Richard's Travels: Desert Flowers 2010

3-28-10
We are at Peg Leg Smith Monument, near Borrego Springs, for the desert flowers.
The desert is in bloom, but not as good as we expected. With all the rain we had, we thought there would be more flowers.
There are plenty of desert sunflowers, the desert verbenas are only at certain places.

When we arrived here I had to fix a water leak. Doreen had told me that it sounded like the water was running. I was convinced when I saw the water come out from under the sink. The hose for the filtration system was torn and the clamp was also not working any more.
I cut a piece off the hose and installed a new clamp.
It is warm here and everything will be dry in no time.
In the afternoon we visited Ron Carlson. He enjoys his new home.
After dinner we went for a walk and saw the WIN decal on one motorhome. We had to see who it was.
When a gentleman came out of the motorhome, I told him that he was late for Thanksgiving. He told us that he never left. He met a lady in town and stayed. That is what women do to you.
He will leave though in a few weeks for a cooler place.
There are seven rigs here at Peg Leg, plenty of room, not like when we have our Thanksgiving outing here.
There are new statues at Borrego Springs. They are harvesting grapes.

Another beautiful moon in the desert.

3-29-10
Early this morning I took a walk up the hill to take some pictures. The lupines are really pretty now. One of them cuts our motorhome in half.

Brittlebushes are on the bottom of the hill and in the areas where the water comes down.

There were also white flowers.

Ron came over to the motorhome this morning. We had to keep the visit short because we had to go home, by car, to fetch some of Doreen’s medication. She forgot to bring them.
It took us two hours on highway 76.
While we were at home we took showers and had lunch.
On the way back to the motorhome we saw those yellow flowers in the meadows.

This is the view from Montezuma Grade. Borrego Spings is surrounded by orange and grapefruit groves.

In the evening we saw Randy Hyde, the lonely, and only WIN, one more time.

3-30-10
This morning I walked up to my favorite spot at Peg Leg Smith. It is a hill where I can see all the motorhomes on one side and Borrego Springs on the other.
Somebody, with a lot of time on his hands, built an outline of rooms with stones.

There were large areas where lupines grow. The creosote bushes have blossoms too.

We left our campsite at 9:00 AM and arrived at Joshua Tree National Park at noon.
It took us longer than usual because the road from Mecca through Box Canyon was closed. We saw the sign, but I thought there would be a detour. There was none and we had to turn around and drive 111 North to I-10.
We came by Oasis Date Gardens and I stopped for a date milkshake. Doreen can not consume ice cream and regular milk. The milkshake helped to get over the wasted time and miles.
The Boondockers, part of the Escappees RV Club, have an outing here. We joined them. They stay at government land outside the park.
After we set up the motorhome we went by car in the park and checked out several campgrounds. Because of spring break there are no open sites. The most beautiful part of the park is in the Northern section. There are large boulders.

The chollas are beautiful now.

We saw two climbers going up a large rock.

Some of the Joshua Trees still have some blooms.

There are some red bushes which are beautiful.

When we came back to the camping area we joined the group for chips and salsa.

I looked at some of my old pictures I took in Joshua Tree National Monument in 1982.
It was not a National Park yet. Many things changed since then. The RV changed, so did the woman in my life, and the color of my beard.

3-31-10
After a morning walk we went to The General Patton Memorial Museum in Chiriaco Summit. Patton’s headquarters was at Camp Young, near Chiriaco Summit.
About a million young soldiers were trained for desert warfare, from 1942 to 1944, in training centers in Southern California and Arizona.
At the museum they have original items and copies of equipment used during that time. A copy of Patton’s famous side arm is there.

Outside are several tanks.

In the afternoon the wind picked up and we stayed home. It was a time for reading and writing.

4-1-10
We left Joshua Tree National Park at 9:00 AM and arrived at the Elks Lodge in Indio at 9:35 AM.
After setting up the motorhome in the dry area we were informed that we have to park in the area with water and electricity. The reason was that they have too many empty sites there, and of course they rather take $20.00 than $10.00.
I tried to get into the Elks computer system and was lucky, without leaving the motorhome.
At 1:00 PM we left for Palm Springs. We had late lunch at Ruby’s Diner and then walked Palm Canyon Drive, where all the expensive stores are.

The plan was to stay for the Thursday Evening Market. They close down Palm Canyon Drive at 5:00 PM and at 6:00 PM the market starts. There are food stalls, vegetable stands, and other items.
By 4:00 PM we were tired and headed for home.
We stopped at Shields Date Garden and I had a date milkshake and Doreen had a date ice cream.
It was a beautiful day, the wind had stopped last night and there was no wind today.

4-2-10
Today we went to the Elks Lodge in Riverside. I always wanted to see the Mission Inn in Riverside.
After setting up the motorhome and having lunch, we drove there.
I was impressed. All the articles in the travel magazines are correct. It is a beautiful, large hotel. The outside eating areas are just as beautiful, and colorful.

Doreen is sitting in President Taft's chair.

Across the street is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

Our next stop was the California Citrus Fruit State Historic Park. Here we learned about the start and importance of the citrus industry for California.