Home Sweet Home!

We had an easier trip home than we thought we would. Very little rain or wind and lots of blooming things to see. The orchards are full of blossoms, pink and white.
















There are wildflowers blooming along the freeways.







Gary got sleepy, so I suggested a stop in Kingsburg where he could take a nap and I could check out the Scandinavian shop that is jammed full of temptation. We both enjoyed our break.






Now it is unload the RV and get the laundry done before we leave Thursday morning. Trips are fun, but it feels so good to be home.

Heading toward home

We had a great visit with my Mom and sister and brother-in-law in Thousand Palms. Gary and Doug played golf while we women went to the Palm Desert Street Fair at the college. Found a few fun things to buy.


Today we took it easy and meandered out of the Palm Springs area heading toward Bakersfield. The wildflowers have started blooming in the last week. Very pretty seeing all the green fields filled with wildflowers after all the desert dreariness.




Had a scary moment as we drove. As a fellow in an older RV passed us he drifted too close and his mirror hit our mirror. Just before that Gary had been complaining about being sleepy. The crunching sound sure woke him up! The fellow did pull over when he found a wide enough spot and the mirror was just bent back and not broken, so we all drove on, with a readjusted mirror. We sure felt fortunate it was only the mirror that was hit.

We are back in Orange Grove RV Park and this time we are in the back row facing an orange orchard--so beautiful and private looking. Elsie is having trouble relaxing, though. We saw a squirrel when I was walking the dogs after we first arrived--that was way too exciting. Now she is sure she sees some squirrels or bunnies in the field we are facing and she needs to defend us against the invaders that might come rushing out of the field to our rig. Now and then Tule joins her, but mostly it is Elsie on guard and Tule sleeping.








Tomorrow we are on the final leg of our trip--it'll be good to be home, even if only for two days before we head for Britta's.

Goodbye Pahrump, Hello Palm Springs

The view from the door of our RV in Terrible's Lakeside in Pahrump was really lovely. You can see the lake here as I stood on our steps. Usually you saw it full of ducks, too, but I was too early this morning when I took this shot. I think the ducks were still asleep.


Some travellers with a sense of humor had this "dog" on a leash outside their RV, next to a water dish. Very cute. We met a couple who traveled with a lab that made ours look small plus the biggest Great Dane I have even seen. When they told us the dogs sleep downstairs I guess I looked confused because they then explained they have a 5th wheeler and consider the bed the upstairs. I am still learning the RV lingo.














Our route took us through Barstow. Gary had seen several signs for a 50's cafe so he decided we had to stop there for lunch. We thoroughly enjoyed our stop at Peggy Sue's Diner. It was so cute! Lots to see, even an original 50's section that looked a lot like the restaurant my folks had when I was little. It was a real stroll down memory lane. Good food, too.









Now we are in the RV at Cathedral City (near Palm Springs) after a fun family dinner with my Mom, my sister and brother-in-law. Tomorrow will bring golf for Gary and a trip to the street fair for Mom, Carol and me.

Death Valley

This trip has been so much fun!

Check out the tow car used by some of our new friends. It is a Smart Car. Gets 40 MPG in town, weighs 1700 lbs, only cost $17,000 brand new. Cute as can be and the really surprising thing is that Gary fits in it! I couldn't believe my eyes! And there is an amazing amount of storage room in the back. Very cute, economical little car.

















Today we drove to Death Valley. More yucky scenery, but the geology was fantastic. Caves, lots of tilted mountains, borax flats--lots to see.








We enjoyed touring the two museums at Furnace Creek.












Tonight was our last dinner as a group and there was entertainment. My goodness, what great entertainment!
It was a tap dancing group of local ladies all over 50. In fact, only one was in her 50's. Several were in their 60's but the majority were in their 70's. One lady was 83! Check out these photos of them performing for us. The fellow who sang while they did costume changes had a wonderful voice. The whole evening was great--the whole week was great!

Las Vegas

Today we hit the road in the car to see Las Vegas. The last time we were there was over 30 years ago, so we saw lots of changes. And now that we've seen it we've had enough. The only money we spent was for lunch. The geology on the route there was fascinating. Still would not say it is pretty, but very interesting--lots of caves.

We made it back just in time for dinner. We have met so many fun people at this rally. A few of us spent the evening playing "Pass the Trash" and laughing a lot.

Short blog tonight--tomorrow I'll take more photos and share some interesting details.

Brrrrrr!

I guess the brothel tour was quite interesting. They have a printed menu of what services they will provide. Everyone who went felt they got a real education. None of them could believe they really were in a brothel. Lots of giggling going on among them at dinner.


Instead of the brothel, we toured beautiful downtown Pahrump. This billboard is at one of the busiest intersections in town. It appears that the main businesses in town are fireworks and brothels.




There are several plastic life-size horses set around this park. The dogs are convinced they are real and love going up to sniff them. Tule got brave enough to jump in their faces. Elsie keeps wondering why they don’t bend down to sniff noses like the horse at 
Grandma’s does. She stares and stares at their faces.











Gary thought it would be funny to take the dogs right up to the many very tame ducks that
populate this park. Tule darn near dragged him right into the water. I wish I’d been quicker with the camera. He was right at the edge and Tule was almost in the water--would have been if he’d allowed it. Took all the strength and balance he had to rein her in and keep himself out of the water. This photo was taken just before Tule lunged at the ducks.










After all the walking in the very cold weather, the dogs vied for front position by the little heater as we all took naps.













We brought our Mexican Train set to dinner and several of us played the evening away. Also learned a new card game called “Screw Your Neighbor” (alternate name for playing with children is “Pass the Trash”. It was fun! Tomorrow will bring another game challenge for the evening.

Blowin' in the Wind

Another windy day after we got thru Barstow. Plenty of rain, too. Snow in the Tehachapis. The high desert is interesting, but we sure don't see beautiful when we look at the scenery. This area is really ugly.





Elsie seems to not be able to grow a winter coat, so I knitted her a sweater. She was happy to wear it as we drove today thru nasty weather. I love the rain, but I can do without so much wind.







We arrived at Terrible's RV Resort about 3 p.m. Got to the first meeting of the Rally at 4:30--met some great people. They told us about the tours offered. We passed on the tour of the brothel! Really--they are doing a brothel tour! I think Gary would have liked it, but I showed distinct displeasure. We'll do the Death Valley tour instead. Gary insisted on that one. This is quite a group. It'll be a fun few days.

Rolling Along With the Tumbling Tumbleweeds

We seem to chose lousy weather for traveling lately. The wind today was something else. Gary figures we used about 30% more gas today than it would usually cost. If we'd had a tailwind would we have saved 30%? Saw lots of tumbleweeds, even drove over one when there was no way to move around it. No damage, thank goodness.


Had a great lunch at Harris Ranch with Dennis and Jenny. They are heading the same direction we are, so we made arrangements to meet there for a nice break (if a bit windy). Had a huge yummy lunch, so dinner will be very light tonight.







We are staying in Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield tonight. This is the end of the harvest, so Gary picked the oranges that nobody else was able to reach and will enjoy them the rest of the trip. At this RV park which was created in an orange grove by cutting down every other tree, anyone who stays here is encouraged to enjoy the oranges. They smell heavenly.

Tomorrow we are on our way to beautiful downtown Pahrump!