RV Bloggers – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

April Delight

Just a reminder, if you click on any of these photos, you will be taken to the SmugMug album where you can view many more scenes from Sunset House and all the gorgeous kayak views.

As often happens, I can only seem to begin writing by paying attention to what is happening right now. Get in the moment, so to speak. I started this blog a week ago, going back over my calendar, reviewing my photos, thinking and remembering what early April felt like. It seems like a VERY long time in the past. The cliché is that time flies the older we get, but I am grateful that the month of April seemed very nice and long to me.

Pansies at the front porch like the cooler weather

At the moment we are having days in the low 80’s followed by days that never manage to get to 60 degrees F. Nights are cool, but no longer frosty, and the flowers here at Sunset House are thriving. I am watching the weather today, because we are planning some outdoor activities with famous fabulous guests in town, and the skies go from blue to gray and back to blue in a matter of moments. Crater Lake awaits. Today we will do the classic round trip tour over the mountains hoping for sunlight to highlight that fabulous blue. That is another story, one that will evolve over the next week that we get to share with long time friends, Erin and Mui, from Two to Travel, who are on the road in the west for the first time in a long time.

We had time for a bit of travel ourselves this month, with a quick trip to the Oregon Coast to share a couple of days with other blogging friends, John and Carol, from Our Trip Around the Sun. They are on their way north to Alaska, and passed so close to our home that we couldn’t miss the opportunity to spend some time with them. The last time we visited, Carol and John were volunteering at Ding Darling NWR in Florida. They showed us a fabulous time with tours of the refuge, time at the beach together, and a truly fabulous dinner that lasted well into the night. Some people are just right, and laughter is often the key. We shared a lot of laughter with them. Their love of Jimmy Buffett, good margueritas, and a joyous approach to life is contagious.

We met at Harris Beach State Park, where they found a site big enough for their rig along the back row in the trees. Harris Beach is in the process of some renovations, so we weren’t able to snag a spot there, and instead Mo and I camped down on the waterfront at a private campground. I loved listening to the sound of the surf all night long, and the wind and rain on the roof lulled me to sleep.

The sun came out for our beach walk with the dogs, a rather funny time for Mattie and Jimmy who are not exactly similar in style. Mattie is crazy about the beach, runs like a wild thing in the sand, and gets very excited. Jimmy, a precious and very sweet dog, didn’t think much of Mattie’s exuberance, and learned to hide behind John’s leg when Mattie came tearing at him, trying to get him to play.

I was a bit embarrassed, because there is just no stopping Mattie when she gets like that. Play with me, NOW! I think Mo and I made a big mistake when we let her play with the huge bloodhound that used to wander over to our house for doggie visits. Mattie learned to play rough to keep up with him, and he loved it. Jimmy, not so much. In fairness, Mattie does great at the dog park, and at doggie day care she was a hit, so she isn’t mean, just very high energy.

We had dinner at the Sporthaven Grill, on the patio in the threatening rain, where the waitstaff brought us warming blankets and turned on the big propane heater. It was quite delightful. We also spent most of a rainy day in their home, with snacks and drinks and a new game called Skip-Bo. I guess it isn’t a new game, but it was new to us and created more opportunities for lots of laughter.

We came back home to spend more time fiddling around on the property here at Sunset House. Mo built a beautiful arbor for a treasured vine that I have babied and coddled along since I first bought it in 2002. She is finally happy here in the wonderful Grants Pass climate, protected from the sun and the heat on the east side of the house where she now lives with our new rhododendrons.

I have loved rhodies ever since I saw my first huge bloom at a nursery in Southern California. Yes, I even remember the moment, 1963, when my eldest was an infant and my husband and I were daydreaming about someday having a place to plant flowers. It was exciting to find the colors we wanted and to dig the holes nice and big, mulch them deeply and give them the perfect site.

I finally transplanted all the hostas, some plants that I brought from my home at Hauser Lake in Idaho back in 2002 when I moved to Klamath Falls. Others were brought over from Mo’s house in Rocky Point. We babied them through the incredibly hot summer last year and I know they are also very happy to be on the shaded east side of the house at last. Rhodies and hostas, another favorite thing of mine.

We started going through the RV shed, purging unneeded “stuff” with the help of the Facebook Marketplace. That app works great, much better than the local Craiglist. With facebook I can view the profile of anyone requesting to see our stuff and it is bit easier to be selective about giving out an address or phone number. With Craiglist, I was immediately bombarded with several fake purchasers offering to send me a check and have it clear before their “shipper” would pick up the item. A huge scam!! So glad I didn’t fall for that one.

