Friday, December 27, 2013, Move to Thermal, CA

We moved to Oasis Palms RV Park in Thermal, CA. It was another tough day of driving, 22.1 miles (6,135.6 trip/65,616.7 total). We were talking as we were headed down highway 86 when I saw the park and hit the brakes. We nearly missed the park because we forgot just how close it was.

We wanted 50 amp electrical which meant we had to choose one of the nice pull-through sites. We are so close to the orange trees we can literally pick oranges just by opening the window! The oranges are not quite at their peak, but they were pretty good (maybe they would be good for some fresh squeezed OJ). There are also lemon trees, a few grapefruit trees and some tangerine trees. I tried the tangerines - very tasty. I also picked a ruby red grapefruit, but have yet to try it.

At about 4:30, I walked over to the community fire pit where they already had a nice blaze going. As soon as the sun set, the fire was a necessity as the nighttime temperatures dropped into the high 40s. I met a lot of very nice campground residents around the fire and look forward to spending New Year's Eve here with them.

Thursday, December 26, 2013, Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palm, CA

It was our last full day at Indian Waters and we finally made the easy 30-mile drive to Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palm, CA. It was certainly different from any other National Park we have visited so far. The wide open spaces went on for miles and miles and it all seemed very harsh and formidable. They say there is a lot of life in the desert, but it hides really well.  We saw a few lizards and some birds. Apparently, there are Big Horn Sheep in the region, but I couldn't verify that.

About 20 miles into the park, you reach the Cholla Cactus Gardens. It must have been nearly 20 acres covered by this one type of cactus. When backlit by the sun, they seemed to glow. There was a quarter mile trail through the garden to get you warmed up for the longer trails later.

With a name like "Skull Rock" on the map, you have to stop for a look. I cannot say it really brought to my mind a skull - I think I would have named it "Pointy Ape Head." A nice trail led us past some strange geologic formations. It didn't show well in the pictures but there were many lines in the rocks that were just fascinating, the way they ran horizontally and vertically and up and over and all around.

Joani thought the rock formation below looked like one of the seven dwarfs' head leaning back for a nap. I think I see him as well - I think he is "Grumpy" judging by the set of his jaw.

I see "Sleepy" taking a nap.

Paper Bag Bush (aptly named)

Another 20 miles along the road, we found ourselves inside a Joshua tree forest. They never seemed to crowd each other and maintained a pretty uniform spacing.

A nice gentle climb took us to an overlook called Keys View at 5,185 feet above sea level. The view was amazing and we would have spent a lot more time there except for the 50 mph winds that were bitterly cold (we were wearing shorts and t-shirts.) You could see the Salton Sea, Indio, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, and Mt. San Jacinto. The most interesting of all was the big slash across the valley floor that was the San Andreas Fault.

The wind was really whipping and 20-degrees colder than the valley floor.

We took a couple of other hikes - one loop took us by Barker Dam. It created a small lake that was used to water cattle long ago. Now it attracts birds and other wildlife, but again, we saw nothing. (Clearly, we were here at the wrong time of the day or the year for wildlife.) The lake was not exactly picturesque - I am not sure we took even a single picture of the water. Another loop trail took us through Hidden Valley. It was surrounded by very unusual mountain ridges and rock formations. There were a lot of people rock climbing, so every now and then you could see people at the top of some pile of rock and wonder "how did they get up there?"

One of the few birds I did see was this bright blue bird. It looked a lot like the bird we saw at Mt. Palomar, but I still do not know what it is. This is cropped from a long telephoto shot, so it is a bit fuzzy (he did not like me getting very close.)

I see a giant garden gnome.

The sun is sinking and it was getting cold fast!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013, Merry Christmas, Indio, CA

We have big news! Jon popped the question and Sara said "Yes!" We wish Jon and Sara all the best for the future - we hope it will be filled with lots of joy and happiness!

It may not be a traditional Christmas here in Indio, CA, with temperatures near 80, but Joani decorated the coach to get us into the holiday mood. Eeyore loves to watch the train go around the tree.

"Merry Christmas, oh joy," Eeyore muttered.

My babies!

The hippie Santa is the perfect decoration for the front window here in southern California.

Cheers!!!

We couldn't find a lot of people for water volleyball, but Ron and Beth and Randy and Colleen made it fun for more than 2 hours before we were all worn out. I suspect I will be sore tomorrow.

