R.I.P. Eric Rheinhardt

Eric Rheinhardt passed away on Christmas Day. We all knew it was coming, but it still hits you hard to lose a good friend. Then came the devastating Los Angeles fires. We’ve been evacuated before because of fire. It’s not something you forget. What they are going through in LA is completely off the charts. We feel lucky we haven’t had a major fire in San Diego County since 2007. It also feels like we are walking around with survivor’s guilt, just a hundred or so miles up the road they are going through hell and we are  basking in beautiful weather.

Sometimes you just need the serenity of the desert. It’s also a great place to watch the full moon rise. So we went out to Agua Caliente for the umpteenth time. I’m pretty sure Amelia was the youngest person there. I’m looking at all the old timers that come out here midweek and think to myself, I don’t look like them, do I?

Site 86

Desert Lavender at the base of Rainbow Canyon.

Chuparosa. Last summer a flash flood came down through Rainbow Canyon. There must be a lot of underground water. The entire desert had hardly any flowers, but Rainbow Canyon was lush.

Up and then down the first dry waterfall. There’s numerous dry waterfalls on the hike. The first one is the most intimidating.

The other hike we did was Inner Pasture. We’ve done it before back in 2016. This time it seemed completely different.

Occasionally we saw an Ocotillo bloom.

Dawn

Morning glow on Whale Peak

Agua Caliente Spring Road

And now the First Came the Thunder story. There’s not a lot to do this time of the year at night in the desert. It gets dark early, it’s cold, and there’s no cell service at the campground. We found ourselves listening to a lot of music. We’ve been riding Chuck Prophet’s new album, Wake the Dead, really hard. For those of you that aren’t familiar with Chuck, he’s been kicking around for 40 years. Back in the 80s he was in the band Green on Red. We also share the same birth date, but he’s three years younger. When he was recovering from lymphoma he got into Cumbia music. He would drive out to Salinas to listen to the band ¿Qiensave? Then he started jamming with them, the result, the stellar album Wake the Dead. I personally have it as the best album of 2024. I really hope after decades this will be his break through. 

Buy this album! At the very least have your gadget stream it. 

I kid you not, we listened to this song at least fifty times while in the desert. It’s a near perfect song. All the different instruments, background voices, the lyrics, and Chuck’s emotional singing. I dare you to listen to it five times. If you’re not a fan after that I don’t know what to tell you.