We moved the BBQ off the back porch, finally deciding that the big black covered thing was getting in the way of our peaceful view

One of my most favorite things about Sunset House is the light. Morning sunshine streaming into the bedroom is the best part of an east facing bedroom window.

Mid month we took a few days of mini vacation time for a few days of kayaking over on the east side of the mountains, where spring is a bit later arriving, but nonetheless, we were blessed with gorgeous sunny days. We spent the nights in our little apartment, where we now have renters in all the others except the smallest, Apartment B, where I used to do all my quilting during our transition times living at the Apartments in Klamath Falls.

We have yet to find any kayaking that appeals to us here on the west side of the mountains. The Rogue River is a bit big and rowdy for us, and the few lakes are actually reservoirs with barren shorelines. Not our style. We love the refuges and birds that we find when kayaking in the Klamath Basin.

We launched our kayaks for the first time in all the years we lived in Klamath Falls on Lake Ewauna, the body of water between Upper Klamath Lake and the Link River and the Klamath River. The launch is right in town at Veteran’s Park, and is in a more populated area than we usually kayak, but nevertheless, we were treated to some fabulous birds and great views of Klamath Falls proper from a completely different perspective.

American Avocet

American White pelican, the mascot for Klamath Falls

Klamath Falls from a completely different perspective

The next day we returned to our favorite kayaking spot of all time, our very own Recreation Creek. The mountains in the distance are the ones around the rim caldera of Crater Lake, with Mt Scott on the right.

We launched at Malone Spring and traveled north to Crystal Spring, truly one of the most amazing places to enjoy in the entire Klamath Basin.

It was still early in the season for the east side, and the wocus lilies were still underwater. I have taken so many photos of blooming wocus, but this time it was completely different to see the gorgeous colors underwater. And thank you, daughter Deanna, for the polarizer lens birthday present. Without it these wonderful colors are just shadows below the water reflections.

Another beautiful view of Mt Scott where my family hiked to the top with me on one of my most memorable birthdays ever.

We began our month of course on April Fools Easter, with Daughter Deborah and Grandson Matthew joining us for all the traditional Easter goodies. I do love decorating for Easter, with the bunnies and all the energy of emerging springtime. We invited the neighbors as well, a couple who have been good friends with Deborah from the time she lived here in the cottage, and who spent a previous Easter with us back in Rocky Point a few years ago.

There is that east morning light again!

As soon as Easter was over I packed my bags for a quick solo trip to Nevada City, California where I spent a lovely afternoon and evening with Jimmy and Nickie, from the Intrepid Decrepit Traveler. They opened their home and guest room to me, took me to dinner in their charming town, and regaled me with stories of their past travels and their excitement about their upcoming trip to Peru, Machu Picchu, and the Amazon. Such excitement!

The next morning we hiked a gorgeous springtime trail along the South Yuba River where the warming sunshine had us rolling up our sleeves and pant legs. California is magnificent clothed in that flourescent springtime green, and I loved being there.

I then traveled back to Oroville for my annual girl-time visit with lifetime best friend, Maryruth. We are going on 55 years of friendship now and it is something I treasure. Maryruth loves to cook and she spent several days cooking up tons of goodies so we wouldn’t have to cook much during my visit. What a treat! We spent most of the time holed up in her craft room office making cards, a hobby we both have come to love. We spent a long time anticipating this card making retreat, and actually didn’t leave that room very much during the 3 days I was there. SO much fun.

Of course I don’t have a lot of photos of this time because I was quite busy, and every time I bring out the camera, Maryruth has a fit, but we did at least manage to get our traditional toe photo. We have done these photos for a few decades, to prove we were together, back in the days when selfies and tripods weren’t the norm and we couldn’t ever get a photo of the two of us at the same time.

Other days of the month have been filled with making a slide show for Mo’s brother Roger’s Memorial happening in late June. It was a new thing for me, and of course I had to call on my trusty friend Erin once again. If you want to get lost in some of the most amazing wildlife and travel photography ever, click on that link. Erin is always so amazing in her willingness to share and help me when I need to understand anything relating to photography and especially Lightroom. Her expertise has been invaluable to me over and over again.

