April 22 to 28, 2012 ; Laughlin, Nevada to Keremeos, BC

Sunday ; Laughlin to Cathedral Gorge State Park via Las Vegas, Nevada

108 degrees today in Laughlin ! Fortunately we left before it got quite that hot ! When we left at 10:30 AM it was only 95 degrees. A couple of hours later as we drove across Las Vegas it was 101 degrees.

This morning we departed Riverside Casino Resort & RV Park and headed west out of Laughlin on Hwy. 163, then north on Hwy. 95 to Henderson, a southern suburb of Las Vegas. We stopped at Camping World to look at an item I want to buy at Camping World in Oregon ( no sales tax ) on our way back south next November. We looked at that item, made a decision, then ... spent over a hundred dollars on a few impulse items.

We drove through Las Vegas on Boulder Highway, Interstate 515, and Interstate 15. Pretty heavy traffic for a Sunday afternoon ! Once out of Las Vegas on the north side we headed north on Hwy. 93. It was a looooong afternoon of scruffy high desert. Joanne drove for an hour while I snoozed. We stopped at Caliente to change drivers and refill with diesel. Late in the afternoon we arrived at Cathedral Gorge State Park.

After getting set up in a campsite we chatted with our next door neighbours ( from Washington state ) while I chopped some firewood and lit a campfire. Joanne packaged thin steak, onions and potatoes in foil which I cooked to perfection over the open fire. Well done, Daniel ! After supper we sat around the campfire for awhile until we started to feel pretty chilly. In this part of Nevada's high desert there is a fifty degree spread between day time temperatures and night time temperatures.

Monday ; Cathedral Gorge State Park to Wells, Nevada

Today was a very long, very tiring, somewhat boring day of driving north on Hwy. 93 across the seemingly endless scruffy high desert of Eastern Nevada.

This morning we prepared for departure, I chopped a bit of firewood to use on Friday, our last night in the United States this season, and we went hiking to explore the Cathedral Gorge "caves". They're not really caves. They're actually slot canyons, albeit extremely narrow, tall ones. We hiked over from the campground, and spent about an hour finding and exploring three "caves". One of them ended in a "bat cave". When we reached the end of the slot canyon we were in a circular space about five feet across. The ground was covered with bat guano. The tall, vertical walls of the canyon had many bat holes. As in all the Cathedral Gorge "caves" / slot canyons, hundreds of feet above us the sky was visible. An interesting feature of these "caves" is that as you enter them the temperature drops dramatically

We left Cathedral Gorge around noon. At Ely we stopped to buy some groceries, refill with diesel, empty the shower waste holding tank, and refill the freshwater holding tank. We stopped for the night at the Flying J in Wells.

Tuesday ; Wells, Nevada to Twin Falls, Idaho

This morning as we were preparing to depart the Flying J parking lot in Wells, Nevada,
I discovered ... < sigh > ... a flat tire on the trailer. Oh, well ... it's much more "civilized" to have to change a tire in a Flying J parking lot on a warm, sunny morning than on a cold, rainy evening on the side of the road at dusk. Been there, done that ! After changing the tire we continued heading north on Hwy. 93. Our plan was to spend most of the day getting caught up on some chores at a casino RV park in Jackpot, Nevada, and eat supper at their stupendous buffet restaurant. But the flat tire altered our plans.

When we arrived in Jackpot, Nevada, just a few miles south of the Idaho border, we went searching for a tire repair shop. Jackpot is a small town with not much of anything except a bunch of casinos. And one Chevron station. First interesting thing we found in Jackpot was an abandoned RV park ... where we used their trailer dump station to dump our kitchen and shower waste holding tanks. We went over to the Chevron station to ask if they could repair the trailer's flat tire. They could. And ... they had an easy to access water spigot so ... we also refilled the freshwater holding tank. Well ... with empty grey tanks and full fresh water ... maybe we shouldn't spend twenty bucks on a serviced site tonight ?

Plan A had been to spend the night at Cactus Pete's Casino's RV park and eat dinner in Cactus Pete's Casino's buffet restaurant. Plan B now was ... leave the tire to be repaired at the Chevron station and go to Cactus Pete's Casino's buffet restaurant for lunch, then continue driving north. We drove across the highway, from the Chevron station to Cactus Pete's Casino, parked and went in for lunch. HMPH ! The buffet restaurant is only open for dinner. Plan C ; we ate lunch in the trailer, picked up the repaired tire, and hit the road again.

During the hour or so that we were in Jackpot, ugly clouds were forming to the west. As we drove north on Hwy. 93 towards Twin Falls, Idaho, the ugly clouds got uglier, and the radio station was broadcasting weather warnings. Very heavy rains, hail, very heavy winds. In Twin Falls we stopped at a PetsMart for some dog food. HMPH ! They did not carry Bo's food. We decided to head for the Flying J on the north side of Twin Falls, hoping to reach there before the storm. It looked like it was going to be a close race. As we approached the Flying J the horrendously ugly clouds were almost overhead, the wind was becoming strong, and ... a few drops of rain fell ! We found a place to park for the night, then ... watched the ugly clouds pass right on by !

While Joanne prepared supper I went inside the Flying J to work on the computer, plugged into Flying J's electricity in the driver's lounge. My laptop's battery has been malfunctioning. I think it's on its last leg.

