Down in the Valley!

December 27th, 2008 Saturday 92* Sunny!

We didn't stop after Las Cruces on way to San Antonio, rather than stop with 200 miles to go we just choose to drive on in. Got there about 6:30 or so and Kathy had made us dinner which was well accepted! Traffic in San Antonio was terrible with traffic jams in every way except the way we were going LOL, was crowded but still moving.

We got to Mission Texas yesterday about 3pm. Was only about a 250 mile drive from San Antonio. Speaking of which while there we went to see the Alamo, pretty small place but interesting to see. It is stuck right in the middle, or should I say they built the city around the Alamo. Most of it is off limits to photography so I really don't have any pictures. Our neighbor at the park told us that there is a place in a town called Brackesville that was built for John Wayne's Alamo movie as an exact duplicate of the Alamo for a lot of different movies nearly 200. After the Alamo we went to the river walk downtown. Would have been a really good time had it not been 45* out!~ LOL But since we were there we stopped and ate Dick's Last Resort, my cousin suggested we eat there. The theme of this restaurant is they are rude to you! LOL Ask you want do you want! Actually quite a blast. Not only do they get rude they make hats for you and put stupid stuff on them ! Was quite the time!









Well on the way to Mission the temp kept rising and by the time we got here it was 87*, by far the warmest weather we have encountered since we left! Today while working outside on the rv I actually got some SUNBURN! GO figure! IN DECEMBER! Then to top it off we made it RAIN here, supposedly it never rains here~! LOL We drove over to see our friends Terry and Dale and we pull up and I look up in the sky and say "Gee that looks like a thunderstorm cloud"! Within 20 miles lightening and thunder and then the downpour! It is following us where ever we go. Think I will wash the truck and trailer tomorrow, I'm not planning on making it rain tomorrow so it will be ok!

Heard that back in Ohio they were talking about possible Record highs! Till we come back :(

I had a bypass!

December 21th 2008 Saturday 60* sunny

We made it to Casa Grande around noon and got set up and headed to the Heart Attack Grill. The grill was about 25 miles from the campground. So we find it and on the door it says, Warning, eating here is hazardous to your health! :) We sit down at the bar and the waitress asks if we had ever been there before, well no we haven't but we traveled from Ohio to eat here~! So we both order single bypass burgers which is a 1/2 lb of burger, fries are fried in lard and is all you can eat. Your burgers comes up and you put all the fixings on yourself. Oddly enough they didn't have lettuce. They had tomatoes so can't be a health thing. After you order your burger they put a hospital band on you that says what type of bypass you are having, single, double, triple and quadruple bypass LOL! The quadruple is 2Lbs of burger! and stacked about a foot high. Even the bun is slathered with lard and grilled. Gotta say it was really good!



























After our lunch we went to see my uncle David. David is close to the spitting image of my father in looks and mannerisms. It's almost like seeing my dad again. David is 83 now and is the only Uncle left on my dads side and my Aunt Maggie the only girl left now. Uncle Dave moved to Arizona many many years ago and I don't remember ever meeting him till back in the 90's. He lives with one of his sons Dick and his wife Dede. Dick is a fire fighter and has only one more year he can work for the firedepartment. They had a really cool restaurant called Nozzleheads but unfortunately the economy and lots of competition made it to difficult to survive. That is a real shame because it was a great bar with lots of firefighter memoribelia in the restaurant. Uncle Dave looks fantastic and had just had his gall bladder removed last month but is still going strong. We will be sure to stop and see him again when in this area.










This afternoon we are in Las Cruces, NM. This was about a 350 miles drive today and we got started around 8:30 so we got here about 2:30. Speed limit is 75 in Arizona and New Mexico and I usually cruise along at 70, make the miles go pretty fast. We will do probably about 400 tomorrow to our next stop will probably be in a little town called Ozona Texas. That will leave us about 200 miles to San Antonio. We will meet Ken and Kathy there and do some sight seeing. I emailed a friend of ours Malia the author of Malia's Miles she has been traveling fulltime for many years and does her work from the road and trades some writeups and advertising for site rent. She will try to meet up with us during our stay in San Antonio, she is in nearby Austin Texas.