I managed to get the slideshow finished, and ready for the family’s review. A big job, but also a fun one because reviewing and editing 437 pictures of Mo’s brother Roger gave me a chance to know him in ways I never did in the 15 years or so I actually knew him in real time.

02-03-2018 to 02-05 2018 Hanging with Judy

I think most bloggers that read my blog know Judy, either in person, or from her very popular blog, Travels with Emma. Everyone called her the Bird Lady of Blogland, with good reason. Judy spent ten yeas of her life traveling from refuge to refuge across the United States, volunteering. Judy is especially good with the birds, being responsible for doing extensive bird counts on many refuges.

We first met Judy on our southern trip to Florida, stopping at Anahuac NWR for a visit. The story of my kitty Jeremy and Judy’s dog Emma meeting was a good one. On that trip, Judy took us on a private tour of some of the hidden places at Anahuac, and I saw my first roseate spoonbills in person. Gorgeous day.

Since then our paths have crossed a few times, with Judy visiting us at our home in Rocky Point, us visiting Judy when she volunteered at Harris Beach, and a visit to her home base now in Jojoba Springs. Judy hung up her blogging hat a couple of years ago, but in spite of her quiet absence, we managed to stay slightly in touch. I was thoroughly tickled when Judy called me last month asking about when we planned to be at Desert Hot Springs.

We shared dates and plans, and got caught up on Judy’s new life at Jojoba. The big rig that she never really loved to drive is now gone, and in its place is a nifty new….not park model. I can’t remember what you call it, but technically it isn’t a park model because at Jojoba you are required to have a holding tank. Anyway, it sounds lovely, and Judy’s stories of her life and community at Jojoba were good to hear.

But you know how that travel bug gets to us if we are stationary for too long. Judy found a sweet little Chinook Class B and wanted to try it out with a visit to Desert Hot Springs, and decided to stay at Catalina Spa where we could spend a bit of time together.

She arrived late in the week, and I made supper for us to share inside the MoHo since we didn’t have an outdoor table big enough for all the fixin’s. The next morning, Judy invited us over for a Sunday brunch, with the best Bloody Mary’s I have tasted in a long time, and some breads from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

It was Super Bowl Sunday, and without following football this season, we decided it was our last chance to get to the movies in Palm Desert, and Judy joined us. We sat in those great big comfy recliners with our wine and popcorn to watch Darkest Hour. An excellent movie, and the wine was cheaper than the popcorn.

On Monday we left Mattie safe in the cool MoHo and took Judy to the Visitor Center and ponds at 1000 Palms Oasis. It wasn’t too crowded when we were there, and I think Judy enjoyed seeing the visitor center since she has so much experience with different centers at different refuges. Thousand Palms is a Nature Conservancy site with a great history, and there are some lovely hikes from the main area, but those were for another time.

On Monday evening, Judy treated us to her dinner, “stuff” is what she called it. She said when her kids were growing up it was either white stuff or red stuff, and the red stuff we had was delicious. Patio time and conversation time as we both prepared to pull up stakes the next morning and head out in opposite directions. Judy back to Jojoba and Mo and I to one of our favorite desert boondocks on Ogilby Road.

It was great to have some time to catch up, and to see that Judy is doing well.

Fabulous Friends Fabulous Days Fabulous Fun

Continued from this post:

As I wrote yesterday, Jeanne (my friend from Vermont) arrived on Monday, Labor Day, a very short time after Phil and Joanne left for Eugene. I haven’t seen Jeanne since her wedding last year, when I traveled to Vermont to participate in one of the most wonderful weddings I have ever experienced.

Jeanne has many friends in Klamath Falls, and it gets pretty crazy when she visits trying to fit everyone in. Most of her friends are high energy, very physical folks. Big time bikers, runners, hikers, and white water boaters. Just like Jeanne. Thank goodness I have a couple of decades on them as an excuse for not being able to keep up, not wanting to, actually. I’ll settle for a flat water paddle and a long walk any day!

Still, Jeanne made sure she had time for us, spending a couple of days and a night in the cabin. After a nice walk in the neighborhood, we settled in at home for some of Jeanne’s favorite ribs. I don’t think I have made them since the last time she visited, but I am sure glad that was her request. Got the recipe from a local Rocky Point resident famous for his cooking. Something about a few hours braising in pineapple juice and seasonings before they go on the grill with sticky sweet gooey sauce makes them fall off the bone tender and so tasty. Yum.

