BORREGO SPRINGS

March 13th

Again, being crazy, we went into the desert when it was 90 degrees.  It didn't seem too bad, we drank alot of water.   Borrego Springs is about a 2 hour drive southwest of Palm Springs.  The main reason we went was to see the beautiful  desert wildflowers in bloom.   Beautiful and unusual to see  flowers in the middle of the desert, only happens in  March and April

Unfortunately this caterpillar of the desert moth is quickly eating everything in sight. We saw them everywhere. They are huge.  The eagles fly down and eat the caterpillars but that hasn't happened yet. 

IT'S A TAD HOT!

March 11th

We have been in Palm Springs a month, but, right now they are having unusually high temperatures. It will be in the mid 90's for several days. Yesterday was 95! WHEW! Usual temps this time of year are mid  70's. 

Of course, what do crazy people do in the heat?  Go into the desert!  That's us.

The first day  I went, Denny stayed home. I went geocaching  with some fellow cachers who have a 4 wheel jeep to do some offload caching. Had a great time.  Had never done it before.   Climbed boulders stacked 20 feet plus high. 

My new geocaching friends, Kim and Terry. Kim has the bright orange jeep we went in.  

Examples of unique containers.  Shows that people have put some thought into it instead of the standard  containers, especially micros ( smaller than a fingernail)

Great container

Never have seen beer keg before. 

WINTER BREAK

FEB 15th to the 20th, 2015

Darin, our son,  Heather, our daughter-in-law  and 2 grandkids, Elissa (10) and Zachary (8) came to visit us in  Palm Springs for their school's winter break.   They usually go to Phoenix but decided to come here.  They had never been to Palm Springs.  We were also able to celebrate Zachary's 8th birthday. with him.   That was a real treat for us.  We are usually on the road on his birthday.   It was unusually hot for this time of year, in the high 80's the whole time they were here. We enjoyed lots of pool time, but also took them a few places.  We all had such a good time.  

Went to Village Fest,  a festival held every Thursday night in old Palm Springs. 

Lots of unusal things at Village fest. Elephant made out of golf clubs

The boys relaxing after spending the day at the pool 

Elissa and Zachary in the pool

Darin with Elissa and Zachary having fun in the pool

Elissa and Zachary at  The Living Desert, a great zoo. Everyone had lots of fun, but it was a hot day. 

Grandpa Frink and Elissa looking at an exhibit

Giraffes 

One day the boys and Elissa went to the Air Museum while Heather and I went shopping at El Paseo, Palm Springs equivalent to Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles.  While at the museum, Darin bought Denny this 50 caliber bullet bottle can opener. Quite unusal.

 We picked them up at the airport.  President Obama had come the day before.  Had a hard time getting to the airport because of road closures.  Never been so close to Air Force One

They brought my Christmas present with them.  Heather had the first 4 years of my blog put into a book.  It was the best present ever.

ENJOYING THE SUN

Feb 16, 2015

We had a lot of fun in Parker, AZ. We went with Larry, Denny's cousin, to a rodeo in Lake Havasu.  Only 2nd time I've been to one

This is the largest cowboy hat I have ever seen.  The one on the right is the conventional size. Looked a little strange

Went to the La Paz Flea market,  held every Sat. Only in Texas and AZ would you see these birdhouses. NO, we didn't buy one.

  

London Bridge in Lake Havasu. A man bought it at London, England, took it apart piece by piece and reinstalled it here.  Amazing to see

Surprised to see a lighthouse in the middle of the desert. It is a monument for the Edmund Fitzgerald, a ship that went down in the great Lakes.  Saw it from our bike ride and their was a geocache there.

Relaxing at the beach after a bike ride

View from our campsite

Lots of very expensive homes right on the Colorado River.  Boats  docks everywhere. The white house at the top once belonged to Patrick Swayzie.  Certainly a place to get away from Hollywood.  Town only has 2000 people. 

We were geocaching in Lake havasu, 40 miles from our campground. Started walking toward one and saw another couple.  Thought they were muggles (people that don't geocache ) and would have to be very careful not to show what we were doing. All of the sudden we saw them looking under bushes and realized they were there for the same cache.  We all looked for quite a while and were about to give up  when  I found it. Yea!  Small world,  they were also from our same campground.  Spent alot of time together and plan to see them next year. They are from Ontario, Canada.

