Buried Treasure: Hell is my hometown..

As part of the annual "Buried Treasure" event that Seth runs over at The Altered Page, I am re-airing this post. The original post ran on February 22, 2010. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

The child has been sick, I've been working so hard....you know those days when you need to  get the hell out of town? Well.. I did it yesterday with my friend Kelly...and we had a BALL. Kelly and I met last year and we had an instant love connection.. I won't elaborate on some of the conversation that took place on our road trip, but I will tell you it wasn't for the weak of heart. Kelly asked to meet me here with "questionable food" packed ready to go and we hit the highway to the Anza Borrego Desert.....at 5:30am.

First stop on the way to the desert was the small town of Julian.. a lovely town at about 5000 feet...Any idea what the temperature is at 5000 feet at about 6:15am? I'll tell you...it was a brisk 34 degrees...and I don't have a coat. Nope... I was prancing around in a short sleeved blouse. I have to tell you.... I was a little nervous when my shutter finger started to tingle..

But the shots where worth it...pretty, foggy shots you can only get that early. I am inspired to get on the road very early in the future too..with a coat next time.

Our map (yes..paper map) tempted us with names like, "Pumpkin Patch", "Oh-my-god Hotspring", "Alcoholic Pass" and "Hellhole".. My car has navigation, but we were in route to places that were small dotted lines on the map...no pavement...hardly a road that I could see..

The car was a little bit fancy...not a manly car for sure...never been in low gear 4x4 before...but my husband assured me it got great offroading reviews... So we drove.. we drove through rushing creeks, deep sand, over rocks...this trip was not for the weak stomached. We came up to a man in a Jeep 4x4 with monster tires and asked him if he knew where the "Pumpkin Patch" was...he said, "You can't get out that way, can ya" pointing in the direction we just came from..and I said "OH YAH..that's how we got in!" He says..and the surprise on his face was hilarious, "In that?!" Yes indeed. The car performed like a champ.

We were the only ladies we saw traveling alone. Talk about finding yourself and your strength? Put your car in 4 wheel drive and let 'er rip!

When we could focus for a second that there was no one following along to kill us, there were spectacular views and beautiful landscapes. The "Borrego Badlands" are shown above..an amazing view off a very steep cliff.

When you're out in the middle of nowhere....where it is so quiet all you hear is the wind whistle in your sunglasses..it's easy to let the imagination wander. There were several times when I looked at Kelly and could have sworn she was a ham sandwich..

Of course there were a few little roadside oddities that were worth stopping for...but I have to tell you..weather in the mountains was ugly..high winds and rainy...we were soaked and cold...but wouldn't you stop for this display?

I feel great. We were in the car for several hours and we talked the entire trip....good...thought provoking (well...most parts) conversation and a map.. I highly recommend getting out and letting yourself just GO. Kelly, I am looking forward to our next destination.. And now I present you with my new favorite song from our road trip soundtrack:

Thanks for stopping in today, friends!