Once again we pulled out the dominoes. Jeanne and Alan found out while visiting us a couple of years ago that our domino game was one they actually liked, but forgot how to play it. Alan, now her sweet husband, actually bought her a set after they left here last visit. Hopefully this time she will remember.

The next morning dawned the most gorgeous, smoke free, bluebird sky day we have seen in weeks. By nine Jeanne and I were on the water, launching at Malone Spring and traveling north to Crystal Spring.

The canoe trail is within the boundary of the Upper Klamath NWR, and parallels the steep eastern flank of the Cascade Mountains. As you can see, it winds through the marsh, with lots of meanders. The water is crystal clear, but filled with plants and fish and birds abound.

In this photo, from a larger perspective, you can see the upper part of the canoe trail in relation to our place in Rocky Point, in addition to Pelican Bay where we kayaked with Phil and Joanne, and the spring run to Harriman Springs where we took Judy and Phil and Joanne as well. It is nice to have options based on how much time we have and how many miles our guests wish to paddle. The run with Jeanne, (and the same run later with Jimmy and Nickie) is about 8 miles round trip.

I would have loved to linger at the spring, but we had only 4 hours to make the round trip because Jeanne’s friends were picking her up for another adventure. Hiking down to the water of Crater Lake for an icy swim and the long steep hike back up were next on the list. I begged off this one, even though invited since I wasn’t sure my recently rebuilt innards could handle the climb back up the long steep trail.

After Jeanne left, Mo and I had a day to get the new wood stove moved into the apartments, finish up a few details, and buy groceries for the next round of guests.

I was so excited to have Nickie and Jimmy (The Intrepid Decrepit Travelers) send a text message saying they were heading our way and would we be home. I had already practiced a couple of days of food, so I just did it all again for our new company. Good thing we all like salmon! The End of the Day (3 of 7)

They arrived on Thursday afternoon, and didn’t take long to arrange Tergel in the shop driveway, get her leveled with the slides out and join us for more make it yourself wraps and fruit. I have found this to be a great way to do lunch for a bunch, laying out spreads, hummus, cheeses, veggies and several kinds of tortillas for everyone to put together their favorite. Takes a lot of the pressure off!

Mo took a break from our guests to try to catch up on getting the lawns mowed while the three of us took Mattie for a nice long walk along Rocky Point road while we chatted and got caught up on all the recent doings. I was really impressed with Jimmy’s recovery and his strength walking after such recent knee surgery. Way to go, Jimmy!

We had so much fun with dinner and conversation I completely forgot to take photos. Guess that is a good sign.

The next morning we were again up early to get out on the creek before the warm temperatures took over. Sadly, the bluebird skies had disappeared and smoke from the California fires was once again muting the horizon and the distant mountains.

Still it was beautiful out on the water. Jimmy and Nickie have a tandem Sea Eagle, but opted instead to try our hard side boats. It was just at the point of being a bit too long, but everyone did fine and instead of having to rush off when we reached Crystal Spring, we had the luxury of lolling around above the beautiful springs before taking our time going back downriver.

The current is almost negligible, just enough to feel it a bit as you are paddling upstream, but not enough to really get you moving downstream. Nature was good to us on this day because the afternoon winds never appeared. Good thing there isn’t much current! Mattie is new to kayaking, and this was only her third time out. She is just a bit nervous. For who knows what reason, she decided to jump right out of the boat into the water. It was COLD, and I think she was quite happy that Mo was able to haul her back in within seconds. She didn’t try it again.

While floating around the spring, my phone rang. What?? I didn’t even remember that it was on and certainly didn’t expect to have a signal. Sure enough my friend Marti, from Idaho, was calling trying to figure out how to get to Rocky Point. I told her we would be there in a couple of hours and that hopefully she could relax on the porch till we arrived.

When we got home, Marti was waiting patiently enjoying a book and the shady porch with her dog, Rueben. Rueben was a very excitable dog, and we had no idea how he and Mattie would get along, but they were just fine, if a tad rambunctious. I offered the cabin to Marti and Rueben, and Jimmy and Nickie decided it was nap time in Tergel!

Understand, Marti is a river rat from way back, guiding on the Rogue River in years past, and running the Grand Canyon and so many others I have no idea about. Still, I had offered to take her out in our lake kayaks, but after so many trips I felt a bit worn out. The look of disappointment in Marti’s eyes when I started to beg off another kayak trip was enough to get me back in my boat once again that day for a second paddle down to Harriman Spring.

I got a good deal of paddling in during that week, for sure, and I loved it.

