PHOENIX, AZ, LOS ANGELES, CA, AND JOSHUA TREE

Jan 15th thru the 24th

After lunch on Thursday the 15th Ron and I went to Karl’s and helped install the Scan Gauge in Karl's Lazy Daze. We had to reset the parameters as the ones that came with the Scan Gauge were wrong for the newer Fords.  On the way over from San Antonio I noticed that the breaking system in the toad (towed car)was not working properly. So when we were done there, Ron and I tried to figure out what was wrong with the US Gear braking system in the car. We finally found that it was a bad controller. Being as Ron had a complete US Gear system that he removed from the Lazy Daze that they sold, we put in his controller until my new one comes in. We should have brakes on the toad when we drive to California on Sunday.

Three sunset pictures Sandy took at Cave Creek over the past few days.







The next day, Friday, We Got Mail!

Sunday morning got an early start and headed to San Dimas, CA (north east LA area). On our drive over we stopped in Quartzsite, AZ for an hour and visited with Chuck and Lorraine. Sorry, we didn’t get a picture of Chuck and Lorraine, sometime the old brain just doesn’t work. We pulled into the East Shore RV Park about mid afternoon and got settled into site 171.



There is a small airport below the hill and this particular float plane was doing “touch and goes”.



The first and last day here were the only days we saw the hills to the north of us from our site. The LA smog had settled in.





After getting up at 5:00 we headed to Bank’s Power where we had a 7:00 appointment to have their “Billet Torque Converter” installed. Supposedly this will help lower the transmission temperature. It was an all-day procedure.

We asked about a good place for breakfast and they said Flappy Jack’s was pretty good and they were right. There were way too many options and way too much good food. They are located in Glendora along old “Route 66”. It is worth the stop.
They had some murals painted on the walls showing “Route 66”.





Sandy with their 6 page breakfast menu.



Breakfast served – and we opted for the “smaller” breakfast selection.



Sandy getting that last drop of caffeine for the road.



We could not figure out why it was so busy on a Monday morning, but later figured it out. It was MLK day and school was out, although I bet it’s pretty busy all the time.



After we returned to the RV park we decided to go out for supper and found an Olive Garden close by. They always have good food and serve enough that we  returned home with leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.

Our appointment with Larry Wade was for 9:00 AM and according to the GPS it was 58 miles to the other side of LA and should have taken 1 hour 5 minutes. Knowing it was rush hour we left at 7:05 and we didn’t get there until 9:20 --- 2 hours and 15 minutes. Larry installed a 4 stage controller/charger and an in-house surge protector. It took longer to get there and back then for Larry to do the installation.

Early this morning, Thursday the 22nd, (before the chickens were up) we received an e-mail from our Minnesota friends, Vern and Ruthie, that they were in Indio for a few days and wondered if we were still in California. Even though we had a reservation for tonight in Quartzsite we had talked about stopping in Joshua Tree National Park for a few days. Well that e-mail settled it, we would see if we could find a site in Joshua. Being that the 2 campgrounds we liked were first come first served we headed out a little earlier then we had planned to better our odds of getting a site. Our first choice was Belle campground and it had several sites so we picked site #1 and got settled in. Once we got settled in we cancelled our Quartzsite reservations.





Then it was off to see Vern and Ruthie.

 

We were really surprised when we found out where they were staying. We had to go through 3 gates to get to where they are staying. Vern is helping to train 4 yearling colts using the Clint Bailey method. This gets the horses to respond to training commands without voice commands or extreme gestures---just slight subtle movements of the body. After they showed us around and we met the owner, Steve, we headed to an Italian restaurant called Mario’s. The food was exceptionally good. Vern and Ruthie led the way to Mario’s.





There was one mare that was supposed to have had her colt the day before and she looked like it. After Vern and Ruthie got back from supper she popped out this little colt. Wish we had been there to see it.





Vern and Ruthie, it was nice seeing you again and we will get together again in Cave Creek when you get back there.



Today, Saturday the 25th,  was real windy with winds from 20 to 40 mph. They even predicted 70 mph gust in the area. We went into Palm Springs and Indo to pick up some Dates at Shields Date Garden. On the way home we stopped at the Cholla Cactus Gardens in Joshua Tree NP. Yes, this is a desert, but it has been so dry even the cactus look dried up.





Then we stopped at the White Tank Campground which is about a mile and a half south of our campground to see what the sites were like. They say they can only accommodate 25 foot or less but we know from experience that they can usually handle bigger than what they say. But, in this case I think they were stretching it at 25 feet so we won’t be staying there ---- but there were some nice rock formations in the campground. Our imagination went wild; we can see a Porpoise on the left, a Killer Whale in the middle and an Owl looking at us on the right. It’s almost as fun as laying on your back and seeing what the clouds will present as they pass over head.



On our last day, Sunday the 25th, we drove around the park. Our first stop was at the Split Rock picnic area.



This rock outcropping looked interesting showing the quartz line running through the rocks.



Then it was onto the Queen Valley Road, which is a dirt back road into Barker Dam.



At Barker Dam we hiked the Barker Dam trail where we came up on 4 Bighorn Sheep, 2 males and 2 females. The ram to the right seemed to be the dominate male as he kept his head higher and was always watchful.







