December 16 - 31, 2005
12/16/05 Fri
We left the Bakersfield smog at mid-morning to miss the noon rush-hour traffic. The traffic was easy but the smog was thick enough in places yet at 10:30 a.m. to slow us down. About half way to Mojave we got high enough in the mountains to get out of the smog. The mountains are unique as they are high desert with their own vegetation, trees, and brown grasses--awesome. We were used to Ponderosa pines, Sequoias, and other evergreens. We found a campground in Mojave and spent a sunny afternoon smelling and breathing clean air. Our eyes are finally feeling better than they have for a few days.
Karen went to California City to get a haircut, browse an antique shop, and get some groceries. Not much else there.
The tripod is a nice addition to the stability of the trailer when it's set up. Thanks to our friend Celina for that tip.
12/17/05 Sat
We drove back up Hwy 58 to Tehapachi Pass and browsed the gift and antique shops as usual. Since we had some packages to mail and letters that were over normal size we spent an hour waiting at the local Post Office to get some things in the mail.
Evening in the desert was cool but it was nice to be out of the smog.
12/18/05 Sun
| We decided to take advantage of the
usually lighter Sunday traffic to drive down from the desert and through
San Bernardino. It was a 140 mile drive but the light traffic made it
feel easy. We took
CA 395 down from the Mojave, got on I 15 and found good road the whole trip.
The San Bernardino Mountains were spectacular and ever-changing as we
drove. We are now in the Pine Ranch RV Park in Banning and just 40 miles from the RV Park where we will spend Christmas. We decided it was time to put our Christmas tree up for the first time this evening. The tree along with a two candle Christmas holder and a colorful Christmas stocking made it feel more like the holiday season. |
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12/19/05 Mon
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We spent the morning relaxing and doing laundry. In the afternoon we went into Banning to mail some more cards and find some items we needed. Afterwards Garrey washed the truck with the new hose brush we bought and Karen dried it--looks great! We had spit roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and salad for dinner that we bought at the Stater Bros. grocery--great! You can't really see the boulders in this mountain but they were an impressive size and looked like they would roll on top of us soon. There is also a highway winding up the mountain to Idyllwild. |
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12/20/05 Tue
| Garrey washed the 5th wheeler this
morning and Karen dried it before we left for Indio since it was only about
32 miles away.
Arrived safe and sound at the Shadow Hills RV Resort in Indio this afternoon. Jerry & Kay and their Manda and Jazz were there to welcome us. It was good to see them. We had a nice long dip in the heated pool, a soak in the hot tub and then Jerry grilled a delicious steak dinner at their motor-home. It's good to be here.
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12/21/05 Wed
The sunrises here are an incredible, 360-degree, hues of pink coming through our shades in the morning around 6:00 o'clock. Jerry and Kay gave us a tour of the area, Karen got a pedicure, and we picked up some beer. A very productive day! Of course we had our late afternoon pool-hot tub session and a wonderful Mexican dinner hosted by Jerry and Kay.
12/22/05 Thurs
Another beautiful sunrise awaked us. We ran some errands in town, and greatly enjoyed the day.
This evening we all went to David Ramseur and Susan Wibker's place in Rancho Mirage. Hogie was especially delighted to greet each of us as David and Susan welcomed us. We had some wine and hors d'oeuvres and then the six of us went to downtown Palm Springs. The main street is closed to vehicles in the evening for small vendor kiosks and street entertainers. We had dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant and strolled down the street. The only things purchased were some soaps and Kay and Karen hit See's Candies--yummy chocolates!.
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12/23/05 Fri
This morning I took the truck in for the 3,000 mile scheduled maintenance. The others picked me up at the Ford dealer and we met a couple of Jerry and Kay's friends (Roger & Joanne) for breakfast. Picked up the truck then Kay and Karen went shopping at a large parking lot booth fair at College of the Desert--lots of neat things--while taking our time looking. Jerry and Garrey went to a store, bought what they wanted, and went back to the RV Park.
Spent a nice evening of swimming & in the hot tub. Jerry and Kay came to our place for a Cobb salad and apple pie & ice cream.
