Year 3 Week 32

January 21 to 27, 2007

Desert Hot Springs, California

Year 3 week 32

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny, mild, and a bit windy.

This afternoon I was unable to connect to the very poor Tengo Internet signal at Sam's Family Spa Resort, suggesting that Tengo has finally refunded my money and cancelled my service, as I requested / demanded. I drove over to Tamarisk Mobile Home & RV Park to get online. I wasn't able to get connectivity on the Stryker network that I usually use there. Same problem with the Tamarisk RV Wi-Fi signal. I drove around the mobile home park trying to get a stronger signal when I found a new, unsecured Wi-Fi signal. I parked outside the mobile home where the signal seemed to be coming from, and signed on. I sent and retrieved e-mail, updated my blog, and retrieved my Canadian dollar MasterCard statement. A truck drove up and parked across the road from me. The old woman in the truck came over to see why I was parked in front of her mobile home. She was unhappy with me using her WI-Fi satellite signal, and expressed her displeasure at me for being in her gated community, and using her satellite signal. Sorry ... I tucked my tail between my legs and left.

We have been told by other RV'ers that it's quite easy to find private, but unsecured Wi-Fi signals to tap into. I think I'm going to do some experimenting in the future, looking for Wi-Fi signals in and around mobile home and RV parks. I appreciate the old woman's displeasure with me, but ... if you don't want just anybody to use your Wi-Fi satellite signal, for crying out loud, encrypt it to require a security password.

We went to Desert Hot Springs and bought some groceries. Joanne wanted to show me something she saw the other day at Revivals, a second hand store, but it closed for the day just as we arrived. Second hand merchandise in the Palm Springs area is still pretty upscale stuff.

The Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament ended today in Palm Springs. The winner went home with < CHOKE > WHAT ? ! Nine hundred thousand dollars ! ?

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and warm. Palm Springs has returned to being the warmest place in North America, for the next few days.

Today was a day dedicated to shopping. First we drove east on I-10 to Palm Desert, our preferred shopping area on Monterey Avenue. We shopped at Home Depot first, finding none of the three items we went there for. Next was PetsMart where we bought some supplies for Bo, including a new bandanna, to replace his old, frayed, shabby one. We bought him a camouflage material bandanna. HA HA HA ... now he looks just like all the other rednecks from Alabama. We drove down Monterey from Palm Desert all the way to Rancho Mirage, looking for a fast food restaurant Joanne wanted to try, called In & Out Burger, a popular Southern California chain. We didn't find one, so we settled for another chain she wanted to try, a Mexican restaurant called Del Taco. It wasn't great. After lunch at Del Taco we went to Wal-Mart. From Wal-Mart I wanted to go to Lowe's to buy a new barbecue, but Joanne wants to do more comparison shopping. < rolling eyes > Geeeeez ... it's just a barbecue !

We drove back to Desert Hot Springs, where Joanne wanted me to see the second hand shop called Revivals. I bought 2 pairs of pants, brand new and never worn. How do brand new, never worn articles of clothing end up in second hand shops ? ! ? Forty dollar pants for six bucks !

Back at Sam's Family Spa Resort, I drove around slowly, first around the mobile home side of the park, then the RV side, with the laptop on the truck's centre console beside me, searching for a good Wi-Fi signal. It took awhile, but I found one, very close to our site. Probably came from the big, expensive motorhome with a bunch of omnidirectional dome shaped antennae on top. I retrieved my U.S. dollar MasterCard statement.

After supper I printed and reconciled both the Canadian dollar and U.S. dollar MasterCard statements.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and very warm. It was a fine day to do nothing except enjoy the lovely weather.

We slept very late this morning, not getting up until noon. Joanne had difficulty sleeping last night, and was up for much of the night. She never really fell asleep until early this morning, so she needed to sleep late. And I'm still sick with colitis, so my body is happy to stay in bed and rest. And, of course, Teddy and Bo are quite happy to stay in bed as long as we're in bed.

We spent the afternoon in the swimming ( cool ) pool and hot mineral water spas. Mostly in the spas. We chatted with a couple from California, and another couple from Vancouver, B.C.. The California couple are our next door neighbours. Californians, for the most part, don't travel far from home. As worldly as Southern Californians would like to have the rest of the world believe they are, they're actually quite "provincial". Mind you, with a climate like Southern California's, I guess there's not much motivation to wander far and wide.

For supper we went to the park's big Tostada dinner, one of their bigger social events of the winter season. It was great ! We spent the evening sitting around socializing with the couple from Vancouver, B.C. that we met at the hot mineral water spa this afternoon, and the couple from Rochester, N.Y. that we met last week at the dessert party. Like Joanne, the woman from Vancouver is twice a cancer survivor. First she had cervical cancer, then breast cancer a year later, both almost 30 years ago. I'm inspired, and filled with hope, by stories of cancer survivors.

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and very warm, temperature in the mid 70's again.

This morning we drove into Desert Hot Springs to get haircuts. In the mall where we shop for groceries at Stater Bros. is a hairstyling college. Joanne thought it would be a good place to get a cheap haircut. It turned out to be a good place to get a cheap, poor haircut. And I didn't let them cut my beard. I'll do that myself tomorrow. We picked up a couple of submarine sandwich combos at the deli in Stater Bros., using 2 free coupons from our Rose Parade goodie bags. We had lunch back at the trailer, then left for our planned outing to Thousand Palms Canyon.