Wednesday ; Twin Falls to Boise, Idaho

This morning before leaving Flying J we refilled with diesel, then headed northwest on Interstate 84. Our plan was to do some shopping at Camping World in Boise before heading for a state park for the night. Joanne had seen an ad for an RV furniture manufacturer / retailer in Boise that she wanted to go to. I expected yet another exercise in futility in the endless quest for new dinette chairs, dinette table, and sofa.

HALLELUJAH ! This "Mom & Pop ... & Son" RV furniture manufacturer makes dinette tables and chairs that are exactly what we want. We reached an agreement with Pop & Son. They will send us some blue fabric samples by mail, we will select the material we want on our dinette chairs, they will manufacture a dinette table and four chairs for us, and we will pick them up as we head south the first week of November. In addition to the furniture that they manufacture, they also carry some upscale RV furniture made by other manufacturers. We found a sofa that we want. When we make our fabric selection for the dinette chairs, we will also make a fabric selection for the sofa that we want, and they will order it for us. It will be waiting for us the first week of November. < breathing sigh of relief > Finally ... our RV furniture shopping is over !

Obviously, we spent much more time at the furniture manufacturer than we had expected. From there we drove to Camping World where we once again spent a lot buying a lot. By the time we were finished shopping at Camping World I thought it would be a great idea to spend the night at Camping World. They have some electrically serviced RV parking sites for their customers. AND ... Wi-Fi in their customer lounge. We parked in one of the sites, I installed a product I had just purchased ... to be sure about it before we drive away tomorrow morning ... then went back inside the store to get some online work done on Wi-Fi in the customer lounge.

When I returned to the trailer for supper, I realized ... HEY ... we're in a big city. With electricity. Maybe I can get TV reception "over the air" using the trailer's roof top antenna. WEDNESDAY ... CBS ... SURVIVOR ! I put up the antenna, turned on the TV and ... saw the last few seconds of Survivor. OH, NO ! ! ! We were an hour late ! Because yesterday we entered a new time zone, and I decided that since we were only going to be in the Mountain Time Zone for two days I wasn't going to reset all our watches and clocks. AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH ! ! ! !

Thursday ; Boise, Idaho to Pendleton, Oregon

BRRRRR ... it's still winter in Eastern Oregon ! This morning as we were leaving Camping World in Boise, Idaho, it was cold and raining. This afternoon just before we reached Pendleton, Oregon, we were driving over the Blue Mountain Summit through sleet with a temperature of 34 degrees ! It's amazing how a few days of driving north changes the temperatures !

We left Camping World this morning and continued northwest on Interstate 84. In the Boise suburb of Nampa we stopped at a Petco to buy dog food. HMPH ! Just like at the PetsMart a couple of days ago they didn't have Bo's "winter" food. Must have been recently discontinued ! Shortly after entering Oregon we stopped at Farewell Bend State Park to dump our waste holding tanks and refill the freshwater holding tank. At LaGrande we refilled with diesel at Flying J. A hundred and forty bucks ! We went to Wal-Mart to replenish food and supplies and the "must buy in Oregon" shopping list. Another hundred and fifty bucks !

The weather and driving conditions from LaGrande to Pendleton were dismal. We stopped for the night at Wildhorse Casino, a great boondocking spot that we discovered last year. We went into the casino to check out their buffet restaurant for supper. Tonight was seafood night, and very expensive. We had supper in the trailer. And used the new catalytic radiant heaters in the trailer for the first time since mid-November. BRRRRR ! ! !

Friday ; Pendleton, Oregon to Lincoln Rock State Park, Washington

This morning before leaving the Wildhorse Casino we pulled into their Travel Center to use the dump station. We drained the shower waste holding tank and refilled the freshwater holding tank. Just in case ! We didn't really need to. But I like to take every opportunity that presents itself to start travel days with empty waste holding tanks ... especially the shower grey tank ... and full freshwater.

We headed west on Interstate 84, then north on Interstate 82, crossing the Columbia River into Washington. We continued north, west, and northwest on I-82. We had lunch at a rest area north of Yakima, then continued north on I-82 to I-90. We refilled with diesel in Ellensburg. Ellensburg is the only place that we know of where the Flying J diesel price is outrageously more expensive than other nearby stations, and has been that way for many years, in our experience. In almost all places where Flying J is located they are the best fuel price around.

From Ellensburg we headed east on I-90, north on Hwy. 281, then northwest on Hwy. 28 following the Columbia River until we reached ... Hwy. 97 at Wenatchee. AHHHHH ... Hwy. 97 ... the home stretch !

Lots of miles today ! We stopped for the night at Lincoln Rock State Park. As usual, our last night of the winter travel season is our most expensive night of the winter travel season. Washington's state parks are no bargain. But they certainly are nice ! We got set up in a lovely site then I started a campfire with the wood I chopped at Cathedral Gorge State Park in Eastern Nevada last Sunday. I cooked supper over the open fire. Not quite to perfection, but pretty good considering the high wind. After eating supper we sat outside by the campfire until all our wood was gone.

While cooking supper I took pity on a neighbour and gave him some of my firewood. Our neighbour was a very young couple from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories... with three boys under the age of five ... travelling in a decrepit, little old travel trailer to California. While the tired young mother was trying to cope with three tired, hungry, and cranky little boys the young father was scrounging twigs in the forest and trying to get a small fire to burn to have a "weenie roast" for supper.

