Our first trip of 2023 in Howie (our home on wheels) was back to Anza Borrego State Park. Since retirement, we have found ourselves heading to the desert for easy getaways, and have developed a greater appreciation for these beautiful spaces. The park is about three hours from our home which makes it an easy commute with the RV. In addition to the beautiful park, Borrego has a cute little town that offers yummy restaurants and cute gift shops. After a long day of hiking, it’s always fun to treat ourselves to a tasty meal.

The main reason for this February excursion was to witness the “super bloom.” San Diego and Imperial Counties have experienced record levels of rainfall this year, so locals are expecting a magnificent wildflower season. We checked the weather reports prior to departure and everything looked great except for one afternoon of wind. Perfect.

Or so we thought. You know what they say about weather predictions…

On day two, the wind picked up as forecasted. Thinking it was temporary, we weren’t terribly concerned. We headed to the RV and lazily lounged around reading. As evening set in, the winds grew more powerful and soon we were experiencing a full-blown storm. Howie is an 18-foot travel trailer and weighs about 3,000 pounds. In the world of RVs, he’s just a little guy- and we felt it. He started shaking, rocking, and creaking as the winds knocked us about.  At first, it was amusing and reminded me of a little earthquake action.  But after several hours, the novelty wore off and I began to worry if Howie could sustain the abuse. I looked at my husband and asked if there was any chance the RV would collapse.  “No, I don’t think so,” he said. Even so, we decided to book a hotel room but it was too late, the town had completely closed down.

The storm continued to intensify throughout the night. Power poles were knocked to the ground which caused a large-scale outage. It began to rain, then hail, and eventually, mountains and roads home were covered with snow.  Cell service was spotty which made it difficult to keep up with the latest information. When we walked out of the trailer the next morning, we found an assortment of odd items strewn about, fallen trees, and buildings with shattered windows. Our campground had a small area dedicated to “yurts” and these were completely decimated. The good news is that Howie did just fine. We’re still cleaning sand out of cracks and crevices but all is good. What a trooper.

We never imagined when we set off for a super bloom that we would find a super storm instead. But that’s life, right?  There’s always going to be unexpected events. And depending on our response, these moments can make the best memories and life lessons. Next time around, we’ll be sure to be better prepared for all weather options. Living in beautiful San Diego, it’s easy to think sunshine is around every corner. Snow tires and rain gear never crossed our minds. Nor did we consider the fact that power outages result in gas station closures.

Did we ever get to see the super bloom? Nope.  We were too early. While there were plenty of wildflowers, it was nothing out of the ordinary. But we did have a desert adventure that will not be forgotten.