April 7 to 13, 2013 ; Yuma, Arizona to Coarsegold, California

Sunday ; Another in a long line of sunny, hot days.

Our plan was to spend all day today preparing for departure tomorrow. That plan changed when we encountered an unexpected trailer repair that took us half a day. The day / night shade beside the dinette table window, the largest window of the trailer, broke a cord today. It seems as if we have had to restring a day / night shade in the trailer approximately once per year during the nine years we've owned this trailer. And a few years ago I learned how to do it myself, after spending too much time looking for capable repair shops all over the USA and Canada ... wherever we happened to be when a blind cord broke ... and way too much money paying for these difficult day / night shade repairs.

Joanne thought our Arizona room was an ideal place to do this repair. And I had all the necessary materials on hand. So ... we spent the afternoon restringing the large day / night shade. A four cord shade ! And, of course, removing the valance over the window and shade uncovered the need for some valance repairs as well. I used most of my day / night shade repair materials, but ... I know where to get more in Yuma, so as we depart here on Tuesday, I'll replenish those supplies so that I'll be ready for the next broken shade !

Joanne continued preparing for departure, creatively finding spaces to store things in the trailer. The ( not so ) portable solar panels fit into the back of the bedroom closet. We gave Bo a bath. Joanne thought it unacceptable to arrive in Palm Springs with a dirty dog. HA HA HA ... okay, dear ! We attended the final ice cream social of the season. Not very many people left here ! Joanne prepared a beef stew in the Sun Oven for supper, dicing up one of the sirloin steaks we bought yesterday into stewing cubes of meat.

Monday ; Well ... it fortuitously turned our rather well that we didn't travel today after all. Today was a severe desert storm, with extremely high winds, blowing sand reducing visibility to near zero, and dangerous driving conditions from here to Palm Springs.

We spent the day preparing for departure tomorrow. Working outdoors ... or walking the dog ... was like being in a sandblaster. Grit in the teeth, grit in the eyes, sandblasted face ! And for me ... an earache ! My ears can't tolerate much wind ! I often wear ear plugs because of wind. And I did today, but ... a bit too late, I guess.

Putting the snap on vinyl walls back onto the Arizona room was an extremely difficult task. Don't let anybody tell you that vinyl doesn't shrink, given enough time, sun and heat. I think we're going to have to replace a couple of the larger panels next year. Sully was snoozing on one of the two sofas in the Arizona room when I began to install the vinyl wall panels. He was not pleased with the installation of the vinyl wall panels and the consequent slow disappearance of his sunbeams.

In the dog park, behind the rear fence of the unoccupied lot next door is a lovely Cholla Cactus ( pronounced CHOYA ). In the two winter seasons that we've owned our lot here, I have tended to it while tending to my own cactus plantings behind our rear fence, because the owner of the lot next door has not been here. For both of the last two winter seasons the lot has been occupied by renters. The weight of this spring's new growth caused one of the Cholla's segmented "arms" to break off. With extreme difficulty ... OW OW OW OW OW ... ( have you ever tried to handle a Cholla ? ! ? ) I attempted today to transplant segments of Cholla behind our rear fence and in my new cactus garden along our north side yard fence. Since the plantings will receive no watering or care over the next seven months, their survival is unlikely, but ... in the "wild", segments of Cholla break off, blow around the desert, get stuck in the sand, take root and grow, so ... < shrug > .

Tuesday ; Yuma, Arizona to Palm Springs, California 

Today was sunny and warm, a bit windy but nowhere as bad as yesterday.

This morning as we prepared for departure our friends Larry and Carol Mae came over to say goodbye, followed shortly thereafter by Eilene, bearing fresh, home made cookies. Thank you and goodbye. Hope to see you all in the fall, especially Eilene who is ... < thinking > ... ninety-three,
 I think.

We departed Kofa Ko-op, stopped at RV Connection to buy some day / night shade repair supplies, refilled with diesel at Barney's, and left Yuma, Arizona heading west on Interstate 8 into California. We stopped at Holtville to buy a couple of burritos at Holtville Taco Shop ; a machaca burrito to share for lunch and a carne asada burrito to share for supper. We have eaten Mexican food all over Mexico ( and Canada and the U.S. ), and nobody makes burritos as good ( or as large ) as those at Holtville Taco Shop. We had our machaca burrito for lunch in the trailer then went to the panaderia in Holtville. We have been there many times. Today was the last. The selections of pan dulce have diminished and the prices have risen a lot !

