Mar 8 - 10 Quartzite, Az to Orange Grove RV Park, Bakersfield, Ca

Mar 8
As soon as we got on the highway we knew it was going to be a tough, windy pull to Bakersfield, California. We're taking a path that will angle us up through Tehachapi Pass and into Bakersfield. We could have gone closer to L.A. on I-10 and then into Bakersfield but I prefer to get off the major interstates when I can. It's a really busy road with multiple lanes which is great sometimes but we can cut up through San Bernardino and hook on to highway 58 straight into Bakersfield. Turned out to be a little slower than hoped but we made it safe and sound.
It doesn't take long from Q to reach the California border and a time change to Pacific Time from Mountain Time. Tomorrow night is daylight savings time so we'll change back to our old time again. We're retired. Who cares what time it is? lol

Only about 12 miles from Quartzsite.

We think these pipes are carrying water?? No signs so we're guessing.

The scenery changes as soon as you cross the state line; from mountains and desert to more farm land and fields with irrigation. We passed by the edge of Joshua Tree State Park and saw many Joshua Trees of course. The wind is pretty much going west to east right in our face so my milage is around 8 mpg average!!
We still get excited on travel days when we haven't seen the area we are traveling. It's hard to explain but you get a feeling of anticipation for what's over that hill or around the next big turn. I guess if that ever wears off then that will be a good sign to end our life on the road and find a place to settle in. Not there yet though. We stopped for fuel outside of Palm Desert at a Chevron that was easy in/out and back on the freeway. The wind has to be gusting close to 40 mph or 60 km/h around here and we spotted a huge dust storm far ahead of us to the west.

Looks like cloud but it's dust.

We've never been in a dust storm but we remember all the signs from back by Tucson about what to do in a dust storm so we kept going until it gets hard to see. It never really got bad enough to worry about but was really cool to see. I regretted my choice of highways when we turned on to a 2 lane highway heading northwest. It was really rough and lots of chunks out of it and of course farther ahead was road construction that stopped us for a bit. What I thought would be about a 6 hour trip is going to be longer.

Still on I 10, cool mountain pic.

Obviously wind is not unusual here. Lots of turbines.

Wind turbines and the start of the California flower bloom.

Some of the Joshua trees.

We had to stop for fuel again at a small town called Mojave just off of highway 58. We're close to Bakersfield but with a mountain pass and the wind it's better if I fill up. We got onto highway 58 and the clouds were really dark ahead of us heading into Tehachapi Pass. There was a big hill covered in fresh snow to our left and it's raining on us as we start climbing the pass. Leslie is watching the outside temperature drop as we climb higher and close to the top the rain was more like sleet and coming sideways with the wind.

Not a great sign at the bottom of a mountain pass!

Getting a little worse as we climb.

For our Canadian friends that's the freezing point or 0C

Definitely not our favourite moment for sure but like I said earlier, the cool part of travel day is what's over that hill. We started the descent and it was like the harps started playing and celestial voices singing. On the other side the sun was shining and no rain. It was still windy mind you but man it was nice! The hills in front of us are as green as you can imagine and we are less than 20 miles from our destination, Orange Grove RV Park.

Insert angels singing lol.

How awesome is that view!! What a change.

We had been messaging Randy & Shelley (who had been travelling from Loughlin/Bullhead City, Nevada) and they are at orange Grove already. Wayne & Karen are there too. Perfect. What we thought would be around 6 hours turned out to be 7 1/2 hours on the road with 2 fuel stops. May not sound like a killer but it was plenty enough for us. Bring on happy hour!

Really nice park in Bakersfield Ca.

Never did go in the pool?

The door to the office. Now that's some good pruning!

