Sunday April 27, '14

All right!  Some big-time catch-up info due to all of you!  Wednesday night my wifi Jetpack did a software update.  Thursday morning it was quirky but settled down enough for me to get a brief post out to you.  But Thursday night I couldn't get it to stay turned on or to charge up, so I figured I would have to replace it.  Today I gave it one last chance--it charged and seems to be running just fine.  This is a perfect example of my interactions with today's technology--totally in the dark about why and how it functions!

So--to catch up, starting with last Thursday, the 24th--
I folded up Myrtle and double checked my campsite (new plan: pull out, then go back and check to make sure I didn't leave anything).  I got to the Visitor's Center shortly after they opened.  Had a long chat with the volunteers running it.  Because I was the only visitor so early, I got my pick of videos to watch in their theater.  I had seen one the previous afternoon on the various environments in the park, and opted for one on the changes through the four seasons.  I talked to the volunteers again, saying that I was really interested in volunteering (the California Parks are running on minimal budget and depend on volunteers for almost everything).  They told me to stay right where I was, and ran to get the ranger. She told me about the 90 hours of training the full volunteers go through, and the requirement of 48 hours volunteer work for three years following the training.  I'm in love with the idea of being able to learn that much, and the required hours seem pretty minimal to me.  In addition, you can volunteer to work in assortment of fields with no training--geology, paleontology, archeology, or biology.  Since I love and have experience in all of the above, I'm excited and can't wait!  The full training is usually offered every other year and would not be this year, but if we get an el Nino winter with an end to the drought they will have an incredible spring flower bloom (next March).  People come from all over for that, and they try to have at least 80 volunteers working through that big rush.  So they may do an extra training session.  You can't see, but I'm grinning ear to ear.

I took some pictures around the Visitor Center before I left--The cell phone images aren't the greatest, but it gives you an idea of the vegetation.

Great cactus and an Ocotillo bush

Super spiny and barrel

Ocotillo-grows leaves, flowers whenever it rains

Palo Verde--even the trunk is green

I left the visitor center before noon--well into the 90s, although one of the volunteers said that it would cool off Saturday.  I headed east on one of the county roads, S22, past some incredible geology.  This area is the edge of what they call the northern badlands, I think.  Wish I could have gotten pictures, but there was no way to stop Myrtle.  All of the roads in the southeastern part of California, county and state, have signs that say "soft shoulders" and they mean it!  Just sand, no gravel beyond the edge of the pavement.  I tried sneaking one tire off the edge, and quickly decided that was a very bad idea!  So check out Anza Borrego's website for pictures.

I drove to the western edge of the Salton Sea, then followed a state road north along the edge.  Lots of little communities that are shut down for the season.  They looked to be almost totally snowbirds when I drove through one--single wides, double wides, and yards with hookups and no RVs.  I tried to find a public beach, but no luck.

At the north end of the sea I filled my gas tank at a truck stop, then wandered around checking out several unlabeled roads trying to find one that Good Sam's atlas said was there.  I finally decided which one I thought it had to be--I had 450 miles worth of gas and gallons of water in my tanks, so I figured I could take the chance.  Turned out to be the right road, and I popped onto Highway 10 eastbound, the big LA to Phoenix route, drove for about half an hour, and jumped off again to head north up state route 95 along the west side of the Colorado River.  Miserable signs labeling roads continued, but I arrived in Needles before 5 pm.  My childhood memories of Needles being the hottest place in the US summer after summer were what enticed me there!  The town was a bit sad, with everything closed and dusty looking as I travelled Broadway through town to an RV park on the west end of town.

I had an interesting bunch of fellow campers--motorcyclists with some very fancy (and noisy) bikes.  I met several the next morning--turned out to be a very nice bunch of guys.

Friday, April 25th, I headed east on I-40 into Arizona.  I took a side-trip south to Havasu City and Lake Havasu to see London Bridge.  I followed London Bridge Drive along the lake shore around the edge of town and was driving across London Bridge before I realized that was where I was!  I doubled back through town to see if I could find a spot to park Myrtle so that I could take some pictures--absolutely no luck!  I crossed the bridge again, pulled into the parking lot on the far side.  It was swarming with cars from all over the continent trying to squeeze into way too few spaces.  I was happy to just get Myrtle back out of the lot!  So I drove across London Bridge one more time just because I couldn't take pictures.  I didn't think until later--all that traffic and I was never even uptight about Myrtle's size or fitting into lanes and turns.  Brother David is right--I'm getting comfortable driving her!

Back up to I-40, and heading east.  I went passed a highway sign to the town of Shinarump.  I'm sure that's pronounced "shin," not "shine," but still!  I stopped in Kingman because I saw an In'n Out Hamburger sign and decided that was going to be lunch--had to get that obligatory In 'n Out burger for this trip.  By the time I came back out the stiff breeze with gusts that had been with me all morning had become much stronger and the gusts were bouncing Myrtle around.  Freeways in Arizona have a speed limit of 75--for everybody!  The semis seem to love that.  I saw a sign for "Historic Route 66" and took it--partly to get off the freeway and slow down and partly to see the old route.  I spent a wonderful hour or two driving the old two-lane road (in better condition than the freeway) with very little company.  Great little towns like Peach Springs, closed up old gas stations with antique pumps and the Pegasus winged horse gas signs.  And Burma Shave signs!  New ones, but just like the old ones.  I'll wrack my brain to see if I can remember any of the messages--I'll probably remember as I'm dropping off to sleep tonight.  

I got back onto I-40 a bit west of Flagstaff, and kept my eye peeled for the Camping World freeway exit.  After the fun of wandering around to find the road I wanted the day before, I was determined to get a new GPS (mine had died the previous summer and I had looked at them in Washington and hadn't liked the prices).  I found the usual helpful informed people at this Camping World.  Not only were the GPS units on sale, I got a $50.00 rebate on the old one I had bought at Camping World Burlington several years ago, and had a $10.00 coupon thrown in to top it off.  Now it is just a matter of learning the ins and outs to get all the neat stuff working for me.

I called ahead to Meteor Crater RV Park about reserving a spot for that (still Friday) night and several following nights--they said just come on in!  I drove along the southern border of Flagstaff on I-40, past Walnut Canyon National Monument (I will see it later) and arrived at Meteor Crater Road around 5:30 pm.  This is a big deal--I've been wanting to see the crater for years, and when I first got my little Aliner camping trailer my brother Chuck and I had said that we would come, stay in this RV park, see the crater.  He has "unretired" and is a pastor in Marysville, so here I am for us both!

I'll leave the exciting story of the weekend of crazy weather for tomorrow--I'm crashing for the night!