We left Holtville and dipsy doodled on country back roads heading north and west until we reached Hwy. 86 heading northwest to Palm Springs. As Hwy. 86 merged with Interstate 10 on the east side of Palm Springs we pulled into Spotlight 29 Casino on the south side of the freeway. We parked in their RV overnight parking lot and I napped. My stamina is still low. We went inside to explore the casino. HMMMMM ... interesting food specials. Joanne wanted to go see Fantasy Springs Casino on the other side of the freeway and compare. Okay ... we returned to the truck and trailer and drove over to Fantasy Springs. Easier said than done ! A short distance from point A to point B on California freeways isn't necessarily all that easy to navigate, especially with a big rig ! We parked at Fantasy Springs Casino and went in to explore and compare.

Fantasy Springs Casino is owned and operated by the Cabazon Indian Band. Spotlight 29 is now owned and operated by the 29 Palms Band of Mission Indians. It was originally developed and owned by Donald Trump. The two casinos are on opposite sides of the Interstate.

Okay ... here's the comparison ! The RV parking lot at Fantasy Springs was a very long distance from the casino building. We never saw any cheap, tawdry hookers at Spotlight 29 as we did at Fantasy Springs. We never saw any Native Americans snorting cocaine at Spotlight 29 as we did at Fantasy Springs ! Fantasy Springs did not have any interesting food specials. Back to Spotlight 29 we went !

We had our carne asada burrito for dinner, then I worked on the computer for awhile before going to bed early.

Wednesday ; Whew ... what a long, hot day of getting our annual Palm Springs "fix".

This morning before departing the parking lot of Spotlight 29 Casino where we boondocked overnight we went into the casino to have a cheap breakfast and join their player's club to get some promotional discounts at their buffet restaurant. For $2.29 each Joanne had "all you can eat" pancakes and I had "all you can eat" French toast. We joined the player's club and each received $2 off their buffet dinner today only, and a free buffet dinner anytime within the next thirty days, starting tomorrow. Guess we'll be eating at their buffet restaurant both tonight and tomorrow night, as we plan to leave Palm Springs on Friday.

We left Spotlight 29 Casino and drove west on Interstate 10 from the east side of Palm Springs to the west side, and then north across the freeway into Desert Hot Springs, to Caliente Springs RV Resort. We registered, got set up in a site, unhitched the truck from the trailer, and at noon headed off for a long day of indulging ourselves in Palm Springs shopping. For Joanne that meant shopping at every upscale thrift store from the west side of Palm Springs, all the way down Hwy. 111 through the city over to the east side of Palm Springs.

"Upscale thrift store" seems like an oxymoron, but if you've ever been to Palm Springs you would know it's not. The thrift stores we shopped at today were selling, amongst other things ... baby grand pianos, tuxedoes, golf carts, home furnishings with four figure price tags. We bought a lot of clothing and kitchenware and linens.

My Palm Springs shopping indulgence was ... Trader Joe's, an upscale, exotic and gourmet food store. We spent a lot of money impulse buying food items that simply aren't available elsewhere ; things like sweet potato bisque, ten minute / quick cook bulgur, chicken and sweet potato dog treats, smoked sardines.

We also shopped at PetsMart for Sully's Glucosamine treats that we can't get in Canada, and at Wal-Mart. By the time we got back to Spotlight 29 Casino for dinner, it was 8 PM. Tonight's theme in the buffet restaurant was "Mexican". MMMMM ! After eating for an hour we left, heading west on I-10 again. We stopped to refill with diesel at the "suburb" of Thousand Palms.

As I was barrelling down I-10 in the dark at 70 MPH ... a little white dog stepped off the shoulder onto the road in front of me ! YIKES ! Heavy traffic, no room to move over, car beside me,
I squeezed over as much as possible as I slammed on the brakes. Probably scared the bejeezus out of the driver of the car beside me ! I did not hit the dog ! I pulled over onto the shoulder, stopped, and dangerously backed up in the dark with traffic whizzing by me at 70 MPH ! Another car stopped. The woman driver of the other car, and Joanne and I tried to catch the little dog, now scampering around just off the side of the road. We couldn't catch it, but we did chase it back into the desert away from the highway, hopefully scaring it enough to discourage it from attempting to cross the freeway again. I hope !

