Bert Gildart: Writer and Photographer

©Bert Gildart:  We spent five days camped at Agua Caliente but have now returned to Springs of Borrego.  Our current campsite is back dropped by Coyote Mountain, a mountain which a small group of us managed to summit after two attempts.

Our first attempt began near Alcoholic Pass while our last and successful attempt began right from our doorstep at Pegleg Campground where we dry-camped last year for several months.  Sometimes as we sit here at The Springs and explain to other local campers that we climbed the mountain looming to our north, they seemed astounded.  But then, astonishingly, they ask, “Well, what kind of people camp at Pegleg?”

 

I respond saying that all Pegleggers – every single one of them — climb mountains, ride bikes and sit around extemporizing on Dante’s Inferno and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.  Then in my most supercilious manner I look down my nose and say, “Look!  Here’s my wife, just back from a 15 mile ride.” Then I ask them: “And what do you do?”

Though we have enjoyed months camped at Pegleg in fact we are also enjoying our time here at The Springs.  Both areas have their attractions and at Pegleg a highlight was sitting around campfires and marveling at the night sky, something folks at The Springs can’t do as all roads here are lighted so brilliantly.

But right now we’re appreciating a number of features offered only at the Springs.  We don’t golf but we like the other amenities and after one of our daily bike rides we’ll return, take a quick shower then sit in the hot tub, perhaps with a glass of wine.  On days that are particularly hot, we’ll swim.

Five other couples are camped here in their Airstreams and one of them was the former pilot of the huge Bathyscaphe known as the Trieste.  Some of his work took him into the Mariana Trench.  As I got to know the man a bit better my admiration grew, and I laughed and told him that he’d make a good Peglegger. He said the ideal appealed to him, and that he wanted to learn more about the use of solar panels.

Mostly however we keep to ourselves so that I can work on projects of my own. But we’re human and sometimes we do spend a bit of our time thinking about the perfect response to counter those “super sophisticates” whom we encounter no matter where we go, even (and please keep this a secret); those we find out at Pegleg.

————————–

 

AIRSTREAM TRAVELS SIX YEARS AGO:

*Harper’s Ferry

 

ADS FROM AMAZON AND GOOGLE AUGMENT OUR TRAVELS

(You can order our new books (shown below ) from Amazon — or you can order them directly from the Gildarts. Bert will knock a dollar off the list price of $16.95, but he must add the cost of book-rate mailing and the mailer, which are $2.25. The grand total then is $18.20. Please send checks to Bert Gildart at 1676 Riverside Road, Bigfork, MT 59911.)

 

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 27th, 2012 at 2:07 pm and is filed under Photography, RV Travel, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.