April 21st

Today was a very nice change of plans. We decided to stay in Lone Pine and visit since it was so nice here. We drove about 100 miles into the valley of death, otherwise known as "Death Valley". Instead of being flat desert, we climbed up to 4,957' above sea level several times (3 times in and out) on a 2 lane, winding road. The car got hot and so did we as the temperature climbed from the low 80's to over 100 degrees. Through past experience with our trusty little chevy, we found that the engine cools off if you run the heater on high.....HOT! So, it was pretty steamy but we had the windows wide open and the hot air felt good. After a picnic lunch, we headed back to camp and dropped off Chassis. We hit the local grocery store and then found a VFW where our new best friends bought us a beer and visa-versa. Nice, nice day and I was dozing on the couch by 9pm. Interesting place, Death Valley on the East of us and snow capped Mt. Whitney on the West.

April 20th

Our destination today is Lone Pine, CA 290 miles. We decided to change from Lake Isabella as it way 50 miles West off the route and we are only staying one night due to having wind layovers. So far, the freeway driving hasn't been too bad. (Easy for me to say). It's hot again but I see snow capped mountains in the distance. Forgot about the laptop acting up. All our pictures since 2008 are stored in it so I MUST call Gateway today and ask about my problem! Hope they are still in business. The campground is Boulder Creek RV Resort 800-648-8965 at 2550 S. Hwy 395 in Lone Pine. We arrived possibly to the best campground so far and the ride on Hwy 395 is very pretty. The plan to visit Yosemite has changed as there are no passes open into the park from the East side, which is where we have ended up. Being "flatlanders", who would have thought we couldn't travel on a road?

April 19th

We found Christ Church Unity on Sunday morning and enjoyed the service and the people. They had a guest speaker (a duo called "Devotion") and they sang beautifully. She gave a very inspiring and entertaining talk. We bought their CD's for the "road". After Church, we went to Biddie's house (my sister-in -law) for a nice visit, lunch and a bit of antique window shopping. We enjoyed the conversation, hugs and meeting her giant German Sheppard, Frita. (She hid from us the whole time we were there) At least she looks like a good watch dog. It was a great day, and 98 degrees. It didn't cool off until late evening. I forgot about hearing the coyotees during the night on Saturday.

April 18th

A good and a bad day. I almost wanted to skip this one in the log, but all is well that ends well. The good AM was nice showers, close to our site. The bad was they were closed for cleaning. So, we took our smelly selves and the dog and went to find the Pacific Ocean, Flower Fields and a new disc golf course about 30 miles away. The good was we found the Pacific Ocean. Very pretty and a huge beach. The bad was it was a dog beach and Chassis doesn't like dogs so we could only stick our feet in the sand and then head North trying to find historic Hwy 101. We did find it and occasionally saw the ocean but there were multiple oceanside towns with curvy roads and we made several wrong turns along the way. Interesting ride, but tense in several areas where we had to stop and then start VERTICALLY in 1st gear (Standard transmission). Norm is a good driver! I would have stalled the car for sure and would have abandoned ship, letting her roll back down the mountain and land wherever she may. Next we found the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, CA. They are a commercial flower growing business and have acres of different colors blooming away. The plan was to walk amongst the blossoms and take gorgeous pictures, but right beside the fields was a huge outlet mall. No, we didn't shop, but both parking lots were so jammed and traffic laden that we hit the highway and fortunately found a Carl's Jr hamburger stand that had a much needed bathroom. We had lunch and Chassis got a bite of meat and a walk at the next door 7-11. Next stop was the disc golf course. Good thing was that Mandy (GPS) found it for us...Bad thing..they were having a tournament and the course was closed to the public unless you wanted to pay $25 each and compete. I, especially, am not tournament ready! Made it back much quicker using the freeway, so the day ended up on a good note.

April 17th

We're off to Santee Lakes Recreation Area, CA. 166 miles. About 17 miles East of San Diego, CA. (Carlton Oaks & Fanita Parkway) 619-596-3141 $126.45 for 3 nights. (Rates a 3)
Another beautiful morning but a pretty bumpy road in California. We're driving thrugh sand dunes ~~strange~~and arrived safely to the "Yuppy Park". Lots of young people with kids and pricey RVs. We did a bit of moving about trying to accomodate our neighbors wanting to camp beside their friends but we had to go back to our original site as we were staying longer, etc. It worked out fine. We took a long walk inside the Campground and passed the 2 pools, hot tub, 3+ lakes with pretty ducks, teen center, amd multiple bath houses to reach the camp store where they also rent paddle boats and canoes. Did I say "yuppie"? Actually it is a beautiful park surrounded by hills, coyotes and snake warning signs. The drive here had so many rocks that it looked like they were just dumped by the side of the road into huge mountains. We also had to go through a Border Patrol station.

April 16th

The wind is a bit calmer so we are on our way to Yuma, Arizona. 242 miles. The campground is Riverfront RV Park 928-783-5868 at 2300 Water Street, Yuma, AZ. (Rates 2+) We touched side mirrors with a school bus at a stop light, but other than that, we're OK. There was construction on I-10 which makes travel a bit scary, but Norm is a good driver! Gas mileage is still between 7.25 and 7.75 MPG but at least the cost is not $4.00 like on our return trip in 2008. It's another beautiful, clear, cool day. The mirror "touch" is our second. The first was at a stop light with a tractor/trailer truck last year. Guess it's fairly common - at least for us! Just outside Yuma, AZ we passed the Chocolate Mountains. Can you just imagine? Arrived safely at the campground. Nice lady who must have collected antiques in her past life. Other than the usual stuff, she had an old car, a firetruck, gas pumps, antique showers~~~ We found a small grocery store and headed back to camp for a margarita or two... Hot day, cool night.

April 15th

We decided to stay another day in Tucson due to wind warnings up to 50 mph. Today we did the first disc golf course again with Chassis and then to a downtown shopping area at the University of Arizona. Fortunately (or unfortunately) we parked by a "Life is Good" store and spent $$. We also checked out our route to get to I-10 West so we'll be ready to go tomorrow.

April 14

We drove the scenic route through Saguaro National Park. Nine miles of mountain views and many different cacti, plus bright, yellow daisies. We took Chassis with us as we didn't plan to hike due to snakes coming out of hibernation. We dropped her off at lunchtime and then found a different "folf" course. We might have done really well but the wind was a BIG obstacle. ~~~Mom says the little animals are gophers.

April 13, 2009

Beautiful day, clear, sunny and no wind..so far. Heading West to Tucson, AZ. Just a couple of wrong turns and we're on I-10! 215 miles. We just reserved 2 nights (1 is free) at FAR HORIZONS TUCSON VILLAGE. 800-480-3488 at 555 N. Pantano Road. There is disc golf in the area and Suguaro National Monument and a historic downtown. Campground rates a 3 out of 5. On the road we passed a real cowboy, on a horse, with a hat and some cows, but I was too slow with the camera. Also, our possible future traveling vehicle just passed us. It's a 3 wheel motorcycle pulling a small tent trailer with a cat carrier bunjeed on top. Chassis would have to run behind. I wonder how the cats would take to bike riding? Oh, this campground is very pristine..gated and like a Florida 55+ condo community, association and all! It might be great for a lot of people, but not exactly our cup of tea. After we arrived and set up, we followed Mandy (GPS) to a disc golf course. SANTA CRUZ RIVER PARK It was different and fun and lots of either prarie dogs, or chip monks and a beautiful red bird. Tomorrow will be one or two of the nearby parks for some sight seeing and hiking.