Fuel prices have been good lately, I paid $2.09 today in Las Cruces but Friday paid only $1.91 in Quartzsite Arizona. This is much better than the almost $5 per gallon prices just 3 months ago. Total miles covered so far is 4107.

I'm older today!

December 19th 2008 Friday, 67* sunny

Well today is my birthday and I have turned 52. Deanna made me a Cherry chip cake with Cherry icing and we had vanilla ice cread with it. I grilled some steaks and potatoes for our dinner, there were very good steaks we got at the local market. They were nice and tender and delicious!

We went this morning for a few hours gold detecting but didn't find any. Deanna got a nice bag of rocks so we can make shadow boxes for the grand kids. My finds included some bullet fragments and a couple of spent .41 short caliber shells. Surprising how many tin cans you can find buried in the desert! But I did get to do the detecting I have been waiting for and it was cool to find the gold claims. Apparently some spend some real time at these claim sites as this picture kind of says it all!










Weather last 2 days has been beautiful, not hot by any means but nice and pleasant, just enough that you need a light jacket as it is cool in the shade but step in the sun and it gets quite warm. We did some strolling thru a bunch of the shops set up here and picked up some odds and ends. We found a lighted turntable which is the solution to a problem we have had with displaying a laser etched crystal Bighorn sheep. Couldn't believe we found it for $5 so we went back today to get a spare because it is made in china :) . There are some really cool shops here including rock shops something this place is known for.
The table turns and flashes different colors at different rates so it makes a nice nite lite! :)






So tomorrow morning we leave the desert and head for Phoenix to visit my Uncle David. Then start about a thousand mile trip south to San Antonio where we will spend xmas. Everyone have a great weekend.

Oh, I filled up with fuel today for $1.91!!!

NEWS FLASH! Deanna stepped outside just now and saw her first shooting star in her 54 years on earth! And she said it was on my birthday :)

Who said it don't rain in the desert?

Here is the general area we are in



December 17th, 2008 Wednesday 46* RAINY!

Well we just can't escape the cold, where ever we go it follows! Sitting in the SW Desert of Arizona it is 46 degrees and raining, has been raining for 3 days now. Granted the previous 2 days was just off and on but today was rain. Therefore it made for a lazy day but we did run into town to pick up some rv things get propane and stopped and got a Blizzard at DQ. Tomorrow is suppose to be back in the 50's and partly sunny.










Well yesterday I found one of the gold claims which was 8 miles back in the desert past where we are now! WOW, took an hour to get there across many dry creek beds and washes, some of the PATHS were questionable but with 4 wheel drive I was confident! :) I got there and it was a pretty impressive site, don't know how much mining actually took place here but there are MOUNDS of quartz. I found 2 mine shafts although I did not enter any of them due to being by myself, they were narrow and the one looked to go down at about a 30 degree angle probably 30-40feet that I could see. I just envisioned meeting up with a rattlesnake at the bottom :) I don't know how they dug them because it is pretty much solid rock so I am assuming there must have been some dynamite involved. The other shaft I couldn't tell, it went straight down and had some cardboard blocking the way so I didn't mess with that. It was cool just to look around although I was using my metal detector but found nothing. HEY if it was easy everyone would do it right! I spent a couple of hours hunting and figured I better get back as with an hour drive I didn't want to run into dark or with the rain, any washes filling with water .










