Blue Whales!

We had thought we might snorkel again today but changed our minds since we were to go on a dinner cruise for which we left the campground at 3 PM.  Instead we invited Phil and Debi to join us  exploring the Cabo area.  We shopped at Costco for a bit, got lost looking for the ’No Bad Days’ bar and then headed downtown.  Employees from Mango Deck’s had trained the waiters at El Gecko in Los Barriles and invited us to come see them in Cabo, so we stopped at Mango Deck for lunch.  Debi had socialized with a few of the wait staff from El Gecko so, because of her, we got free parking, two for one drinks and 10% off of our lunch!  Thank you, Debi!

When we got back to the campground, Phil realized that his wallet had fallen out of his pocket.  John immediately drove him back to Mango Deck where they had recovered the wallet and were happy to return it.  The whole group caravanned to the Cabo marina and joined about 150 other guests on the boat for our sunset dinner cruise.  What started out as the typical cruise turned into an awesome whale watching cruise.  

Looking at the Pacific Ocean from the Sea of Cortez.

The boat took us past Lover’s Beach and the Land’s End Arch and then headed out into the Sea of Cortez looking for sightings of whales.  The spouts of several whales were seen but then they found a baby whale that was breaching and splashing while waving its fin and tail and every so often Mama would come to the surface to let us know she was nearby.  We watched the baby jump for about 20 minutes.  It was so awesome!  At the end, Mama breached the water and flung her tail into the air and waved good bye!  Sooo Cool!

Debi & Phil, Jeff & Tina and John & I went to Cabo Wabo for a drink hoping to extend our evening into the party time for Cabo.  We didn’t make it.  We did pass the world’s smallest bar and almost stayed for a drink.  This bar was made to serve 4 men, and we had crammed 21 people into it!  Great evening!

Snorkel Adventures

While most of the caravan folks headed into Cabo to ride the glass bottom boat or to go parasailing, we had a leisurely morning and then loaded up all of our snorkel gear and took off in the Jeep to discover snorkeling playas (beaches).  As we drove into Cabo yesterday in the RV, we both were checking out the shoreline for places where we could drive down to the beach.  That paid off today.

Our first beach was accessed by a dirt road next to a new development, so we figure within a couple of years, that beach will be on private property.  But today, we were not the only ones interested in this cove.  The water was pretty rough and waves were crashing onto the sand but once you were past the surf, the water appeared calmer and there were some rock outcroppings that might hold some fish.  We donned our booties, masks and snorkels and walked down to the water’s edge to put on our fins.  1st big mistake!  We both got rolled in the surf and dunked before the fins were put on.  We swam out a ways but were afraid of getting too close to the rocks due to the waves and the water was rather murky because of them too.  In we came.  Second big mistake! The beach looked like a good place to sit and remove our fins but it was not.  Again we were rolled in the waves, we sat and were pushed around and the whole time our suits, hair and ears were filling with sand!  Third big mistake! As we walked up to the Jeep, I realized that I had forgotten our beach towels!

 Back to the RV to get the towels.  I had to pee at the RV and when I dropped my drawers, sand fell everywhere!

It was too early to quit so we drove down the road to the next beach access we had seen.  This was a better cove, more protected with steep rock walls into the water.  Lessons learned - we floated in the water to put on our fins, the towels were on the beach and we removed the fins before getting out of the water.  We snorkeled for about 45 minutes and loved looking at all the varieties of fish.  The best was the needle-nosed fish and the large angel fish.  As were were preparing to get get out, a group of snorkeler from a party boat were swimming and feeding the fish.  I had noticed at least two fish following me around begging, now I know why!

I feel sorry for whoever has to clean the showers we used after swimming.  We washed off sand that had stuck to our skin in places I can’t describe on this blog! 

Crossed the Meridian

Even though we traveled only 65 miles today it took us over three hours to from start to stop.  It is just so hard to travel with 21 units in the caravan, especially when trying to get everyone off the road and into the RV park.  

A few miles into our drive to Cabo San Lucas we crossed the Tropic of Cancer - the imaginary line that circles the world half way between the Arctic Circle and the Equator. Hopefully our wagon master got a really good group photograph.  

Once we were on the outskirts of San Jose del Cabo we had to contend with a lot of traffic, non-working stop lights, topes and crazy drivers for 20 miles to Cabo San Lucas. Bad luck is following this caravan this trip.  Earlier this week one couple lost the only set of car keys for their towed vehicle, one couple had engine trouble that had to be repaired in La Paz and today one couple turned too sharply on the overpass and broke an axle on their 5th-wheel trailer by hitting a guard rail.  We also found out that an RV was broken into and a computer stolen while they were at supper.  We just hope the bad luck doesn’t come to us!

Can-Doo Adventures

Eleven very excited people crowded around seven 4-wheel off-road ATV’s this morning ready to have an exciting adventure.  John and I each had our own ATV as did one other lady and four couples shared rides.  Jimmy was our leader while Cesar brought up the rear from Can-Doo Adventures ATV Rental.  

After a couple of practice runs in the parking lot, we all lined up and followed Jimmy to the wide wash where we spread out and headed inland.  The wash ended in a narrow canyon where we drove through small streams of water, then over a rocky hill and into the slot where we walked a short distance to the water fall.  This used to be a tall waterfall until the hurricane last September caused a huge runoff that left enough sand and silt to cover the floor of the canyon several feet deep.  The wash was both bumpy and smooth, soft sand and hard pack.  It was most exhilarating to run full out!