We drove about 15 minutes east on Dillon Road, to Thousand Palms Canyon, where we were planning to explore / hike in the Fan Palm Oasis. Unfortunately, as at Indian Canyons, dogs are not allowed in Thousand Palms Canyon < sigh >. I wonder why dogs are not allowed to visit the desert canyons and oases, when the entire Palm Springs area seems so "dog friendly". Oh, well, Bo enjoyed the short "drivey" nonetheless.

We returned to Sam's Family Spa Resort, and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around the hot mineral water spas, and lying around on lounge chairs in the sun on the pool deck. As the sun dipped behind Mount San Jacinto, we took Bo to the Palm Springs Dog Park. Bo loves the Palm Springs Dog Park. He romped around both the small dog side, and the big dog side, for about half an hour, until it became dark, and he was tired.

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and hot. I thought I was going to die, hiking 2½ miles across the desert !

This morning Joanne prepared a picnic lunch and we headed off for Coachella Valley Preserve in Thousand Palms Canyon. We parked, and went into the small Visitor Centre at the Fan Palm Oasis called Thousand Palms Oasis. After looking around the Visitor Centre we set off to hike the McCallum Trail a mile and a quarter across the desert, following the San Andreas Fault to another Fan Palm Oasis, called McCallum Grove.

Geeeeez ... I didn't think a mile and a quarter hike, on level ground, was going to be so difficult. The desert ground was soft sand, and our feet sunk in with every step, so it felt like walking through knee deep water. The air temperature was a comfortable 77 degrees, but the intense desert sun made it feel like 100 ! The sun made my hat hot, my clothes hot, and my skin hot ! I should have worn shorts. We made it to McCallum Grove, another Fan Palm Oasis, with a pond fed by a spring bubbling up out of the ground. We sat and rested for a few minutes, then began the hike back.

Whew ... < pant > ... another mile and a quarter, and I had a new found respect for the Mexicans who hike long distances across the desert to sneak into the U.S.A.. For crying out loud, if they survive the crossing, give them a drink of water and a job ! If this is what hiking across the desert in winter temperatures in the 70's is like, I can't imagine the horror of hiking across the desert in summer temperatures of 120 degrees. Back at the trail head, at Thousand Palms Oasis, we slowly ate our picnic lunch, then drove back to Sam's Family Spa Resort.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the swimming pool, mineral water hot spas, and sauna. In the hot spa we chatted with a farmer from Weyburn, Saskatchewan. In the sauna we chatted with a couple from Idyllwild, which is a couple of hours from here, but 6000 feet up in the mountains, with snow on the ground. It's a neat feature of living in this area, that you can go from desert, to ocean beaches, or skiing on snow up in the mountains, all within a couple of hours.

 

Friday ; Today was sunny and very warm.

We did some chores this morning then left for downtown Palm Springs, to have lunch at La Casita, a Mexican restaurant with a buffet lunch on weekdays. Good lunch ! After lunch we went to see a collection of three restored settlers' homes, now serving as little museums, operated by the Palm Springs Historical Society. Interesting, but more Joanne's "thing" than mine. As we were driving out of downtown, I decided to stop at Palm Springs Exotic Car Auctions showroom. If Joanne can drag me to Historical Society museums, I can drag her to see classic and exotic cars. It was interesting. This was one of three exotic / classic car dealers in Palm Springs. My favourite was a 1982 Rolls Royce Silver Spur. Joanne's favourite was a 1962 Thunderbird.

We returned to Sam's Family Spa and spent the rest of the afternoon in the hot mineral water spa, chatting with a couple from San Diego, on their way back home after visiting Quartzsite, Arizona, a bizarre place in January, with half a million RV's camped out in the desert, attending the giant rock and mineral shows, and flea markets.

We gave Bo a bath late in the evening. What a stinky little dog !

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and warm.

My ulcerative colitis flare-up persists. I felt really sick on and off today.

Today was a "chores and maintenance" day. Last night when we gave Bo a bath, he punctured a little hole in the gel coat finish of the shower stall floor with one of his sharp little claws. That's the second time that has happened. The first time it happened I thought it was a fluke occurrence. Now that it's happened again, obviously we'll have to do something to prevent it. I guess we'll buy a rubber bath mat to put in the shower stall for him to stand on when we give him a bath. I mixed up a small batch of fiberglass resin and hardener mix, then drizzled a drop onto each little hole. I hope that works.

I spent much of the afternoon removing and replacing a plumbing vent cap on the roof of the trailer. I bought the necessary materials, and put this project on my “to do some day” list about a year and a half ago. We trimmed Teddy’s and Bo’s claws, and administered flea treatments and heartworm medication. Joanne went to do laundry, and I drove into Desert Hot Springs to buy a birthday card for Joanne.

I bought a lovely looking birthday card that was in Spanish. “A mi Amor en su cumpleañ os”. I could understand that on my own. “To my Love on your birthday”. I asked the young, lovely, obviously Mexican woman at the cash register to translate the verse inside for me. WOW ... it was HOT ! By the time she finished reading the card to me, I was ready to throw her down on the floor behind the cash register and have my way withher. HA HA HA HA HA ! Boy, they don’t make cards like that in English !

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 31

January 14 to 21, 2007

Desert Hot Springs, California

Year 3 week 31

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and cool. North America is still in a continent wide deep freeze. The temperature overnight dipped below freezing. Very rare here.

Today we headed for the El Paseo shopping district of the cities of Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert, for the annual Palm Desert Golf Cart Parade. HA HA HA ... paying homage, no doubt, to the backbone of the City Of Palm Desert's economy. And ... HA HA HA HA HA ... I found this hilarious ... even the Police Department of the City Of Palm Desert has a golf cart. It's painted black and white, like a cruiser, and has a flashing light bar on the top. I wonder where and why they actually use a "police cruiser" golf cart ?

