This is Tuesday evening – April 1st
Neither one of us has played an April First joke on one another, and it is 9:00 pm so it doesn’t look as though we are going to celebrate April Fool’s Day appropriately.
We left Sunbeam Lake RV Resort this morning and drove over to the Cummings place where we had the oil changed on the motor home. While we were at it, we also had the oil changed on the Element. So it looks as though we are “road ready”!
By 2:00 pm we were on our way out of El Centro (a place we have come to like very much), and off toward tonight’s destination – Agua Caliente Park.
It seems an unlikely spot, but in the desert 111 miles from San Diego Agua Caliente Regional Park is an inviting spot. It is best known for its geothermally heated springs. Tomorrow we expect to try them out!
The Kumeyaay Indians were initially attracted to the springs centuries ago. Spanish explorer Juan de Anza was the first European to visit the area, in 1775. In more recent times, the springs at Agua Caliente were used by pioneers, soldiers, and prospectors, and now by folks like us!
Seismic activity that long ago shaped the Tierra Blanca Mountains (and created the fault that runs beneath the park) also enabled water to come to the surface and form the park’s natural springs.
The relatively abundant water supply supports lush plant life in this area, such as mesquite, willows, Washingtonia palms, and acacias.
Two naturally fed pools provide different ways of enjoying the park’s mineral water: a large outdoor pool is a natural 90 degrees, and an indoor therapeutic spa is heated to 102 degrees and outfitted with Jacuzzi jets. It looks as though they are rebuilding the outdoor pool.
We are told that spring-fed warm showers are available here. We plan to be here until Friday (the camp has no available sites on the weekend, so we will stay here as long as we can, then we’ll take off for other places we want to visit).
We are far away from any towns, so tonight we will go outside and sit in our lawn chairs and enjoy the night sky!