We returned to town and then rode on the beach a short way before turning off and driving up a gravel road that paralleled the coastline.  We passed some beautiful homes along this route, most of which were in the million dollar range. The coast north of Los Barriles is very steep and rocky with beautiful aqua blue seas crashing into the rocks.  It was so pretty!

Vacation Day

John got up at 5 this morning so that he, Allen, Freeman, and Larry could go fishing.  They had high hopes of catching lots of fish.  No fish were caught but they did site over a dozen whales, some with babies.  It was neat to watch them jump and splash.

Holly and I went in search of a laundromat.  We found a nice one but the attendant spoke no English and we spoke not much Spanish but with gestures, pointing and writing I got my clothes washed, dried and folded in just two hours.  We also shopped, bought watermelon from a pickup truck and explored the back roads of this small community.

This afternoon I spent on the beach watching the windsurfers and kite boarders as the wind came up fast just after lunch.  The pictures just don’t do just to how pretty the scene was with the bright sails and kites over the white capped aqua blue sea.

Los Barriles

Even though it was just an 87 mile drive, it took us a good 3 1/2 hours to drive through the mountains and down the coast to Los Barriles, a small coastal community inhabited by mostly Americans and Canadians.  The drive was pretty with big ’S’ curves climbing up and down the mountains and through several really quaint villages.  The big draw for Los Barriles is the north wind that blows for days during the winter and provides hours of windsurfing and kite boarding fun. 

We did not experience any wind today, it was very calm.  John and I walked the 2 miles back into town and then cut over to the beach and walked back to Playa Norte RV Park.  The beach is very wide and has a car track running miles in both directions.  This RV park has just recently updated its facilities so we have a washing machine and clothes lines, showers and a very nice restaurant.  El Gecko open two months ago and the wait staff and cooks are being trained by staff from Mango Dick’s in Cabo.  We enjoyed a 2 for 1 happy hour laughing at the antics of the waiters, some Canadians and our our friends Bob and Holly.  Bob was celebrating his birthday so the Canadians came over to sing “Happy Birthday” to him backwards!  It was fantastic they way the had practiced it!  On the count of three they turned their backs to Bob and sang!

We closed the day with a nice hot bon fire!

Playa Tecolote

This beach is really beautiful with soft, white sand, gently lapping waves, lots of sea shells and coral, a long line of palm covered palapas and an easy slope into the water.  We are at the end of the beach near the tall hill that Jim says is worth the climb to see all of the beach with its many RVs. 

It was the kind of day where everyone in the caravan could do what they liked best,  Mark and Mary went bird watching, Mike, Joe and Marcia climbed the hill.  Debi & Phil, Tina & Jeff, Allen & Gloria, John & I and many others walked along the shore collecting shells, sea glass and sun burns.  John and I snorkeled but didn’t see many fish as it is too shallow here. Barbara, Jeannine & Chris were seen reading under their palapas or in the shade of their coach.  I’m sure I saw a several swimming and some using their binoculars - bird watching or girl watching??  Quite a number of the group were seen dining at one of several restaurants along the strand. Bev and Herman helped Allen celebrate Gloria’s birthday tonight.

To top off the day, we were all invited to join Jim & Mary and Erich & Carol around campfires to tell lies and tall tales. Not really, but we did share some stories of our travels and adventures while a few roasted marshmallows.  I don’t think very many of us want to move on since this has been such a laid back and restful place.

Hot Days and Cool Nights

During the Pemex mess yesterday, our MasterCard was swiped three times and then rejected so we HAD to go into town this morning to find a bank and good internet to get that fixed.  Bob rode with us and we found a bank and a Starbucks with great wifi and got all of our problems fixed, newspapers downloaded, blog posted and emails and Facebook read.

When we got back to the beach around noon, it was nothing but beach time.  We read books, napped, and basqued in the sun.  John flew his kite, so Mark and Mary got their kit out too. Nice afternoon.

Our Fantasy staff think we need to do things early!  They had a BBQ at the rundown restaurant near our caravan.  They had hamburgers, chicken, baked beans and other sides with lots of tomatoes and onions for the burgers.  Plus wine and margaritas!  Sounds great except that it started at 4 PM!  Even though we were last in line, we still were eating before 5:00.  But it was shaded, we had a nice breeze and enjoyed long conversations with our new friends. It was after 7 before we retired to the RV.

Onward to the Beach

Todays drive was only 222 miles but it took us over 9 hours to get to the Playa Tecolote, 20 miles from La Paz, where we are all camped right on the beach.  Normally it should have been a 7 1/2 hour drive but due to one rig having engine trouble, road construction and city traffic, it too much longer.

We had to climb over the mountains again to get to the middle of the peninsula where the road ran on fairly flat land.  One climb involved three switchbacks, and since we were near the end of the pack, we could look up and see the rest of the caravan proceeding along the side of the mountain on each leg of the switchback.  This is where we lost one rig with engine problems.  Our tailgunner stayed with the lame rig and that was the last we saw of them for the whole day even though we had several rest stops waiting for them.  The road seemed too good to be true in several places where it had nice wide shoulders and a smooth ride.  Then is would revert back to the narrow, bouncy one.  There is hope this will change in the future as we had to endure road construction in three places.  In the US, we would drive on blacktop detour but here it was one big rocky, dusty road around the construction.  And the semis passed us on this rock road as did most of the cars behind us.  It was so bumpy that we couldn’t go over 10 mph without damage to the rig.