On the way back there is a mountain that 2 years ago I told Deanna, I'm gonna climb that mountain! What I found surprising is that even though that mountain did not look to far away it was actually almost 5 miles to the base of it! Well anyway I had to pass this mountain on the way to the claim so on the way back I stopped and climbed it. I did not make it all the way to the top because the last 100 feet or so was vertical and it was raining. I only imagined tripping and slidding on the wet rocks and rolling all the way to the bottom into a cactus! So I went as far as I could and snapped a pic of the truck for distance reference. Fortunately this was a pretty easy climb other than the angle, but it was not covered with bushes and cactus mostly just shattered rock. So down I came out of the rain, and drove the remaining 6 miles back to camp. Had a great time, Deanna did not come as I was afraid the road would mess up her back plus after the first wash I came too she would have probably told me not to go across it :) One of the things I really wanted to do was come back here and gold hunt ever since we were here last time. There is another claim just a few miles from here that is right on the highway so we will try there tomorrow or Friday.

Last night after I got back we went into town to eat. A guy camped near us told me of a good Mexican restaurant and a little cafe. We looked for the Cafe first but didn't find it but did find the Mexican so we opted for it and will try the Cafe probably tomorrow. Anywho, we both ordered the Chimichanga with shreded beef. HOLY COW! This thing was 3" in diameter and completely covered a 10" dinner plate! Let alone the beans and rice and chips and salsa that came with it! I managed to stuff 90% of mine down and Deanna at 3/4 of hers. It was really good. Here is a funny story to go along with that. While looking for the Cafe we see a cop parked in a lot so I thought "hell I'll just ask him where it is" so I turn around go back and pull in beside him, he acts like he doesn't even see me pull in! I roll down my window and lean out and look and it is a DUMMY sitting in the car!!!!!!! LOL apparently that is a speed deterrent to people, sure had us fooled so I guess I was the dummy here, I am sure one of the locals got a picture of it and it's circulating on the internet now!

Well hoping tomorrow is a better day!

Oh and I need to say Happy Birthday to my Grandpa, today was his birthday!

We're BAAAAAAAAACCCKKKKKKKKKKKk

December 15th, 2008 58* cloudy

Well we arrived in the desert on Sunday afternoon after a short trip from Needles California. We picked a spot here in the BLM grounds near the front, and have a huge yard all to ourselves. Crowds seem to be quite a bit smaller this time but we are also here earlier than before. Downtown is like a ghost town and not near the vendors as before. The weather has been not so nice to us, last week it was in the 70's all week and the day we get here the high was 58* and it isn't even suppose to hit the 60's until we leave. Last night it actually rained here and the rain brought a smell out of the desert I had never smelled before and hope I don't have to again :) . I have to say though that I love being back here even though the weather could be nicer, I have so missed the desert and I don't know why I just have. First thing I found was a crystal when walking the dog and I had found several of them last time, I have looked for more but so far no luck.

First thing sunday after getting here we went into town to look around and found diesel for $1.97 and as cheap as $1.93 we found later! Glad to see that. One thing we needed to do was replace our batteries so we were in an rv store here and they had what they called seconds and it was suppose to be only damaged cases on them and perfectly good batteries. Sounded like a great deal, the normal price was $219 and these were only $75.........hmmmmmmmmm oh well, we bought 4 of them. Turns out they should only be $2 batteries so I took them back this morning and returned them and bought some brand new ones. Now we are back on schedule. I am tired of lifting batteries in and out of that damn bay all bent over. I have them charging now so we will see what happens in the morning with them.

One of my things to do when I got here was to do some gold hunting with the detector. We stopped by a gold store and the guy told us the general location of a GPAA claim which I am a member of so I can hunt there. We searched for it and found several other claims but not that one. I since got one of my buddies on the Detecting forum to scan me copies and email them to me. Turns out last night I was almost hunting on one of them back in the desert. I drove back about 5 miles and the claim is another 2 miles or so farther back, so I will check it out again. Last night I went back to late and didn't have much time to hunt as it was getting dark. I also now know where the other claim is we were searching for so I will hunt that one before we leave. All I found last night was a .45 caliber metal jacketed bullet and a piece of a lead bullet.

