We had been planning, all vacation-long, on spending a day up in Jacumba to enjoy soaking in the hot springs. It's a wonderful way to spend a winter's day. But with all the Christmas dinner hosting and general business, we had had a hard time fitting it into our schedule--until today.
And away we went!
But first, we had to stop in for a quick bite at The Barbecue Pit. This is one of those no-nonsense restaurants. Look up at the board. Voice your pick. Grab your tray. Pay. Eat. Leave. Except today, there were other folks also taking pictures of it as I was. It is a San Diego landmark, but we were still surprised to see tourists acting touristy out in our neighborhood.
We had fueled ourselves, not our car, and we drove east into the high desert.
Yay! We arrived at our destination, our aching backs yearning for that hot soak. Oh, I worked extra hard in the yard the day before, knowing, believing I would get my reward today. Oh, yeah!
Oh, no! We discovered that our favorite hot spring destination is under serious reconstruction. The jacuzzi was empty. The pools were empty.
The restaurant was reduced to new paint on the wall, and empty space!
A team of men were working on the roof and exterior. They seemed intrigued by our visit, happy to have company, a diversion. One man gave us a tour of the interior to show us all the work they have been up to since March. But where would we soak, we asked? The men indicated there was a bathtub somewhere yonder, but would we find it?
We tromped around awhile to check out some of the derelict properties of the town. Jacumba looks something like a ghost town these days, but I know one day, it's going to be a hopping haven. It must, because of its precious healing hot springs.
If I ever win the lottery, I will buy significant property up here and transform it into a local paradise.
Even the derelict ramshackle structures up in Jacumba will all be fixed up one day. That is my vision.
Oh, Lord, don't buy me a Mercedes-Benz, but help me win the lottery, and I will transform this town!
Today, the air was crisp, about 52 degrees.
One other reason I love going to Jacumba is because it gives me a chance to watch for birds. I was double-equipped today. I had my camera and my newly acquired binoculars. Jacumba is super quiet. All I could hear was the light breeze and the birds tweeting in the trees.
And there were so many birds up in the pine trees.
I waited, pointed, clicked, until. . .
This old dog started barking at me. I don't think it was mad or alarmed. I think it was barking because it finally had something to say to somebody. It was lonely and I was there to hear it.
The most spectacular thing I saw today was a barn owl. I'm not sure what the bird in the above photo is. I caught this picture later.
The barn owl was in this tree. It seemed ghostly white and swooped out toward me as I stepped under the tree to take pictures of other birds I had spotted. The owl flapped toward me so quickly I had no chance to take its picture. It really surprised me. It flapped in a distinctive way, almost folding its wings as it flew.
I stayed awhile longer hoping the owl would return, but I didn't see it again.
Well, we didn't find the bathtub the workmen had told us about, so we continued to drive east, in search of another hot spring they had told us about.
But we were starting to run low on gas, and the only place that seemed open for miles was the Lazy Lizard Saloon.
It started to feel like we were characters in a movie where it starts out bright and cheery, until we run out of gas and are killed by some crazed man holding an axe. Each gas station we found had been abandoned. No gas for miles. No vultures were circling overhead, but I was expecting them. We eyed our gas gauge and decided we had better head back. But we still wanted to soak. Could we find that bathtub back in Jacumba?
One of the workmen we had spoken to earlier led the way in his bright red truck. And there it was. . . a bathtub set up under a pipe gushing hot spring water.
105 degrees, they said.
Not a bad day after all!
