Happy New Year's Eve!

Happy New Year to all!  Here's hoping that 2013 is one of the best ever!

Today we simply soaked up the sunshine in the desert after two days of clouds and rain.  The temps have been cool, with a high in the mid-fifties and lows in the high thirties.  The forecast is for a welcome warming trend. The sky was crystal clear today, and continued into the night.  We took Pris for a long walk after dark and thoroughly enjoyed all the stars.  I had no idea that there were so many constellations!  Fortunately, I have an iPad app that deciphers the sky, and so it was cake to locate Orion, the dippers, and such.  Great fun!

The pic's are from our campfire this evening.  We weren't going to bother, but it was such a gorgeous night that we "had" to.  A couple of neighbors dropped by, and we enjoyed a round of Happy New Year greetings.  Happy, Happy to all.

The weather today has been a typical desert mix.  This morning was crystal clear and about 50 deg, but by early afternoon the clouds rolled in and the sprinkles began and the wind picked up.  Donna and I rode our bicycles into town to pick up a package of Gorgonzola cheese for a future meal. We just made it home by the time the rain started.

This has "forced" us to stay inside and enjoy the last weekend of regular season football!  The panorama pic shows Donna and a few unexpected friends along the road to town; the other pics show some of the rain clouds swirling about.

The most wonderful thing about rain in the desert is the smell.  It's as if the entire desert, the plants,the sand and the hidden animals open up and smile a great big greeting to the rain clouds!

Saturday in Borrego Springs

Saturday before New Years in Borrego Springs, California.  The party has started.  The campfires are roaring, the kids are shouting, and the adults (with the help of a bit of liquid cheer, no doubt) are very, very lively!  A little sprinkle hasn't slowed down the fireworks! Yeah!  Everyone's having a ball, and life is good!!

 We took a day for some shopping in La Quinta, a town 60 odd miles north of Borrego Springs near the desert towns of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, and Indio.  It was a Costco and Walmart day, don't you know, to stock up on all the things that we forgot to bring with us.  When we got back to the trailer, we found out that we still had forgotten some stuff! We need to get organized!

On our way out of town this morning, we checked out some metal sculptures that are famous in the area.

They are magnificent!  The artist has sculpted lifesize dragons, mythical creatures, and prehistoric animals all out of metal with tremendous detail (oh, and one jeep climbing a pile of rocks!).  The neat thing about them is that they are scattered about the desert over several miles around town, and you can just drive or bicycle to them and touch and feel without supervision.  What a treat! For a little town in the middle of nowhere, Borrego Springs has a lot to see and do.

Chores and a walk with the dog

Our first full day at Anza Borrego State Park has been one of catching up....on sleep, on RV maintenance items, and on eating (?).  Oh yeah, like we haven't had enough to eat over the last week.  Our holiday time with our children (Jeff and Teresa) and their spouses (Jamie and Monte), and their children (Devan and Hanna, and Olivia and Emily) has been particularly sweet this year.  I don't know just why everything seemed to go just right, but it did, and we're so happy.

We took a long walk to the Visitors Center today to look at some new exhibits.  We've been fortunate to "camp" here for several years over the Christmas/New Year holiday, and every year the staff adds something to the visitors center displays.  They do a very nice job of explaining the desert and it's inhabitants.  We also learned the the park is named for a Spaniard named De Anza that trekked through here as the first known european to explore the area.

After the walk, we cleaned the trailer and took care of a few chores.  Donna wanted a magnetic knife rack installed, I needed to check the batteries and tend to the bicycle rack, so we each had some things to do. As we were preparing for dinner, we saw a couple walking slowly by the trailer.  As we looked to see if they were ok, we saw that they were a German couple that we had met here last year.  Eric and Mary Ann are long retired from the commercial bakery business in San Francisco.  They are in their 80's and move a bit slower than last year, but they haven't given up traveling!  Last year Eric made potato pancakes that would knock your socks off....this year he says he'll have to do it the "old fashioned way".  I asked him what that meant, and he said that he had forgotten his "buzz buzz buzz" machine, so he'll have to chop the potatoes by hand.  I can hardly wait! It's so good to see old friends, and to see them active and involved.

One more introduction is in order:  our faithful canine companion "Priscilla":

As you can see, Pris wasn't too excited about the picture routine.  When she's miffed, she turns her head away! She's a 10 year old Boston Terrier that we were fortunate to receive from an elderly lady who could no longer care for her.  We were told that Pris was the grandma of the family, and it's true!  She worries about all of her extended family, and is happy when everyone is in their place and all is quiet (and warm)! Pris is still convinced that she's only a pup, and still loves to chase tennis balls and pull on tug toys.  She's a definite part of the family.

Till later, 

Gary

First Stop

We made it to the first destination on our Winter 2012/2013 RV trip.  After a bit of a long day, we've arrived at Anza Borrego State Park.  This is part of the California State Park system, and is one of the few with hookups.  The electricity is only 30 amps, but is perfectly adequate this time of year. In fact, we have the fireplace in the trailer going, as well as a small portable heater going in the bedroom.

This may be a good time to introduce our fifth wheel to you.  She is a Cameo F35SB3 model from Carriage.  The company has gone out of business, one of the victims of the times, but we are very happy with the "coach". Overall length is 35+ with 3 slides, and is, as Donna says, "perfect size on the inside, but too big on the outside". We've had a couple of narrow escapes getting into spaces, particularly in state parks, but when we're set up, it's nice to be able to have some "elbow" room in the inside. The picture is of "Carlotta" parked at Seven Feathers RV Resort in Oregon during our last trip.

The desert in the Winter is just awesome.  The nights are cool and the days are comfortable, if not warm.  As we neared the town of Borrego Springs, we saw a beautiful sunset.

Followed by a full moon.

What more could you want?

Here we are, the day after Christmas 2012, about to embark on the longest "vacation" we've ever taken.  We finally have the time to cruise around this beautiful country of ours and visit some of the thousands of places we've heard about over the years.  We started a file a long time ago listing those places, but soon noticed that it became very unwieldy and basically said "go visit every place in the country that you can get a fifth wheel trailer into or near".  Well that is what we're going to do.

We're home based in Northern California, a beautiful area that we love dearly.  Within 4 hours, we can be at the Pacific Ocean, the Sierra ski slopes, the Nevada deserts, or anyplace in between.  We can go from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe in a half day, visit world class restaurants, or play golf on some of the most pristine courses in the nation, all within the course of a day.  So why leave?  Well,  I'm glad you asked.

It's because there is so very much else in this country that we would like to experience.  From the Cadillac Ranch to the worlds Biggest Ball of String to a Maple syrup farm, there are thousands of things that we've never experienced, and we would like to try to see them all! So check in with us from time to time and we'll share the journey together.  Along the way you'll find out more about us, you'll meet our family, and we'll share some of the experiences of traveling in a Carriage Cameo fifth wheel trailer with one of the most lovable Boston Terriers is the world! We have a variety of interests from reading to hiking to golf to collecting restaurants. We like to dry camp in the desert with our off road "buggy", and we like to share conversations at a coffee shop. We don't have unlimited resources and so we must be a bit conservative from time to time, but we refuse to sit on the front porch and watch the world go by!

So join us for the fun!