Saturday ; Lincoln Rock State Park, Washington to Keremeos, BC

HOME !

And so ends our eighth season of winter travel.

This morning we took care of a couple of chores before leaving Lincoln Rock State Park. We disinfected our five gallon water jug. We changed the spare tire on the trailer, taking off the spare tire that we put on a few days ago when we got a flat tire, and reinstalling the now repaired flat tire. That's because ... < sigh > ... we discovered, after fixing the flat tire and putting it into the spare position that our custom painted spare tire cover won't fit over it. It's one of two of the trailer's tires that are one size oversize. So ... it had to go back onto the trailer, and the old spare tire ... one of three "correct" size tires ... went back into the spare tire position. You know ... like ... musical tires ... < sigh >.

We departed Lincoln Rock State Park and headed north on Hwy. 97. The road followed the Columbia River and then the Okanagan River all the way to Canada. And the Columbia River Basin and Okanagan River Valley are filled with apple and cherry orchards. All in bloom ! How lovely ! We stopped to refill with diesel at Tribal Trails Travel Center on the south side of Omak. Then a final stop at Wal-Mart in Omak. An hour later we were at the border crossing between Oroville, Washington and Osoyoos, British Columbia.

Crossing the border was a painless process that took only a few minutes. The Canadian border agent asked about a dozen or so pertinent questions, most of which we had never been asked before. Questions about purchases of medications in Mexico, and alterations or modifications to the truck or trailer.

In Osoyoos we turned west on Hwy. 3 and were home at Riverside RV Park Resort about an hour later, arriving around 6:30 PM. Welcome home !

DSK

April 15 to 21, 2012

Sunday ; Parker, Arizona to Laughlin, Nevada

This morning we left the parking lot of the BlueWater Casino and headed north on Arizona Hwy. 95. Not to be confused with California Hwy. 95 on the other side of the Colorado River. Or later in the day ... Nevada Hwy. 95, also on the other side of the river. SHEESH ! We continued north on Arizona Hwy. 95 through Lake Havasu City to Interstate 40 where we turned west briefly before heading north again on Historic Route 66 through the Mojave Indian Reservation until Historic Route 66 rejoined Arizona Hwy. 95. Approaching Bullhead City, Arizona from the south we crossed over the Colorado River yet again to California Hwy. 95 which soon became Nevada Hwy. 95 shortly before reaching Laughlin.

We entered Laughlin from the west on Hwy. 163 and checked into the Riverside Casino Resort & RV Park. Got the same site we had last year, on the top tier of the park, on the back row. We had a late lunch before setting up and unhitching. Joanne went to the casino to search for a tourist guide magazine or directory while I tried to get some online work done. She was successful, I was not. Really bad Wi-Fi ... yet again ... and this one cost me twenty bucks for the week ! When Joanne returned with the local Entertainment magazine we reviewed all the casino buffet restaurants and their specials, and planned our week's meals at the casinos. HA HA HA !

I barbecued a lamb chop and fresh beets for dinner. We spent the evening watching Amazing Race and Celebrity Apprentice. After 11 PM I tried accessing the Internet again, having spent from 3 PM to 7 PM trying and failing. I am SOOOOO fed up with bad Wi-Fi down here in the southwest.

Monday ; Today was sunny and hot.

OOOOO ... tough decision to make. Next Saturday night, should we ... attend the Doobie Brothers concert right here at the Riverside Casino or ... go next door to the Edgewater to see ... < snicker > ... Engelbert Humperdinck ? HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! ! !

Today was not planned as a day of maintenance but ... a minor disaster this morning changed everything. Just after I stepped out of the shower, and Joanne was about to step in, there was a mysterious "bang" somewhere in the trailer. By the time I found the source ... a ruptured plumbing connection on the water heater ... a few gallons of water had poured out of the ruptured pipe into the cupboard under the sink before I ran outside and shut off the water. WOW ... talk about dodging a bullet ! Imagine if a pipe ruptured like that when we're not home !

The repair was relatively simple, although time consuming. I drained the hot water tank and repaired the ruptured connection. The gallons of water in the cupboard found a variety of ways out ! There was water leaking out from a variety of places underneath the trailer ! Fortunately, we're in the Mojave Desert and it's hot, so ... everything should be dried out in a day or two. I hope !

That little disaster messed up our plans to go to the Avi Casino for the Monday 2-4-1 buffet lunch, so ... we spent the afternoon working on other minor maintenance chores then went to the Avi for Monday 2-4-1 buffet dinner.

I can not get a working Wi-FI signal at our trailer. This morning I was going to demand my ( Wi-Fi weekly fee ) twenty bucks back but I got sidetracked by the plumbing problem. This afternoon I discovered that I can get a perfectly good Wi-Fi signal at the RV park's office, so ... I'll live with that ! I have a backlog of online work that I need to get done. Late this evening I discovered that I can get a good Wi-Fi signal at the restroom building on our row / street. There's a Wi-Fi antenna on top of the restroom building.

Dinner at the Avi was great !

Tuesday ; WHEW ... another hot day here in the Mojave Desert. Temperature in the 90's.

This morning I replaced a burned out front turn signal bulb on the truck. Not as easy as it sounds ! And ... I did need to use MAX 1 glue to repair a plastic piece I broke !