As we parked in a shopping mall near the golf cart parade route, we narrowly avoided a bit of an ugly incident. There was a car behind us, waiting for us to pull into our parking spot. Another car backed out of its parking spot, and backed into the car waiting behind us. By the time we finished parking, and got out of the truck, two old women were screaming at one another. The one that got backed into was even screaming at us as we walked away. Apparently she thought that somehow we had some blame in all of this. We walked a block or so over to El Paseo and watched the very interesting Palm Desert Golf Cart Parade. Just like a regular parade, with marching bands, but instead of floats covered in roses, there were, ... well ... decorated golf carts. HA HA HA. And here in what is apparently the golf cart capital of the world, there are golf carts that are replicas of high end automobiles, and classic automobiles. There are Lincoln and Cadillac and Rolls Royce and 57 Chevy golf carts. HA HA HA HA HA !

EUUUUUWWWWW ! ! ! As I'm typing this, I've just had my first sip of Two Buck Chuck. Now I know why it costs two bucks !

After the parade we sat and watched the free stage entertainment for awhile. It was terrible ! A bunch of cheesy, lounge lizard type acts. The worse one was a winner on the TV show "Star Search" 21 years ago. All participants on the current "Idol" shows should be forced to watch her perform, then told "give it up and get a real job or this will be you in 20 years, performing on the Palm Desert Golf Cart Parade free stage !" After 3 or 4 acts, I couldn't stand the agony any longer, and we went shopping on ElPaseo. We went into a dog bakery & boutique. Joanne feels that Bo is not "keeping up with the Jones" here in the Palm Springs area and needs a better wardrobe. Not in my life time ! We went into Jensen's Fine Foods, another upscale gourmet grocer. There's a few of them in this area. A place like Palm Springs needs more than just your regular everyday Safeway or Albertson's. We weren't really planning to buy anything when we went into Jensen's, but a few items were irresistible. I did, however, resist buying the fifty dollar a pound smoked sturgeon ! YIKES !

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and cool. It's supposed to start warming up a bit within the next few days.

This morning I drove over to Tamarisk Mobile Home & RV Park to get online using the Wi-Fi satellite signal of one of the mobile homes. The Wi-Fi signal here at Sam's Family Spa Resort is still unusable. And my attempts to get my money back from Tengo Internet have apparently fallen on deaf ears ! I sent and retrieved e-mail, updated my blog, and retrieved updated investment data. I chatted briefly with a park resident walking around with his pet macaw, Rascal, on his shoulder.

I finished repairing and reinstalling the roof ladder stand off stanchions. I'm proud of myself. I creatively fixed a problem that seemed unfixable. We drove over to Rancho Mirage for some shopping at Lowe's, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart. On the way back to Desert Hot Springs we stopped at Flying J in Thousand Palms to refill with diesel and propane.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and mild.

I didn't do much of anything today. I've been feeling ill the last few days, due to a flare up of colitis. I guess today I felt a little more ill than the previous few days. I made some phone calls trying to get some information on touring through Mexico by RV. That's our goal for next winter. I set up an appointment for 48,000 km. service for Lanoire with a local Chrysler dealer before we leave the Palm Springs area at the beginning of February. Joanne went shopping for groceries and supplies in Desert Hot Springs. We had a very close call as she was leaving to go shopping. I was crouched underneath the rear of the truck doing preventive maintenance when she began to back out of our site. I wondered why she was starting the engine while I was still working on the truck, but I was certain that she had seen me and knew what I was doing. WRONG !

Our neighbour purchased and assembled a lovely yard swing today. It's what I want for our new lot in Keremeos, B.C.. Sometime in the next few days we're going to go to Lowe's to take a look at the same model of yard swing, and the matching patio table and chairs. The price is good, and Lowe's isn't in Canada, so these products may not be available in Canada. I think it's worth considering purchasing these products at a Lowe's near the Canadian border before we return to Canada in the spring.

For supper, we went to the park's "soup sampler". We had been to a soup sampler once before, about a year ago, at the Escapees park in Alabama where we rescued / adopted Bo a little over 2 years ago. It was great. Everybody prepares and brings a pot of their favourite soup, and everybody samples bowls of different soups until full. Based on my recommendation, Joanne prepared a pot of potato and dill soup. She had some difficulty finding fresh dill over the last few days, but finally found some today at Stater Bros. in Desert Hot Springs. Tonight's soup sampler was as good as the one we had attended previously in Alabama. Although I found out a bit too late that one of the soups that I ate had a lot of pork and peppers in it. Both of those will make my colitis worse than it already is < sigh >.

 

Wednesday ; Happy 8th Birthday to Joanne’s niece Madeleine

Today was sunny and mild. BUT ... it snowed today in Malibu, a northern suburb of Los Angeles, on the Pacific coast, about 150 miles west of here. First snowfall in Malibu in 18 years. Interstate 5 heading north out of Los Angeles is closed. There were massive multi-vehicle pile-ups on I-5 today. Obviously people here don't know how to drive on snow.

I have recently resumed the habit of reading aloud my journal entry from the same date a year ago. As a result, we have just realized ( at 6:00 P.M. ) that today is Joanne's niece Madeleine's 8th birthday. We'd better phone her right now, as it's getting close to her bedtime, a few time zones away.