Thursday ; Wonderfully sunny and hot.

WHEW ... day two of our annual Palm Springs fix ! So much shopping ... so little time ! HA HA HA ! This morning I went out by myself to Blair Station RV Supplies, a small, local RV parts dealer who usually has the most obscure parts that I need and can't find anywhere else. Once again, Mr. Blair came through for me ! WOO-HOO ... thank you ! I returned to Caliente Springs RV Resort, picked up Joanne, and we headed into Desert Hot Springs. While Joanne browsed at Angel View, a thrift store in Desert Hot Springs I sat on a very comfortable sofa near the front of the store, waiting and ... watching the thrift store drama. HA HA HA ... I never knew that the dynamics within a thrift store have more drama than any soap opera. It was captivating ! I didn't want to leave when Joanne was ready. HA HA HA HA HA !

Will the psychiatrically disabled transgendered black lady with the corn rowed hair and male pattern baldness buy anything today ? She says she is going to but ... < insert ominous music here > ... does she have any money ? Will the old homeless man who carries his credit score papers around in a binder finally get a date with the thrift store supervisor, the Hispanic lady that's about 30 years younger than him, is a foot taller than him, and outweighs him by about 75 pounds ? Or ... < insert more ominous music here > ... will she gently and kindly blow him off yet again ? Stay tuned ... for scenes from tomorrow's episode of .... Angel View Lives and Loves. HA HA HA HA HA !

Next stop was Glossy, the Desert Hot Springs swim wear store that always has a great selection of mastectomy bathing suits, and at reasonable prices. Joanne shops every year at Glossy. And as usual, she bought herself another bathing suit there today. On the way back to Caliente Springs RV Resort I stopped at AutoZone to buy a fuel filter for the truck. Next week while at SKP Park of the Sierras I am going to change the truck's oil and oil filter, and fuel filter.

We had lunch then went to "take the waters" in Caliente Springs RV Resort's hot mineral pool and swimming pool. The therapeutic hot mineral water comes out of the ground and into the mineral pool. From there it flows to the huge, free form swimming pool where it cools. From the swimming pool it flows to the ornamental pools and fountains around the property, and then it's used to irrigate the landscaping. Good use of the resource ! After our time in the pools we took Bo to the resort's dog park where he played for an hour or so with many dogs while we chatted with their owners.

Around 6 PM we headed for downtown Palm Springs for Village Fest. Every Thursday evening from 6 PM to 10 PM Palm Springs main downtown street is closed to vehicular traffic for ten blocks or so and it becomes a huge pedestrian mall filled with vendors of all sorts of foods, arts, crafts, performing musicians, etc. We've been to Village Fest a few times in the past, but realized today that it must have always been in late November. Palm Springs and Village Fest are both much nicer in mid-April than late November. We intend to plan our future visits to Palm Springs in the spring. We wandered the entire length of Village Fest, but our only purchase today was three very fresh artichokes. MMMMM !

From downtown we drove all the way back to Spotlight 29 Casino to use our coupons for free buffet dinners. < BURP > Excuse me ! Tonight's "theme" was prime rib. On our way "home" we refilled with diesel again at Valero in Thousand Palms.

Friday ; Palm Springs to I-5 Rest Area near Lebec, California

I "lagged" a bit this morning during preparations for departure. My cold / flu is mostly over but ...
I have a lingering cough and "run down" feeling.

We departed Caliente Springs RV Resort about 11 AM, drove across Desert Hot Springs, and turned north on Hwy. 62 at Guide Dogs Of The Desert where we had a disastrous workcamping experience about ... < thinking > ... six years ago. Still have a sour taste in my mouth ! And vowed to never do another workcamping job. The only good thing to come of that experience was it introduced us to the Palm Springs area.

We travelled north and east on Hwy. 62 to Yucca Valley, then turned onto Hwy. 247 heading north then west to Hwy. 18 at Lucerne Valley. Our route today was a bit less than direct because of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to avoid. We were headed for the California Poppy Preserve at Antelope Valley and we wanted to avoid Los Angeles.

