It took us a day longer than expected to leave El Centro. While changing the shocks on the van the last bolt on the last shock snapped on us. We tried everything we could but didn’t have the power needed to drill it out. So we turned it over to Jesus.
Pronounced Hey-Seuss, in Spanish, Jesus worked at the alignment shop we had gone to and offered to give it a shot. With a bit more power in his arsenal than we had he managed to get the bolt drilled out and then created his own self drilling one to re-thread the area. In about an hour we were finally heading down the road on our way to the hot springs.
Darlene sits in the ‘cool’ pool which is really still fairly hot.
What a find the Holtville Hot Springs were! It felt good to relax and soak for a few days. Cleaning up was probably a good idea, as well. Before we left El Centro we had encountered a homeless woman while walking to Lowe’s one night. She chatted with us a bit, gave us the once over and then asked, “Where’s a good place to pan-handle around here?” Yup. It was time to take a shower.
The 14 day free camping area was awesome. It is about two miles from the springs, quieter than the long term area (which is near the highway) and a lot less crowded. We felt like we had the place to ourselves.
Driving back to camp at sunset
Overview of our spot in the free camping area
We spent two days soaking at the tubs and chatting with the ‘regulars’. Most of the folks settle here for at least three months or more and have daily routines of collecting the spring water for dishwashing, clothes washing, showering, etc. They also meet up at the pools to soak and chat two or more times a day. We wandered through the long-term area one day, chatted with folks and took some pictures.
Thought this was the power grid for the whole area. It was just two rigs!
‘Christmas’ trees?
Phyllis Diller’s dog?
If only there were a red dog house around to set him on!
Well, that’s all for now. We’ve got time for one last soak before we head to Slab City this afternoon. Ah… the life!
EDIT: It took us a few days longer than expected to get to some internet. Slab City is wonderfully quiet and for us void of technological connections. Even our phone service is spotty. Can’t say we have minded too much.