Copper Mountain Mesa News, Aug. 25, 2023: Potluck dinners will be on fourth Fridays

A community news column for the Copper Mountain Mesa area, published weekly in the Hi-Desert Weekender.

Our little community got hit by Hilary late Friday through early Monday. I was not impressed with the storm that came through our area. Now I ain’t saying some folks didn’t have a bad time of it, but I’ve seen much, much worse. My friend Stoney’s heavy dumpster was blown 20 feet in one bad storm years back. In another storm, my friend Kelly was in her car when it almost tipped on its side in the high winds. She managed to escape the car but ended up caught in the raging waters clinging to a creosote bush for dear life. In the same storm, I had some of my yard fixtures blown all the way to Phoenix, but not with this hundred-year storm.

I was as prepared as I could get after watching the scary news reports of what was in store for Southern California. I patched the roof on Thursday, stored everything that could go flying away to Arizona, and charged up all batteries (I’m on solar). I moved my car outside into the front yard for its once-in-a-century wash. All I had to do then was hunker down for the next couple of days.

I guess I’m just lucky all the hype given the storm didn’t fall upon my neck of the woods as it did in other regions of Southern California. Even cars are getting through Lake Lucile that occasionally floods at the bottom of my hill! I saw that Palm Springs really got hit like in some parts of Southern California. As of this writing, I haven’t heard anything about Twentynine or Yucca Valley yet. I did hear from a dear friend in Landers who said it wasn’t all that bad. I asked my neighbor David if anyone mentioned anything about the storm at the USDA food distribution on Tuesday but he heard not a word about it. At least I got things shaken out to find what works and doesn’t in my preparedness.

On Monday afternoon I moved my car back into the garage and noticed it left a big dry spot where it was parked; go figure.

Thanks to everyone who came out to our community potluck last month! It was such a success that we’re going to keep it going on the fourth Friday of each month. This month’s potluck will be at 6 p.m. on Aug. 25 at Copper Mountain Mesa Community Center. Bring your favorite dish or something to throw on the grill. This event is BYOB. You can help us reduce paper and plastic waste by bringing your own dishes and cutlery and a serving utensil for your dish.

As always, donations to the center are greatly appreciated!

Thought for the day: I want to get back on track but I need to take a different train for my journey.

The community center schedule:

Fabulously Fine First-Saturday Breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. Sept. 2.

The Copper Mountain Mesa Improvement Association Board Meeting will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. on the second Saturday of the month.

The USDA food giveaway will be from 9 to 11 a.m. on the third Tuesday this month.

The potluck will be at 6 p.m. on the fourth Friday of each month.

Our community center is located 11 miles northeast of Joshua Tree at 65336 Winters Road, Joshua Tree.

Remember, if you have news or want to write a “happy” paragraph or two about your desert experiences send those stories to me.

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Text news🤗to Bob Deloyd at (760) 800-2629 or send email to [email protected]. Bob has YouTube videos at youtube.com/@RobertDeloyd/videos. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/@bobdeloyd, or on FaceBook at facebook.com/bobdeloyd. Visit the community website at coppermountainmesa.com.