Hey Patti, your friends are back ! :)









Check out this crazy beetle I found. I have found a couple of them and the weird thing is when you muck with them then stand on their head! They are about an 1" to 1-1/2" long. I poked it with a stick :)









Someone has to much time on their hands as they built this pyramid of rocks that stands 5' tall!









And this is what the desert floor looks like here, its not sand as one would assume you would see in the desert. It is mostly lava rock.









Well, that is enough for now!

Resting for the evening

December 13th 2008 57* clear and windy

We are sitting in Needles California at a Marian/Rv park. Nice place and full hookups. This sits on the Colorado river and is not to far from Lake Havasu Arizona, we have about 120 miles to go to get to Quartzsite Arizona. We hit the gammot today. Left the beach at 55 degrees and sunny, ran into some fog near Bakersfield and then into Tehachapi where the temperature continued to fall until bottoming out at 31* and SNOWING! It was no longer fog but snow! Fortunately it was not sticking to the road and it was not slippery. We cleared Tehachapi at 4200 feet and began the ride down hill. The further we got the warmer it got at one point it was 62 degrees! Here it is still pretty nice for late evening.









Deanna heated up the leftover pizza and we had that for dinner and I had some multigrain salsa chips!

Found diesel in California the cheapest yet, $2.09 cash! WOW, I didn't really need any but filled up anyway! Only took about 20 gallons but that ensured we would have enough to make it the rest of the way to Quartzsite without having to refuel. Mileage was 11.5 on the last tank, that is fantastic! We made about 430 miles today and was dark when we arrived. The thing about out west here is there is not an rv park on every exit like back east, prior to this park the last one was over 90 miles back.

Well, anyway we have full hookups for a night and I got all the tanks cleaned and dumped, will fill the fresh water tomorrow before we leave.

Spoke to my uncle Dave last night and told him we were coming to see him end of next week and he told me that my aunt is not doing well back in Ohio. She had gotten alzimers now and has progressed so fast she doesn't even know her daughter. :( She will be going to a nursing home when she leaves the hospital. These are the last brother and sister of my dad. Will be good to see David.

Everyone have a good day tomorrow and I will write more soon.

Time to move on

The Morro Rock at sunset



December 12th, 2008 53* cloudy

We did the laundry today as it has accumulated quite a bit over the last 10 days. Here at the strand on the beach we have no hook ups so Deanna can't use her washer to keep up. So we saved all the real fun till today! Anyways that is caught up and we are good to go till we get to a regular campground. The next week we will be in the desert doing more boondocking. I possibly may have to buy new batteries as mine are showing their age and don't last near as long as they use to.

After finishing the laundry, I ran down and got us a pizza as we haven't had that fix for a while and it sure tasted good! Afterwards we headed to see the Elephant seals and man were they a site! For probably 3-4 miles along the coast you could see them scattered around. There is a particular spot that they hang out in that is all fenced off to keep people from bothering them. Some really huge ones as they get up to 2-1/2 tons and taller than a man when they rear up! Mostly males are on the beach but some females and some pups are there. We did see one that had died and was providing life to the birds. Quite a site to see them all there and they come from thousands of miles away! Now that is a finely tuned GPS system they got! It's funny to hear the males bark and chase the smaller ones away, and once in a while a big one will decide he has the urge and just so charging over to a female and do a little business! :) This all takes place just up the road past a town called San Simeon. Hearst Castle is near there and you drive past the entrance to the castle and go another 4 miles to the spot for the Seals. A site not to be missed in the area.