We pulled into Orange Grove and got our site number and as we pulled onto our row there's Wayne with a big smile waving us into our site right beside them. Randy & Shelley were on the other side of the park unfortunately because this section was already booked when they got there. It's not far though so we can easily get together. We got set up and promptly put together a happy hour for the 6 of us. Wayne and Karen had already prepared some awesome snacks for everyone as they got in around 1 pm this afternoon. Thanks guys. That was really appreciated. The other really nice thing about this park is the free to pick oranges on the trees. I grabbed a couple easy ones for breakfast the next day and we are going to pick a bag full before we leave in a couple days. We sat and enjoyed a couple drinks together but as the sun went down it quickly got pretty cool so we all went back to our rigs for supper and relaxing. We made plans for dinner together tomorrow night for all of us plus Mike and Dawne as they will be here tomorrow afternoon. Should be a fantastic meal with great people.
Mar 9
Wayne & Karen get up way before we do and we heard them leave while we are still doing coffee and breakfast. They are on a Costco run in Bakersfield while we are planning some shopping and sight seeing with Randy & Shelley. They joined after breakfast and coffee and we went downtown in our truck. We saw a farmers market on TV this morning so we thought that would be a good place to start. Well we didn't find the one they talked about on TV but we found a smaller one and pulled in to have a look. We watched as one vendor built breakfast burritos that looked soooo good. There was a long line at his booth or we would tell you how good they were. Man they smelled delicious and they were huge! We bought some bread and sourdough cinnamon buns that were really good. Leslie also grabbed some fresh vegetables and some bok choy for a stir fry later on. Lots of good food and natural products at this market.

Group selfie at the market.

Just for fun we made our next stop at a combined Yamaha/ Can-Am motorcycle dealer. They had some wicked looking side by sides that Randy was drooling on and then we sat in some more affordable options. Really, who wouldn't drool on a 1000cc turbo very cool looking ATV with a $25,000 price tag? I also stared at some dual sport bikes they had but sadly just kept walking. Next up we found a park by the river and got out for a short walk around. It's a nice day and being out is perfect but we're getting hungry. We googled a brewery for lunch and settled on Lengthwise Brewing Company after our first choice didn't serve food and gave us a recommendation. It was good advice absolutely. Good food and a good beer plus we beat the lunch rush by just enough to not have to stand in a line. Perfect.

They have a big patio with some games out front.

A lunch selfie. Probably should have asked the server for this one lol.

The brewery behind locked glass doors, so shiny!

A cool old pic they had on the wall.

Now that our stomachs are happy we have to go to Walmart for some groceries....ugh. Not my happy place but must be done. We split up and grabbed what we needed and then back in the truck and back to Orange Grove. Mike and Dawne got a spot right behind us and they arrived before we got back. We popped over to their site to say hi and Dawne is bringing some more of that block party bean salad that she had at the burger night. I'm excited! I really liked the beans, so good.
Right around 4 pm we all gathered at Wayne & Karen's site for happy hour and introductions for Mike and Dawne to everyone. Randy and Mike had similar careers but in different towns in Washington state. We thought they might have met at some sort of work thing but it turned out they hadn't. We all got a good chance to chat and get to know each other before supper. Randy and Shelley had marinated some boneless pork rib meat and made enough for everyone. Randy even brought his own barbecue to cook them on. Thanks guys! It was off the hook good! Karen made some devilled eggs and potato salad which is another fave of mine and we added a caesar salad for a great meal together. 

Wayne, Tux, Karen and me.

Dawne (shy) Shelley, Randy, Mike & Brody (125 lb choc lab)

We had a great night but of course as the sun went down it cooled off lots and chased us all inside. With hugs and handshakes we said so long to Wayne & Karen as well as Mike & Dawne because they are leaving tomorrow to head further north. The four of us are staying another day here in Bakersfield before we do the same. Randy and Shelley stayed for a night cap and then we all called it a day. A great day I will say.

Mar 10

After a leisurely morning routine (Randy & Shelley are same as us) we walked down to Randy & Shelley's to hatch a plan for the day. We will do a little drive around sight seeing and then grab lunch.

Iconic sign.

On our little tour we came across a restaurant called Buck Owens Crystal Palace!

Yayy !!

Me and Cowboy in front of the Palace.

Beautiful landscaping and the grounds were spotless.

She didn't slap my hand lol.

Classic Hee-Haw pun.

Of course a selfie out front. Too bad it's closed.

The younger crowd won't remember Buck Owens but he was a country singer from our youth that was really good. He also starred on a show called Hee Haw that we used to watch. Anyway, we thought having brunch at this restaurant would be great... not so great. It closed at 1pm on Sunday and we got there at 1:08pm. Dang it! Okay, so what's close? Hey Hooters is real close and we know they have great food right ? ;) 

A good second choice right?