The Barker Dam was built around 1900 to hold water for cattle and mining use. Back then the area received around 10 inches of rain annually compared of today’s 3-4 inches.







From Barker Dam we drove up a mountain to Keys View that overlooks the Coachella Valley were Palm Springs and the San Andreas Fault lie. Along this road lies the densest growth of Joshua trees in the park. Keys View is at 5185 foot elevation and Coachella is about zero feet in elevation.

A view from the top.



The dark line just to the foreground of the light color is the San Andreas Fault.



I just finished reading the 19^th and 20th book in the Doc Ford series by Randy Wayne White. Here are a few of the authors I have been reading over the last several years; The late Vince Flynn (we will sure miss his writings), John Sandford, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Nevada Barr, William Kent Krueger, Thomas Perry, Brad Thor, C. J. Box, Brian Haig, Robert Crais, Andrew Peterson, Richard Scott and Trevor Scott. I like the action/mystery so if you have some favorite authors please let me know. I’m always looking for more to read.

Until next time,

Dave and Sandy

TUCSON AND PHOENIX, AZ

Jan 6th thru the 14th

We left San Antonio on Tuesday the 6th of January with plans of stopping in the Davis Mountains, but they are predicting fog and freezing rain for tomorrow so we decided to push on a little further west to Van Horn, TX where we stopped for the night. We drove on Texas state road 90 from San Antonio and stopped for gas in Alpine. While Sandy was waiting inside to pay, the guy mentioned that after the ice storm the previous week, all the stations ran out of gas and it was 3 days before the delivery trucks could get into town.  Along the way we crossed the Pecos River.





The Pecos River looking north.



The Pecos river looking south.



After leaving Van Horn we headed to Tucson, AZ with stiff tailwinds most of the way.
Some of the mountains in southwestern New Mexico along I-10.



We are finally in Arizona.



It was raining in Tucson on Thursday so we decided to go to the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley as most of the museum is inside. The Titan missiles were in place from 1963 to 1987 as a deterrent from a nuclear attack during the “Cold War”. There were three compounds of the missiles, 18 silo’s around the Tucson, AZ, area, 18 silo’s around  Wichita, KS and 18 silo’s around Little Rock, AR. The Titan II was capable of launching from its underground silo in 58 seconds and could deliver a nine megaton thermonuclear warhead to its target more than 6300 miles (10,000 km) away in less than thirty minutes. One of the alarming features of the missile was that once the missile was launched it could not be aborted. The Titan Missile Museum is the only remaining Titan II site open to the public, allowing you to relive a time when the threat of nuclear war between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union was a reality.





Our tour guide, Tom, is explaining the underground control room.





Layout of the missile silo and control room with connecting tunnel.



On the way back we took some back roads and came upon this sign. Too bad signs have to be put up that probably do no good. The sign was almost destroyed from “target practice”.



On Friday we were meeting Tom and Jackie for supper so we left earlier to drive around the area. We drove through downtown Tucson and ended going over Gates Pass…







and driving by the Gilbert Ray Campground, Old Tucson Studios and the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum before meeting Tom and Jackie at Daisy Mae’s Steakhouse.







What’s that shinny spot on the back of my head? They have a tradition of guests signing and doodling on dollar bills, then stapling them on the wall, tables, ceiling and anywhere you can find room.



This is a very casual roadhouse serving steaks, pork chops, chicken and ribs. Everything we had was delicious.

Saturday morning we did laundry at the campground so it was 11:00 before we got started for Cave Creek (North Phoenix). Again we had a stiff tail wind, which is much better than cross or head winds, and it sure helped the gas mileage. After we got settled in we went over to our friends Ron and Jane’s for a visit and supper.

Sunday the 11th was a busy day for us. Steve and Sandy, friends we met through RVing, and Ruby in Sandy’s lap and Yoda in Steve’s came over mid- morning so we could visit and catch up on what has happened in our lives since we last saw them 2 years ago. At lunch time we went to Harold’s and from the looks of the parking lot we might not get in for a while. But once inside it was only half full. Every person in there must have driven my themselves. The Packers/Cowboys football game was the big attraction at the time.



Later in the afternoon we met at Deb and Karl’s home for supper. It was a great time to visit with everyone again.

Deb, Paula, me, Karl, Jane, Ron and Dan. Ah, Sandy must be taking the picture.



The weirdest  thing happened as we were driving over to Deb and Karl’s. We came up behind a red trike driving on the highway and Sandy said  “I wonder if that is Vern and Ruthie” and to their and our surprise, it was. We knew they were in the Phoenix area (Glendale) and we have plans to get together but they were about 20 miles from the home base. What are the odds of meeting up with fellow Minnesotans' on a highway in Arizona? We did not have time to stop and visit but did e-mail each other on the amazing coincidence. We will get together with them when we get back from California in a couple weeks.

Jane is leaving for a month in the Tetons to play in the snow. She went last year with some friends and just loved the cross-country skiing so much she is going for a month this year. She says she is also going to try snowshoeing this year. Have fun Jane and we will see you in a month or so.

 

Until then,

Dave and Sandy