Right after lunch I went to Blair Station RV and bought a few spare parts for future roof ladder repairs, if necessary. Then we went on a "windmill" tour. Actually, it's incorrect to call them windmills. They're wind turbines. The tour was quite educational. There are about 4000 wind turbines, on 80 wind farms, here in the Coachella Valley / Palm Springs area. The tallest ones are 300 feet tall, the maximum height allowed by the FAA, the Federal Aviation Authority. The biggest ones each generate enough electricity to power about 650 homes. This area is the largest of the three wind energy farming areas in California. After the windmill tour we drove into Desert Hot Springs to find Cabot's Pueblo Museum. Joanne was somewhat interested in seeing it, but after driving by, her interest dissolved. We went to shop at Carniceria Rancho Grande ( translates as Big Ranch Butcher, I guess ), a Mexican grocery store across the street from Stater Bros. in Desert Hot Springs. HA HA HA ... gringos on one side of the street, Mexicans on the other. We bought some Mexican pastries / Pan Dulce ( translates as Soft Bread, I guess ), and some fresh guacamole

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and warm.

This morning I took an empty propane tank over to Blair Station RV to be refilled. We used up this tank very quickly, and it leads me to believe that the last time we filled up this tank, at Flying J in Thousand Palms, it wasn't filled properly. The huge source tank at Flying J was being refilled at the same time as they refilled our little tank. I wonder if filling our tank at the same time as they're filling their huge tank resulted in us getting a tank full of mostly air ?

We spent much of the afternoon at Palm Springs Dog Park, behind Palm Springs City Hall. Bo had a great time, romping on both the little dog side and the big dog side. Good dog, Bo. He's very well behaved at the dog park, with many dogs and people.

Immediately after supper, we went to the clubhouse for the park's "dessert party". Everybody contributes a desert to be shared, and everybody samples different desserts while socializing. It was a neat idea. RV parks are always looking for interesting new excuses to eat and socialize. We had a lengthy chat with an interesting old couple from Rochester, New York, a bit southwest of where we used to live in Ottawa, Ontario.

 

Friday ; Today was cloudy and cool. I was sick.

We had planned to spend the day visiting The Living Desert. Just as we were preparing to leave, we mutually decided that due to the weather being less than perfect, and me feeling quite sick, we were going to postpone our trip to the Living Desert, and go another day. I spent the day in bed, reading and snoozing. I dislike days when I'm sick and accomplish nothing. They leave me feeling poorly emotionally, when I'm already feeling poorly physically. Joanne went shopping in Desert Hot Springs, then she did laundry.

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and warm.

We spent the entire day at The Living Desert. It's a very large piece of property in the Palm Springs suburb of Indian Wells, showcasing the plants and animals of the North American deserts ( Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan ) and the African desert ( Sahara ). Great zoo ! The highlight of the day was seeing giraffes. We also saw camels, zebras, meerkats, and a variety of North American and African wild cats. We saw the native plants of all the deserts. However ... we've actually seen most of the North American desert plants in their natural habitat, so to speak, as we've traveled. We just didn't know the names of them all. HA HA HA !

On the way home we stopped at Lowe's and browsed for garden swings and table top barbecues. We found the garden swing we want, and will have to figure out when and where to buy it. Probably at a Lowe's in Idaho, near Canada, late in April. And we'll probably return to Lowe's here to buy a new barbecue next week.

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 30

January 7 to 13, 2007

Desert Hot Springs, California

Year 3 week 30

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and warm.

I have just returned ( 7:00 P.M. ) from another unsuccessful, hour long attempt to obtain a workable Wi-Fi signal. I'm really frustrated, and I don't know for sure whether the problem is Tengo Internet, or my computer, which has admittedly been operating at less than peak performance recently, since the hard drive crashed. I can't get Wi-Fi to work in the trailer, or sitting in the truck in front of the campground office, or even in the campground office. Tomorrow I'm going to drive to the last RV park we stayed at, Tamarisk, where I know a resident has a private Wi-Fi satellite signal around her mobile home. If I get a good working Wi-Fi signal there, then I'll know that the problem is with Tengo, and I'll be tearing strips off Tengo ! If I can't get a good working Wi-Fi signal there, then the problem must be with my computer.

Today was another lazy, unproductive day. We had booked 2 tickets on a Palm Springs tour this morning, "Homes Of The Rich And Famous". Early this morning the tour company phoned to advise us that the tour had to be cancelled. One of their tour guides phoned in sick. So we blew off the morning lazing around, mostly trying to end a domestic dispute that started last night.

We spent much of the afternoon relaxing in the hot mineral water spas ( this resort has four of them ), and lounging around the swimming pool deck. While in the hot tubs, we chatted with a couple from Montana who have traveled the Baja California peninsula of Mexico by RV, our dream / objective for next winter. We took Bo for an obedience walk around the campground, and chatted with a couple from Victoria, B.C., who have a pristine condition old VW bus. All of the old VW buses in Canada seem to have gone to Vancouver Island, and the B.C. Gulf Islands, and are now serving as the retirement vehicles for old hippies. We also chatted with a woman walking 2 old terriers, who have one good eye between the two of them. HA HA HA ! The 11 year old Cairn Terrier has such severe cataracts in both eyes that he has no vision. And the 11 year old West Highland Terrier is missing one eye.

 

Monday ; Today was a gorgeous, sunny, hot day, temperature in the low 80's. Tomorrow is supposed to be the same.

To take advantage of the great weather, we planned a day trip to Indian Canyons. First we drove into Desert Hot Springs where I shopped at an RV parts and service business for some RV parts I want. Then we stopped at the Desert Hot Springs Post Office to check for our mail at General Delivery. The line up was way too long, so I didn't wait. I knew that only one of the batches of mail I'm expecting would have arrived by now, and I would have to return another time anyway for the other batch.