As it turns out the food was just okay but the service was great! We took the long way back to the RV park and relaxed for a bit in the sun. They have poles at the office to use for picking the higher oranges off the trees so Leslie walked up and grabbed 2. Shelley wants some oranges too so we all took turns picking and putting them in grocery bags. These fresh oranges are so good and juicy that we want enough to last until the border for us and enough for Randy & Shelley to share with folks in Washington.

Grabbing the tall fruit.

It's a basket on a pole with "fingers" on the top edge

to hook the orange and drop it in the basket.

We have steaks planned for supper tonight and Randy still has his grill at our place so he will be the grill guy again. He enjoys grilling which is good because he makes some great stuff on that mini Weber grill. Leslie and I are contributing some steamed veggies and rice for a nice healthy supper. Of course there is happy hour before and wine with supper but the meal itself is very healthy right? Of course it turned out great and then we relaxed a little afterwards and talked about our travel day the next day. Orange Grove is on the higher end for pricing but it's a really nice place to stay just outside of Bakersfield if you are in that area. We liked it.

We said good night to Randy & Shelley and soon called it a day. We'll be up fairly early and on the road between 9:30 & 10am for not a long travel day but far enough. Looking forward to our first drive up I-5 from this far south. Cheers everybody!

Mar 4 - Mar. 8 Last week at La Posa South & the trek North.

Mar 4 
We're up fairly early and getting through the morning routine because Leslie wants to go to line dancing "March Madness", not to be confused with basketball madness but definitely on the same scale lol. It's the day they invite groups from all over to come and enjoy some dancing and a potluck from 11:00 am to 3:15pm. There turned out to be over 135 dancers from as far away as Tucson and Indio, Ca. It's a big event and Leslie thought it was just the local group so it was a big surprise. Leslie took our truck so she could leave when she wanted and she is picking up some grocery items on the way home. 

Lot's of people enjoying some line dancing.

I get to stay home and work! Of course that was my decision and I have some caulking that needs done before we hit the road north. Plus we have recognized that some time alone is a good thing while we are on the road together. A little time alone to do what you like to do is a definite must for us.
It's a beautiful day outside so I opened the windows on the truck and put Margaret in there .... her happy place. I waved to Dianne and said hi as she is outside doing some knitting by their rig. I got started cutting out a bunch of old caulking, one of my least favourite tasks by the way, and then started applying the new bead. Of course while I am working on one spot I notice another spot that could use some sealant and on it goes. After a couple hours of that I had enough and wrapped up all the tools and went for a short bike ride. Work and reward system lol.
Leslie got home around 3pm and we relaxed and chatted for a bit until happy hour. After happy hour we left to have supper and Leslie relaxed at the rig while I joined some others at a campfire by Mike & Dawne's rig. Mike & Dawne moved into Harry's spot after he left and they now have the central firepit. I didn't stay too long and when I got home Leslie was already in bed. Hard day of dancing wore her out!
Mar 5
We are going to Castle Dome Mines Museum today with Steve & Dianne. The Mine is down towards Yuma off of highway 95 about an hour each way. We took off about 10am on a gorgeous hot and sunny day. The weather is much improved these days, more of what everyone expects in March in the desert. I think the best way to describe the Museum is in pictures so we have a bunch coming up. Leslie took probably over 150 and she tried to pick the best ones, here goes.

Road starts as pavement but turns to washboard gravel :(

Okay no desert hikes here!

Observation blimp taking off. 

The blimp in the photo is part of the effort to patrol the border with Mexico for illegal entrants. The lady at the museum told us that it has cameras and equipment strong enough to count our teeth from this close. It flies far overhead and sometimes you can spot it from La Posa South. The stand at the nose is the docking tether where it is kept. Lots of warning signs not to stray off the road and a large military presence with barracks and other buildings in the area. 

Very soon after that we parked at the mine and paid our $15 to do a self guided tour, except we brought our own tour guides! Dianne and Steve have been here before, when it was only $10. 

The courtyard in the middle of some of the old buildings.

