Jan 20 - Pea Soup - then home

WOW! Did we hit some wind in Chowchilla!! It was blowing straight onto the side of the RV. There was no letting up in sight, and then it happened - the wind got under our pull out awning and it kept opening and closing as we went down the road!! Finally, it just stayed out and that really caught more wind! Driving was impossible at this point, so we pulled off and tried to fix it. We had to turn the RV against the wind so Rich could attempt to get up on a ladder. I leaned against the ladder, pinning it to the RV, and held on to Rich while he duck taped as best he could. We got back on the road and limped along to Pea Soup Andersen's :)

Lunch was great there as usual. Surprise - Brook and Mike who had left the campground well after we did, were just finishing up their lunch as we got there! Hahaha, our goodbyes just keep on coming! After we finished, Rich put a little more tape on the awning. Hope it holds up until we get home - we still have to go through the Altamont!!

We had a great time on this trip! I'm so glad that we could go along with the "Smore Friends" camping group! The dry camping was really fun, and the sunsets were beautiful! Again, I hate to see the journey end :( Until next time, thanks for checking in with the blog. I hope that we will continue to inspire you to get out and see the good old USA!!!!

Jan 19 - Bakersfield, CA

We got up this morning and were pretty focused on the news of the really bad weather front that was headed our way. The flash flood warning were in effect for the Quartzsite area, so it was good that we were leaving now, and thankful that the weather held out for us while we were here.

Here is where Brook and Mike left our caravan. They needed to get home for business, so they took Highway 10 and headed to Bakersfield. We headed out 95 to Barstow. The rain was gradually coming down harder and harder, and as we approached Barstow, the news reports of the weather over the Tehachapi’s was calling for increasing chance of snow and freezing rain. The forecast for the next day, when we were planning on going through there, was even worse. So we decided to take our chances and continue through Tehachapi and on into Bakersfield. We gave Brook and Mike a call, and they secured reservations for us at the park they were staying in. We arrived about 2 and a half hours after they did. We are staying at The Orange Grove RV Park. The parking spots are situated in an actual orange grove and you are allowed to pick all the oranges you want while you are staying here!

We had left over lasagna for dinner and exchanged all of our pictures. The guys decided to go home on highway 99 instead of 5 to avoid the storm as much as possible. We plan on leaving early and taking it slow.

Jan 18 - Yuma, AZ

This morning, Rich and I went back to the show to get a different fitting for his flag pole and to get some awning hangers for everyone. Then it was off to Yuma to see the Territorial Prison. We walked around the grounds and watched an informative video on the history of the prison and early Yuma. We then went to The Olive Garden for lunch, then to a gift shop associated with a date farm. We all bought dates and magnets then headed to two more quilt stores! While we were in the store, the guys went to a feed and tack shop to buy shallow aluminum pans for their Dutch ovens, and Albertson's to buy powdered sugar and walnuts so we could make stuffed dates!! We didn't stop for dinner because we wanted to get back to camp before dark. Yuma was about an hour and a half away, but with some slow trucks, our journey lasted a bit longer. Have you ever been in the desert at night? Well, you can't see much and our camp was in the desert, not a campground! Rich has good night vision and Jeanette was pretty sure of the mile marker where we left the highway, so we did fine. Safely back at camp, we built a fire and snacked on leftovers and dates!! It started to rain pretty hard, but that didn't stop us from sitting at the fire until all of Larry's wood scraps from home were ashes! Can you see the umbrellas in the picture of Brook and Mike by the fire?

Jan 15, 16, 17 & 18 - Quartzsite, AZ

The drive from Lake Havasu to Quartzsite was about 80 miles. Along the way we saw a lot more desert, and followed the Colorado River for quite a while. There were some very picturesque spots!

The closer we got to Quartzsite, the more RVs we saw on the road. The several soon became hundreds, and the hundreds soon became thousands!! It was crazy - like ants to a picnic!!

We drove past Quartzsite, the site of the big flea market and RV show, to our campsite on the Bureau Of Land Management property out in the dessert. Before heading out into the desert, we had to stop at the BLM cabin and purchase our camping permits. They give you an orange sticker for your vehicle that allows you to stay anywhere you wish for up to 14 days! Back to carrying our own water and using generators :) After we set up camp, the guys went to the discount tool warehouse and a solar products store, and the girls went to another Quilt store! When we returned, we had a Tri-tip dinner provided by Jeanette and Larry. We built a camp fire and roasted marshmallows!

The next morning we headed into Quartzsite for the big event! We got there about an hour after it opened and there already was almost no parking to be found! The lot was completely full, and the only safe off road places to park were few and far between. There were lots of trucks and cars getting buried to their running boards in the soft sand, so we were very careful. We had a bit of a hike to get to the tents from where we parked! Oh my gosh, there were so many people, we could hardly see the vendors through the crowd.

We all bought lots and lots of goodies that day! Our feet were killing us from all the walking, so we headed back to camp and had a lasagna dinner provided by Rich and Sue.