We drove from Desert Hot Springs to Palm Springs fashionable downtown, then through Palm Springs and out to the south. We found our way to Indian Canyons, then found out at the entrance fee booth that dogs are not allowed. Oh, well, I guess we'll have to return another day without Bo. We began to drive back through Palm Springs when Joanne decided on impulse that we should make a day trip to the Salton Sea. We had a picnic lunch, we were prepared for a day trip outing ... okay, here we go.

Palm Springs is a busy place for the month of January, with lots of celebrities in town. The first half of the month is the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the second half of the month is the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic pro-am golf tournament

We found our way back to Interstate 10, then drove east towards Indio. At Indio we turned south on Hwy. 86S, then onto Hwy. 111 leading around to the east side of the Salton Sea. Joanne had been planning a trip to the Salton Sea on another day, so we didn't have swim suits with us. Joanne was a bit disappointed as she wanted to go swimming in the very saline, and buoyant Salton Sea. The Salton Sea is below sea level, and is more saline than the ocean.

We entered the Salton Sea State Recreation Area, and found our way to the Visitor Centre. We looked around the Visitor Centre before having our picnic lunch. After lunch we walked to the water front and checked out the Salton Sea up close. YUCK ! The wide expanse of beach was comprised of broken and crushed barnacles. The water was filled with a stinky algae bloom. There were small dead fish all over the "beach". Bo was quite eager to either eat or roll on dead fish. No, Bo, I don't think so. And not having our swim suits was not a problem. Swimming in the Salton Sea did not seem all that enticing.

We drove around the small state park campground, then left. We decided to stay on Hwy. 111 all the way back into the east side suburbs of Palm Springs. As we drove along Hwy. 111 we passed orange groves, red pepperfarms, vineyards, spinach farms, and ... and ... AND ... WOO-HOO ... Oasis Date Gardens ! We stopped at Oasis Date Gardens, browsed, sampled ( mmmmm ), and each had a small date shake while we watched a short movie about date farming. Joanne saved a small amount of her date shake for Bo, who was waiting in the truck. Bo loooooves date shakes ! Well, as do we !

Bo has very eclectic tastes, doesn't he ? Dead fish and date shakes. HA HA HA HA HA !

Once back in Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs, I stopped at 3 more RV parts and supply dealers looking for parts. As soon as we arrived back at the trailer, I grabbed the computer and drove over to Tamarisk Mobile Home & RV Park, parked by the mobile home that has a Wi-Fi satellite connection, and signed on. AHA ... not a thing wrong with my computer and Wi-Fi card. Perfect Wi-Fi connection. I sent and retrieved e-mail, and updated my blog. So ... the problem is Tengo Internet. I sent a second request for a refund to them, and strongly suggested that they process the refund before I have an opportunity to meet with their company President here in 3 days !

Uh-oh ... big wildfire in Malibu tonight.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and hot again.

We're trying to take advantage of the great weather by getting out and doing things while the weather stays great. It's forecast to deteriorate a lot in a few days. Today we went to visit Indian Canyons ... without Bo. We drove across Palm Springs to the Agua ( ah whaw ) Caliente ( kal lee yen tee ) Cahuilla ( kaw wee ah ) Reservation where Indian Canyons are. There are three Indian Canyons ; Palm Canyon, Andreas Canyon, and Murray Canyon. We visited two of them. First we drove to Palm Canyon. We had to pass through a narrow canyon where the vertical cliff walls were barely far enough apart to get through with Lanoire. We parked at Palm Canyon and visited the gift shop before hiking down into the canyon for a picnic lunch. At the bottom of the canyon is a small stream, and therefore, an oasis of Fan Palms. Quite spectacular.

We had our picnic lunch, hiked around a bit, then climbed back up out of the canyon. We drove over to Andreas Canyon. Once again, because of Andreas Creek, a California Fan Palm oasis sprouts up out of the barren desert mountain sides. We hiked around the Bent Palm Picnic Area, then hiked part way down the Murray Canyon Trail. The trail became steep, my knee started to hurt, so we decided to turn around and return to the Andreas Canyon parking area.

Back at the parking area we explored an area of bedrock mortars. There are bowl shaped mortars worn into the flat rocks where Indians used to grind food using pestles. We drove out of Indian Canyons, across Palm Springs, and back to our RV park in Desert Hot Springs.

We spent the late afternoon in the cool pool, the mineral hot spas, and the sauna. The 4 mineral water spas are fed by 3 deep wells. One well has water coming up at 105 degrees, one well has water coming up at 127 degrees, and one well has water coming up at 140 degrees. They cool the water before pumping it into the spas. This entire area is on a hot water aquifer. All wells come up hot water. Weird ! As the sun set we took Bo for a walk. We walked around the park with the couple with the two dogs that have one good eye between the two of them < snicker >. We went to the playground and had what we call a "Bo-gility" session, letting Bo slide down the slides, jump in and out of, and run around the top of the big tractor tires, etc..

 

Wednesday ; Today was overcast and mild. It's the beginning of a few days of weather deterioration.