115 years of production! What a history.

Self player piano in the tavern.

Single vehicle garage!

General store and some canned goods. My parents had a trunk like that.

I bet there was some pain involved in this room!

Really nice church with copper ceiling.

Old school sewing machine, no fancy stitches here.

Blacksmith forge with a monster bellows to heat the coal.

We were crossing over a little wash and Dianne was holding Margaret's leash when we noticed Margaret stop and yelp a little and then stop with her paw in the air. She had gotten too close to a cholla cactus and it stuck her in the neck and on the top of both her paws. Cholla cactus spines are similar it seems to a porcupine quill in that they have barbs along them that stick in human or dog flesh. If you try to just pull them they won't come out without pulling and tearing the skin. This is Margaret's second experience with these spines so we are a little better at getting them out. Steve had his trusty nail clippers in his pocket so we snipped the spines about in half and then wait 30 seconds or so for them to pull in the barb. Once they de-pressure, the spines or needles pull out super easy without tearing. We got some out on the spot but had to walk back to the truck to get the rest. Margaret needed a drink of water too because it was quite the trauma for her with us holding her still and pulling out the spines. We put her in a back pack for the rest of the tour. There was lots more cholla cactus where we ended up. 
Dianne felt bad for not watching closer while she had Margaret's leash but we would not have done any better. Dianne did everything right but the dog just happened to get into some cactus. No worries Dianne!!

Cool old 1970's travel trailer with beauty wood floors.

Found this guy in the back, oops sorry buddy, carry on lol.

Steve was sad that the curtain was open when we walked in.

It's a big surprise to pull open the curtain and see this fella.

This was the dude in the trailer.

Group selfie in the courtyard, Margaret in the pack on my back.

We moved the truck to the other parking area for the rest of the walk and Dianne waited in the truck with Margaret. Enough walking for her knee today already. Margaret is happy to wait with her favourite treat lady !

Some of the mining machinery.

Work camps are way nicer these days!

Not exactly private.

We walked past some open mine shafts that are fenced off so the pictures didn't turn out at all. Some of the mine shafts were 450 feet deep, amazing work considering some of the tools they used in the day. The doctors office and the assay/post office/pay office was also over in this section so we toured them as well.

The doc is in!

Get your pay and your mail all in the same building!

It was a great museum to check out and if you are close to Yuma it's worth a look but give yourself a few hours and bring water. It got pretty hot while we were walking around and we went through a few bottles of water. We wrapped up our tour and headed back to the truck where Dianne and Margaret were patiently waiting. We drove straight back to Quartzsite to pick up some groceries and beer for a hot dog roast tonight with the gang. 

We had enough time for a brief happy hour at Steve & Dianne's rig and then got a fire going for the hot dogs. Dale and Ruth joined us for hot dogs from the other side of the LTVA where they are camped. We haven't seen them since Catalina State Park in November so it was great to meet up again. They have had some issues with their trailer and some Lippert components getting replaced and then just for fun their truck had fuel system issues that had to be fixed. They were extremely patient and got it all fixed thanks to their extended warranties. Would have been a massive bill without coverage. A little lesson there for us newbies.

A hot dog feast with lots of goodies.

Chatting by the fire until the coals are just right.

That was a great day and we are a little tired from our day in the sun so we said good night to everyone and called it a day. 

Mar 6

Leslie has one more day of line dancing before we leave and today is the day. She got ready for 9:30 and rode with Allison to the QIA. I did some blog stuff and then some tightening and checking on the rig before the big pull. There are so many self tapping screws on this trailer and many of them back out so I have been using Loctite and small amounts of silicone to "glue" them into place. At noon I got a text from Leslie to pick her up. It seems we had agreed that I would just drive in at noon to get her but my mind must have been elsewhere when we agreed on that. Leslie is very understanding and really didn't mind that I picked her up at 12:20 after she stood outside waiting patiently. ( Love you honey!) We went out for lunch when I got there. That makes it all better lol. We went back and relaxed a bit and did some organizing for the trip before happy hour at Steve & Dianne's. Tonight is Survivor night so after supper we gathered in their rig and enjoyed another episode with no commercials, thanks guys. Our last Survivor night in the desert :(