We had planned to go out to supper, down the road once again to the local resort, but everyone was so relaxed, and there was so much food left over that we decided to eat at home. I marinated and broiled some chicken and made another fresh salad to go with all the rest of the goodies. We feasted, laughed and talked until everyone just plumb gave out and meandered off to bed.

Saturday morning dawned smoky and warm, and I think Nickie and Jimmy were not happy about having to return to Nevada City and the huge Butte Fire smoke that was affecting their area. Still, everyone was up early, sharing coffee and fruit before they buttoned up Tergel, hooked up Smartie and headed down the road toward California and Marti continued her Oregon travels heading toward the coast. The End of the Day (7 of 7)

This last photo might just give an idea of how much fun we have with these great friends of ours that we never would have known if not for RVing and blogging about it.

I think this may have been the busiest week I have experienced with company since my family reunion back in 2007. It was so much fun to see everyone, but I must say next time I hope all our visitors won’t have to schedule during the same week.

01-14-2015 Refuge Days with Judy

Current Location: Imperial National Wildlife Refuge northeast of Yuma Arizona

It has been three days since we left the relative urban environment of the Coachella Valley to travel east and south. The route is familiar again. A short way along Dillon road to the east intercepts I-10 and once again we are traveling toward Quartzite, passing last years boondock site at the entrance to Joshua Tree, enjoying the reasonably smooth pavement of this part of the interstate.

We were in Quartzite before noon, with the cloudy skies invading the desert to the west gone and replaced with varying levels of warm sunshine. We gassed up at the Pilot at $2.06 per gallon with our .03 discount. It is rather amazing to fill the tank of the MoHo with less than a hundred bucks. We parked in the lot east of the station, with few semi’s parked there, thinking it would be OK. We didn’t back in, but parked at the far end of the lot crossways. No one was anywhere near us. But by the time we got back from our short shopping foray, a big rig had parked in front of us, and while we sat there preparing to leave, another slid in even closer. I think we broke some rule and did some quick backing up to get out of there before we were completely boxed in.

Quartzite was the same as ever, windy and cool in spite of the sunshine, long rows of stalls with tons of stuff, and the tool store and bead store that we saw last year. Mo didn’t find what she was looking for and there wasn’t a single thing that I needed or wanted. A few items at the less than stellar grocery store reminded me that if you come to Quartzite, you should probably have anything you need already in your possession.

After a very short stop, we were again rolling south on Highway 95, past the Kofa Mountains and toward Yuma. Temps were fairly cool, and some big black clouds in the sky to the south indicated that rain was either coming or going. Unusual in this part of the desert at this time of the year.

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge is located on the Arizona side of the Colorado river, and the access road is at the huge Yuma Proving Ground. We turned west, and were surprised that the road was unpaved a few miles before we reached the refuge. The washboards weren’t too bad, actually not as rough as I-5 can be in parts of California.

The large puddle, however, stopped us cold. In the southwest there is no way of knowing how deep the puddle may be, or how soft the roadbed is beneath the puddle. We were in a quandary. At the lower level of the wash where we were stopped, there was no phone signal, so I couldn’t call Judy at the visitor center to ask about the big puddle.

Instead, we unhooked, Mo turned around with the baby car, and I backed the MoHo up the road a few hundred yards to the intersection. I was attempting to get a call through when a man in a golf cart showed up and offered to lead us across the puddle, insisting that it was perfectly fine. We asked him to go first to prove it however, before we slowly crossed the scary puddle of water which turned out to be pretty easy. Still, as they know in the Southwest, you never know about these puddles so better safe than sorry. We later heard that Barbara, of Me and my Dog, had attempted to visit Judy that same morning, and the puddle made her turn around without even trying to cross in the car in which she and a friend were exploring.

Seeing Judy again was great. We met last year in Anahuac NWR, so the meeting didn’t have the “new” thing, but was instead a happy reunion. We stopped in at the Visitor Center since it was her work day and let her know we had arrived and then settled into our campsite with plans to meet for supper when Judy got off work. Emma was as happy and excited as usual, but before long she settled down and enjoyed the company. Judy’s site overlooking the pond is fabulous. The view, the patio, the shady side of the rig stays nice and cool (I think that should be a good thing most of the time). All the bloggers who weighed in encouraging her to move to the 30 amp site were right! A good move.

