); Willis Nelson (Mar. 1); Stevie Nicks (Mar. 2); & Paul Anka (Mar. 30) !!! (Well, I guess Vegas)  All at one of the local casinos.  And we will no longer be driving the Gene Autry Trail, Dinah Shore Rd., Bob Hope St, Gerald Ford Dr., Frank Sinatra Dr.,  & who remembers Fred Waring Rd?!  We leave the snow-capped peaks of the San Jacinto & San Bernardino Mtns as well as the dimpled hills of soft grey, brown, tan & red.  We hope to leave cold weather & wind behind too!  We enter into the realm of the saguaro cactus – which make me smile a lot (so many need captions)  🙂

We’ve been struggling with a decision about this damned RV – well, a decision has been made!  We will eventually be proud owners of a new 28′ Airstream trailer!  We’ve been deliberating for several days – wondering if we would miss the space in this vehicle – wondering if we would feel more comfortable pulling a trailer – wondering if there would be enough room to live more comfortably, which we didn’t in our 23′.  Would there be enough kitchen counter space?  Certainly the bedroom would be better, since we have adapted twin beds in this motor home but it makes it hard to walk up 2 steps to the rear of the vehicle to retrieve clothes, etc. (due to huge storage compartments underneath the vehicle)!  How do we feel about driving this vehicle now?  I can honestly say that I feel about as tense as Bill does while driving – & hold onto the armrests for dear life until we arrive at our next destination, exhausted!  Last time he drove it, he said he felt more comfortable – but today suggested he was just “talking himself into it”!   We have 2 months’ rent paid to the places in AZ where we plan to stay until the end of March, so will remain in the TRIP until then.  Then we’ll drop it off at the RV place in Tucson & head home.  The Airstream will likely not be ready for awhile after that, so we’ll have to return to pick it up.  We will drive a car to tow it (likely an Infiniti, which we’ll organize when we get home, trading in our Jeep Grand Cherokee).  I do NOT want to drive a truck – nor can we park it in our underground parking – it’s too big! The final details haven’t yet been worked out.  More later!