MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM YUMA ARIZONA

A Merry Merry Christmas to you all. Please enjoy the Queen's Christmas Message for 2017, courtesy of our fellow Commonwealth country Australia, and the lovely clips of Christmas "down under".  Just click on the image please.

And from Yuma Arizona, best wishes to all our friends and family, as the Queen says, who are the rock to whom we return each Christmas season, even if only through the magic of cyberspace.

JOSHUA TREE

On Saturday we decided to take our cruise up into Joshua Tree National Park. 

We had driven through the lower sections of the park last year and loved it.

So this year we decided to drive back up to the northern entrance and come down

through the park.

The sun rise over the mountain behind the campground was lovely. It gave us a good start

to the day.

Back up to Yucca Valley to the northern entrance.

The park is almost indescribable. We are at an elevation of 4-5,000 feet and the

rock formations are stunning. They are in sections with long valleys in between.

The Joshua trees seem to love the higher elevations, the Cholla "Teddy Bear" cactus

are found separately on the next lower floor of the park. The rock formations that criss-cross

around and through the valleys are twisted and cracked and rounded by ancient winds.

I'll have a bit more to say about them in a moment. 

The various campgrounds are laid out in these rock formations, each one tucked in behind and

around and under the rock. Very few of them are capable of space for large campers, most of the

campers here use pup tents or small VW vans or other similar living space.

These campgrounds and their rock formations are heaven for rock climbers. The couple

below saw us winding through the rock and gave us a cheery wave.

The diversity of rock formations is infinite.

I thought that Dear Readers might like to see how these rock formations were

created. The rock appeared to be sandstone which is easily carved by wind and rain.

But the truth is the opposite. These massive rock outcroppings are solid granite and 

were fractured into shape by earthquakes and then the granite blocks were 

subsequently weathered into the rounded shape by mineral rich groundwater underground.

Further wind action over vast periods of time exposed the exotic rock formations.

In the photo below, you can see the event in process. There is exposed and weathered

rock to the right. The rounded hills to the left are covering a yet-to-be exposed section

of rock similar to the one you can see. An evolving process taking millions of years.

We turned off the main park road and took a long winding paved track out to 

the lookout. It is on the rim of the park overlooking the Coachella Valley, Palm Springs

and the Salton Sea. We are standing on the rim at 5,000 feet elevation overlooking the 

southern end of the Coachella Valley and the Salton Sea at 235 odd feet below sea level. 

The blue haze is formed by moisture in the air and polution.

Looking straight across the valley, the camera does not do justice to the vastness

below. The slightly darker low rise, snaking across the valley below is the San 

Andreas fault line. The guide at the lookout cheerily told us that the fault produces

a steady stream of earthquakes. "There were two last night" he said. "One was 2.3

and the other was 3.1". We looked down at this snaking ridge with a shudder.

Across the valley, the tallest peak on the right side, just to the left side of the viewers 

(Rick is there on the far right) is over 10,000 feet high. It seems miniaturized by the scale

of the valley itself.

We loved our time in the park, and probably will return on our way home. There is

something absolutely magnetic about seeing the vastness of space and time compressed

into this landscape. It is a humbling experience.

As I write this it is now Christmas Eve, and I wish to all of you our love and hopes

for a joyous and peaceful Chistmas. May we take a moment to consider the riches of

our life and give thanks for sharing it together,

xxx Barbara, Rick and Flossie 

TO SEE WHAT WE CAN SEE Part 2

As soon as we leave Lucerne Valley heading down again towards Palm Springs, we enter the Yucca forests. I loooove Yucca trees. Not just "fond of" but deep profound looooove.  What can I say about them? Take a look. Decide for yourselves.

Entering down the steep grade into Yucca Valley.

Leaving Yucca Valley down another steep grade down onto the lowest valley floor at Palm Springs.

You have not entered the Twilight zone. As one enters the outskirts of Palm Springs, this is a narrow neck between two valleys and it is a natural wind tunnel. It surely looks like something from outer space!  Rick likes the first photo best.  My favourite is #2 but #3 is a close second.

The desert floor surrounding Palm Springs is a natural oasis consisting of various forms of agriculture including date palm orchards. Below is a field planted with a winter crop of some sort. 

After we pass into the outskirts of Palm Springs proper, we are on the road to the campground. On one side is rough ground and rock. On the other side is essential Palm Springs, beautiful landscaping with desert flora of all types, curving sidewalks, various types of palms artfully arranged. And of course in behind is the stunning mountain backdrop.