Just outside of La Paz we stopped at a Pemex to let everyone gas up.  Boy was that a mistake! Two of the 6 diesel pumps were closed and since most of this group uses diesel, we were backed up! It took forever!  Then our leaders decided to divide the caravan into two groups with one following Jim and the other following Mary.  Not a bad idea except that we could hear Jim’s instructions on the radio and some got confused and start asking directions from Mary, more than once!  If they would just follow the travel book!

Once we got to the beach, Playa Tecolote,  Jim had to park everyone and that was a long wait!  Many of these big rigs are scared to get near the sand for fear of getting stuck for good reason!  I made John pull into a fairly level spot and just park it!

San Javier Mission

After a leisurely morning, most of the caravan piled into our towed vehicles and followed our leader up into the mountains that boarder Loreto to explore the Mission San Javier. This was one of the very first missions established in Mexico to convert the local Indians to Christianity.  Even though the mission was established in 1699 the church was not built until the mid 1700’s.  As you can see from the pictures, it is a beautiful building.  It is built in the shape of the cross, has a bell tower and a very small cemetery on one side.

The drive up here used to require four-wheel drive and could take two to three hours but since they have paved the road in the last five years, the drive was just over an hour.  The route follows many of the washes that come out of the mountains, we turned on several switch backs, climbed steep hills, then descended. Once over the top and into the valley beyond we began to see some fields of crops; they were growing onions near the mission.  It was a really pretty drive up and back.

Phil and Debi rode back with us to a saloon where we had some really good Texas burgers and a nice cold beer!  The rest of the day was spent at the pool. Fantasy staff prepared a margarita and taco salad dinner for us starting at 4 PM!  We were NOT hungry after that big lunch.

Loreto

A spectacular sun rise and no scheduled plans today!  John and I enjoyed a long walk to the Puerto Escondido harbor before driving into the town of Loreto (pronounced Low-ray-tow). Loreto has a population of about 10,000 people so it is a fairly large city.  We enjoyed the Malecon and the pedestrian shopping area that surrounded the church. This mission church built in 1679 was the first of over 30 eventually constructed through Baja California and what is now the state of California.  It was pleasant shopping as the street was covered with arches of trees.  We had a nice lunch before driving back to Tripui RV Park but first we drove through a newly developed residential area called Loreto Bay, built around a golf course and on the coast of the Sea of Cortez. 

We got to take a nap, check our email and Facebook posts, collect the laundry the hotel did for us and then have drinks with the group.  This was as close as we came to celebrating Fat Tuesday.

Mulege to Puerto Escondido

Yesterday, as we came out of the mountains and into the town of Mulege, we were surprised to see the whole valley covered in palm trees!  Today, during our city tour, we were told that Spaniards brought dates from the Old World, fed them to the Indians and even some of their animals and the resulting manure was filled with seeds that sprouted into these massive trees.  Mulege is built on the banks of the Santa Rosalia River which has flooded numerous times in recent years due to hurricanes so the roads we traveled on in the city were very rough!  And narrow and steep.  

The Mission Santa Rosalia de Mulege dominates the city sky line as does the ancient prison.  The Mission was built by Jesuit priests starting in 1754 and is one of the very earliest in Mexico.  It is made of lava rocks and limestone and is named after an Italian señorita who was said to have healing powers.  The prison was built with no bars.  When it was built the only way to enter Mulege was by boat.  The desert and mountains and sea were the only ‘bars’ needed to keep the prisoners here. Our last stop on the tour was the point where the light house is located.  That road was totally washed away so we drove on sand and mud ruts but it was beautiful being near the shore.

As soon as we returned from the tour, our wagon master informed us that the mud was not going to be removed from the RV park so we were moving on 1 day early. We had to eat, gas up, hitch up and be ready to drive in 45 minutes!  I was not happy - I was hungry! (You know that Snickers commercial where someone is a wolf until they have a Snickers bar?  Yeah, that was me!)   Oh well, we were ready on time and the 21 rigs pulled out at 1 pm for the 97 mile, 3 hour drive to Puerto Escondido which is about 15 miles south of Loreto.  We followed the coast for quite some time and then turned inland and skirted the mountains that run down the peninsula.  For some reason I did not have it in my mind that the Baja would be so mountainous.  Desert and relatively flat  - yes, but not high mountains.  They are really tall, rough, rocky and majestic mountains.

The only tedious part of todays trip came when we were parking the RV’s in the Tripui RV Park.  Each site has palm trees on both sides of the site so that one must thread the RV between each tree.  The wagon master and tail gunner worked really hard to get everyone parked but it took over and hour to get us all in.  Cocktails were a must then a grilled steak with a bottle of wine.  

Wash Out Or A River Runs Through It!

Oh, man, what a day!  It rained last evening and we thought it was over but we had another thought coming this morning - more rain!  