In the afternoon I worked on our personal income tax returns. And got quite a bit accomplished. Joanne went to the box office and picked up our Doobie Brothers concert tickets. Sorry, Engelbert.

In the evening we went to the Tropicana for their "Bottomless Pasta Bowl" dinner special. MMMMM !

Wednesday ; Today was another hot day, temperature way up in the 90’s, but with a bit of cloud in the morning and a bit of wind in the afternoon it didn’t feel as hot as yesterday.

I spent much of today replacing a section of coiled electrical wiring underneath the trailer. I did a temporary repair in November, and just recently bought the coiled wiring I needed to do the repair again, this time more ... permanently. More permanently ? Is that proper grammar ? The job today took much more time than I had anticipated, but the results were excellent. AND ... after completing the job, and doing a final inspection, I discovered a "brain fart" mistake that I had made, and corrected it. Had I not, there would have been another minor disaster when we retracted the slides for departure. Once again I have done a repair / made a modification that produced a result better than original.

Late in the afternoon we headed across the Colorado River into Bullhead City, Arizona, to do some Wal-Martin' < sigh >. Then back across the river again to the Nevada side to head for dinner at the Avi Casino. We wanted to compare yesterday’s Tropicana Casino's Ristorante Passagio AYCE ( all you can eat ) pasta dinner special with the Avi Casino's Ristorante Aviano AYCE pasta dinner special.

HMPH ! No comparison. Yesterday at the Tropicana the service was excellent and the food was excellent. My generous tip reflected that. Tonight the Avi had an advantage right off. The prices of dinner at the Tropicana and at the Avi were the same. At the Tropicana the soft drinks were overpriced. At the Avi a glass of wine was included in the dinner price. BUT ... at the Avi the food was poor and the service was bad ! My non-existent tip reflected that ! ! !

We returned home just in time to watch Survivor, then ... HA HA HA ... I became fascinated by and watched multiple episodes of South Beach Tow. Should be renamed Tow Truck Morons !

Thursday ; Temperature over 100 degrees !

Another hot day ! We were planning to go out to yet another 2-4-1 buffet special, buy I was feeling a bit of buffet overload. We had a lazy day. I worked on income tax returns. Late in the afternoon we decided to go browsing at the Outlets Mall next door. Bought a shoe care product at the SAS Store. Went back to the Riverside Casino and wandered all around. Sat outside beside the Colorado River for awhile. Many, many Corvettes in the parking lot for this weekend's Corvette show.

Had supper at home and watched TV all evening.

Friday ; OH ... today was a lot cooler at only 95 degrees ! HA HA HA !

The discount coupon that we used for a one week stay at the Riverside Casino Resort & RV Park included one buffet breakfast for two. This morning we went across the street to the casino for breakfast. We've had the buffet breakfast at the Riverside before. It was somewhat mediocre in the past, and today was no better. Oh, well ... the price was right ! HA HA HA !

This afternoon while Joanne napped ( all those buffets are hard work ... HA HA HA )
I continued working on our income tax returns. I finished mine. Now I have to work on Joanne's < sigh >. Hers should be easier than mine. After her nap Joanne did laundry. We watched multiple episodes of Parking Wars on A&E. HA HA HA !

It was our plan to have AYCE Friday Fish Fry Dinner at Daniel's Restaurant at the Regency Casino. But tonight it was Joanne's turn to be suffering buffet overload. For the first time this week I was able to get a good Wi-Fi signal in the trailer. I worked on Similkameen Day Tours marketing.

Saturday ; Temperature 106 degrees !

Hottest temperature we've ever experienced ! Too hot do anything. Another lazy day.
I napped. I worked on income taxes.

I gave Bo a big beef rib bone this afternoon. He gnawed on it outside for about two minutes before deciding that if he couldn't bring it inside the trailer, he didn't want it. Bone or air conditioning, Bo. He chose air conditioning. HA HA HA ... good decision, Bo !

Late in the afternoon we headed over to the Avi Casino for their Saturday Early Bird dinner special. While we were dissatisfied with the Avi's Ristorante Aviano a few days ago we are quite fond of Avi's Native Harvest Buffet Restaurant. And Joanne wanted an early dinner tonight before the Doobie Brothers concert.

As we drove to the Avi at 5 PM the temperature was 104 degrees. On the way back home at 7:30 it had cooled down ... to 101 degrees !

This upcoming week is Laughlin River Run, an annual week long biker event. Tonight's concert by the Doobie Brothers was sort of a kick off to the week. The RV park started to fill up with bikers today. I slightly resent that bikers can afford 1.5 million dollar Prevost motorhomes ! Maybe I should have been a drug dealer instead of a cat litter dealer.
HA HA HA !

And finally ... WOO-HOO ... it was time for the Doobie Brothers concert. The Riverside Casino's Amphitheatre is an outdoor stage on top of the parking garage. The bright lights of the casino strip serve as a backdrop. It was a steamy hot evening. And the concert was great ! Except ... every time we go to a rock concert I end up with a Bubba sitting behind me. HEY ! Stop dribbling beer on me, shut the **** up, and listen to the music !

And no, no ... I did not win the Budweiser guitar signed by the Doobie Brothers.

DSK

April 8 to 14, 2012 ; Hemet, California to Parker, Arizona

Sunday ; Easter ; Yeah ... Happy Easter !

