November 17 - 18, 2013 Our Time in Mesa

Sunday, November 17

We had a slow start this morning and made our way to the Mesa Marketplace and Swap Meet.  We really did not need anything but it was good to walk around to see the “stuff”.   There is some beautiful things out there but, alas, does not fit in a motorhome - .

Our next stop was Staples to look at computers - both Andy and I hope to get new ones soon.  And, lo and behold, we found Utz’s Sourdough Pretzels on sale.  Those pretzels are made in the PA Amish area and they are probably the best pretzels I ever ate.  They are hard if not impossible to find once you leave Pennsylvania but someone did tell us that Staples does stock them.   YEA!!!

The rest of the day, I spent trying to get caught up on my blogs from Death Valley.  Now done through November 7 - 3 more days to go.  I took over 2000 pictures there and we only saw just a little part of the park.

Monday, November 18

We were up early and made our way to Auto Glass Boss on Main Street in Mesa.  We have double pane windows and every one of them has leaked.  Two years ago at the steps near Lake Havasu, we had Joe fix two of our windows (Thanks Jan and Chuck for letting us know about Joe.).  Since this year was our maintenance year, a few weeks ago we called Joe to talk about getting our other windows done.  So today was the day.

We had ALL (20 windows) of our windows fixed and the windows in the living area tinted (12 windows).  He did a great job and I highly recommend him if you have creeping seals on your double paned windows - very reasonable.  A link to his web page and number is on the right side of the blog under “Interesting Links”.  Feel free to tell him we sent you.

They finished up around 5 PM and we could have stayed there (he does have electric and water) but we decided to move on to our lot in Casa Grande - see next blog for details and stats.

Enjoy today.

February 12-14, 2010 – Time with Family

On Friday, 12th, we made our way up to the Indio Elks for the weekend.  My cousins, Jim and Deb live in Palm Desert, a short ride from here.   And we had a wonderful time, chatting, laughing, telling stories, oh my.  And Deb fixed up some great dinners…  It was so good to spend the weekend with them and hopefully we will see them again next season.

Stats for Friday:

Miles Traveled:   63 Miles

Routes Traveled:

California: Beal Street and Main Street, Niland; SR-111, Madison Avenue

Jim and Deb:

Andy enjoying the weather:

For my east coast friends (Sorry, just had to do this – :-))).  Yes, the weather was beautiful!

Spring is here!  Grapefruit Tree:

Lemon Tree:

 

And the flowers, oh my:

What a contrast – Palm Trees and Snowy Mountain Tops:

What a great weekend – Thank you Jim and Deb!

February 6 - 9, 2009 – Visiting Family

On Friday (6th), we left the Slabs and went to Palm Desert to visit my cousins, Jim and Deb. First the stats:

Miles Traveled: 70 Miles
Routes Traveled:
CA: CA-111

Some views:

The Salton Sea (more later):

We arrived around noon and spent the day getting caught up with each other – it is so good to see them and I always like spending time with family and friends.

On Saturday (7th), we took a ride to Joshua Tree National Park. Check out the scenes:

Us in front of the Ocotillo:

The field of Teddy- Bear Cholla cactus:

This is the cactus that is sometimes called the “jumping cholla” because the joints appear to jump off the plant even if they are barely touched. According to the brochure: “The teddy-bear cholla has the reputation of being the most formidable. Not only do its long thin spines readily penetrate clothing, shoes, and flesh, but the tip of each spine is armed with tiny curved barbs that assure it remains anchored.” Yikees! We did not get too close.

The Joshua Tree(s):

Check out these rocks – it looked like they just appeared in the high desert:

Coming out of the park into the valley (wow!):

As we neared I-10, check out the rows and rows of windmills:

The weather was a little rainy and chilly and even some of the mountains had snow:

What a wonderful day – Thank you so much, Deb and Jim.

On Sunday (8th), we just hung out in the morning. Jim and Deb have such wonderful gardens. It is so unusual for us to see some many beautiful flowers in February.

We went out for lunch and then took a short drive around the area and Lake Cahuilla:

Our afternoon was spent just hanging out and taking it easy. We have had such a great weekend here. Thank you so much, Deb and Jim for making us feel welcome. We hope to see you again next winter.

Today, Monday (9th), we left Palm Desert and came back to the Slabs. On our way here, we passed the Salton Sea again. This sea is 227 feet below sea level and has no outlets and is saltier than the Pacific Ocean. Here is a great link for information: http://www.saltonsea.ca.gov/thesea.htm

Some pictures:

When we came into the Slabs, Cookie and Earl were putting a campsite occupied sign on our site – Cookie had just read my email about returning. Thanks Cookie and Earl! Chili Bob stopped by tonight and it was nice to get caught up.

We had some rain and then the wind started. It is still blowing pretty strong as I write this but hopefully tomorrow it will be gone. We are going to have some cooler temps for a few days – 60’s in the day and mid 40’s at night. (To my eastern friends and family – I know, I know, it is much better than 30’s in the day -:-))

So Andy fixed his bike tires – both tires went flat last week – and we found cactus daggers in them! And I am getting caught up with some computer work.

Until tomorrow!