On the Road Again - Day 2

Fuel prices keep going up and of course people are complaining. This is one reason many are leaving their RVs in Arizona and just driving their cars back and forth. However, though the prices look terrible Ron figures it will only cost us about $100.00 more to drive home than it did to drive down. When looking at that way it's really not that bad.We stopped for a break at a Rest Area and a man was letting his Iguana out for a walk. Not a typical thing to see, especially for us Northerners. This guy was about 5 feet long.The agricultural area of California goes on for hundreds of miles. The fields go for as far as you can see. We were happy to see new fields planted as we came through this area of California. It is referred to as the Dust Bowl and there are signs all over that say "Congress Created Dust Bowl". Another sign we see is "Where water flows food grows". There obviously are water issues here. Since we saw many fields planted we are hoping some of the issues have been resolved. After talking with a farmer in Arizona he told us that the farmers are learning to make the best use of the water they have. That could be the same issue here, or perhaps more water has been allotted to farming. I don't know the issues and can only guess at the solutions. Here's the California Aqueduct that brings water to the fields. It is a series of canals, tunnels and pipelines that is 701.5 miles long. It carries water that has been collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern, Central and Southern California.

We stopped at a Rest Area for lunch and found olive trees growing there. We are now in the olive growing area of California.

Tonight we stopped at Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, California. They have a very nice campground. It was now our turn to have some problems. It had something to do with the electrical system and the inverter. Anyway, our TV would not work. So we, the ladies, went over to the RV lounge to watch American Idol on their TV. Besides having fun furniture to sit on we had a great time cheering on our favorites.

Doris, Carole and Sheral

On the Road Again - Day 1

As we started out this morning we headed into the desert along the California/Mexico border. The dark line along the horizon is actually a fence that runs along the border. You can see Keith and Sherla and Don and Doris ahead of us. Notice the dark spots in the sky? That's my camera acting up. The lens is clean, but there must be something internal that needs fixing. I'll have to take care of it when we get home. Anyway, it was a great morning for travel and all started out well, until... a tire blew on Keith and Sheral's fifth wheel. The men got right to work and had it fixed in no time and we were back on the road. This is the Salton Sea. Sorry it's not a very good picture. This is a saline lake located directly on the San Andres Fault in Southern California. It's surface is 226 feet below sea level. It is approximately 15 miles wide by 35 miles long. The lakes salinity is greater than that of the Pacific Ocean. (There's those dark spots again and they are always in the same place) We stopped to get a new tire for Keith and I thought it interesting that we could have palm trees and snow in the same picture.

As we near Palm Springs the windmills start popping up. I don't know what the statistics are, but there certainly are more here than I have seen anywhere else.

Take a close look at the tall tree. It really is a cell tower. Aren't they clever?

You never know what you might see when out on an adventure. Here is the SS Minnow cruising in the desert.

I'm not sure what this is, but we have gone by it a few times now on our way South and then North. It looks like something from a movie set about space.

After we got our RVs parked for the night us girls went for a short walk. It was nice to stretch after sitting all day. Across the street in one of the fields was this oil well. They just kind of pop up all over like flowers. Most of the time they look just like this, but if the well is in a downtown area they might put a building around it so it looks like an office. We are staying at Orange Grove RV Park again tonight. We stopped here on our way down and were able to pick some of the best oranges from the trees right outside the motorhome. The trees have very few oranges now and they don't want you picking them as the blossoms are just coming out and they don't want them knocked off. There is just a little smell right now, but in another week that park is going to really smell good.

Preparing to Head Home

As we put away out lawn chairs and cleaned up our campsite to get ready for heading home, we found out that our preparation is actually pretty quick and easy compared to others. Many people leave their RVs in Yuma year round. I thought you might be interested in what they have to do to prepare their rigs for a HOT summer in the sun. 1. Disconnect smoke alarm battery 2. Apply ant dust around the tires and jacks 3. Unhook batteries 4. Leave several gallons of water in open containers 5. Turn off propane tanks 6. Let out approximately 1/2 of the air in the tires 7. Cover the wheels and secure with rope, NOT bungee cords 8. Leave Bay Leaves in the cabinets - the bugs don't like these 9. Cover windows with bubble foil 10. Remove canned goods, boxed food, aerosol cans and fire extinguishers - they may explode! 11. Leave all holdings tanks 1/4 full of water 12. Store outside hoses and unplug electricity from the pedestal 13. Defrost the frig and put crumpled newspaper and a small container of coffee grounds in it and close the door 14. Fill toilet with water and seal top with plastic wrap 15. Fill zip lock plastic freezer bags with water and place them over all the drains 16. Remove clothing with elastic as it may not withstand the heat After reading these instructions I am glad that not only is my coach not staying in Arizona, but neither am I. Shortly before we left they were also talking about ways to prevent snake bits as the weather was getting warm enough and the snakes were starting to come out. YIKES!!! It's time for these Washingtonians to head for home!

Fun in the Sun

We are enjoying our last few days in the sun. The temperature is in the 90's and they are predicting close to 100 by Friday. Ah, the pool is so nice on days like this. We are getting very spoiled! Ron hurt his back the other day, so is giving it a little heat in the hot tub.

Just soaking up a little sun.  

In and Out

One last stop at In and Out for lunch before we head for home. It's easy to order as you have a choice of a 1, 2, or 3. That would be a regular burger with fries and drink, a cheeseburger with fries and a drink, or a double cheeseburger with fries and drink. The restaurant is always packed, but the service is very fast. Mmmmmm... Keith, Sheral, Doris, Don, Carole and Ron  

Park Plants

The plants that are used in the park landscaping are quite different from what we see at home. I thought you might like to see some of them.

In the spring some of the cactus bloom, but they have to had enough water during the winter.

The flowers are quite beautiful, especially since they come from those prickly plants.

Then there are people that combine the desert with what we traditionally use. Besides being absolutely beautiful, isn't it interesting to see the petunia's blooming during the winter?

Are we lost?

Ron had seen a sign for a campground that was 7 miles off the main road. He was wondering about it, so we decide to take a drive and go check it out. Well, we drove and drove and drove and eventually ended up on a gravel road. By then we knew we had missed the campground, or a sign that told us we should have made a turn. Oh well, we had a nice adventure and found this lake, don't know the name, that had several people camping around it. The signs say they can only stay for 10 days.

Here we are driving through the desert and I keep seeing these little white things along the side of the road. If you look at the bottom of the picture you can see them. At first I thought they were little white rocks, but then I looked closer and this is what I saw...

clam shells! In the middle of the desert there are clam shells? As you can see there are lots of them. We decided they must be a fresh water clam and they get beside the road when they dredge out the canal that runs beside it.

Another oasis in the desert. We just kept driving on the gravel road and ended up near the Yuma Proving Ground. This is the South Mesa Recreation Site at Imperial Dam. There is a boat launch on Squaw Lake and also some camping sites. Senator Wash Reservoir