The next morning, I had a crocheting lesson! It is really harder than it looks! While we were all making our washcloths and socks, the guys went out to get water. Just our luck - the pump was broken!! They had to go into town and buy water! Larry had a 45 gallon water bladder in the back of his truck and Ron had 6 five gallon jugs. It was a very interesting process getting the water out of the various containers and into the RVs. After a quick lunch, Larry and Rich dropped Jeanette, Sue and I back in Quartzsite at the tent, and they went off to buy some flagpoles and whirly gigs! Us girls walked and walked and walked! We were determined to find the tortilla warmers that we knew they had for sale somewhere in the sea of tents and booths that literally stretched for miles! We were just about to give up when we got a call from the guys. They found the tortilla warmers! We met up with them, had something to drink, then headed back to camp. Larry and Rich had fun putting together their flags poles!

Tonight's dinner was oven roasted chicken, provided by Mike and Brook.

Jan 13, 14 - Lake Havasu, AZ

This morning we drove a little over 250 miles to Lake Havasu, AZ. Just as we entered Arizona, we had a great view of the Colorado River! The campground that we are staying in is one where you can purchase the sites and actually build little bungalows next to your RV parking strip. Some of them are very nice, with a bedroom, kitchen, garage and covered outdoor patios!

After getting settled, and taking a much needed shower, we decided to go to a Barbecue place downtown for dinner. When we went back to our cars, the wind had really begun to blow hard. Back at the campground, we all did laundry and caught up on our e-mail.

The next morning we got up and planned for our marathon day in the Lake Havasu area. The girls decided to go to two quilt shops that were listed in Jeanette's "big" book, and the guys went and got their trucks washed. The first quilt shop that we went to was closed because they were away at a quilt show in California! Go figure :( But the second store was open and we all bought something. We met up with the guys at Red Robin for lunch and then walked across the street to the London Bridge! Yes, it is the real deal, purchased from England when they built a new one! The area here is all British, with a Hyde Park and a Windsor Pier! In the hotel at the bridge, they have the only existing replica of the Royal Coach, presented to the city by the Queen! After viewing the coach, we continued on our journey.

The road to Oatman is actually part of the original route 66. We traveled for about an hour on this very rough and isolated dirt road. Then we finally saw signs of life - donkeys!!! Yes, there were donkeys walking all around! We parked the car (I drove) and were accompanied by a very friendly donkey down the one and only street in town. Our tour brochure said to expect the donkeys, so Jeanette brought carrots and Brook brought celery so that we could all feed them. Once word of food traveled through the donkey community, we were visited by even more! They hung around us for a very long time until they realized that we had no more food. Before my "friend" left for greener pastures, he gave me a little nip on the leg! There is a restaurant here that was featured on a TV travel show. Everyone who comes to visit signs a dollar bill, then staples it to the wall. There is money hanging on every wall, ceiling and pillar. There is literally no space that isn't covered! Brook told us that about two years ago she heard that there was over $65,000 in one dollar bills there, imagine how much is there now!

We drove back into Havasu City for an authentic Mexican dinner - Yummy! Tomorrow it's off to Quartzsite!

Jan. 12 - exploring Death Valley

Our day began at the Furnace Creek Museum where we saw a great exhibit on Borax mining in the area, and a huge 3-D topographical map that showed us everywhere in the valley that we wanted to see. After watching a short historical video and some shopping, we set out to explore!

Just a short drive from our campground, we came upon a most curious sight - the Mesquite Sand dunes, 150 foot dunes sitting in the middle of the salt pan surrounded by nothing but rock! What on Earth would have caused all that sand to gather in this one spot and nowhere else? This is not a sandy desert! We walked out on the dunes and looked for signs of life. There were some strange tracks that we identified as being from a kangaroo mouse because of the line made by dragging his tail behind his little paw prints. Then we saw tracks from a snake – or so we thought. These tracks looked like a miniature bike tire had meandered through the sand. Then Jeanette yelled out that she knew what made the tracks, and it wasn’t a snake. We all gathered to see what she had found. There it was! Up close and personal, we saw it in action – a little grey beetle! Not nearly as glorious of a discovery as the snake would have been!

Our second stop was at Stovepipe Wells, a small outpost with a hotel, gift shop and a camping facility. This area got its name from when the miners who first settled here dug wells, and reinforced the walls of their wells with stove pipes! The people here were very resourceful – they had to be! At the gift shop we bought some sweatshirts, t-shirts and of course – ice cream!! From here we set out for Mosaic canyon to do some hiking.

We turned onto a dirt road and traveled 4 ½ miles to the trail head. It was starting to warm up, so we shed our jackets, grabbed water bottles and headed into the canyon. All I can say is that there was a gorgeous view no matter where we looked! The canyon consisted of two main rock formations; a beautiful creamy marble and the “mosaic”, small rocks and pebbles that eroded from the mountains above and cemented into sand and dirt. We climbed over some pretty slippery smooth marble slopes, and, can I say, that we were quite the sight to see! Unfortunately, we were so focused on the awkward task of trying to hang on to our cameras, water bottles and each other that we didn’t get the most hilarious pictures!! I think we had hiked in about a mile or so, when it began to get a little tricky, and we were getting pretty hungry. So we headed back to our trucks and drove back to Stovepipe Wells for a picnic lunch.