At the end of the road above, is the entrance to Cahuila State Park, sitting on its own little lake, backed up against the mountains. It is dusk as we arrive and the campground is very quiet and with loads of room. Tomorrow will bring a little tour of something or other, but all we want to do now is set ourselves up and topple into bed.

Niteynite.

Barbara Rick and Flossie 

TO SEE WHAT WE CAN SEE Part One

Part One:

Thursday dawned clear and crisp. Frost on the windshield and 37F. Brrrr. We got off early to ger ourselves on the chosen route to Palm Springs, via Barstow. This means a trek eastward up from the Imperial Valley and over the low range of mountains.

At 9AM, we cross the valley floor heading east.

As we rise up, I look back at the valley floor.

It's a short hop over the mountains to Barstow where we fill up at a gas station. There are wind cautions

posted all along the freeway. We are feeling lucky to have a fifth wheel instead of

a trailer, as we watch the poor fellow ahead of us weaving from side to side, buffeted by

very strong wind gusts.

While filling up, we note the palms and flags being bent sideways.

From Barstow we see that a side trip to Joshua Tree is not going to happen this

day as the wind is slowing us down considerably. So we head south towards

Palm Springs.  Here we are crossing a high desert of sage and creosote brush.

Out in the middle of nowhere, we run across this saloon run by the local ranch. It

looks deserted, except that the sign says it is open on weekends.. 

In the back of the saloon is an old wind driven water pump and the metal carcass of an old truck

.

Old water tanks like this dot the countryside. A lot of these wells have been pumped

dry.

In the distance is the small high desert town of Lucerne Valley. 

The intersection at Lucerne Valley. Rick commented to me "Now you know why

we have GPS". 

END Of Part One.

CALIFORNIA DOES RAIN, SO THERE!!

Wednesday 20 December.  Off we go. South we pedal in search for warmth and sunshine……

Flossie is on her usual high alert. 

The day rose clear and with great promise for that great California Day. While Rick broke camp

I did a small walk-about to photograph the newest addition to the Santa Nella campground,

two large solar panels. Quite impressive!

The drive down the valley to Bakersfield is really nothing spectacular. Obviously it is flat,

with hills on either side but there is little to see in the way of organic material or colour or structure. 

The fields are golden dry, the grass shrivelled by the drought. We plod on, motivated by the thought

of rising temperatures, the strong California sun and soft breezes. Who cares about boring scenery

when the promise of golden sunshine and warmth on one's back hastens us forward?

We passed a number of localized blackened areas which denoted small grass fires, quickly contained.

It was a sobering testament to the current drought, but we also saw fields of fruit trees and vines (see

below).

Then the unthinkable happened. The bar of blue sky disappeared as we drove into

a large grey mass of H2O.  By the time we reached Harris Ranch (below) for gas,

the blue had been replaced by grey drizzle. For someone from the Pacific NW this 

was the ultimate in disappointment. We were here to escape from such trials!!

Behind us, the blue sky was busy receding from sight. The radio said by tomorrow

the sun would shine again. Sure sure, I thought….. "siempre manana".

Just take a look at this I say with disgust :(  Is this Bakersfield or is this Seattle???

Regardless of unseemly amounts of rain, we arrived in good time at the Orange Grove RV

Park outside Bakersfield and were well pleased to see that the high reviews it has received

from fellow campers were borne out. The campground was clean and tidy and the layout was 

spacious with orange trees at each site. We were encouraged to pick as many oranges as we

wanted and if we found a large one to give it in to the office for weighing. The heaviest orange 

would win a free night at the campground. We tried the oranges and they were like nothing we

northerners had tasted before. Although relatively small, they were seedless, very sweet but with a

definite nip. Delicious!!

A trip to Walmart enhanced our pantry with stock supplies, and afterwards we were tired so we decided to

call the day quits at 3PM. Put the kettle on, played with the dog (chase the frisbee which is quite a hoot

inside a small camper) and decided on a basic dinner of mashed spuds and baked chicken. 

As I type, the sun bursts through the clouds and slides across the table. Life is good.

Tomorrow we have no exact fixed plans, other than to head across to Barstow 

and then into Joshua Tree National Park. If they have room, we will stay there

and explore for a day or two. if not, then we will move on towards Lake Cahuilla 

south of Palm Springs. Of course we could reinvent these plans into something entirely

the opposite so you (and I) won't know until tomorrow after we have done it (or not).

Hope you all are having a wonderful peaceful prelude to Christmas.

Barbara Rick and Flossie the amazing traveller

CALIFORNIA HERE I COME!!