This morning we headed for downtown Palm Springs, to go on a tour of Palm Springs homes of the rich and famous. We parked at the Spa Resort & Casino, walked through the casino, and found the concierge desk at the hotel, where we met out tour guide. The tour lasted an hour and a half, and was in an "open air" jeep tour bus. I was cold ! We drove around "old" Palm Springs and saw the homes previously occupied by Bob Hope ( still occupied by his wife, Dolores ), Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Liberace ( still occupied by his "partner" ), Marilyn Monroe & Joe DiMaggio, Dinah Shore & Burt Reynolds, Elvis Presley's winter home, and homes currently occupied by Cher Bono, Kirk Douglas, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell, George Hamilton, Kenny Rogers, Barry Manilow, film and TV directors and producers, music composers, Mafioso ( known locally as "the Italian boys" ) etc.. We also learned some interesting facts about Palm Springs and area. The Desert Hot Springs area, where we currently "live", has hot water wells because the molten lava earth core, which is usually more than 25 miles below the earth's surface, is less than 5 miles below the earth's surface here in Desert Hot Springs. And today's news reports say that the San Andreas fault running through the Coachella Valley ( again, where we currently "live" ) is so overdue for a major earthquake that's it's being called "ten months pregnant". YIKES ! Joanne wonders if we should leave ? NAHHH ... "the curse of Joanne" never hits until after we've left an area. HA HA HA HA HA !

After the tour we walked to one of the downtown Palm Springs restaurants that the tour guide recommended. We had a great Jewish lunch at Sherman's Deli. Joanne had Matzo Ball Soup and Stuffed Cabbage Roll. I had Sweet & Sour Cabbage Soup and a Chopped Liver Sandwich. Great pickle spears ! After lunch we drove to Rancho Mirage, the "new" Palm Springs, where we drove slowly down the very chic shopping street, El Paseo, checking out the upscale, trendy shops. Joanne thought that the upscale shopping districts of Rome, Italy ( Via Veneto ) and Paris, France ( Rue St. Honoré ) are nicer. What a shopaholic ! We drove back to Desert Hot Springs, picked up our mail at the Post Office, and bought groceries at Stater Bros..

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny, mild, and windy. A good day for doing nothing.

I spent most of the day lying around, reading, and snoozing. I tried, unsuccessfully again, to get a Wi-Fi connection here in the park. When I went to the office to remind the front desk staff that I wanted to meet with Tengo's President, who is here today, I encountered "attitude". HEY ... I'm not looking for a debate ... just get my message to Eric ! ! !

While walking Bo, I chatted with our "next door neighbour" who, until today, had 2 rigs ; a Wanderlodge ( big bucks ! ) and a Prevost ( huge bucks ! ! ! ). Today the Wanderlodge left. He sold it. It was a 1983 model that he bought 4 years ago for $58,000 and sold today for $48,000. He's satisfied. He recently bought the 1994 Prevost for $200,000. It sold new in 1994 for about $750,000. Today a new Prevost is about a million, so again, he's satisfied. Actually, $200,000 for a 12 year old Prevost seems like a pretty good price to me. He made a good point when he said that somebody who can afford a new Prevost can also afford to take very good care of it, so used Prevosts are usually in superb condition.

For supper, we went to the park's "potato bake" supper. I wouldn't have thought you could make a meal out of baked potatoes, but, yes, yes, you can. Heap enough different toppings onto your baked potato, and it becomes a meal. Maybe it's an American thing, I don't know. Most of the occupants of this park are "snow birds" who have been coming back to this same park for over 20 years. That says more about peoples' resistance to change than it does about this park, which is okay, but not much more than that.

I spent the evening working on the 2 batches of December mail I picked up at the Post Office yesterday.

 

Friday ; Today was sunny and cool.

In the batch of mail that I reviewed yesterday were all the renewal documents for our driver's licenses and vehicle registrations and insurance. This morning I phoned René at Village Insurance in Lorette, Manitoba, and arranged to renew and pay for both our driver's licenses and both vehicle registrations and insurance premiums. René always makes it easy for me to deal with Autopac ( Manitoba Public Insurance ) matters by phone. His efficiency is appreciated. Some agencies and some individuals make it very difficult for us full time travelers to get business done. After speaking with René I phoned my sister Sharon to arrange for her to go down to Village Insurance, sign for and pick up our driver's licenses and insurance documents, and mail them to us here in Desert Hot Springs, so that we get them all before Joanne's driver's license expires on her birthday. Sharon and I chatted a bit about weather. Everybody here in Palm Springs / Desert Hot Springs is acting like they are going to freeze to death today. The temperature here was 56 degrees, frigid for this part of the country. In Winnipeg today, the temperature was 38 degrees below zero ! ! ! HA HA HA ! Americans here in the Southwest desert cannot comprehend temperatures that low. Mind you, I have a hard time comprehending this area’s summer temperatures of 120 degrees !

After lunch we drove over to a nearby RV parts dealer and bought a couple of replacement fridge door bins. Two of the three door bins in our fridge cracked during our Newfoundland adventure, thanks to the rough roads. Gee whiz ... one door bin was $20 and the other was $40 ! From there we drove across the highway ( Palm Springs is on the south side of Interstate 10, Desert Hot Springs is on the north side ) to find Trader Joe’s in Cathedral City. We had heard about Trader Joe’s while we were floating around the swimming pool at the RV resort in Hemet, California. Trader Joe’s is a chain of eclectic, upscale specialty grocers. We bought a couple of bottles of Trader Joe’s (in)famous Charles Shaw wine, known commonly as “Two Buck Chuck”. HA HA HA ! How can they commercially produce a wine that sells for 2 dollars a bottle ? ! ? We bought a bottle of Two Buck Chuck Chardonnay, and a bottle of Two Buck Chuck Sauvignon Blanc. They were clearing out some foreign beers. Eight bottles of assorted mystery foreign beers in a reusable shopping bag, for $9. I bought a bag. From Trader Joe’s we found our way to PetsMart in Palm Desert. We needed cat food for Teddy, and Greenies ( a manufactured bone product for cleaning teeth and freshening breath ) for Bo.