Our fight of yesterday dragged on today. We were both sullen and silent all day. Joanne continues to rest, although she is nowhere near as sick as she was a few days ago.

She spent the day reading a book. I did more online marketing of Similkameen Day Tours. I started working on our personal income tax returns. We did not attend the Golden Village Palms Easter potluck dinner despite having signed up a few days ago to attend and bring a dessert contribution to our assigned table. Guess our assigned table had two empty seats and one less dessert !

In the evening we watched Amazing Race ... first episode we've seen this season ... and Celebrity Apprentice.

Monday ; We struggled hard today, working together to end our turmoil of the last few days.

The morning was lost to our struggles. In the afternoon we ran some shopping errands.
I exchanged an empty printer ink cartridge for a remanufactured / refilled one. Never done that before. Hope it works as well as a new one. We did some grocery shopping at Stater Bros. We went to Wal-Mart. Back at Golden Village Palms Joanne did laundry.
I continued with my Similkameen Day Tours marketing efforts. I am sending a marketing e-mail to every Bed & Breakfast I can find between Osoyoos and Summerland.

In the evening we watched TV. HEY ... didn't know there was an Undercover Boss Canada !

Tuesday ; Hemet to Palm Springs, California

The weather in Hemet this morning was sunny and warm. This afternoon in Palm Springs it was sunny and hot. This evening it was very windy, a common occurrence in Palm Springs. The strong winds whipping through the San Gorgonio Pass is why there are thousands and thousands of wind turbines around Palm Springs.

We departed the luxurious Golden Village Palms and headed north out of Hemet on Hwy. 79 to Interstate 10, then east on I-10 to Palm Springs. It's only about an hour from Hemet to Palm Springs. And as before, we're not actually in Palm Springs on the south side of
I-10, we're in Desert Hot Springs on the north side of I-10.

While rummaging through our California travel information, we found a coupon for a very inexpensive four night stay at Catalina Spa & RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs. The "catch" is we must attend a sales presentation. Okay, fine. We have been avoiding these kind of "time share" type of RV parks for eight years. Time to give one a try. The four day deal was too good to pass up. We hope the sales presentation on Friday morning won't make us regret our decision.

We registered and got set up in a site at Catalina Spa, then dashed out to a local RV parts dealer nearby. We have been there before and they have a good inventory of hard to find items. Unfortunately, they did not have what I was looking for today.

Back home at Catalina Spa we walked around exploring, then drove around exploring. It's a large RV resort. And like all hotels, motels, RV Parks and other guest establishments in Desert Hot Springs, Catalina Spa pumps 130 degree water out of the ground ( and then cools it a bit ) on a continuous basis into their hot mineral pools. The "upside" of Desert Hot Springs is that the aquifer is clean, odourless, hot water. The "downside" is the reason why the water underground is so hot. Desert Hot Springs is pretty much the epicentre of the San Andreas Fault. When "The Big One" hits Southern California ... kiss Desert Hot Springs goodbye !

We purposely chose an RV site close to the hot pools and the dog park. We took Bo to play in the dog park twice today. His broken toe finally seems to be 100% healed. Late this afternoon we gave him a bath. And after his bath he wanted to play with his favourite stuffed toy, the first time he has been interested in play since he broke his toe 2½ weeks ago.

WOO-HOO ... this park's cable TV has The Animal Planet network, first time we've seen it in about a year. We blew off the entire evening watching The Animal Planet network, specifically a set of back to back episodes of a show featuring a cat behaviourist. "My Cat From Hell". HA HA HA ... great show ! And it's about time that they have a show about cat behaviour, specifically bad cat behaviour, considering how many shows they have about bad dog behaviour and the "dog whisperer" gurus, who now seem to be about a dime a dozen.

Late in the evening we went to "take the waters". I love soaking in mineral hot spas here in Desert Hot Springs. I'm not very big on "alternative" therapies, but ... I'm convinced that soaking in the mineral hot spas here in Desert Hot Springs, which we've been doing for about a week of each of the last seven winter seasons, has a tremendously beneficial effect on my sore knees and shoulders. And no, I can't explain why !

Very late in the evening I worked for about an hour on our personal income tax returns.
I really need to dedicate more time and effort to the preparation of our income tax returns.

Wednesday ; Well, today was a great day in Palm Springs. It was the reason why we come here annually. And the weather was good. A teensy bit cloudy and cooler, a few drops of rain in the afternoon, lots of wind in the early evening.

This morning we headed from Desert Hot Springs across Interstate 10 to Palm Springs ... to downtown Palm Springs. First stop was Revivals, the thrift store operated by some gay men's organization. All the employees and most of the customers are gay men. Free AIDS testing every Saturday morning ! Revivals is the most interesting and the most eclectic of the many thrift stores that we regularly visit in both the U.S. and Canada. Joanne bought a couple of large, fluffy bath sheets.

As I was exiting the parking lot of the mall where Revivals is located, I cut off a ... cyclist. Only in Palm Springs can one experience being given a really dirty look by a gay man on a unicycle when you cut him off. HA HA HA ! HEY ... who looks in both directions for gay unicyclists when leaving a parking lot ? ? ? HA HA HA HA HA ! Sorry, fella !