We pulled out about 8:30 am for a 174 mile drive and expected it to be just a 4 hour drive but it turned into a 7 hour drive because the rain changed all of that!  The first 1/3 of the trip was straight and narrow and dry.  The next third started out okay but just as we stopped for lunch at 11:30 the sky darkened and the rain started coming down - HARD!  This was the part of the trip where we crossed the mountains and then descended to the Sea of Cortez. So not only did John have to contend with the rain and a narrow road but also with steep winding roads going up.  

The worst part was after we descended out of the mountains because all the washes across the road were full of fast running, rain runoff which was full of rocks, sand and mud. The first few washes weren’t too bad but the lower we got the worse it became.  We were not far from Santa Rosalina when we came to a full stop at a raging river across the road.  A semi in front of us refused to cross the river and cars were backing up behind us and across the river was a school bus and more cars who couldn’t cross because of the semi.  Our Green Angel came to the rescue and directed the traffic through the water so that we could continue on our way.  It was rather harrowing to cross through that much water.  I just knew it was going to wash us into the sea but John kept a steady hand and foot and we made it across just fine as did everyone else.

The last third of the trip we dodged many rocks and boulders that had fallen onto the road, more rivers of water across the road, although none were as deep as the first one, and a few muddy slurries on the side of the road.  As we neared Mulege (pronounced Moo-la-hay) the sky cleared and the sun came out but that did not help our camping situation.  The campground was one big mud pit!  We are currently parked on a large parking lot next to a Pemex gas station with hopes of moving to the campground tomorrow if they can scrape out the mud covering the gravel sites. Oh yeah, we couldn’t buy gas because the electricity was out all over town.

The best way to deal with a tense and dangerous day it to have a margarita or two or three!  We had a very festive dinner in town with lots of drinks, live music, good food and dancing. Lucky for us the restaurant had a generator.

RV Launching Road

Another long day of driving from Catavina to Guerrero Negro, a trip of 146 miles over 5 hours.  We started around 8:30 and pulled into the campground at about 3 PM.  It was a long a grueling drive on very narrow roads.  Our wagon master warned us this morning to be very careful about driving along the edge and if we slipped off the edge, to not jerk the wheel to get us back on the highway but to try to very gradually pull back up onto the road.  Yeah, right!

We traveled through more mountains and lots of desert.  There were valleys so full of Boojum that it was like a forest and then in the next valley it was full of Cardon cactus and again like a dense forest of cacti.  The road was smooth but seemed to have rolling bumps that could throw the RV from side to side, plus the wind was gusting and pushing us around.  Add that to the very narrow road and on-coming 18-wheelers and it was a rather harrowing experience.  In fact one of our caravan of RVs slid off the road due to a large semi and crumbling road bed.  He pulled back on but, his towed car jackknifed, and then he was thrown across the road and launched into the desert!  John witnessed the whole thing in his rear-view mirror!  The tail gunner and our Green Angel stayed with the victim while the rest of us completed our trip to the campground.  Later, the launched RV drove in under his own power with the only damage a bent tow bar.  They were very very lucky with many angels watching over them.

We are only spending one night here but on the return back up the peninsula we will get to see the Great Grey Whales. We are camped in open, sand dune desert with no cacti nor bushes near by.  Guerrero Negro (which translates into Black Warrior) is a tourist mega for folks who want to see the whales but its main industry is the harvesting of industrial salt. We drove out to the light house that guards the Estero De San Jose where the old Salt Wharf stood.  Today, it is a launch area for fishing boats.

Head 'Em Up & Move 'Em South

We had a very long driving day today.  We left Ensenada about 7:30 AM with a destination to Catavina, 224 miles and 8 hours away.  We were on narrow, winding, mountainous roads most of the day.  When I say narrow, if we are not driving on the white line on the right hand side, then we would be knocking rear-view mirrors  of on-coming semis on the left hand side!  The first part of the drive was through several villages and among lots of agricultural lands growing things like asparagus, potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, cabbage and several fields which I could not identify the vegetables.  They had long, long rows of green houses and white cloth covered structures.

Then we passed into the Desert National Park where we observed cacti, scrub and other desert plants. I was fascinated with the desert cacti called Giant Cardon cactus which are similar to Saguaro in that they have long ‘arms’ but these arms start at the bottom of the plant and grow as tall as the main trunk of the cactus.  They reminded me more of Organ Pipe Cactus.  The other plant that was prevalent is called Cirios or ‘Boojum’.  This tree is larger at the bottom than at the top so is shaped like an upside-down  green carrot.  It has very small round leaves on short, thorn covered stems all the way up and down it’s trunk.  The top will have yellow flowers sprouting from the top later this spring. It is similar to an ocotillo bush.

The last few miles before we camped for the night was through the ‘Rock Gardens’ where huge, car-sized boulder were laying everywhere with all the cacti and boojum interspersed.  Unfortunately the rood was exptremely narrow with no shoulder and no pull offs for me to get a picture of this magical landscape.

We literally circled-the-wagons in the campground around a nice fire pit at 4 pm.  Our fearless leaders fed us ‘Walking taco’s’ for dinner(at 4:30 PM because the sun set at 5 and it would get too dark to prepare the food).  Walking tacos are prepared with a small bag of crushed nacho chips you then top with taco meat, lettuce, cheese, etc and eat with a spoon right from the bag.  A bon fire and sing a-long rounded out the evening.