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and chilly. It seems as if all of North America is having a cold spell.

We went to the Palm Springs Dog Park this afternoon. It’s behind City Hall, sandwiched between City Hall and Palm Springs International Airport. It’s great. A large fenced park, for dogs to romp and play off leash. And it’s separated into 2 sections. A smaller section, for small dogs, and a larger section, for big dogs. Bo is comfortable in both sections. HA HA HA ... Bo’s a big dog ! He’s very well behaved around other dogs and people. He has excellent social skills with both dogs and people. He enjoyed romping around with the little dogs. He enjoyed romping around with the big dogs. He enjoyed visiting with many people.

My achievement for today was to fabricate a new roof ladder stand off stanchion. I took the broken one, bought some similar parts at a local RV parts dealer, cannibalized them, used the cannibalized parts and the broken part, and managed to fabricate a new one. I wasn't optimistic when I started, but sometimes things work out better than expected. Not often, but sometimes.

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 29

December 31, 2006 to January 6, 2007

Desert Hot Springs, California

Year 3 week 29

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and warm.

We had a lazy day to end the year. This morning I composed some e-mails. My neighbour told me that there was an unsecured access wireless internet ( Wi-Fi ) signal next door in the mobile home park. I drove over there, sat in the truck with the computer, and got online, sending and retrieving e-mails, updating my blog, and retrieving year end investment data.

After lunch I went to buy a Sunday newspaper. I spent the afternoon lying on the bed, reading the newspaper. Most of the front section of the newspaper was taken up with stories about former President Gerald Ford, his funeral here yesterday, the first of three funeral services for him, and his departure from here yesterday morning aboard Air Force One to Washington, D.C., and funeral no. 2. Late in the afternoon we got ourselves ready for our day trip to the Rose Parade in Pasadena tomorrow. We're going to have to leave the trailer at 5:00 A.M. to catch a bus at a shopping mall in Palm Springs at 5:30.

Our next door neighbours are German immigrants. Yesterday she was telling us about her plans to make her home made herring and onion salad today. I told her I would be interested in tasting that. Today she brought over a small bowlful for me to sample. WOW < blinking teary eyes > ... strong !

After supper we went to the pool and hot tub, then went to sleep early because we have to get up in the middle of the night.

Our goals were achieved in 2006, and we had a very good year overall.

 

Monday ; Happy New Year !

Today was sunny and mild, a nice day for the 118th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.

We left our trailer at 5:00 A.M. to meet our bus which left Palm Springs at 5:30. I promptly fell asleep so I don't know exactly what route we took to get to Pasadena. I woke up as the bus left the freeway and entered the city of Pasadena about 7:15 A.M.. It took about another hour to drive the last few blocks to where we parked, at Pasadena City College. There was a lot of traffic congestion. We parked behind Pasadena City College, and our grandstand seats were in front of the college. We had to walk about 3 blocks around the campus to get to our seats.

The parade began to pass by us about 9:00 A.M., and it lasted for 2 hours. It was quite nice, but both of us were a little disappointed. I guess my expectations were a bit too high. I think the last time I would have seen any of the Rose Parade on TV would have been between 35 and 40 years ago. I guess the eyes of a youngster saw things as "bigger and better" than the eyes of an old man did today. Joanne expected the Tournament of Roses Parade to exceed the parades of Mardi Gras that we saw last year in Louisiana. It didn't, in her opinion. The theme of today's Tournament of Roses Parade was "Our Good Nature", as in the natural environment. The Grand Marshall was George Lucas, so there was a sub-theme of Star Wars.

I suppose in any bus load of people, there has to be one moron. When the parade was over, we walked around Pasadena City College, from the grandstands in the front, to the parking lots in the rear, to return to our bus. Not exactly rocket science. When we got on the bus, one man was missing. His wife was there, but he got separated from her when he stopped to use a bathroom, then he got lost. We all sat on the bus for an hour, while his wife, talking to him on his cell phone, and the bus tour guide, tried to find him / guide him back to the bus < big sigh >. Idiot ! I wonder how he made it from Oregon to Palm Springs ? ! ?

While we waited for Mr. Genius from Oregon we saw the Escapees bus, carrying the group of Escapees who participated in the Escapees “Head Out Program” to the Rose Parade. Our friend Julie was in that group, and we saw her as she was heading back to her bus. We chatted with her briefly.

I slept for most of the ride back to Palm Springs. I did notice that the freeway was crawling, bumper to bumper, from Los Angeles all the way out to Palm Springs, a distance of about 100 miles, on the opposite side of the freeway, heading back into Los Angeles. It looks like Los Angeles must be a difficult place to get out of at the beginning of a long weekend, and a tough place to get back into after the long weekend. The bus dropped us off at the shopping mall in Palm Springs at 2:30 P.M. and we were back at our trailer at 3:00 P.M.. Bo and Teddy survived our 10 hour absence uneventfully. The neighbour said there was no barking from Bo, he was quiet. Good dog, Bo.

I napped for awhile, until I was awakened by the neighbour bringing me another batch of her home made herring and onion salad. This one was much better than yesterday’s. Today’s was white coloured, and yesterday’s was red coloured. I think yesterday’s was herrings, onions, and beets. < shuddering and whispering > I threw yesterday’s in the garbage.

I downloaded and processed today’s photos of the Rose Parade. They’re nice, nothing spectacular.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and warm.

