The earth moved

Borrego Springs, California:  Another gorgeous day in the desert! We slept late and enjoyed fried potatoes with jalapeno peppers, green peppers, tomato, onion, garlic and cubes of cheddar cheese before heading over for 18 holes (or 9 holes twice) at The Springs at Borrego course. They had a special rate - $40 per person: a bucket of balls, cart and 18 holes. Such a deal!

Breakfast of Champions.

We played alone - no one in front of us and no one behind us - all day. Fabulous! We played 18 holes in three hours! Considering I hit the ball (well) over 100 times, this could be some-sort of golfing record!

Isn't that just about the prettiest hole you could play? So lovely! And look at those wispy clouds!

Oops. Looks like "someone" (me) had a ball land in the middle of a shrub. DT used his "hand wedge" to resurrect my shot.

Just like my NIKE "Karma" golf ball... my next shot had good vibes and landed next to the hole.

Schwing!

This is a Sky Shed Pod - a personal "backyard" observatory. The Springs at Borrego has this observatory on-site and offer star-gazings every week. What a cool little toy!

Since this is a 9-hole course and we played it twice... I can truthfully say I only lost a ball in the water at the 9th/18th hole fifty percent of the time. Dang, it is just so pretty, who cares?

I am a terrible golfer. No one will argue (especially DT) this fact. Today, my terribleness went to a new level of terriblenessness. (Spell-checker did not like that sentence one little bit.)

New word!

After our 18 holes, Dave and I were sitting outside on the patio next to our RV, when suddenly the earth began to rumble. Sway. Move. Bounce. Roll. Shake.

It was a huge earthquake.

You may (or may not) know we lived in Asia for several years early in our marriage. While living in The Philippines, we had several small quakes per week and learned to live with the tremors. While living in Taiwan, we survived several big (7.0+) earthquakes. DT was once on the 10th floor of a sky scraper in downtown Taipei during a doozy. In the 1980's, I was on the second floor of our house in Taipei when a tremor rocked our bed ten feet away from the wall and half the water sloshed out of our neighbor's swimming pool. Scary stuff.

Rarely though have we been at ground level when experiencing an earthquake. We have been inside our RV before - a few years ago in Palm Springs - in a lighter quake. Experiencing an earthquake at ground level is a completely different encounter.

Instantly we knew what we were experiencing... but the quake just would not stop. I am sure the movement only lasted 20 seconds, but it felt like a minute. We watched the pavement in the next campsite buckle up and down. We watched the Magna Peregrinus shake, rattle and roll! I instantly phoned The Lovely Lisa in Los Angeles and she answered the phone: I am fine, so I knew immediately she was feeling it as well. Actually, she said the earth was STILL moving while I was phoning her!

We have experienced several after-shocks and the RV resort lost power and cable television for about two hours after the quake.

We have no control over Mother Nature, do we? And sometimes she reminds us of her power. The quake was centered less than one hundred miles south of Borrego Springs, just over the US/Mexican border in Mexicali. Current readings claim it was a 7.2 earthquake. Damage reports, luckily, have been mild.

Luckily we don't need power to grill steaks on our BBQ! We are enjoying a lovely evening in the desert. Until my next update, I remain, your rocking correspondent.

RV Park:  The Springs at Borrego. Full-service, luxury resort with a regulation 9-hole golf course. Naturally-fed hot spring hot tubs, pool, exercise room, party room, activities, fabulous pet-run, lake-side fire pits with community gatherings. Just a great place to spend a few days... or weeks... in the sleepy village of Borrego Springs. We highly recommend this park.