PARKER, AZ

Jan. 19th, 2015

We arrived in the Parker, AZ area last Wed.  We will be in this area,  between 2 parks,  for a month, leaving Feb. 14th.   We have been coming here since our first trip in 2009.  Very warm and sunny.  Right now I'm in shorts and a t shirt with bare feet.  It  is 75 degrees,  by the weekend it will be around 80.  Feels so good after all the cold weather we have been having.  We have met alot of good friends in the area from all over the U.S and Canada

This park, Emerald Cove is one of our most favorites. It has 2 pools, a wading pool and 2 hot tubs. Also the Tiki Bar serves food all day until 5 pm. The clubhouse serves breakfast every day and Friday and Saturday night dinners.   Love that!  We have been to the hot tub and taken a bike ride around the park every day.  In 2 weeks we will stay at another park 12 miles away and then back here for 10 days until we leave for Palm Springs.  Doesn't seem possible that after all our traveling we are in the 2nd to the last area before we head for home.

This is where I first learned about geocaching.  Been lots of fun and taken us to all sorts of places.  Wed. we are going with Denny's cousins, Larry and Joyce on a bike ride around Lake Havasu,  That is the closest big town,  about 40 miles away.  We call it civilization.  Parker has less than 2000.  Here there is only one Safeway, a Wallmart and a CVS Pharmacy

Emerald Cove has the longest beach on the Colorado River. The River is the state line between CA. and AZ.

We have to buy our water here. You don't realize how much water you use until you have to buy it.  Have been here 6 days and used over 3 gallons plus a case of bottled water that we brought from Odessa, TX.  A gallon of water is 25 cents. All campgrounds and businesses have it for sale outside. You take your empty jugs and fill them.

Update on recycling: I had mentioned in an earlier post  that there is very little recycling anywhere.  The last 2 campgrounds we stayed in Cottonwood (Northern)  and  Buckeye (Central) AZ recycled everything. A pleasant surprise. Now in Western AZ., there is again  very little recycling. This campground has none. Our other campground, Big River, only collects aluminum cans. Since we don't drink pop, we have none.  After I talked about no recyling in Texas, my cousin, who lives in Plano ( northeast of Dallas) says they recycle everything.  I guess it is just hit and miss.

SEVENTY SEVEN DEGREES AND LOVING IT!

January 7-14

We traveled to Buckeye, AZ on Jan 7th.  Buckeye is a suburb west of Phoenix.  Came here to visit family and friends.  When we got here it was 77 degrees. Felt SO GOOD, we just sat out in our chairs drinking it all in.  This is what snowbirding in the winter is all about-sunshine and warm weather. 

Our campsite. Our first time to really sit in the sun and for Denny to grill our dinner. Notice the barbecue under the RV to the right of the palm tree. First time we have had it out. This is living!

We went to visit Judy, Denny's first cousin. She lives in a park model at an RV park.  Most people here stay  here for the entire winter. There are 1100 spots.  Happy Hour at the Tiki Hut.  Band is at the back. Seniors know how to party and dance.  It was very crowded. This happens every night.

Then we visited some friends in another RV Park,  Happy Trails.  It is huge, over 2000 spots. Again, most people stay the winter.  We first met our friends in Casa Grande, in southern AZ, then Palm  Springs. They finally decided to stop traveling and stay in one spot.  They have been full timing since 1992.  We will certainly miss them in Palm Springs.  Have seen them for the last 4 years. 

First time we have ever seen a cell tower disguised as a Palm tree.  This is a very expensive park, so they probably didn't want to see an ugly cell tower.

Orange trees everywhere in the park

There are alot of singles traveling in RVs. We don't think either one of us would do it. We saw this sign across from us in Cottonwood. Good way to start conversations. He drives a motorcycle. 

This has been our 10th area  we have stopped at  to visit relatives.  Most have been on my Dad's side, one on my Mom, and one of Denny's.  It has been fun getting to know them all on a one on one basis, instead of just at reunions. Our next stop, at Parker, AZ will be our last place to see relatives, a first cousin of Denny's. 

We like this area so much that we are going to check out staying here a month next year. This time, only a week.  

IT'S A WINTER WONDERLAND

Jan 1, 2015

HAPPY NEW YEAR GREETINGS from Cottonwood, AZ. Yesterday it stated snowing before we got up,  didn't completely stop until late afternoon.  Sometimes huge flakes, other times, tiny.  I think we got at least 4".  It  was beautiful  to watch with us warmly sitting in the RV.  Luckily we had planned on staying in.  We couldn't have gone anywhere anyway because the hill going into the campground is very steep and curvy.

There was an RV that was in the space behind the picnic table. When it left right after we got up, it left a large space with no snow. As you can see, it's completely filled in. Didn't take long. 

Obviously we didn't sit outside yesterday. A few days ago, we had been sitting in the bright blue sky with the sun shinning. What a difference a few days make

We had planned on going to Jerome in a few days but I don't think so.  Jerome had 8" of snow and it isn't going to warm up enough to melt.  Jerome is always a fun little town to go to, it is built on top of an old mine. Because of all the tunnels underground, the town is  slowly sliding downhill.  It has turned into an old, artsy, creative town with lots of shops and wineries. Always on our list of places to go, but maybe next year.