This morning we prepared for departure, drove a mile or two down the road, and "set up camp" again at Sam's Family Spa Resort. A lot of work just to move a very short distance. We spent the afternoon hanging around the pool and underground hot springs fed hot tubs. We wandered around the grounds, looking at the small lake, filled with trout, a few koi, ducks, and a couple of swans. There were also a few aviaries, with pigeons, doves, ducks, and peacocks.

While Joanne went grocery shopping in Desert Hot Springs I worked on analyzing our 2006 investments performance. MMMMM ... t'was a very good year ! I spent much of the evening trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to get a decent Wi-Fi signal and internet connection. After wasting a lot of time at the trailer, I drove to the campground office, and sat outside the office attempting to get a better signal and connection. It wasn't much better there. If I don't get a decent Wi-Fi signal by tomorrow morning, I'll be demanding my money back from Tengo Internet, the Wi-Fi service provider in this park. I prepaid for a month's service.

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and very warm, a perfect day for our trip to Joshua Tree National Park.

We drove about 10 miles west on Dillon Road to where it ends at Hwy. 62, right where Guide Dogs Of The Desert is. We turned north on Hwy. 62, also known as Twentynine Palms Highway because it leads to the village of Twentynine Palms. We followed it north, then northeast, then east around the Little San Bernardino Mountains through the village of Yucca Valley, to the village of Joshua Tree. There we turned south onto Park Blvd. leading to the West Entrance Station of Joshua Tree National Park.

We drove southeast, then south through the park and up the mountains to Keys View, a scenic lookout at an elevation of 5185 feet. We chatted with 2 men getting out of the rental car that pulled in next to us as we parked. They were Canadians, one from Halifax, Nova Scotia, one from Kingston, Ontario, attending a conference in Palm Springs. The Keys View looks out over the Coachella Valley, and you can see all the way from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea. We drove back down the mountains and stopped to have our picnic lunch at Cap Rock.

After lunch we drove over to Geology Tour Road. It's an 18 mile dirt track, for four wheel drive vehicles only. Joanne figures ... if you pay to buy four ( or, in our case, six ) wheel drive, you might as well use it when the opportunity presents itself. Obviously, the guy driving the Hummer in front of us didn't feel the same way. He made a u-turn as soon as he saw the pavement was ending. HA HA HA ! Wouldn't want to get that pretty little Hummer dusty now, would we, big fella ? ! ? After driving the challenging and scenic Geology Tour Road, we headed east towards the Teddy Bear Cholla Cactus Gardens. We hiked around the Teddy Bear Cholla Cactus Gardens nature trail. We finished the hike just as the sun disappeared behind the mountains.

We drove southeast, then south on Pinto Basin Road through the Cottonwood Mountains heading for the south entrance of the park. It became dark just as we left the park about 5:00 P.M.. Once out of the park, we headed west on Interstate 10, between 30 and 40 miles back to Palm Springs / Desert Hot Springs. Our day trip was a big clockwise loop that covered about 200 miles.

While Joanne prepared supper, I downloaded and processed today's photos.

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and warm.

We had another lazy day. Joanne did laundry. I dusted the truck. I bought a "California Duster" a month or so ago, and ever since, I have been "dusting" the truck weekly. Out here in the desert, vehicles become coated with a thin layer of very fine desert sand dust. "Dusting" them with these California Dusters is a lot quicker and more effective than a wet washing.

We spent the afternoon hanging around the hot tubs, swimming pool, and sauna.

At 6:00 P.M. we went to this park's pot luck dinner. Hmmm ... rather an odd assortment of people in this park.

 

Friday ; Today was sunny, mild, and severely windy. We have heard people talking about these severe desert winter wind storms, and we have experienced desert winter wind storms, but nothing at all like today.

So ... with the wind howling so hard that the palm trees were bent over, we stayed in bed for most of the morning, reading and snoozing. After lunch Joanne made phone calls using our cell phone to get information on local "day trip" bus excursions, and I went to the office and used the pay phone to pay the MasterCard bills, and obtain some information from the Canadian Government. Joanne was trying to find a local tour company with a day trip bus excursion to a taping of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, but she was unsuccessful in finding one with any tickets available in the month of January. We went to Wal-Mart in Palm Desert and replenished groceries and supplies, then filled up with diesel at Flying J in Thousand Palms on the way home.

After supper I worked on finalizing my 2006 investments analysis, and setting up 2007 investments analysis spreadsheets.

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and warm.

This morning I did a fiberglass repair on the underside of the lower valance of the front bumper of the truck. I cracked it recently when I bumped a large rock in the last campground we were in. Every vehicle I've owned in the last 25 years has had a plastic lower valance under the front bumper. And sooner or later, usually sooner, they will get broken ! I applied a fiberglass mat and epoxy patch over the crack to keep it rigid and prevent it from cracking more.

This afternoon I removed a broken stand off stanchion on the roof ladder on the rear of the trailer. I suspect it will be difficult to find a replacement part. It was such a nice warm afternoon we went for a long walk, then sat outside reading until it got cool as the sun set.

While Joanne prepared supper, I drove to the office and sat in the truck trying to get a decent Wi-Fi connection. It took me over an hour to retrieve and send e-mail, and retrieve 2 bank statements. I'm incredibly annoyed at Tengo Internet, the Wi-Fi service provider in this park. Their service here is horrible. And ... they have ignored the refund request I submitted a few hours after first signing on to their service here on Tuesday. I'm really looking forward to meeting the President of Tengo Internet who is going to be visiting this park next week.

After supper I reconciled December's bank statements. Then we had a "movie date". I recently decided we should begin to watch the movies my sister sent to us over a year ago, for Christmas 2005.

DSK