We want to wish all of our family and friends a very special Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We miss you all and hopefully will see each of you soon. 

Tuesday, December 24, 2013, Christmas Eve Diner, Indio, CA

The Christmas Eve get-together at Indian Waters RV Resort in Indio, CA, was exceptionally nice. The park provided oven baked turkey, smoked turkey and ham all from the Honey Baked store. That would have been enough by itself, but they didn't stop there. They also provided wine and a variety of pies for dessert (lots of pies!). Each of the park guests brought a side dish. The whole thing was orchestrated by the camp hosts so well that there was plenty of everything and so much variety. It was all great and, of course, I ate too much, but not so much that I hurt myself.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas Eve as much as we did!

Monday, December 23, 2013, Water Heater Maintenance, Indio, CA

The water flow in the coach finally reached the point where something had to be done. Our guess (backed up by some quick web searching) was that hard water deposits were blocking the flow somewhere in the plumbing. A few web pages suggested we should fill all of the plumbing with vinegar to dissolve the built up minerals. It was not immediately apparent to me how that should be accomplished.  

First, we thought we should flush the hot water heater. I had purchased a flush wand at Camping World many months ago, and just like the spare fuel filters, I was waiting for a sign that would tell me to use it. The hot water appeared a bit milky at first and then I noticed the water felt a little sandy. I noticed there were chunks of precipitated minerals washing out of the heater tank.

Below the water heater, we saw the minerals were all over the drive. One guy stopped by and commented that he was always surprised how much sediment flushed out every time he cleaned his hot water heater. After all, was done, we easily collected a half cup of the sandy crud.  

We tried the faucet again, but there was no appreciable increase in the flow so we moved on to the next step and filled the plumbing with vinegar. We managed to put vinegar in the system, but I'm not sure exactly how we did it. The plumbing is quite a puzzle and most of it is somewhere it can't be seen, so trying to figure it out can be frustrating. We are supposed to leave the vinegar in the lines for as long as we can (Joani thinks two or three days, minimum) so it will be a while before we know if we have made a difference.

Sunday, December 22, 2013, Painted Canyon, Ladder Canyon Trail, Palm Desert, CA

Keith and Pat told us about a hike that sounded perfect for us. It was just outside of Mecca, CA, at the end of Painted Canyon Rd. We had to take our time on the 4.7 miles of poorly maintained gravel road. Surprisingly, there were a dozen cars in the parking lot. The area was large, so we only encountered a few other hikers.

I would have missed the big rock arrow pointing to the slot canyon (it was about 20 feet long and 5 feet wide.) Luckily, Joani saw it and off we went!

This "trail" was not for sissies. You had to climb over and around some pretty formidable rocks and every so often you would have been blocked without the ladders that were considered part of the trail.

Looking up - the picture makes it look like we were practically in the dark, but that was never the case at all.

At its narrowest, you could not pass another person in the slots and it appeared we might have been more than a hundred feet from the top. I tried to forget that this was along the San Andreas fault and put thoughts of an earthquake out of my mind.

Along the trail, there was a fork that I missed and Joani and I went different ways. We were separated for 20 or 30 minutes before I doubled back and found her waiting at the fork where she showed me the arrow pointing to the right. It is amazing how little sound travels in the canyon. I think we were only 20 feet apart before we could hear each other shout. We stayed a little closer after that.

After about three miles, the trail finally crested the mountain range and the view was spectacular!

We reached the top from the left in the picture below. The wrong way that I went would have had us coming up from the right (which is the way we went back down).

This way to the canyon floor was questionable.

I'm sure this hike would be a geologist's dream. The sediment layers were amazing - this one looked like burled wood!

At this particular drop, the ladder was almost useless (it was about three feet long.) You had to keep your back against one side and hands on the other side to ease your way down.

Looking up out of the slot canyon.

When we finally emerged from the slot canyon we headed up "Painted Canyon." We decided, after nearly seven miles of hiking, we would have to return another day to do it justice, so we returned to the car and headed for the coach. On the gravel road out, we tried to capture the color in the hills. I guess that was the upside to traveling at 5 mph over the rough road. 

We had a well-deserved ice cream cone, later, as we took stock of just how sore we would be in the morning.