RED JEEP TOUR

 April15, 2021

We had reservations for this tour last year, but then the lockdowns started and it was cancelled. California locked down a couple weeks ahead of Washington. So many things and events are still cancelled, but this wasn't. 

We took the Bones to the Earth tour of the San Andreas Fault. It was so interesting. It is a tour of the plants, animals, geology and seismology of the Fault. The fault in this area is 2 miles wide, but in some places it narrows to 100'.  Because of restrictions, we were in a tour all by ourselves,  now they can only have families in the same tour.  Actually this was much nicer, more like a private tour. The jeep can hold 7 so last year we would have been with other people. Liked this much better

The Cahuilla Indians used every part of the plants for their arrows, clothing, huts and medicine. No part was wasted. Even the narrow featherlike edges of some plants were used for thread for sewing.  The stick in his hand isn't for walking, it is for snakes. He shakes it in areas where snakes might be. Luckily, we didn't see any snakes. It was a little cool for them. They only come out when it is hot and luckily we picked the coolest day in a long time, only 85 degrees

Our guide, Greg

 

Old Solar panels that kept the electricity going at the granite plant next door, They don't use them anymore

Good looking couple. We started with jackets because it was cool, we soon shed those

 Looking at this rock, Greg asked us if we could name the animal that this canyon is named after . I passed the test and said Hippo. Yahoo!

This formation is called the Wave

Thought this was cute, They give everyone a small spray hand sanitizer

All of these little holes was caused by bees eating into the sandstone. Thought that was amazing

Greg always wore a mask. We had to wear one inside the jeep, but when we went for walks, we could take ours off. 

Layers from thousands of years ago

These holes were made when individual rocks fell off. The birds and animals would make the holes bigger for their nests

Roads started getting narrow. Sometimes the jeep almost touched the walls

Lizard looking rock

On the left, a rock shaped like an elephant, on the right, the lizard, Again, it was a test and I passed again!

Closeup of the elephant

There are 2 faults in this area. This is a point where they converge. On the right you see the formations tilt to the left. On the left, they tilt to the right. In the middle, the formations go straight up

I probably loaded too many photos, but could have done so many more. It was a fascinating trip. If you are ever in the Palm Springs area, I would highly recommend it. It was expensive, but worth it

HELLO PALM SPRINGS

April 1, 2021

We traveled to Palm Springs from Buckeye on April 1st. As soon as we crossed into California, the price of gas/diesel went up a dollar. We knew this so we filled up just before the border. Last time we looked, it was  $4.09 a gal. 

Palm Springs has always been our favorite place so I always thought we would end up buying something here, but, as you know, plans  changed. We have always liked Palm Springs because even tho  the population is large in the winter, it  always gave  us a small town feel. There is so much history here.We have been coming here since 2009 when we started our first trip. 

It is kind of bittersweet because we know this is our last time, We used to have many friends here but over the years, they have either passed away, stopped  their RV travels or just went to the other places. We still  have 2 couples here to visit. One we met 10 years ago in Moab, Utah and have kept in contact with. They stopped RVing and bought 4 houses here in the valley. They also bought 10 acres in Chino Valley, AZ. The is only about an 1.5 hrs north of us in Surprise, so will be seeing them again. The other couple, our geocaching friends, stopped full-time RVing last year and bought a house in Indio, so this might be the last time we see them.

We feel like we are back where it started. Last year we were here in March and the mask wearing and lockdowns started. California was about 2-3 weeks ahead of Washington as far as locking everything down.  We didn't get to do anything we had planned. They are still wearing masks here but things like restaurants,  have opened to a limited capacity. The 2 main events we like are still closed. We have always gone to the McCallum Theatre for a play or event once a season. That is the Theatre that Frank Sinatra built. 

 

SANTA CLAUS IS MISSING

 March 8, 2021

On my Feb 15th blog, I mentioned that I had seen Santa Claus's hiding place. Elaine and I  were hiking in the same area, but Santa Claus is missing! I think he probably got lonely and went looking for Mrs Claus or got tired of the hot weather and went back to the North Pole. Guess we will never know. Hope it doesn't get lost wherever he went.