After a great sleep in the silent beautiful desert, Judy stopped by in the morning to pick us up for the day’s tour. Judy usually does the bird tours on Sundays, but she sweetly offered to do one this week on a Tuesday for us, and for John and Sharon from On the Road Of Retirement.

I have followed their blog for years, so it was delightful to meet them in person and share the morning checking out the ponds and birds on the refuge.

No telephoto along today to capture photos of the wonderful birds, but I do have to put a little bit fuzzy one up of the beautiful great horned owl that graced us with its presence and sat quietly in the tree in full daylight posing.

I added some more birds to my list, with a favorite being the little loggerhead shrike, a bird who skewers his live food onto thorns to keep it in place while he eats. Hmmm. I also saw Say’s Phoebe, which without Judy around would have been just another little brown bird. Nothing quite so wonderful for a non birder who likes birds than to go out with a real birder!

Judy taught us a lot, and shared fascinating information about the habits of some of the residents of the refuge. We didn’t see the bobcat, but did see the log where she scratches. We didn’t see the beavers, but saw the fascinating beaver trails crossing the road between ponds. We didn’t see the coyotes or the burros, either, but got a kick out of the coyote and burro trails.

Later in the afternoon, Judy picked us up again, and took us to the northern portions of the refuge. There are four overlooks, with views of the remnant lakes that connect to the Colorado River, and at the first one we found so many birds that even Judy was excited.

I added buffleheads and ruddy ducks to my list, even though I know I have seen them in our Klamath Basin refuge. It makes such a difference to have a birder tell what they are. I might actually remember now.

Evening was enjoyed with laughs and conversation on Judy’s patio, and probably the best BBQ chicken I ever tasted. Judy called it New York chicken bbq and spent a great deal of time basting the pieces with a nondescript looking marinade that turned the chicken into a flavorful crispy skinned delight. Never had anything like it. Don’t forget to send me that recipe, Judy!

Wednesday Judy had arranged some kayaks to get the three of us out on the Colorado River, but with the very cool temperatures and the wind starting up early, we nixed that plan quickly. Instead Judy drove us north again to the Painted Desert Trail, I think the only official trail in the Refuge.

The temperatures were perfect for the leisurely hike, a mile and a third winding around and up through the volcanic rhyolites, tuffs, and basalts of the 20 million year old landscape, topped off by river gravels from the meandering Ancestral Colorado shining with desert varnish.

We found some very interesting green rocks, carried down by erosion from the basalt flows to the north, but Judy made sure we didn’t pick one up. The only place to gather rock is some distance north and east in the Kofa Refuge.

I learned finally which tree was the ironwood, and we talked a bit about how many different plants are called “ironwood”. Nothing was yet in flower, but the lime green of the palo verde trees against the rusty red rocks added plenty of color. Again we saw burro sign and burro trails, but no sign of a live animal. This refuge is ambivalent about the burros. They aren’t attempting to eliminate them as they are at Sheldon NWR, but they are also not doing anything to support them since they are feral, not a naturally occurring species.

We had the entire morning and trail to ourselves, so imagine our surprise to return to the trail head to see so many cars parked! Lucky us! Later in the day we found out that there had been more than 100 visitors to the center that day, and the park was crawling with people, more than Judy had seen in her entire time here since October.

Home mid day, we packed up a lunch (don’t ever offer Judy a tuna sandwich!) and decided since we couldn’t kayak, we could take a few hours to explore the lower end of the Kofa Refuge in the Tracker. With only half a tank of gas in the car, and a gas station all the way south in Yuma, we limited our drive to 3 hours and 100 miles. We didn’t have to worry about the distance in the least.

We used up the three hours without a problem, but the condition of the road deteriorated enough that our progress was slow and we didn’t have time to actually get over MacPherson Pass to the other side.

The picnic was a stand up affair, with a little bit of wind protection from the car and entertainment provided by a long line of Jeeps coming back down from the pass. After lunch, we attempted to continue a bit north, but were stopped by a drop off. After careful examination, we decided against trying it. Mo and I have done similar obstacles in the Tracker, but it was getting late and we had no clue how many more we might have to try and then still turn around.

It was important to get Judy back to her site on time, since she was the hostess of a gathering of refuge volunteers and she had 20 Chicago hot dogs to prepare. At five, the volunteers gathered to visit and enjoy the dogs and chili and some salads provided potluck style and talk about the different refuges where they have volunteered. It was an interesting perspective on a lifestyle that is considerably different than some full time RVrs.