We stopped to browse at ... < sigh > ... the classic / exotic used car dealership in downtown Palm Springs. I couldn't decide whether I wanted the 1954 Cadillac ( for $99,000 ), the 1989 Rolls Royce Corniche convertible, or the 1946 Ford "woody" wagon. Joanne wanted the 1974 Mercedes 450 SL. The grey one, not the blue one ! Her tastes seem to be a bit more modest than mine. HA HA HA ! I promised her that when we win the lottery we will immediately catch a plane down here to Palm Springs and we can each buy a classic / exotic used car and drive them home. Okay ... I’ve decided ! I want the Rolls !

Next stop was Sherman’s Deli for lunch. Oh my goodness ... it’s hard to believe that such simple New York Jewish deli food can be that good ! My lunch was a bowl of borscht, a hot pastrami on rye sandwich, and ... < drooling again > ... Key Lime Pie. Joanne had a barbecued brisket on rye sandwich and Boston Cream Pie. We looooove eating at Sherman’s Deli once a year.

We drove east into the Palm Springs suburb of Cathedral City and found ... < UNGH > ... Trader Joe’s where we spent a lot of money impulsively buying a lot of gourmet and specialty foods. We looooove shopping at Trader Joe’s once a year.

Across the street from Trader Joe’s was a Goodwill store where I bought some clothing. Geeeeez ... where do the Palm Springs thrift stores get all that brand new clothing ? ? ?
I bought a really nice Arnold Palmer brand cardigan sweater, a North Face brand hooded sweater, and a t-shirt. With the “purple tag” discount on one item ( today was “purple tag day“ ), and senior’s discount on the other two, my bill was ... are you ready ? ... just under ten bucks !

We stopped at the Revivals outlet in Cathedral City. This store had a lot of furniture. Nice furniture ! Brand new furniture ! HUH ? How / where do thrift stores get brand new, upscale furniture ? We drove to Flying J in Thousand Palms to check their price on diesel ( twenty cents a gallon more than Valero in Cathedral City ! ) and Lucas diesel fuel additive. We headed back towards home on I-10, stopping at Pilot Travel Center to check their price on Lucas. I bought a gallon there.

Once back home at Catalina Spa in Desert Hot Springs we trimmed Sully’s and Bo’s claws, then took Bo to the dog park for an obedience and agility session. HA HA HA ... he was sooooo excited. He hasn’t had a whole lot of mental stimulation since he broke a toe 2½ weeks ago. Given our lunch at Sherman’s Deli we had a late, light supper while watching Survivor, then went to ... AHHHHH ... “take the waters”.

Thursday ; This morning we went into Desert Hot Springs to do some shopping. First stop was Walgreens, looking for some "mouth sore" medication. I have painful, inflamed gums around one back tooth. It's severe enough to make my jaw and cheek sore.
I bought some medication at Walgreens ... and a lot of 50% discounted Easter chocolate treats. If the medication doesn't alleviate the discomfort at least I can console myself with chocolate bunnies. HA HA HA ! We shopped briefly at Angel View thrift store, then went to Glossy, the women's bathing suit store in Desert Hot Springs that always has a good selection of mastectomy bathing suits. Joanne buys one or two bathing suits there each year. She bought one today. All summer in Keremeos and all winter in Yuma she attends water exercise classes five days a week so she wears out bathing suits fairly quickly.

We returned home for lunch. I napped briefly then did some chores before heading out late in the afternoon for the Palm Springs Dog Park. We come to Palm Springs for Sherman's Deli and Trader Joe's. Bo comes for the wonderful Palm Springs Dog Park. WOO-HOO ! Bo had a great time in the dog park today. There were more small dogs on the small dog side of the park than we've ever seen before. There was so much socialization and "pack activity" to indulge in that Bo never even wanted to go over to the big dog section of the park. After about an hour he was tired and it was time to head over to Village Fest.

Every Thursday evening the main street of downtown Palm Springs is closed to vehicle traffic and becomes a ten or twelve block long pedestrian shopping mall, with vendors and entertainers. And lots and lots of people. Bo has been to Village Fest before. He actually doesn't like it much. It's a bit too crowded for his taste. He seems a bit overwhelmed by being in the midst of that many people. And by the time we had walked from one end to the other and back, along with his romping in the dog park, his recently broken toe was obviously getting sore. We bought some artisan bread and some fresh produce and headed back to where we had parked the truck.

On the way back to Catalina Spa in Desert Hot Springs we stopped at a Subway to buy a sub sandwich for supper. Using a coupon, of course. And as we stepped out of the Subway, there on the sidewalk in front of the store was ... WOO-HOO ... a ten dollar bill. < raising arms above head > HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES ! ! !

Late in the evening, after supper and a bit of TV we went for our nightly "taking the waters". AHHHHH, yes ... another reason why we come to Palm Springs annually.

Friday ; Today started out cool and cloudy, and became cold and raining. We attended the dreaded sales presentation this morning. It wasn't so bad. Took about an hour. Not really much pressure. Little old lady saleswoman.

This afternoon we went to six ... count 'em ... six ... furniture consignment shops in Palm Springs looking for replacement dinette chairs. WOW ! ! ! What nice furniture in these Palm Springs furniture consignment shops ! But nothing suitable for us. We refilled with diesel and bought some groceries. We had brought Bo along planning to take him to the Palm Springs Dog Park after our afternoon of shopping. When we arrived at the dog park it was ... cold and raining. But ... what the hell ! There was a woman from Washington with her three Shih Tzus in the dog park, so we went in and visited for awhile.

