Hot

101 degrees in the Palm Desert today.  "It's a dry heat."  Guess it is time to go home.  We plan to leave here Saturday a.m.

TT in the Desert

Washingtonians, Oregonians, Canadians, and other northerners seek warm weather during the winter.  This is where some people come.  This is how some migrators live.  88 today.  We live under date palms just off I 10.  It is noisy with I 10 and major railroad nearby.  Yet the open desert is behind us.  Today I took hour bike ride followed by a dip in the pool.

Salton Sea

It was just a 30 mile drive to Salton Sea. This 15 mile by 35 mile salty lake, with no outlet so it is getting saltier, is a unique biome. Situated below sea level, this body of water continues to be the focus of a variety of interest groups. Farmers, developers, environmentalists have competing views and the federal and state governments get drawn into the fray. Today, as we neared the water, thousands of dead fish littered the shore. In the 50’s vacationers flocked to this sea, boating, swimming, skiing, fishing and camping. Today, in beautiful low 80’s temps, we saw no boat on the lake, no swimmers, and only one person fishing for tilapia, a fish that can live in high saline water. Most of the 1950ish tourist type buildings/businesses were sitting unoccupied. October through January, the Salton Sea is visited by over 400 species of birds, migrating on the Pacific Flyway.

sniffing at dead fish

On the drive back we stopped at a date farm and sat through a demonstration of date cultivation and harvesting. Down the road a bit, we stopped at a strawberry farm. No demonstration needed. The fresh picked strawberries met the standards of the strawberry snob.

Oregon strawberry girl meets So Cal counterpart

The Desert

It ain’t easy being on the road. The Eagles’ song rants, “Take it Easy,” and the song depicts that life on the road will always expand horizons and provide opportunities beyond those of “home”. But in our lives, roots/ family rings strong and we are now ready to head home.


On this two month voyage of discovery, Thousand Palms offers a family respite. Gene and Lola, Hope and Spitz are down the road just a few miles from our campsite. Sister Hope, 16 years my senior, had some significant health challenges lately. Our timing was fortuitous as she just exited the hospital on our arrival. We attended church with Spitz and Hope today. A masterful service. I wiped tears from my eyes. I noticed that Spitz did also. The music and message glorified our Lord. We felt honored to be in the presence of family worshiping together. We do not know that we may be back to experience this masterpiece of worshiping in this setting again. We pray that we will. God willing.

Thousand Trails Thousand Palms

We are settled  here and enjoying the sun and setting.  I had breakfast with brother Gene on Tuesday and we plan to meet with sister Corinne and LeRoy for dinner this eve.  I didn't enjoy the first site we were given so on Tues morning we moved.  It was a fortuitous move.  Barb heard a unique noise from the wheel as I pulled in.  It turned out that an inside dual tire was flat.

We had just bought new tires before we left Puyallup.  I called Les Swab and they informed me that the nearest service was 400 miles away.  They suggested that I check the valve stem extension as they had received some defective parts recently.  I could not reach or remove the extension so I called a local service man.  He removed the wheel, tested the valve, and found it to be leaking air.  So the wheel is back on sans the valve extension.

The service call was not nearly as traumatic as the one in February but we are starting to wonder about the rig.  We have been so blessed with few problems.  Is our good fortune changing?  If it is we refuse to let it dampen our resolve to explore and experience.

After the service man left I went for an enjoyable ride into the desert.  That was followed by lunch outside then some time at the pool.  Yep, we won't minor setbacks dampen our resolve.

r v campground from outside of the wall

Lonely Roads

It was just 130 miles from Parker to the Palm Springs area.  The drive took us through a very desolate area.    The wind blew and the temps were in the mid 60's.  Rain threatened but never fell on us.

We plan to be in the Palm Springs area (Thousand Palms) for several days.

Last Day on the River

It has been an enjoyable 3 days to say the least. Karen and Bill have been so welcoming, introducing us to the locals and showing us around. Last evening Bill grilled a scrumptious fillet of beef and we dined in front of our rigs, on the river’s shore. We sat by the fire and watched the “super moon” rise.

View from inside RV

Cousin Karen

Bill's campfire

The wind and cloud cover increased today and the highs are in the low 70’s. Bill and Karen took us on the loop, an 11 mile drive north on the CA side to Parker Dam, then over the dam to AZ then south for the 16 miles to Parker. Along the way we passed by some wild burros, decedents of the prospectors from the 1850’s.

Wild burros  frequent nearby campgrounds.

Homes, RV camps, and rental units dominate much of the shoreline on both sides of the river. We stopped and ate some lunch on a dock (wind had a momentary lull) and drove into several developments to explore. We were back to our campsite by 3 to enjoy one last day on the river.




Our campsite from across the river.  Our RV is 5th from right, behind palm tree.  Bill and Karen's, on our right, has the U.S flag on the front of the RV



Bill, Karen and Barb at a viewpoint.

Tomorrow, Barb and I leave for Palm Springs.