Ensenada & La Bufadora

The town of Ensenada was founded in 1882.  Its name means ‘surrounded by mountains’ as there are mountains all around a very large and deep bay.  The main industries here are tuna fishing, tourism and agriculture.  There are almost 500,000 people in this region making it the third largest city on the Baja, the other two being Tijuana and Mexicali. The weather here is very comfortable year round, much like San Diego it hottest summer temperature is 85 and its coolest is 40 with most days in the 70’s. Many nationalities are found here with over 100,000 people from the US and Canada.

In 1930 the Riviera del Pacifico Hotel and Casino was built and supposedly financed by Al Capone and managed by Jack Dempsey.  This facility was heavily promoted by Jack Dempsey who wanted the people to come to Ensenada because of its wonderful weather and location.  But a no gambling law passed in 1935 closed the casino and five years later the hotel closed.  It was used as a military barracks during WWII and then closed permanently in the late 1940’s.  

Most of the furnishings were stolen through the years but when the people here decided to renovate it 35 years ago they found one chandelier still hanging.  The reason it was not stolen - it was too big to fit through the doors! The ceilings are painted wood, the floors are Mexican parquet or tile, the wood is from India or Florida, some tile from Spain and Italy and the chandeliers are from Spain.  The bar was named The Seven Sins Bar because of the sinful pictures painted on its back wall. This is also where the Margherita was invented and we got to enjoy a sample.  Today the Riviera del Pacifico is a convention hall and event center.  The hotel part was torn down and beautiful gardens now grace the grounds.

After some sight seeing, a stroll along the shopping district and a beer at Papas & Beer, we were taken out to La Bufadora (aka Buffalo Snort) where we watched a blow hole spray water many feet into the air.  We had to endure a long walk between Mexican booths selling all sorts of ‘stuff', Pina Coladas and fish tacos. The only thing we say as we walk by is, “No, gracias!” over and over and over and over.

Today was delightfully warm with a slight breeze, clear skies and a beautiful sunset.

Ready, Set, GO!

The San Diego KOA Campground is actually in the suburb of Chula Vista on the south side of San Diego.  It’s a nice campground except that it is just off of a major freeway so the roaring noise is so loud that it can’t be ignored as background noise.  We prepared for our journey into Mexico by filling up with gas, grocery shopping, doing the laundry and other minor chores.

Monday afternoon was not a good time for me.  First, I moved the picnic table with the Jeep, then before we even got out of the campground my bike skidded and fell and I jumped off and stepped on my helmet, breaking it.  Then on the return leg of our bike ride, I got a flat tire and had to walk the last 1/2 mile back. I really needed that glass of wine with supper!

Tuesday morning we found a dive shop where we bought used wet suits so that we could comfortably snorkel during our trip.  Tuesday afternoon we met the rest of the caravan members and were oriented as to how we will travel and what we will see as RVers in Mexico - like narrow, bumpy roads, military check points and toll roads.  There are a number of people who have never done a caravan in Mexico so they are very nervous and have lots of questions.  We have a wagon master, Jim and Mary, and a tail gunner, Erich and Carol, and 19 other motorhomes and fifth-wheels, 21 units altogether.

This morning we were lining up at 7 AM and pulled out at 7:30. That is just too early for any normal person to be on the road! It is a short 10 mile drive to the border and then a 3 hour wait as each RV is run through the Xray machine.  Once we are lined up across the border we have a 78 mile drive through Tijuana and down the coast to just past Ensenada where we are camped at the Estero Beach Resort and Campground after a harrowing drive through Ensenada rush hour.  We spent three hours driving plus a half an hour for lunch and the 45 minutes to get all the rigs parked.  Long Day.

Palm Springs

The last four days have been spent with our friends from Missouri, Rory & Sue.  They are staying in old Palm Springs for two months and just arrived so we helped them rediscover the things we love about this area.  We ate at Zin, An American Bistro and Babe’s BBQ, two of our most favorite places and had lunch at a newly discovered Italian restaurant which will now go on our favorites list as well as Billy Reed’s Steak House. We didn’t just eat.  Sue and I shopped for shoes, John and Rory went to the Verizon store, we spent one day playing golf, took in the Thursday night Street Fest in old Palm Springs and shopped at Pete Carlson’s Golf Store.  It has been wonderful to find fun things to do with friends.

This morning we drove to San Diego where we will prepare for our caravan tour into Baja, Mexico.  John was really happy that it is Sunday so that the traffic wasn’t bad.  Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of cars and at times we were on 16 lanes of freeways, but not enough traffic to cause slow downs or complete stops. 

This afternoon has not been a good time for me.  I had to move the Jeep out of John’s way and ran into a picnic table, pushing it into a small tree.  We decided to go for a short bike ride but before we could get on the bike trail, my bike skidded on gravel and fell.  So that I would not fall on my knees I stepped out and onto my bike helmet (I was not wearing it) and broke it.  We rode about 6 miles but on the way back I realized my bike had a flat tire.  I walked about 1/2 mile home. Its time for an adult beverage!

LaQuinta (Palm Springs)

We are staying at Lake Cahilla (ka-whee-ah) Regional Park where we have stayed several times before.  It’s generally a quiet place where families come to enjoy the day, fish, swim or camp.  When John arrived on Saturday morning it was at the conclusion of a color run so hundred’s of cars were leaving the parking area.  Not the quiet area he was expecting.  I was grocery shopping, so I missed all the excitement.

