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!
Around 11, after giving Mattie an energetic outing at the dog park, and a nice hike in the desert, we left her behind as we headed into Palm Springs. Today was the annual Singing the Birds event for the Agua Caliente Band of Calhuilla Indians. There is singing and dancing by several tribes from the Southern California area and all are welcome to the free event. We were impressed with the new 
The music was different as well because there were no drums, only rattles, which provided percussion for the singing. Still, even without the drums, the music was hypnotic, and the event was delightful to watch. We opted for a Native Fry Bread taco to share, something I haven’t had in 20 years and probably won’t need again for another 20. It is fairly bland, and the juices from the veggies really soaks into the fry bread making it somewhat soggy. 
On the way home, we then stopped at the Ice Cream Shoppe, which turned out to be NOT the place I thought it was that we had visited the last time we were in Palm Springs. The Shoppe was rather upscale, with vegan ice cream, and flavors like green tea, blood orange sherbet, and Mexican chocolate. Not the place for a simple scoop of chocolate which is always Mo’s favorite, but she settled for the Brownie Sundae, and I had Cappuccino chip, which was rich and perfect.
Catalina Spa certainly doesn’t stay the same from year to year. We knew things were changing two years ago, and last year was proof of that. This year, even more so. The park looks different, and I haven’t quite figured out if it is the new landscaping, the heavily pruned trees and shrubs, or the fact that it is wall to wall, bumper to bumper full of a LOT of RV’s. 
Perfect for us, since we had to drive into Cathedral City and Palm Desert for my annual visits to the two great quilt shops that I love. I did well at the first one, and didn’t buy a thing. The second store caught me, however, with fabric that was the perfect choice for the next big quilt I will be doing for Daughter Deborah. She has some specific color requests, and while yellow and blue is easy to find, yellow and lavender is a bit harder. I was thrilled to find the perfect little print to be the focal point for her someday quilt.
We did a Costco run, including the perfect lunch, a Costco hot dog, something we only manage a couple of times a year. Home along the back road yielded gorgeous vistas of wildflowers blooming all over the sandy hills between the interstate and the back roads of Desert Hot Springs.
This afternoon is all about relaxing, writing and reading a bit, grilling some chicken breasts for supper, and waiting for darkness so we can go back to the pools. So much nicer under moonlight than the bright sun. 
The good news is that yes, we are on the road at last. This time, however, we are traveling with family. Quite different for the two of us. Mo’s brothers, Dan and his wife Chere, and Don and his wife Wynn, are traveling with us as far south as Desert Hot Springs. It has been fun, and somewhat different, traveling in a caravan. We are in the lead, since we supposedly know more about this route.
Brother Dan and his wife Chere at the rest area on I-5 with the gorgeous Mt Shasta in the background
It was only a little bit easy, since the big rigs still had to be incredibly careful to get through the gate and pointed in the right direction down the driveway. Our driveway is simple gravel and not exactly flat, but at least level enough that the guys could level their rigs. We also managed to get power to all the rigs, and hooked up hoses so that Don could take on water. 
The weather cooperated beautifully. So many times when Mo and I have embarked on this journey we have had to deal with fog and ice and snow and all sorts of bad weather. With a huge storm pounding the Northwest just days earlier, it was wonderful to see clear skies and dry roads, even over the highest point on I-5 between Mexico and Canada.
It took a bit longer to get to Lodi, our first scheduled stop, because getting three rigs going after stops instead of one takes a bit more coordination. We stopped at the gorgeous rest stop with views of Mt Shasta, and again at the rest stop close to Red Bluff. By then it was noon and time for lunch, and with dog walking and lunch making, that stop turned into an hour. With a gas stop in Dunnigan, which may or may have not been necessary, we rolled into Flag City around 4pm. The distance between our house and Flag City is 371 miles, and our rig can do about 400 on a tank. Dunnigan has an easy in and out Pilot, and is just 60 miles north of our destination. The price of fuel at the Flying J was exactly the same as the Pilot in Dunnigan, $2.77 per gallon for regular. Diesel fuel is much more expensive this year, but I didn’t pay attention to the price. Dan’s rig used diesel and the rest of us are gasoline.
Driving through the area burned last fall along I-5 is shocking. excuse the window shot.
The MoHo looks so tiny next to all the big rigs. We love our small rig!
We had an uneventful and delightful day today, continuing south on I-5 through brilliant late winter green hills. Overlooking the wide valley, with heavy fog/smog to the east, we were glad for the choice to travel the 5 instead of going south on 99 through the Central Valley towns. The pavement wasn’t half bad, with many areas smoothed out from what we remember from past years. The truck traffic was heavy and fast, however, and with three motorhomes in our caravan, there were a lot of lane changes. 
We rolled in to Orange Grove RV at 2:30, in plenty of time to settle in before evening and show the family around the park. Everyone was thrilled with the sweet oranges and in no time we had our bags filled. This year the crop is a bit different, with many small oranges instead of the big oranges we are used to picking here. Ah well, free oranges are wonderful, and the little guys are just as sweet as ever. Time for a couple of weeks of fresh orange juice.