Back on the road again we headed to the Wildrose Charcoal Kilns. They were constructed in 1877 by Modock Consolidated Mining Co.. I was very excited about these because I had seen pictures and they looked like giant bee hives in the mountains. I couldn’t wait to actually see them. We drove about an hour, climbing in elevation, and navigating some hairpin switchbacks that revealed some awesome views! There was snow at the top of the mountain, and we were headed right for it! The last 5 miles up the mountain was on a very narrow dirt road. The road dipped and curved like a roller coaster. Ron, who drove the truck that I was in, took great pleasure in taking it as fast as he could! I must say, it was very fun! We arrived at the kilns that were surrounded by small Pine trees (the only trees in all of Death Valley), and snow. We put our jackets back on and took time for some snowball throwing before walking to the kilns. There were 10 giant kilns in a row. Each was big enough for us to walk upright through the door and room enough inside for at least fifty people! They were built of stone and used for making charcoal out of the trees. The charcoal was used by two nearby silver mines located 25 miles away to run their equipment. Each kiln held 42 cords of pine logs, and burnt for about a week, producing 2000 bushels of charcoal! Multiply that by the 10 kilns and you have a whole lot of charcoal! We were starting to get pretty cold up here, so we got into our trucks and took the roller coaster ride back down the mountain J

Our next destination was Augereberry Point. This is an absolutely gorgeous outlook that seems as if you are on the top of the world! At a little over 6000 feet above the valley floor you could see almost all the way across Death Valley. The colors were amazing! We had fun spotting all of the roads and canyons that we had explored. We could even see Furnace Creek!

It was getting late, so we headed back to camp before darkness hit these dusty, narrow roads. Just about a quarter of a mile from camp, we made one more stop at the Furnace Creek Inn. This is an old, famous hotel and restaurant that sits on the side of the mountain, with beautiful sweeping views of the valley. They have a big dining patio that is perfect for viewing some of the most beautiful and brilliant sunsets that I have seen!

We pulled back into camp after clocking over 170 miles for the day.

Jan 11 - Harmony and Scotty's Castle

After breakfast we went to the visitor’s center to get a map and plan our day. We decided to see the old Harmony Borax Works. This was built in 1882 and was operational for only 5 years. Do you remember the 20 mule team Borax commercials? Well this is the real deal! They still have a wagon on display that was used to haul the refined Borax 165 miles across the desert to the railroad town of Mojave. They actually used 20 mules to pull this enormous wagon! There were of course several wagons and the appropriate number of mules to pull them. It took them about 30 days to complete a round trip averaging two miles an hour.

We then drove on a gravel road through the flat part of the Valley floor. We were actually 150 feet below sea level at one point. We gradually increased our elevation by 2000 feet as we made our way to our next destination – Scotty’s Castle.

After about an hour drive, the first thing that came into view among all the rocks was the top of a very tall campanile. It looked so weird and out of place! As we came closer, the entire castle was revealed. It was built in 1922 in the Spanish hacienda style, complete with a very large and ornate swimming pool, balconies, patios, guest rooms and chapel. Our tour guide was a kick in the pants! We really got a feel for the circumstances surrounding the building of this extravagant summer home. It seems the real builder, Mr. Johnson, was a multi millionaire from Chicago who just wanted some peace and quiet and to be left alone. On a visit to Death Valley, Johnson was swindled by a real con artist named Walter Scott (Scotty). Scotty talked Mr. Johnson into investing in his gold mine (a mine that did not exist). This guy Scotty had a real gift for spinning tales and making himself out to be larger than life, but he knew a whole lot of people and hung out in some pretty influential circles. Mr. Johnson, knowing he was duped, couldn't keep from really taking a liking to Scotty. Scotty’s colorful past as a cowboy and working for Buffalo Bill in his Wild West show with the likes of Annie Oakley and Sitting Bull, gave Mr. Johnson a chance to live out his boyhood dreams by befriending such a colorful individual. Scotty went around boasting to everyone about how he was building this castle in the desert, and Mr. Johnson, the real architect, just let the deception continue for his amusement. The friendship worked to both of their advantage and lasted for 25 years! Scotty entertained movie stars, a sitting president of the United States and royalty at “his” castle, while Mr. Johnson, posing as Scotty’s banker, was always in attendance.

On the way back to Furnace Creek, we drove through an area called “The Artists Palette”. The colors of the rock were beautiful! The landscape in the valley seems to change every few miles. From the salt pan to the canyons, then sand dunes to volcanic debris. Truly an adventure around every bend!!

After about 120 miles of exploring, we headed back to our camp for dinner. We had Taco salad provided by Ron and Sue.