In the evening we watched a few episodes of Storage Wars on A&E ... Joanne loves that show ... and I continued work on our personal income tax returns.

Saturday ; Palm Springs, California to Parker, Arizona

Today was windy and cold in Palm Springs, sunny and mild in Parker.

This morning we departed Catalina Spa and drove into Desert Hot Springs to check out a charity rummage sale. We didn't buy anything. We headed north on Hwy. 62 which soon turned east, passing through Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Twentynine Palms. When we stopped for a bathroom break I discovered that Sully had vomited in the trailer and was having a bit of anxiety. We took him into the truck with us for the rest of the day. He seemed to really enjoy that, so we're going to start travelling with him in the truck. He usually travels alone inside the trailer.

After Twentynine Palms Hwy.62 is a 100 mile stretch of nothing across the Mojave Desert. Joanne found it boring. When we got to the town of Earp at the Colorado River, we made a wrong turn and instead of crossing the bridge across the river into Arizona and the town of Parker, we turned north heading alongside the western shore of the Colorado River, still in California. We decided that instead of turning around we might as well make the 15 mile one way / 30 mile return trip to the Parker Dam, just to explore. Large trucks, trailers, and RV's are not allowed to cross the Parker Dam. The California side of the Colorado River is mostly BLM land, with some luxury waterfront resorts thrown in. The BLM land is used extensively by off roaders / ATV'ers. There was an abundance of wild burros all along the 15 mile stretch. Bo thought it was stupendous to bark at wild burros. Sully just showed contempt for those big, ugly creatures. HA HA HA ... dog vs. cat mentality.

Once back at Earp, California, we crossed the Colorado River to Parker, Arizona. We refilled with diesel ... much cheaper in Arizona than in California ... and stopped to boondock for the night at BlueWater Casino. Before having supper in the trailer we went into the casino and looked around. Nice casino ... like most. Buffet restaurant too expensive.

DSK

April 1 to 7, 2012 ; Yuma, Arizona to Hemet, California

Sunday ; Yuma, Arizona to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California

Today was cooler, temperature of 75 degrees, very windy. And, of course, the wind was "head on" as we were driving. Our "gas mileage" today was very poor.

It took us longer than usual to prepare for departure this morning. We pulled out of Kofa Ko-op around noon, and by the time we refilled with diesel and took care of some other last minute chores we pulled out of Yuma about 12:45. We headed west on Interstate 8 into California. We stopped at Holtville to buy burritos for both lunch and dinner ( carne asada for lunch and machaca for supper ), and pan dulce at the panaderia in town.

After eating our burrito lunch in the trailer we headed north on Hwy. 115 then west on Hwy. 78 to Brawley. Northwest on Hwy. 86 then west again on Hwy. 78 through Ocotillo Wells to the town of Borrego Springs in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Well, I guess the town of Borrego Springs is technically not in the state park. There is a large tract of land "inside" the state park that isn't state park land. And the town is part of that non-state park land.

We found our way to the Visitor Center just a few miles west of Borrego Springs, arriving about 15 minutes before it closed. That was enough time to pick up a map of the state park and get directions to the "free camping" / boondock area on the east / other side of Borrego Springs. We drove over to "Peg Leg" boondocking area and got set up. We unhitched the truck from the trailer, took a look at the state park map, took Bo for a short walk, and watched the sun set. Bo puts weight on his broken toe but walks slowly and doesn't want to walk much. While Joanne prepared a salad and a Mexican rice mix to go along with the machaca burrito for supper I worked on the computer, doing today's accounting and journal entry.

Monday ; Joanne was ill today, suffering from an upper respiratory infection that she has felt coming on for a few days now. Many of the Kofa Ko-op residents have been inflicted with this upper respiratory "Kofa Krud" over the last few weeks. It put one of the older residents in the hospital. It's somewhat like a dry, deep, chest cold. Shortness of breath, dry coughing, chest congestion / restriction, and of course, general malaise and weakness.

This morning we headed over to the Visitor Center to plan our visit in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. We took a long time to get there ! We were sidetracked by discovering the somewhat renowned field of metal art sculptures. Quite astonishing metal art pieces. All life size ! And before we finally did make it to the Visitor Center we drove into the state park campground to have a look around. We were planning to hitch up the trailer and take it to the state park campground tomorrow to dump the waste holding tanks and refill with fresh water for a fee of $8. We were anticipating spending more time here and did not want to pay $35 a night in the state park campground, preferring to boondock for free a few miles away. But ... by the end of the day we had decided that we will be leaving Anza-Borrego Desert State Park tomorrow.

We visited the Visitor Center, viewing a movie about the park, and walking around the desert plants hiking trail nearby. This is not a great year for desert plants. The major attraction of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is wildflowers blooming in the spring. But not this year ! The winter was too dry. We returned to the trailer to have lunch. And a nap !

After a nap we ( including Bo ) headed west on Hwy. S22 looking for the turn off to Fonts Point. We found the turn off, then drove four very rough off road miles through Fonts Wash ( a dry arroyo ) to the scenic lookout at Fonts Point. We hiked a short distance to the overlooks and took photos. Bo is so "game", enthusiastically but slowly limping along on a hike. Good dog, Bo, well done ! His slow pace and endurance, and Joanne's were about the same today. We drove back through Fonts Wash to Hwy. S22 then continued east on Hwy. S22 until we exited the state park, having missed the turn off to Palm Slot Canyon we were looking for. We turned around and drove back into the state park, eventually finding the turn off ... such as it was ... into Palm Slot Canyon.

