01-29-2019 Final Days at Catalina with Family

Current Location:  Catalina Spa and RV Resort Desert Hot Springs, California

We will be leaving Catalina this morning, heading south for a wilder environment, sans hookups and swimming pools.  5 to 7 days here in the full campground is just about enough, and we did book for another week next year, locking in a great price, and ensuring that we will have a warm place to escape the inevitable foggy inversions that are part of lovely Grants Pass in January and February.

The Brothers arrived early afternoon on Saturday, after leaving behind the dusty, crazy, fun times at the Big Tent Show in Quartzsite.  They had a good time, camping with another friend of theirs, doing a LOT of shopping, and simply enjoying the somewhat unique ambience of the “Quartzsite Thing”.  That “thing'” draws a lot of people year after year, many who return over and over for all that is offered.  Open almost free desert spaces, lots of socializing and friendships shared, and of course, shopping for “stuff”, especially RV stuff.   So glad they enjoyed themselves, and glad we have done it in the past as well.  Every RVr should at least experience what it is all about at least once.

Dan and Chere

They settled into their spaces, put up awnings, and we showed them around the park a bit before making plans for dinner in Palm Springs.  Mo and I usually save our Palm Springs dinner out for the night of the Street Fair, so this time, on a Sunday night, it was a bit easier to park.  We had no trouble at all getting an outside table for 6 at Maraca’s, the Mexican restaurant we return to most often. 

Don and Wynn

It is right on the main drag corner, with outside tables that are great for people watching, and the food is quite good.  There are many Mexican restaurants to choose from in the area, but this one really does include good food AND good Palm Springs ambience.

Sue and Mo

The next morning, we made arrangements to meet at 10AM for a drive east to Thousand Palms Oasis.  There was a bit of overcast to the skies, but the temperatures were quite warm.  Extended hiking isn’t on the menu for the family, so we thought walking around the short trails near the ponds would be a good choice. 

The Visitor Center at Thousand Palms is small and truly charming, built from huge palm logs, and the docents are knowledgeable and interesting.  The most surprising of all were the flowers.  From a distance we saw the brown hills where Mo and I once wandered and almost got lost were covered with desert sunflower, sand verbena, and brittlebush, in full bloom. You can read about that crazy hike here. I was sorry that we wouldn’t have time to hike those hills on this visit, since we have never seen this part of the desert blooming to this extent.  Even from a distance, it was a sheet of yellow haze over the barren hills.

The warm afternoon after our return was the perfect time to gather under Dan’s awning for a long, chatty visit with family.  I had to laugh, since Mo and I travel alone most of the time, because we were all sitting out there doing the family visiting thing that I see happening so often.  It was fun to actually be part of that for an afternoon. 

We did skip the family dinner, so that we could finish last night’s leftovers and have time to do pre-departure chores, like rolling up the rugs, putting away the chairs, dumping the tanks. 

After supper we returned to Dan’s to visit a bit more and convinced them to try the pools.  We swam in the upper pool this time with Dan and Don and Chere, but skipped the crowded hot spa.  The bigger pool is a bit more open, and quite a bit cooler than the Lower Pool that we love.  By the time we were finished I was actually chilled and need a hot shower to warm up. Glad we had pool time with family.  I think I am the only one in the group that is so attached to swimming in warm water as much as possible before we leave this place.

It feels good to know that we will be actually moving onward and eastward at last.  When we first planned this trip, we didn’t plan for any extended stays on our way to Florida, and this was a shift in plans to accommodate the joint venture south with the Brothers.  It has been a fun time, and now we are ready to get rolling!