At Lucerne Valley we got onto Hwy. 18 to Apple Valley and Victorville. If California had armpits, they'd be Apple Valley and Victorville. Did I just type that out loud ? ! ? HA HA HA ! We stopped to have lunch in a shopping mall parking lot in Apple Valley. Our route took us slightly east and north of Los Angeles. We drove south on Interstate 15 for just a couple of miles to get back onto Hwy. 18 heading west. Hwy. 18 became Hwy. 138. At Palmdale we turned north on Hwy. 14, then just after Lancaster turned west on Hwy. 138 again to the California Poppy Preserve on the slopes of the northern foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

We were so looking forward to seeing the miles and miles of poppy fields blooming again, having seen them a few years ago. HUH ? ? ? Miles and miles of ... high desert sagebrush ? ? ? WHAT ? ? ? ! ! ! Where the hell are the poppies ? ! ? We're a week or two later than we were a few years ago coming through this area. You mean ... the poppy blooming season is that short ? ! ? We missed the "window" ? ! ? HMPH ! ! !

We continued westbound on Hwy. 138. An oncoming Ford dually hit a squirrel right in front of us. DAMN ! The squirrel was lying on the road, twitching severely. I slammed on the brakes, pulled over, and walked back with my tire thumper bat to end its suffering. I hate having to do that ! By the time I reached it, it had died. Thank goodness !

When we reached Interstate 5 we turned north. We refilled with diesel at the Flying J near Frazier Park, then pulled into the rest area near Lebec, about a mile north of the Flying J. Nice place to spend the night. We've been here before. California has nice Interstate rest areas.

Saturday ; I-5 Rest Area near Lebec to Coarsegold, California

Usually we get a relatively early start to our travel days after boondocking overnight. But not today ! I'm still coughing ! I'm still "run down" ! Can't get out of bed in the mornings !

We headed north on I-5 to Bakersfield. We stopped at Camping World in Bakersfield to buy a couple of items. I certainly do buy a lot of RV repair items, don't I ? ! ?

We continued northbound on I-5 until it split, then north on Hwy. 99. We were planning to have lunch and buy groceries at Vallarta in Tulare. Vallarta is a large Mexican supermarket that we're fond of. Just before Tulare I pulled into a roadside rest area just to check if it had a trailer dump station, for future reference. < sigh > I discovered a trailer tire had exploded, the third blowout on the trailer this season. We had lunch in the trailer then changed the tire. Hard work in the hot sun, especially when already feeling weak and tired ! Joanne thinks I should have considered using our emergency roadside service. Are you kidding me ? ? ? Real men don't use emergency roadside service for flat tires, no matter how big the vehicle, even when ill ! ! !

We drove on to Tulare and did our grocery shopping at Vallarta. It's interesting and amusing to find Mexican "culture" alive and well in America. One of the very annoying ( to us gringos ) Mexican habits is the practice of never removing signage, no matter how redundant it may be. We shopped at Vallarta in Tulare about a year and a half ago, on one of its first days of business after opening. Today ... the "Grand Opening" banners are still flying on the front of the store. The only way that one can be sure that it's not really "Grand Opening" time is because the banners are so very tattered and torn ! Just like in Mexico ! ! !

We continued north on Hwy. 99. At Fresno we took Hwy. 41 north up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains towards Yosemite National Park. We reached ... and passed SKP Park of the Sierras, continuing on to Chukchansi Gold Casino & Resort about a mile beyond the Escapee RV park. We wanted to boondock overnight at the casino, mostly so that we could go to the free comedy show tonight. As the comedy show host said ... "free is good !" And it's actually easier to boondock overnight at the casino than to arrive at the Escapee park after hours and spend the night in their boondock area.

The comedy show was good ! Especially the Mexican "headliner". Very funny Latino pope jokes ! Over the heads of some old white folks who've never been to Mexico / never ate in a Mexican restaurant / know nothing about Mexico or Mexicans, and obviously aren’t Catholic ! HA HA HA ! "Well ... we're going to be here all night if I have to explain the jokes". HA HA HA HA HA !

DSK