We descended very slowly down a steep, narrow, 4WD off road trail ... almost too narrow for a dually ... into Palm Slot Canyon. When the trail ended, we got out of the truck and hiked slowly into the slot canyon. When Bo and Joanne got tired we turned around, hiked back to the truck, and drove up and out of Palm Slot Canyon. On our way back to Peg Leg boondocking area we decided that we had seen enough of Anza-Borrego State Park for now and would leave tomorrow.

Today's activities stretched both Bo's and Joanne's endurance to their limits. And while Joanne's enthusiasm diminished proportionately to her endurance ... Bo's did not. HA HA HA ! What a dog !

 Tuesday ; Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to Hemet, California

This morning we departed Peg Leg boondocking area and drove into the town of Borrego Springs to refill with diesel. YIKES ! ! ! Diesel was $4.79 a gallon at the cheapest of the three stations in town. Some of the fuel prices in town exceeded $5 a gallon ! We left town westbound on Hwy. S-22. It was a very long and steep climb over the mountains. Lanoire is not a "spring chicken" any more at 188,000 km., and pulling Harvey up and over the mountains on that long and steep a grade was hard on the transmission. I could smell the hot AT fluid, not a good sign ! I'm a bit paranoid because hauling 12,000 pound Harvey over those kinds of steep, long grades cost me two transmissions on Dee-Dee, our previous truck. Once over the mountains we were out of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and out of the desert for the first time since early November.

We turned northwest on Hwy. 79, passing the renowned Palomar Observatory, heading for Jojoba Hills SKP Park at Aguanga. The last time we were there, more than five years ago, I vowed never to return. However, today I succumbed to the temptation of convenience. We planned to spend two days in their unserviced camping area, get caught up on some Internet work, dump our holding tanks, refill our fresh water, and let Joanne rest for a couple of days. She's quite sick. However ... I regretted my choice.
I should have "stuck to my guns" of five years ago. When we were checking in at Jojoba Hills we were advised that in addition to the $5 per night charge to use their unserviced camping area ... very reasonable ... there was an additional $5 charge to use their dump station and six bucks a day to use their Wi-Fi ! GOODBYE !

We headed north on the very winding and steep Hwy. R3 to Hemet where we checked into the luxurious Golden Village Palms RV Resort for a week. Joanne can rest and recuperate. We can both overdose on TV ( over 150 channels on the park's cable TV ).
I can get a lot of work done online using free Wi-Fi. All of which we did for the rest of the day after checking in and getting set up at Golden Village Palms.

Wednesday ; WOO-HOO ... bought tickets today to see Doobie Brothers in Laughlin, Nevada in 2½ weeks.

Joanne very sick. Spent most of the day in bed. Almost as demanding as the damn cat. HA HA HA ! I picked a beautiful, large pink rose from a rose bush on an empty RV site a few sites over from us, and put it on Joanne's bedside, in a collapsible plastic vase that I bought recently. Works well, great for an RV.

I did a bit of outdoor work today, and a lot of desk work. We took Bo a few times to the small but very nice dog park at the end of our street in this very large RV park. Bo's broken toe continues to heal well. He limps a bit, and walks slowly on pavement. Sorry, Bo, our days of sandy desert are over for this year.

I cooked supper. We watched Survivor. First episode we've seen of this season.

Thursday ; The weather here in Southern California is lovely, a bit cooler than Yuma. Well, Joanne was a little less ill today, but not much. Hope she's better soon. Hope I don't catch her ailment ! We went out to run some shopping errands this afternoon. And we took Bo to the little dog park at the end of our street. I'm trying to get Joanne outdoors for fresh air and exercise.

I cooked supper again tonight. Pollock ! Terrible ! I have been sorely disappointed in the quality of fish we have bought this winter in Yuma. You would think that being reasonably close to both the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez / Gulf of California that Yuma stores would have reasonably good fish. Not so !

Watched Doc Martin on PBS tonight. HA HA HA ! Another addictive British irony / "dry humour" series.

Late each evening I have been taking advantage of excellent Wi-Fi here at Golden Village Palms to do some Similkameen Day Tours marketing.

Friday ; Oh boy, we just got to watch a rerun of last Sunday's episode of Celebrity Apprentice which we missed. I guess when you have over 150 channels you can find reruns of just about anything and everything.

The weather here in Southern California continues to be wonderful. And today was another restful day. I am hoping that a week of taking it easy will allow Joanne to recuperate from the terrible cold like illness she has. She was a bit better today.

This morning I had a long phone chat with my sister. Her husband's recuperation from prostate cancer surgery continues well. Way to go, Bud ! Congratulations on following in your father's footsteps of confronting and beating cancer ! BRAVO !

This afternoon we took Bo for a drivey to Hemet's dog park. He's been there before. He was a bit less enthusiastic about visiting the dog park than we expected him to be. It seems that his toe is still pretty sore, and being in an urban / concrete environment hurts enough to dampen his enthusiasm.

Is "Good Friday", two days before Easter, no longer considered a special day / holiday ?

Saturday ; Great ! ! ! A day dedicated to squabbling and disliking one another !

DSK