I got my 2nd vaccine shot Feb 26, 2021. I didn't have any side effects, not even a sore arm. They gave me a couple of stickers to show that I was. I felt cheated, my friend, Kathy, in Washington got a button to wear. 

Even got a thank you from the Governor, I feel so special!

On our way up to our new home, we saw this from the freeway. The baby and farm worker are HUGE! To put it in some perspective for you, a live person wouldn't even come up to the farm workers waist. The only reason I know this, is be because I saw some workers by them. 

Sometimes when I go geocaching with Bernie, I park at the Zoo and he picks me up. Last time I did that, I was backing into my parking space and had to be careful of  the peacocks behind me.  You can see the back of my truck at the left of the picture. Didn't realize they let them run free. 

I took this picture to show the landscape of a typical hike in the desert. So different than hiking in Washington with all the trees and greenery. 

On a different hike, Lynn and I saw this  owl's nest in the  saguaro cactus. You can see its head sticking up.

This is the back of the nest. I have never seen an owl's nest before in a cactus, but we are in AZ

SURPRISE FROM SURPRISE, AZ

 February 15, 2021

Denny and I did something a few weeks ago that is entirely out of our wheelhouse.  We bought a manufactured home in a gated over 55 community in Surprise, AZ.   It wasn't something on our radar until we actually did it. We were looking for a place 1200-1300 sq ft with 2bds, 2baths. We bought a 2000 sq ft home with 3 bds, 2 baths. Much larger than we ever thought about but it just felt right when we saw it. We still plan to only spend 6 months here and 6 months at home.  Since we will only be here 6 months, we thought a gated community would be best for us. It is fully furnished with high end furniture and appliances. Some of it isn't to our taste, but fine for now because we don't have to buy a whole houseful of furniture right away. We will sell our RV when we get home. In November we will bring the truck and UHaul down with miscellaneous things  to make it more like our home. We plan to buy a car here and then just fly back and forth. We never thought of having a 2nd home.

I FOUND SANTA CLAUS

 January 16, 2021

I was hiking with Elaine a few weeks ago and found Santa Claus's hideout when he isn't at the North Pole. He is probably so tired from making toys and the Christmas season, he wanted to get away as far as possible. I bet he loves the warm weather after the North Pole

can you see his hideout in the picture below? Look for the small red and white in the middle of the rock formation

A few of the beautiful sunrises

This is one of the smallest RV's we have ever seen. It is smaller than the car pulling it. Certainly right quarters for living in. 

SOMETIMES RAIN IS A GOOD THING

February 5, 2021

Last week the Phoenix area had quite the stormy weather. Not like the rest of the country, but unusual for AZ. It rained almost everyday. A  couple of times, it rained so hard there was rain, wind, thunder, lightning and a mixture of hail and SNOW.  We felt like we were back in Washington. We had to go to the store one day. We had our rain jackets zipped up as high as they would go and our hoods up and heads down. Just by going in and out of the store, we were soaked. It lasted about 7 days, now everything is back to normal. We had a few 80 degree days, but now in the mid to high 70's. The norm this time of year is the low 70's. 

THE VACCINE PART II

 February 2, 2021  

Denny got his 2nd shot Tuesday, Feb 2nd. They have streamlined the shot process so much since we were there last. The first time  it took 2.5 hrs. This time, 40 minutes. The first time was the  first day of the mass vaccination site at the State Farm Stadium, so there was some disorganization.  What a difference 3 weeks make.  

Denny has had no side effects from either shot, besides the sore arm at the injection site. I had been a little worried because I had heard that the 2nd one can be worse as far as side effects. 

I had no side effects at all. My arm was sore about an hour and that was all. 

Hope all goes well with other people who get the shots. 

Because we wanted to get both shots here, we extended our stay here 1 month til April 1st to make sure that would happen. Now staying only 1 month in Palm Springs. We didn't want to get one shot here, then the other shot someplace else.  We got the Pfizer vaccine.