Recharging Batteries

January 12- 15

Arizona Oasis RV Resort
Ehrenberg, AZ

We came to the Arizona Oasis RV park as we passed into Arizona. Mile one.  They are a Passport America park and we paid about $22 a night for full hookups.  Our power cable was able to stretch from the off side bay to the power pedestal.  One day I hope to fix this.

We found ourselves parked next to another Washingtonian. They were from Gig Harbor and she was a recently retired Rural Carrier.  Small world!  We exchanged postal horror stories and smiled. There were quite a few social things going on in this park. Our first night they had a Bon Fire on the Colorado river beach with music and pear cobbler.  We happily attended.  The music was like something out of "O Brother, Where Art Thou".  Guitar and String Bass, husband and wife team.  Another night they had Karaoke but we were busy.

We took a day trip for sight seeking and Came across the Pirates Den.  A restaurant  connected to an RV park and marina in Parker AZ.  The RV park is across the river and they ferry you across to the club house and restaurant.  Good grub, drinks and view on the Colorado river.

From there we left for our Quartzsite experience.  Even plugged in for three days we never got our batteries 100% charged.  Oh well, the drive may finish them off.

Free Camping

January 9-12

BLM land south of Joshua Tree
California

We have been wondering how boondocking would work out for longer than one night.  No hookups, water or power.  We have a 1000 watt inverter that provides 110 volts to our fridge, but only 12 volts for everything else.  So… no microwave, no blow dryer, and worst of all, no TV.  We watch news in the morning and evening.  We haven't figured out why.  It never changes and it's never good.  Oh well.  I ran an extension cord in from the inverter and powered the TV and Dish Network box and now the essentials work.  But will the Batteries hold out?

We spent three nights her.  It was beautiful, quiet, and very private.  We had three or four  neighbors total.  They came out and played with their kids and dogs, rode their recumbent bike, and built morning campfires.  Ellen got me out of bed early one day so we could have a morning campfire and watch the sunrise over the desert.

We took a long drive through Joshua Tree and found it.  Also saw the cactus garden, Barker Dam and  several nice campgrounds.  Not many spots for our 31' motorhome, but nice tent spots surrounded by granite boulders.  The park spans the Colorado and Mojave desserts and changes drastically as you drive.

It took about 10%  to 15% of our batteries each day to run our necessities.  We ran our generator for two hours one afternoon and twice the next day.  We see solar panels in our future.  We really liked the BLM free camping experience but need to solve our power issues for the future.  Oh, and the latch broke on the bay door where our electrical cable sits.  I had to fish the cable across the rear pass through to be able to plug in when we reached our next destination.  Called Newmar and they will pay for having it fixed.

Highlights:  Beautiful views and quiet

Lowlight:  Had to run generator and broken door latch

We pause and catch our breath

December 26th - January 9th

Palm Springs Thousand Trails
Palm Desert, CA

We finally stopped running from place to place.  When we started the travel life we purchased a zone pass from Thousand Trails.  This gave us thirty nights of "free" camping and $3 a night thereafter for the a year.  The caveats…  You can stay for fourteen nights in a park and then you have to be "out of network" for seven nights.  Or you can stay "in network" perpetually if you only stay four nights and move on to another park.  This is OK if you are moving right along, but setting up and taking down all your stuff every four nights can be exhausting.  We stayed here for fourteen nights.

This was the most homelike we have felt since setting out.  We did do the requisite sightseeing with all the new tourists. But mostly we just settled down to regular life.  Did laundry twice, went to church, washed the RV for the first time, took long walks, shopped for food, and had doctor's appointments for Ellen's hand.  The basic errands and chores that make up day to day life.

This Thousand Trails is more of an RV park, (side by side RVs with palm trees between them) and less of a campground.  The staff and guests were very friendly and there were quite a few Seahawk fans.  The flags, banners and even a neon light were in evidence.   We even ran across one of the RV traveling couples we follow on youtube.

The park does not have free Wifi so we used our phones for any internet we needed.  We had enough data from Verizon to be able to skype with Chris and Monica and then turn around and see Cam and Kaitlin as well.  Albus the dog and Hobbs the cat made guest appearances.

We looked for interesting places to hike while we were here.  Our first hike was from the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center.  Great center and the Randall Henderson trail was our first desert hiking experience.  Beautiful views but "Toto, we're not in Washington anymore".  The next great hike was the Coachella Valley Preserve.  Amazing Palm Trees!  We also took a trip to Idyllwild Thousand Trails Campground so Ellen could play with snow.


The most fun/expensive thing we did was ride the  Palm Springs Ariel Tramway.  It took us to the top of the neighboring mountain and rotates 360 degrees in the process.  The Mount San Jacinto State Park is at the top where there is camping and hiking and a gift shop.  Spectacular views!

Highlights:  Skyping with our kids, and slowing down our journey

Lowlights:  Side by side RVs tempered by very friendly staff and Rv-ers.

Our Own Private Lake

December 22-26

Wilderness Lakes Thousand Trails
Menifee, CA


We pulled into Wilderness Lakes Thousand Trails (should be called Wilderness Canals) on December 22nd.  We left Washington after Thanksgiving trying to get ahead of the rain.  It followed us all the way down the coast into California.  But it got ahead of us to Wilderness Lakes.  When we arrived several RVs were surrounded by water.  We found a wonderful site with views of the waterfowl in a canal that someone was just leaving.  Great view with you morning coffee.  It came with it's own lake with our picnic table in the center.


We dug out our Christmas boxes and decorated the RV for Christmas.  A friend sent us an Advent Calendar for our computers. So every day (mostly) we would sit and listen to the wonderful music and open the numbered ornaments to play games, decorate trees or other things that brought smiles.


Ellen found us a church for a Christmas eve service.  We also attended a quiet service at the park and a Christmas day potluck.  Sat down with another couple at a table for four and found they were from Vancouver, Wa too.  Small world!

One of the highlights of our stay was skyping with our son while he was making Christmas treats for a gathering with his friends.

We also took a trip to Kaiser in Temecula and found out Ellen had not just bruised or sprained her hand...  she had broken it in her slip on the RV stairs.  They put a brace on it and made an appointment to check in a week for casting or surgery.   As a side note, the church Ellen found for the Christmas eve service was the one her doctor attended and he was super excited to have us experience it.

The rain dried water up and I got to sit at the picnic table and read only to have it return and refill our private lake.

On refection, it was a hard first Christmas away from family and friends...  We made new friends along the way, but it was strange not being with those you are close to at a time when everything is about them.

Highlights:  Skyping with Kyle and the Advent Calendar

Lowlights:  Ellen's broken hand and missing family and friends