On The Move Again

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.