Our three days here in the Arizona desert are coming to a close. I can’t believe how quickly the time passed and how wonderfully quiet it has been here. Lucky Us!! It isn’t easy to take time away from working for Judy to show folks around, so I don’t take her generosity for granted. What a great lady, who gives so much to the refuge world. Lucky them as well.

Today we travel north again for some off-grid time in Joshua Tree.

01-11-2015 Other Doings in the Coachella Valley

Current Location: Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, near Yuma, Arizona

While swimming, soaking, and hiking in the warm winter temperatures of the Coachella Valley are high on our list of favorite pastimes here, we do manage to do a few other things as well. For complex reasons, we decided to travel north and east through Yucca Valley to 29 Palms to check out the Marine base.

It was a billboard advertisement that called our attention to the murals in the small desert town. Murals are always fun to find, but in this case many of them were on north facing walls, making photography a bit challenging. I suppose this might be to reduce fading on the paintings. A few of the murals were done fairly recently, and one especially was interesting because the signatures indicated that it was completed in just a weekend in May in 2013. Quite the project.

The mural on the Little Church in the Desert had colors that rivaled any I have seen. It was quite dramatic.

This was my favorite, however, what a great sense of humor!

As we headed back west through town, this amazing fence caught our eye. It was in a parking lot of a now closed Farmers Insurance building, and the building was just as creative, with walls and windows of rusted mine metal and old brick, even though the building was fairly new.

Although I don’t care to travel the distances that Paulette travels hunting for quilt shops in Southern California, there are two pretty nice shops in the valley. On Saturday, with gloomy skies and needing a day of down time, we drove south toward Palm Desert and found both shops in the vicinity of I-10.

As is usually the case with quilt shops, these two have entirely different styles and offerings. In previous years I have found great patterns and fabric and made quilts when I got home from the goodies found here.

This time was no exception, as I added considerably to my stash, and bought enough fabulous batiks to make a quilt similar to a sample I saw in the shop that melted my heart. Can hardly wait to get home to get started on it. The colors are so gorgeous.

Sunday after our swim and leisurely breakfast, I drove the short distance to The Sands for a visit with Rick and Paulette. So nice of them to invite me for coffee and “dippers”, a Trader Joe delight that Rylie thought she should share as well. Rylie was adorable, as usual, full of energy and such a sweet face. Rick and I have talked often about computer stuff, and I follow Paulette’s quilting blog, so we do have some things in common beside simply traveling in an RV.

Our days usually included a walk through the park, checking out the rigs and the people. It was especially interesting to notice how many sites were empty this year. Surprising considering the cost of fuel seems to have many more people on the road. Even though we stay here most every year, we have never gone to any of the sales pitches, or actually figured out the ownership style of the park. Who knows. We aren’t buying anyway.

Some people seem to have bought more than one lot, and just down the road from us in the lower park, an owner was installing landscaping, and gravel on one lot next door to his motorhome space. It looked quite nice. I was curious how long these owners are allowed to stay in the park, or if they have to leave as some of the other kinds of park memberships require. However, I didn’t care to find out enough to sit through a sales pitch!

On another note, I learned again to make the trip to the upper park laundry rather than using the one in the lower campground near our site. Once again, as in years past, I lost money in the machines with no way of getting a refund. The office was closed on Sunday, the machines are owned by someone offsite (according to the lone person around in the guard shack). The only way to get back my 1.25 in quarters was to fill out some extensive paperwork and after the problem was resolved, they would mail the money to me. Right…I never did ask if I had to pay for the stamp for that service which would have cut my return in half.

The other minor thing to keep in mind at Catalina is the soft sand and uneven sites. We put pads under the front levelers, but had nothing under the back ones. When we lifted the levelers, the back one had sunk at least four inches into the sand. Be sure to have supports for your levelers and plan on complicated leveling. We have semi-automatic levelers, so can only manage two at a time, and it gets a bit crazy sometimes in these uneven sites.

Don’t want to end thoughts of our stay at Catalina Spa with negative stuff, however. I still give this park a 9 out of 10 for one of our favorite parks to spend time in the winter. The pools are the best part, and I will continue to come south for my allotted seven days as long as this park honors our Passport America. I would NOT pay the regular price of $65 per night no matter how good the pools were!

We left yesterday morning, traveling east on Dillon Road toward Quartzite and then south toward Yuma.

Next: Visiting Judy and the birds at Imperial National Wildlife Refuge