Mar 7

Leslie is on a mission today to do a major clean inside the rig before we leave and I want to get one more good long bike ride in today. We did our usual morning routine and then got at it. The trailer looks amazing and I did an 8 mile ride. The wind makes it a good workout. We relaxed in the afternoon and got some stuff ready for a hamburger potluck that Red & Pam are hosting over at Mike & Dawne's rig. Red & Pam are supplying the burgers and Red is doing the cooking too. Thanks buddy. Lots of good people coming and it should be an amazing meal with all the different dishes. We gathered at Steve & Dianne's for a quick happy hour while our hosts got everything ready and then took our chairs over to gather around Mike & Dawne's rig for supper. 

Allison, Earl, and Dianne

Steve, Colan, Pam & Red discussing something very important ;)

Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures of the meal when it was ready. Also we missed getting a picture of Mike & Dawne, our hosts. Sometimes you are just having too much fun to take pictures. We enjoyed a great dinner with Red's awesome burgers and all the salads and fixin's that were on the table. Dawne made a bean dish she calls "block party beans" that was really good in my opinion. It had several different kinds of beans plus a sauce that was really tasty. I had a couple helpings of the beans. Yumm!

It had cooled off lots after the sun went down so everyone was heading inside to relax, no fire tonight. The sunset was incredible for our last evening in the desert. Sunsets out here can be amazing.

Great shot of the mountains in the distance and beauty sunset.

Leslie and I joined Steve & Dianne at their house for a nightcap seeing as we are leaving tomorrow. We picked up Margaret so she gets to enjoy some time with them too. She's going to miss running to the "treat lady". Dianne did a great job training her to sit. I think both Steve & Dianne will miss her too. They get a good chuckle watching her chase the laser.

Auntie Treats playing the laser game at their house.

We visited for a little while and then said good night. It's a sad time saying good bye to these two awesome people.  We will meet up again for who knows what adventure later this summer. We have a plan to meet at Ray & Deb Kyle's house in Lake Cowichan, which we can imagine will be a fabulous time with great food, maybe a beverage or two and good friends. Can't go wrong there. Thanks Deb for graciously offering to host! We'll miss you Steve and Dianne. See you soon.

Mar 8

This is it, we are leaving our desert home in Quartzsite today. We have had a fantastic stay here and we have learned a ton of things about our rig and how to manage different systems while boondocking (dry camping). It was a great experience and we know what we need to be able to do this more in the future. That being said, we are looking forward to full hookups and a long shower. Not going to lie on that one lol.

We had a decent breakfast and then got at our final packing up. We did most of the work yesterday and the day before so it's really just putting away the last minute stuff and then pull in the slides and lift the jacks. Everyone here knows the deal on packing up and everyone waited until we were hooked up before coming over to say good bye. Big rounds of hugs and handshakes to Earl & Allison, Red & Pam, Mike & Dawne (they are coming to the same RV Park in Bakersfield as us tomorrow) and last but certainly not least was Steve & Dianne. Leslie got a little teary eyed saying good bye which just goes to show that we really enjoyed ourselves and we're going to miss these great people. 

We jumped in the truck and with a last wave we headed out of our spot to the dump station and the highway to Bakersfield California. The weather is supposed to be sunny but windy and of course that wind is coming right at us. Beat the crap out of my milage while towing, that's for sure. We snapped a couple road pics of Q on the way out. It's an interesting small town and soon there will be hardly anyone there once all the RV'ers leave. See ya next year!

Great place!

Looking north on highway 95 from the bridge over I10.

Good pizza and people watching place.

We turned west on I10 and I got to feel the headwind right away. It's going to be a little tougher and hard on fuel but it is what it is. Good news is that we are meeting our High Chaparral friends in Bakersfield. Randy & Shelley and Wayne & Karen are also staying at Orange Grove RV Park on their way north. We're going to travel with Randy & Shelley to their place in Washington State. Mike & Dawne are also stopping there tomorrow on their way back to Oregon. So we're happy to see everyone in Bakersfield but sad to say good bye to the folks here. We'll wait for the next post to tell you about our travel days. California here we come! Cheers everybody!! :)