The Fountain of Youth

It’s been a while since we wrote—we lost ourselves at the Fountain of Youth, aka FOY. Before I give you the low down on FOY, I should probably let you know that the water pump is fine. Not sure what the problem was or why the leak—I’m going with a loose filter—but we ended up wrapping that issue up in half a day and heading to Bisbee, Arizona, the first stop on our trek back to California. 

We bypassed Bisbee to see the birds at Bosque del Apache, so we were excited to get back and check out this old mining town that is now home to artists and other creative types. We first learned of Bisbee from Sunset Magazine a few years ago, so we were primed to check out this tiny town with rave reviews near the border. Sadly, it did not live up to its billing. The art did not wow us and the people were hit or miss on friendly. The best part, actually, was stumbling on a Vietnamese restaurant with only three tables and massive bowls of pho. We love finding hidden gems like this one and though the town did not warm our hearts, the pho sure warmed our bellies.

After a lay over at a BLM campground 100 miles from Yuma, we headed off for California under cloudy skies and a less than ideal forecast. Like everyone else traveling I-8, we stopped in Yuma for gas, inexpensive gas, before returning to the land of high prices and taxes (which we gladly pay—we love you California!). Fields of green and red lettuce as far as the eye could see blanketed both sides of the highway until we hit Imperial Sand Dunes National Recreation Area. Then it was sand and more sand, never-ending sand, and ATVs everywhere. 

Our goal was to camp alongside the Salton Sea. It didn’t work out. Torrential rain the night before had turned the roads into the campgrounds to gumbo, so after a hair-raising K-turn in the mud, we backtracked to the Fountain of Youth, and checked in for two nights. We stayed a week. 

We heard about FOY from some folks we met in Death Valley. After checking in with the exuberant office staff and heading up to the dry camp, we immediately saw one friend’s VW camper, and then ran into another as she was walking down the road! While we might have been some of the youngest in residence that week, we were certainly not friendless. People are very curious about what in the heck we are doing out here, and we get lots of questions regarding why and how and how long.

FOY is billed as an RV resort. Most of the guests are snowbirds, either from Canada or the northern reaches of the US. One can stay plenty busy at such a place, and I can see the appeal for retirees. The hot mineral pools were the biggest draw for us, especially for Alanna, who can spend hours soaking. After a good morning soak, it’s easy to spend the entire day engaged in the host of activities offered: bocce, horseshoes, shuffleboard, hiking, bridge, stretching and fitness classes, square dancing—the list goes on. There’s a nice little gym, the produce guy comes twice a week, and there’s a sewing and crafts room, which turned out to be the perfect place for Alanna to begin hand quilting the quilt she brought with her to finish on this trip. 

After a week, though, we knew it was time to move on. We could get soft at FOY. Maybe in great shape with the gym and all, but we could see ourselves getting sucked in and not wanting to leave the warm pools and all of our new Canadian friends. So, with an empty laundry bag, we headed for Anza Borrego State Park.

The largest park by far in the California park system, Anza Borrego offers immense desert and mountains, and plenty of dispersed camping. Now that the new year has passed and the weekenders with their heavy duty fireworks have departed, we are settling in for a bit. Though the weather has not been great as of yet—fifty mph winds and rain on New Years Eve, which did not seem to deter the pyros with the fireworks—we are taking cloudy days and cooler temperatures as an opportunity to read, play games, quilt, nap and go for hikes when possible. It’s good for us, to be a bit more stationary, to let the last six months sink into our bones and rest up for what will surely be an epic spring. 

As 2016 came to a close, we marveled at the year we had and the monumental, life-changing decisions we made, and just how good it has been for us to push ourselves so far beyond our comfort zones. We enter 2017 quite curious as to what’s ahead, and grateful, ever grateful.