Here are the photos of the trip from Vacaville on Sunday. The first shot is across the Sacramento River.  

This area has industrial activity and barges on the river.

Once we got settled at our campsite, we spent 2 days with Rick's cousins Sue and Jodie

in San Ramon.  Sue just moved recently into this lovely home with her daughter Kelly, 

complete with 4 doggies who were an unexpected treat for Flossie.

Sue is an accomplished sewer and quilter. This amazing quilt hanging at the top of the stairs

I think is her masterpiece.

The lounge and dining area look out into the back terrace that wraps also 

around the family/kitchen room. True outdoor California living!!

Well it doesn't look like Christmas does it. Imagine vines and flowers and trees

blooming in late December, green grass and trees in leaf!

After a fun time with the relatives, it was time to saddle up again, and head evermore

southwards. Today we are starting off in a leisurely fashion, happy to have the truck

repaired, and the cab filled with all sorts of munchies (courtesy of Sue)…

We haven't decided exactly where we are going today, so it will now become a mystery

tour as we wend our way down into the southwest and Mexico. 

HAPPY TRAILS  and love to all from Barbara, Richard and Flossie the wonder dog.

DAY IN SAN RAMON

Yesterday morning the winds had faded away at Vacaville and after breakfast we broke camp and started off towards cousin Sue in San Ramon, a residential community on the backside of the Bay. Rick decided to take a back route, which was very comfortable driving, paved but not busy at all. We reached the Sacramento River and followed it along for awhile. I was surprised at how large it was and how quiet and unspoiled the counrysde was, so very close to the San Francisco madness.  Since we were heading towards San Francisco, the traffic gradually built until it climaxed at Walnut Creek where we turned south on the freeway towards San Ramon and the County fairgrounds at Pleasanton. When we arrived at the camprgound, it was an oasis of green and quiet, with large green fields perfect for long doggie walks. We approached the entrance, pulled over on one side for Rick to go in and register. He came out, went to shift the truck out of "park" and…..and….. there was nothing there!!!!!   The gear shift was just loose and floppy. The truck was stuck in park. We sat there stunned, trying to assess what was wrong. Here we were, stuck in "park" and not capable of moving. After a while, Rick determined that something was really wrong with the gearshift linkage. In essence, we were right, it wasn't there. It was hanging loose and floppy. We were somewhat chagrined. What now!!  We were in a good place, that is, not on the freeway or a Walmart parking lot. We were steps away from our campsite. But we couldn't move, and we couldn't detach the camper from the truck. We were stuck. On a Sunday.

Sigh. Other campers came by, and commiserated, and said "well if you can figure out how to detach the truck from the camper we can come and tow your camper to your site for you". We appreciated all the efforts at help. But we knew we were screwed.

Rick has Good Sam roadside assistance coverage, so he put through an emergency call to them for assistance. The plan was for Good Sam to bring out a winch truck that could drag the truck out away from the camper but they were having trouble finding one on a Sunday. While Rick was managing all of the excitement, I took Flossie for a long long walk in the park area.

I returned to a smiling Rick. "I fixed it" he said. He had found the main problem with the linkage, it is supposed to have a retaining clip to hold it in place to the transmission, but it had somehow dislodged itself and the linkage had come off the transmission and was flopping in the air. "I tied it back up with baling wire" he said with a smile. It was enough to be able to get the truck into gear and pull the camper to the site where we unhooked, and set up camp. This is not a permanent fix of course, but today we can call around to a Chevy or GM dealership close by and see if they stock the clip. Rick can easily install it.

Emergency solved, cousin Sue came and collected us for the afternoon at her lovely new home in neighbouring San Ramon, where we met cousin Jodie and had such an enjoyable dinner, without stress of any kind!! And then Sue's daughter kindly returned us to our campsite and on the way we got temporarily "lost" in her neighbourhood and enjoyed an impromptu tour of the Christmas lights. So all in all, it was a very satisfying day :)

Today the sun rose  as usual, all is well in the world, and all that remains now is to find the ruddy clip. Cousin Sue will come and drive us to the dealership, Rick will install the clip, and then we wave goodbye to the cousins in San Ramon, and head further south in the quest for warmth (maybe today, maybe tomorrow)…after all, we are RETIRED, rightt??

PS. Photos to follow. In all the excitement I think I left my camera at cousin Sue's, to be retrieved sometime this morning. Sigh…..


Addendum: "Retaining Clip" is integral to the Shift Cable assembly which will have to be replaced to fix it. Scheduled into the Chevrolet Service department for 7:00am Tuesday morning. Should take about 2 hours. Fingers crossed.