Our friends, Mike and Diane, live in LaQuinta and opened their home to us.  We had dinner with them on Saturday night but they were out of town on Sunday. So when I say opened their home, I mean we spent most of Sunday afternoon in their home taking advantage of the shower, laundry, wi-fi and their big screen TV to watch the Super Bowl game while they were away.

We rode our bikes 18 miles around this area on Monday.  Next door to the park is a very upscale housing development surrounding a very exclusive golf course.  On the off chance we might get inside the gate, we rode our bikes past the guard house and, lo and behold, she opened the gate and waved us in!  We have seen parts of The Quarry Golf Course on some of our hikes from the park but this was much better!  The homes were more mansion than house and  some were very modern, with sharp angles and glass while others had numerous towers, patios and water features. Everywhere we saw the golf course it was perfectly manicured, lush and green.  Mike was very envious as he has never gotten past the guard house.

Today we played  golf with Mike and his friend, Ray, at The Golf Club of LaQuinta.  It was a warm, sunny day, with just a slight breeze and the course was beautiful. We both did better than the last two times we played.  Just goes to prove that we need to play more often to improve our games.

Pumpkins & Shells

Between playing golf on Wednesday and today, we went driving in the desert on Thursday.  The route took us through some pretty amazing desert scenery.  Before we started we looked out over the terrain we were going to travel over and it appeared flat and boring but as we traveled along the sandy road that flat land became more varied and fascinating.  We crossed several washes, some named like San Felipe and Rat Pack and others were unnamed. Sand dunes, hills and gullies and moonscapes appeared and were obvious fun runs for ATV’s and motorcycles.  

We turned on East Bank Wash (that’s an original name, huh?) that led to Pumpkin Patch Trail and followed its many tight turns, hills and washes to the Pumpkin Patch.  We were introduced to Whoop-ti-dos all along here and for the remainder of the trip! Think of a washboard road on steroids - up and down, up and down, whoop-ti-dooooo!

The Pumpkin Patch is an area of the desert where round concretions have been exposed and lay on top of the sand.  The round balls are formed somewhat like pearls when a small piece of matter like a seed or leaf is surround by sand and dirt that gets wet and hardens like concrete, then another layer and another, etc.  Eventually the loose sand is eroded away from the concretion leaving these large ‘pumpkins’ exposed.

Back down Pumpkin Patch trail, we drive back to the main road, called Shell Reef Trail.  John tried some of the steep hills that ATV’s have climbed before us.  Lots of fun and a bit nerve wracking when you can’t see over the top!  Shell Reef Trail is named for an area that billions of years ago was under the sea and left behind fossils of shells layered in the sand and are now exposed.

In places we could not see a defined road, only tracks of other vehicles. The ride was about 25 miles long but it took us over 4 hours with a stop for lunch.  Since it was still mid-afternoon, we drove out to Font’s Point to see the desert Badlands.  Most people like to come out here to watch the sunset over the mountains, but the day was really overcast so there was no sunset to be seen.  Just lots of canyons, washes, arroyos, cuts and gulches making for pretty spectacular scenery.

Smoketree Tinajas

The rain predicted for Monday started at noon and didn’t stop until sometime in the middle of the night.  We got a 40 minute walk in during the morning and then we sat in the RV all afternoon.  I worked on my photo albums and completed two of them from 2014 but still have one more to do.  Because we were getting antsy, John took me out to dinner.

Nope not gonna belly crawl under the rock.

Tuesday dawned bright and partly cloudy so we headed out to hike a canyon.  The Smoketree Tinajas trail was suppose to lead us to an area where water gathers in depressions in the rock (called tinajas) but we either walked up the wrong wash into the wrong canyon or took a wrong turn into the canyon or didn’t turn when we were supposed to.  Either way, we did not find any tinajas but we did have an interesting hike.

The entrance to the canyon was very, very wide with what looked to us to be several washes, so when the directions said to stay left where two major washes come together we weren’t sure where that point happened.  And that’s the reason for the confusion. The canyon we walked into narrowed fairly gradually but the floor was strewn with more and more boulders that we walked around and then climbed around and then climbed over!  Until we got to the one boulder that totally blocked the canyon unless we wanted to crawl under it!  John and I were not willing to take the chance that a famous California earthquake would happen just at the moment we were under the rock! So we had lunch and then walked out, logging 5 miles on the pedometer.

Today should warm us nicely in time for our golf tee time.

Glorious Glorieta

It has been a really nice day today.  I went to church this morning and enjoyed the music, sermon and visiting with other Methodists.  I quickly changed into hiking clothes when I got home and off we went to the glorious Glorieta Canyon!  This has to be one of my favorite hikes ever, not because it was easy or difficult but because we were in a narrow slot canyon with walls that surrounded us with desert plants and boulders as we walked along sandy path.

I forgot to bring the hike directions with us so we just followed the footsteps of previous hikers which, of course, led us down the wrong path!  According to the hiking book, we should have gone 1/2 mile and then turned right so that we could loop around the hill and end up back at the parking lot.  But when we got to the intersection, I chose to go left because that seemed to be where all the tracks were going!  We hiked a mile before we realized that the trail would take us down a steep hill and then we couldn’t see where it was heading due to all the boulders and shrubs.  We were afraid that it would not loop around but head on into the mountains so we turned around and returned the way we had come.  That was not as easy as it sounds either!