12/24/05 Sat
We took a 3 mile walk this morning and reminded ourselves that we need to do that more regularly. In keeping with the routine here, we spent some time in the pool and/or hot tub. We had a nice Christmas Eve dinner of Jerry's melt in your mouth slow cooked smoked ham, Kay's long-loved potato salad, Garrey's string bean casserole, Joanne's tasty pea salad, Karen's corn bread, and Roger's pumpkin pie--yummy (from Costco)! Stuffed.
12/25/05 Sun
| We opened our gifts and then went to the
Shepherd of the Valley church in Indio for the Christmas service.
The people were very friendly and the music and service were nice.
With the temperature in the 80's we enjoyed a 3 o'clock Christmas feast at the RV park. The park furnished the turkey and ham and we all brought a dish. It was very good food. Stuffed again! We didn't neglect our duty to spend time in the hot tub either. It was also a nice day for some picnic bench time by the duck pond. Lots of purple blossoms on the lily pads. Jazz enjoyed tiptoeing through the shallow water to "get" the ducks and big fish and keeping us entertained. |
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12/26/05 Mon
This morning we all piled into the truck and headed for the General Patton Museum near Joshua Tree National Park. After watching a video about "Old Blood and Guts" Patton and looking at war pictures, books, memorabilia, etc., we went outdoors to see tanks and the desert church. The church was one wall and an altar. Then we headed for Joshua Tree Park. What an unusual park--desert with an abundant number of ocotillo, cholla, creosote bush, calico cactus, Jojoba and various other cactus. Near the picturesque rounded boulders like the ones below is where we had our picnic, took a walk, and saw our first Joshua tree. I don't think we took a picture of one...
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The Cholla (Choya) cactus is beautiful and was just starting to bloom. We stopped to take these photos and Jerry told us that cholla seem to jump at you and easily separate in balls from the main plant and have very sharp, infectious harpoon shaped needles that attach themselves to skin with the slightest touch. Just then, another tourist came back on the trail and asked if we knew how to remove the tennis ball sized thorny ball that was attached to his elbow. He had tried to remove it and as a result, his other hand was full of cactus thorns too. Karen and Jerry helped him remove it but it took a fair amount of skin with it. Hope he had some Bactine for his elbow.
The trip down was a straight road for miles and miles then arriving at Twenty-nine Palms, on to the Yucca Valley and back to the RV park. The pool and hot tub were inviting us and so was a nap. We spent the evening at home as the winds shook our 5th wheeler.
12/27/05 Tues
Garrey went to an eye doctor this morning and learned that he has had a "posterior vitreous detachment" in his right eye. It caused flashing lights and a large new "floater" but is not considered serious. In the evening we had fish dinner at Fisherman's in Palm Springs--a wide variety of fish. Following dinner we browsed through a gourmet market named Trader Joe's--inexpensive and a wide variety of foods and wines.
12/28/05 Wed
After our walk this morning, a surprise picture of Garrey washing his baby (oops! truck). The four of us went to the Thousand Palms Oasis part of the Coachella Valley Preserve pictured below. "Crystal clear springs sheltered by lush greenery; endless sand dunes that fall away from ochre-colored bluffs and mesas of the Indio hills--this is the Coachella valley preserve." Fringe-toed lizards live in the dunes here but we weren't fortunate enough to see one today. The fan palms are very old (maybe 250 years) and tall (some 60 feet) and the only palm that keeps its dead fronds. The desert pupfish, which we saw, also live in the creeks here. Later we went to David and Susan's home for an excellent dinner. They're going back to the reality of winter in Anchorage on January 1st.
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12/29/05 Thurs
Jerry and Kay left for Bakersfield today--we miss them. We read, played a game of scrabble while sitting near the pond, cleaned the front of the trailer, and just generally enjoyed the usual sunny weather. Garrey went for a lone swim in the evening in memory of Jerry.
12/30/05 Fri
Neither of us remembers doing anything except spending some time in the hot tub. We did go to pick up a few groceries and Karen got her date milkshake--very rich but good.
12/31/05 Sat
Karen needed a ride so we drove to Desert Hot Springs park. The San Andreas fault runs through Desert Hot Springs and we read about the springs it creates. The area of Indo that we are camping is also on the fault and sometimes our minds think about it and it's not a very comfortable feeling. It was cool and windy at the park so took this picture, filled up with gas, and went back to the RV. As usual we spent New Year's Eve at home. Garrey didn't even stay up long enough to see the New York celebration.
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