March 25, 2005

March 25, 2005

Imperial to Aguanga, California

DAY 280

 

Today was sunny and warm, although this evening is quite cool, because we're up in the mountains again.

We took our time getting ready to depart this morning. We didn't want to get caught up in the Escapade departure traffic jam. Most Escapees seem to be early morning people, and favour being on the road early. On the way to the shower building this morning, I bumped into Lee and Marsha Squires, who were WorkCampers at C.A.R.E. at the same time as we were. Lee had the hood of their truck up, and the two of them were standing beside the truck looking worried and annoyed. They were having truck troubles. And it's Good Friday today, so it's unlikely they'll be able to get repair service today. I can certainly sympathize with that kind of problem. We spent the Labour Day weekend dry camped at the back of the GM dealer in South Beloit, Illinois, from Friday evening until Tuesday morning, waiting for the service department to open. After showering and returning to the trailer, Joanne, Bo, and I walked over to the media building for one last Wi-Fi session, then went looking for Marsha and Lee to see if there was any assistance we could offer them.

We prepared to leave, hitched up, and departed about 10:30. We headed north on Hwy. 86 . We were planning to turn west when we got to Hwy. 78, but a couple of factors caused us to miss our turn. First of all, there was ( another ! ) Border Patrol checkpoint, almost right at the intersection of Hwy. 86 and Hwy. 78. We were concentrating on manouevering the rig through the checkpoint. As we passed through the checkpoint, there was a motorhome parked on the side of the road, blocking the signage for the turn to Hwy. 78. Drivers of big rigs should have enough common sense to know better than to block road signs ! ! ! Sure enough, a few hundred feet later, we zoomed right on by the turn to Hwy. 78 ! Hwy. 78 would have taken us around the Vallecito Mountains. We drove another 13 miles north, then turned west onto Hwy. S-22. I think the "S" stands for "secondary road". Hwy. S-22 took us over the Vallecito Mountains. The down side to this was a very steep, winding road. The up side was astounding views. Dee-Dee performed better than I anticipated pulling Harvey a long way up a very steep winding mountain pass road. We climbed from slightly below sea level to something like 5000 or6000 feet ASL in 11 miles. When we left Imperial, we were at an elevation of 58 feet below sea level. When we turned off Hwy. 86 at the western edge of the Salton Sea, we were 235 feet below sea level. The Salton Sea, an inland large lake, has a higher salinity level than the ocean.

When we passed over the top of the Vallecito Mountains, and started to come back down the other side, two things were noticeable. First, while were still about 180 miles southeast of Los Angeles, the mountains on the horizon were hazy with smog. Second, the land became fertile again. Even though we were still in "high desert", we started to see irrigated produce farms, and even some vineyards. At Hwy. 79 we turned north again, to Aguanga, where we stopped for the night at Jojoba Hills SKP Co-op Park. This is the most upscale of the Escapee Parks, and that's certainly reflected in both their daily rates for travellers like us, and their "buy in" fees for their co-op members / residents. It's elaborately landscaped, with waterfalls and ponds. Their swimming pool is huge. There is a large hot tub beside the pool. The shower buildings have saunas in them. Once again ... welcome to Southern California ! But, despite its opulence, this park doesn't have the same kind of friendly, "welcome to the family" feel to it like North Ranch in Lakewood, New Mexico, or Lone Star Corral in Hondo, Texas.

When we got here, we dumped the holding tanks, refilled the water tank, and had a very late lunch. I napped with Bo, while Joanne went to shower. After a short nap, I walked around a bit, taking pictures of wild flowers in bloom. Then I took Bo for some obedience work, while Joanne started laundry. We discussed our travel plans for the next few days, then went for a walk around the park, mostly to see the main club house and adjacent recreational facilities. WOW ... steep hills ! Back to the trailer, then while Joanne prepared supper, I did some bill paying.

DSK