Glorieta Canyon has a very narrow sandy path of about 5-8 feet in width most of the time with walls that slanted up on either side and were covered with the same desert plants and rocks that blocked our path. It is not a straight nor obvious trail as we had to negotiate the many large rocks and boulders as well as the desert plants that blocked the path. We walked around and through cholla cacti, century plants, and the very vicious catclaw acacia bushes which are covered with claw-like spines ready to grab your shirt or skin and hold on. The fishhook barrel cactus was the most colorful plant with its pink spines, but the ocotillo were starting to green up and one of the bushes sported red blooms.

Back to the hike, we thought we were being smart and tried a short cut which found us both slipping and falling on our asses.  Luckily I fell in a non-sticky bush and John just slipped down the gravel hill. Along the way both of us collected numerous scratches and scrapes. When we  got back to the intersection we went right but by that time we were tiring of the hike so we again turned around and walked back to the Jeep.  It was a truly Glorious Glorieta hike of only three miles in 3 1/2 hours.

Bike Ride

Today and tomorrow the temperature is supposed to be in the upper 70’s so we are going to take advantage of the warmth and get active!  That meant getting the bikes out and riding into town.  It was about a 22 mile ride round trip but it was the perfect day for the ride with a slight breeze to keep us from getting too hot.  We rode on some back roads into town and went by some of the metal statues in Galleta Meadows.  As you can see, I was having a lot of fun with the velociraptors!  

We did divide the ride into two parts with a stop for lunch but by the time we got home we were pooped!  And then the water pump wasn’t working correctly, again.  But this time John thinks he has it figured out so maybe this will be the last we have to worry with it.  Tonights sunset was clear and bright and, as predicted, the air cooled way down the minute the sun went behind the mountains.  I bet we go to be early tonight!

Back to Anza-Borrego

Thursday morning we got a late start for a three hour drive to Anza-Borrego State Park.  Of course, it took us longer as we had to stop for gas, stop for lunch and stop to buy groceries! We found a nice spot about 6 miles east of Borrego Springs.  We are a little perplexed that there aren’t as many desert campers as we have seen in the past.  We can’t figure out why.  

The desert is one place you will change clothes at least 3 times during the day, if not more often.  Its pretty cool when we get up so we put on long pants and a long sleeved shirt, then by late morning it gets really warm so we change into t-shirts and shorts, but as the sun sets at 4:45 pm we have to change back into the long pants and shirt and while sitting around the campfire we pull on our fleece jackets! We may start leaving the pajamas on until late morning just to eliminate one change of clothes!

Last night and this morning John worked some more on the water pump.  It will work for a while and then stop working correctly, won't shut off, alternating on and off, fast flow, slow flow.  After so many adjustments, he’s not sure what is correct and what is wrong.  He has been very frustrated by it all!

This afternoon we walked down the road to Clark Dry Lake, which is the name of the area where we are camped.  It seemed closer on the map but it was a little over 2 miles to the lakebed.  From a distance there appears to be a runway thru the middle of the dry lake but upon closer inspection it is an old roadbed.  The park service has tried to limit motorized vehicles driving on the lakebed to preserve its beauty. 

To Leave or To Stay

Tuesday morning John braved the Big Tent again and purchased a new water pump for the RV, one that is supposed to be a continuous running pump without regard to water flow.  Our current pump pulses off and on when we have a low water flow through the faucet or the water filter.  He then spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon installing the pump.

Tuesday  evening we joined a group of RVers who belong to a online group called RVillage.  They have a website one can sign on and find out who else is camped in the same campground as you or visa versa, another way of connecting with other RVers.  We have not met anyone, yet, who uses this website, but we are not real faithful in posting when we arrive or depart a campground.  We arrived late so did not meet too many folks.

Instead of driving to California today, John had to make a run to Blythe, a 50 mile round trip, to find one foot of hose for the newly installed water pump, which was not working as advertised!  While John is working, I’m taking walks, reading or doing some crocheting while enjoying the sunshine.  If I weren’t outside I might not have spotted the MetLife Blimp floating overhead!  Bet its going to Phoenix for the Super Bowl!  We also explored MORE flea markets!

It is a good thing we did not leave for CA as a couple we met a couple of years ago texted that they were in Quartzite and wanted to get together with us. We ended up having dinner and a great visit with Dwight and Sharon. They had just come from Lake Havasu where they helped haul hot air balloons out of the lake after a failed ‘splash and dash’!  Sounded like fun!

Gray Eagle Mine and a Desert Bar

If you have been reading our blog for a while, you read about The Desert Bar in last winter’s blog. It is such a neat place to visit plus the drive through the mountains is so much fun.  Sunday morning we drove north to Parker where a gravel road is available for those who don’t like off-roading and a couple of miles past that is where we turned off and headed into the mountains that line the Colorado River along with about 8-10 other Jeeps and ATVs.  It is very rugged country with steep, sandy inclines, rocky washes and narrow bumpy ridge trails. We always take the more challenging trails.  One very steep hill dropped off at the top and to the left so fast that John had to stop, back up and then turn! 

As we near The Desert Bar there are remnants of two or three mines, one of which is called the Gray Eagle Mine.  I can’t imagine trying to haul all the gear needed to mine for whatever it is that can be found in these mountains, but miners are hardy souls and maybe a little greedy?

