My first stop when I got out of the desert was Wilderness Lakes Resort in Menifee, California. Beverley’s corporate office is close to the resort and she was flying in to attend meetings and spend a couple of days with me. One of the lady friends I had made this past winter used to be a tour guide in Santa Barbara invited us to meet her so she could show us around which was something that appealed to both Bev and myself. One of the things on my bucket list is to drive the California #1 coastal highway, and complete [View Full Entry]

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I went from the beautiful Indian Waters RV Resort into the parking lot at the Fantasy Springs Casino. My friend BJ (Barbara Jean) arrived on time and we enjoyed a couple of hours walking around the casino grounds and then out to dinner. The casino is on Indian land and is run by the Cabazon Indian Tribe. The grounds are really beautiful. We registered at the casino for the freebees and got ourselves a new t-shirt and a $2 credit on one of the one-arm-bandits. The credit lasted less than 2 minutes so I was glad it wasn’t $2 out of [View Full Entry]

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I left Ehrenberg, Arizona and travelled west to Indio, California. Only about 100 miles, but it was drizzly rain and I had just cleaned the motor home and car. Ugh! Although Indio is in the Coachella Valley which is still in the Sonoran Desert it is quite lush around here compared to Quartzsite. The area is surrounded by mountains and fortunately for me since I have been here we have had two cold fronts come through that have covered the mountain tops with snow making everything even more picturesque. The park here is really lovely; the swimming pool is heated so [View Full Entry]

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It is going to be difficult for me to explain what the experience of Quartzsite is like. Quartzsite's name is pretty self explanitory. Still in the Sonoran Desert which, from what I have read, was created millions of years ago by volcanic eruptions, Quartzsite is arid, generally flat desert that is sprinkled with quartz. Everywhere you look. No one even bothers picking it up except the tourists. During the hot summer months the temperature here can reach 120⁰F and the population dwindles to about 3,000 heat tolerant inhabitants. However, during December and January the average dai [View Full Entry]

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Casa Grande is about 60 miles east of Phoenix, Arizona. One of the membership parks is there and since I wanted to leave my motor home in a secure place while I went to spend Christmas with the family it was ideal. I liked Casa Grande although there isn’t a heck of a lot there. The town is laid out over a large area; all of the gardens of course require low or no water supply. There is a Super Wal Mart and an outlet mall—who could want more? The RV Park was very nice, lots of activities and meals served [View Full Entry]

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The day Bev, Casey and I went to Sedona was cool and cloudy so I went back a couple of days after Bev and Casey left so that I could take some better pictures. We hadn’t had time to go to see Montezuma’s Well so since it was close to the campground I decided to go there first. This Southern Sinagua settlement surrounds a well that is a limestone sink formed long ago by the collapse of an immense underground cavern. The farming tribe used the waters that run from the well through underground streams to irrigate their crops. The Sedona [View Full Entry]

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It is about 360 miles from Pahrump to Camp Verde, Arizona, which was my next stop. The Nevada/Arizona border is marked by the Hoover Dam. I was enthralled, the dam was a fantastic undertaking in the 1930s, time is bringing improvements and a suspension bridge is in the works. I want to go back there when it is finished! I spent the night in Williams, Arizona about 100 miles south of the Grand Canyon. I had wanted to take in the Grand Canyon but decided that it deserves more than a few hours visit and isn’t going anywhere. As winter approaches [View Full Entry]

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Kept this blog separate so that I could add extra photos: I travelled to Furnace Creek, Sunset Campground with one of my SOLO friends, Lorraine. Lorraine is 80 years old and loves to go into hot spring pools. We left a day ahead of the main group to stay overnight in a little place called Shoshone so that we could enjoy the pools there. The water comes into the pool at 25 gallons/minute from a pipe which comes out of the side of the side of the mountain at 93⁰F. The water is full of minerals, and because it is constantly [View Full Entry]

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♪♫” In a cabin by a canyon, excavating for a mine, ♪♪ ♪♫ dwelt a miner 49er and his daughter Clementine”♫♫ We headed into Death Valley on October 28th to prepare for the 59th Annual 49ers Encampment. We camped in Furnace Creek Campground which is 200’ below sea level. Thus it’s name. No electricity or water so I had to go into the campground prepared with all my tanks full so that I could run my generator, enjoy some heat and full water [View Full Entry]

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I am staying in a park about 30 miles south of Yosemite National Park, in a place is called Bass Lake. I think I have just seen too many beautiful places this year because this lake really did nothing for me. However, my purpose for this stay was to go to Yosemite. The trip over here from Delta Shores was great. I had been a bit worried because we had certainly been feeling the Santa Ana winds that have been driving the forest fires around the Los Angeles area. However, Monday morning there was hardly a breeze. I drove out of [View Full Entry]

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