On The Move Again
As my sister reminded me, I’ve been neglecting this
blog. So it’s time to catch up on the last
month or so.
We started in Tucson at Catalina State Park; a wonderful
place nestled in a valley on the north end of town. The sites were big and level, the scenery
lovely, the sunsets spectacular, and a shopping center right across the
road. It was the week before Christmas
after all. The Navigator got a new
Windows 10 computer. She hates it. Some attitude adjustment may be necessary on
the machine’s or the Navigator’s part.
We’ll see.
 |
| Scenery at Catalina State Park |
After three nights in the wilderness across from the mall we
moved to our favorite little urban RV park on the west side of Tucson. It was as likeable as we remembered and
convenient for seeing our friends who were nice enough to include us in their
holiday plans. We had a great Christmas
dinner with Theresa, Lori and Theresa’s mom.
We got into the Santa spirit by shopping for the kids in the family the
RV park adopted for the holiday. Amazon
delivered my Christmas present – new slippers.
 |
| Merry Christmas Katie. See the greyhound? |
Then we got company!
Our friend Kathy and her little dog Plato came from Santa Rosa to stay
in a nearby hotel and join us for New Years and other fun stuff. We rode the light rail, went to the Sonora
Desert Museum, visited the mission San Xavier Del Bac, ate and drank. She left and a couple of days later our friend
Dawn came, rented an RV in Tucson and joined us at Sentinel Peak. We ate, drank, visited the Sonora Desert
Museum, visited the mission San Xavier Del Bac and rode the light rail. Guess what we’ll do if you visit us in
Tucson?
 |
| Raptor show at the Desert Museum |
 |
| San Xavier del Bac |
We moved with Dawn and her RV back to Catalina State Park
for one night where she took moonlight horse ride into the hills and then got
her on her way back to Kenosha as we planned out next stops.
 |
| Dawn's ride in the Catalina Mountains |
Southern California was the destination. Family awaited us, possibly not with bated
breath. The first night’s stop was
Tacna, AZ, a bare bump in the road but home to a very good Basque
restaurant. The finest Basque food I’ve
had. Yes, the only Basque food, but
still good.
Then on to Borrego Springs,
CA for a few days to visit Anzo Borrego State Park. The town of Borrego Springs is not only home
to the park, but is also famous for a variety of metal sculptures scattered
around town. The work of one man since
2009, they were sponsored by a local resident and most reside on his estate but
are open to the public and you can drive or walk up to them. Spectacular.
The park is pretty special also.
600,000 acres of desert and interesting geology. We did suffer somewhat due to there being no
cell service and NO wifi! Incommunicado
for 3 days. We could have died!
Getting from Borrego Springs to our next stop, San Clemente,
CA was going to be routing challenge. On
the map the shortest route was very squiggly and led through Julian, CA. We decided to try in the car first and took
ride to the charming, historic town of Julian.
Yes, too squiggly for the RV but the apple pie was lovely. So the next day we skirted around the
squiggly for an extra 60 miles but got ourselves to a beachside state park in
San Clemente, CA. No, we didn't visit the Nixon Library. The park was very nice
and close for visiting friends and family.
It was also very wet. Record
rains and flash floods rolled in and out over the 3 days. The Navigator has taken to calling us the
“Drought Busters”.
After San Clemente we drove and settled here in Indio, CA,
near Palm Springs. The timing worked out
pretty well when my iPhone stopped charging and there was an Apple store
nearby. Sometimes you just need to camp in the high-rent district. Also nearby is Joshua Tree National Park,
another spectacular entry in our National Park portfolio. We spent the day there hiking and touring.
 |
| Hidden Valley in Joshua Tree National Park |
Now you’re up to date.
I hate to say “stay tuned” since I don’t know when I’ll be back, but
check in occasionally just in case.