Well, we said our goodbyes to the ocean tonight :( it was interesting that in the last 2 days we witnessed the lowest and highest tides in the total time we have been here which totals about 20 days. The tide is pulled by the moon and the sun and it just so happens that the moon is closest to the earth right now by 28,000 miles which is causing the tide swings in such great amounts. It's been great hearing the ocean at night and we will miss it but the desert is calling my name. I have waited 2-1/2 years to get back there. So tomorrow morning we will hitch up and move on. Hope to get in about 400 miles tomorrow and that will only leave us about another 125 to our destination of Quartzsite Arizona. I might add that its actually a good time to be leaving as the weather is about to come into play here. Rain and cold temps are predicted for the next 5 days with some snow at the higher elevations. We want to make sure we are out of the range of the snow by afternoon tomorrow. Last time we were here it was 70-80* everyday and the day we left they got a hail storm an hour later! LOL

Tony and Charlotte left this morning and it was sad to see our time end with them but was great just seeing them again. Tony is such a card and always puts the funniest spin on his experiences. He has written a book including a lot of the experiences he had workin here as a camphost and a lot of information for those looking to live on the road. You can check it out here The Firedude! Thanks for the great time buddy! Hope you can make it back East this summer!

So with that I salute the ocean and it's marvels till next time. Adjusting to this time change is a test and tomorrow we will lose an hour on our way east. Till next episode!!!!!!!!!!

Easy Day

December 11th, 2008 Thursday 62* sunny

We just took it easy today. Tony came over and we went to get some lunch, his wife was not feeling well so she stayed at the rv. We went to an authentic Mexican place, authentic enough I didn't know what to order cause I couldn't read the menu! LOL, so that is what it is like to be iliterate, anyways the food was good but the taco's were pretty small. After eating that Tony had to get back to his wife so Deanna and I stayed down in the Harbor and did a little walking around. Had some ice cream for dessert and I had a peanut butter cookie with mine. Then we walked around the shops and picked up a couple of things and I got a new Morro Bay hat and we got a couple of jackets.

After that we drove over to the Rock, which is Morro Bay rock, it is now a preserved monument. From the late 1890's to 1936 a million tons of rock had been removed from the rock by blasting for making eddys and breaks. It is also a breeding spot for Periguin falcons. We saw one flying around. Also saw either a seal or an Otter playing out in the water.

Tony and Charlotte leave tomorrow morning and we leave on Saturday. Sure was fantastic to see them again and it has been too long since the last time. They live about 3 hours from here now but are moving back the first of the year.

Tonight was a beautiful sunset and by far is the lowest tide we have seen ever here between this visit and last. The water was literally a 1/4 mile out from the beach! We went out and took a long walk and picked up some sea shells and Sand Dollars and saw a couple more jelly fish that had washed up. This is a place we will really miss!









Well, Sunday we will be in the desert and I plan to do a little gold hunting with my metal detector and some rock searching, then off to the Phoenix area to visit my Uncle Dave and hopefully a visit to the Heart Attack grill :)

Sightseeing

December 9th, 2008 Temp 66* and sunny

Today Tony and Charlotte took us to a place called Sylvesters in Los Osos, I had the 1/2 pounder and fries and it was very good! They use their own sauce which is thousand Island with some other spices they say. Well worth the visit!


After lunch we hit Montana De Oro State park. What a beautiful place to see. We were here in 2006 and it is still fantastic! Unlike the other beaches this one is all sand stone pebbles rather than sand.

















After that we headed to a coastal town called AvilaBeach, years ago the entire town was destroyed by a 400,000 gallon oil spill. The complete town had to be torn down and the contanimated soil hauled away. So it is like a brand new town that is actually old in history. We walked out on the peir and on the way back I saw a baby seal lounging in the water enjoying hisself.









On the way home we stopped at Avila barn which is a fruit/farm store. Deanna picked up a chocolate and a carmel covered apple and Tony and Charlotte bought an apple pile that must weigh 5 lbs! It was heaped about 5 inches tall~ ~ ! We are having that tomorrow night for dessert after dinner. :)

Our time here is fading quickly as we will be leaving on Saturday morning headed for the desert. We still have yet to go north to see if the Sea lions are in yet in Big Sur. The males are suppose to arrive in November and the females later December and January for molting and giving birth.

Monday after noon, as Tony put it "we were trying to be descrete about collecting firewood from the campground which is a no no, but we figured they wouldn't notice a small piece!









Weather has been nice and quite comfortable. Usually mid to high 60's and sunny almost every day.