The bar was hopping when we arrived with a live band and wonderful smells emanating from two different kitchens. We shared a huge basket of wonderful onion rings along with our hot dogs and beer.  

Today we braved the Big Tent at the RV Show.  It was so crowded we could barely squeeze past people just to look at the booths and forget about trying to talk with anyone about their product! Later this afternoon we tried again and were able to get around much easier since everyone else had gone home! We get the impression that this is not a good year for the vendors as there were quite a few empty booth spots and two or three of the vendors we expected to see were not in attendance.

Our neighbors were flying their neon planes right at sunset.  They had three different planes doing loops and swoops.  John almost burned our dinner because he was watching the planes and not the grill!

Stuff, Stuff, and More Stuff!

For three days now we have gone ‘shopping’ at the flea markets, vendor stalls and general shops all around the Quartzite area.  The RV Show began today but we have elected to wait until Monday or Tuesday in hopes that the crowds will be thinner before we try entering the Big Tent and looking at more STUFF being sold.

Tyson Wells is the area directly across from the Big Tent and east of the tent where there are semi-permanent stalls selling stuff like rugs, kitchen gadgets, RV gadgets, tool, knives, nails & screws, leather gloves, rags, batteries, rocks, beads, hats, t-shirts, dresses, some art work, some crafty items, flags, carved wood, a food court area, cinnamon rolls, ice cream, nuts, grocery items, and the list goes on.  

On the north side of the interstate, along Main Street, are rows of new and used RV dealers so of course we had to look at the new RVs showing new floor plans and interior design. We also checked out some of the permanent stores here but that didn’t take long.

Today we hit the flea markets some of which are in permanent buildings but most are selling from their motor homes or in tents set up in huge lots along Main Street.  It is amazing what people have collected and then are attempting to sell as ‘antiques’ or ‘collectables’.  So much junk that we can’t even really call in ‘stuff’, its just junk!  There were several stores selling outdated food and over-the-counter supplements.

Yesterday we took a break from shopping and stopped at The Beer Belly/Adult Day Care beer garden and visited with a couple who blog about full time RVing.  They are making money doing this and love to share what they learn by using all the available electronic media such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc.

The last two nights we have been privileged to watch some fellow campers fly their RC airplanes.  Just after sunset they brought out their neon lit plane.  This plane had white lights on its underside, blue on top, green on its nose and the tail was red along with the red and green tips on the wings.  It is a beautiful thing to watch as the colors seem to change as it turns and flips through the air.

And Quartzsite is not without its idiots.  As we returned from riding our bikes we noticed a 40 foot motorhome was stuck in a ditch near us.  Why he thought he could cross that ditch without dragging his rear end is beyond comprehension.  They had to call a tow truck from Parker (40 miles north of here) to come down and lift up the tail so he could back out.  They just parked it where they were!

The only photo we have taken was of sunset last night but every night is just as pretty.

Ahhh! Quartzsite!

John has been looking forward to this leg of our journey for several days.  We hired a crew to wash and wax the RV this morning and then took off for one of our favorite places to stay - Quartzsite, AZ. 

There is an area just south of the town on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) where we like to park.  We just drive around, pick an out-of-the-way spot and set up camp.  I make sure we have a campfire ring and John makes sure the neighbors aren’t too close.  We then jumped on our bikes and rode into town and up and down the strip to see if anything had changed and it hadn’t.  That’s not much of a surprise as nothing much changes around here anyway.  We are a little disappointed that not very many RVers are camped in the desert.  This should be the biggest weekend of the year and the desert should be covered with RVs but it seems to be a bit empty this year.  Maybe more people will show up over the weekend.

Buckeye AZ

We pulled out of the White Tank Mountains Monday after waiting all morning for the rain to stop so the RV wouldn’t be “ruined” by driving on wet pavement.  It finally stopped about noon and as we drove the 30 miles to Buckeye the pavement dried up because they didn’t get any of the rain we experienced!

It was time to find a commercial campground so that I could do the laundry and grocery shopping and play some golf. The weather forecast for Tuesday was about 50% chance for rain and we got to play golf in that 50%!  It only lasted about 30 minutes but it was enough to stop our game for that time.  The course we chose to play was in really bad shape!  The rough was just that - rough! And the fairways had recently been reseeded so we couldn’t drive on them with with the cart.

To make up for the bad golf day, we had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant in Buckeye. The oven fired pizza was delicious and the wine went with it perfectly!

Waterfall - In the Desert?

Even though we are retired and a Sunday is basically no different than a Wednesday, we had a very relaxed Sunday kind of day by sleeping in late, eating a large breakfast and limiting our exercise to short bursts of easy bike rides and a short hike.

I told John that riding our bikes in this area would not be a good idea and if he insisted he would be riding alone!  That said, we stuck to the park roads.  We rode about 7 miles and checked out the Waterfall Picnic area and the Competitive area where there are trails for really serious mountain bikers.  Lunch and naps and then another bike ride to the Waterfall area where we hiked the easy mile long trail up to the end of the canyon where, if it were to rain a lot, a waterfall could be seen.  Right now, the only evidence of a waterfall is a very small pool of water below slick canyon walls.  And, although it is raining tonight,  I doubt it will be enough to form a waterfall tomorrow!