We've moved....

 

Our Location: 

Truckhaven BLM, California

 

This morning was the day for us to move on, we've got a few plans over the next few days and so it was time. Deb & Tom (Celebrating the Dance ) decided to journey along with us. So shortly after 8 am MST we all headed out to the Chevron to do some business. Eventually all those wheels started rolling westward and it wasn't long before we found ourselves in Brawley, California at Mr. Walton's front door. We stopped in for some groceries and a short break. We are now fully into California and so we have set our clocks on Pacific time, which means we are now 3 hours behind Ontario.  From Brawley it was an easy drive along Cal 78 to the Salton Sea area. Here we parted company, they stopped to unhook the Jeep as it's easier to find a place with it than it is with the big Bee.  Riley and I continued on to Truckhaven. This part of Truckhaven isn't marked but either it's been taken down or I've forgotten it wasn't signed. We missed it the first pass but turned around at the Red Earth Casino and caught it on the return trip. 

 

The Stinger Bee and it's family aren't quite ready to go but we are heading out to get in line.

Crops over there under that plastic looking stuff.

 

It's very bumpy getting in but we took it slow and easy and before long we were picking a place to park. Very quiet here and we found a good spot. Not as far back as before but a nice spot. The road noise won't be a problem and I'm sure it will be very busy on the weekend but that's okay, the weekend is short and I enjoy the views and the sound of folks having fun. 

 

The Imperial Sand Dunes near our Ogilby Road spot. 

 

Another view of the Imperial Sand Dunes.

 

Deb & Tom showed up a bit later, a bit of a difficulty they had reaching us but they finally managed. We had a short visit and then before long they headed off to find a place to put the Bee in park for a few days. We will see them again while we are all here. 

 

Some areas on our drive looked like this... (ignore the dirty windshield please)

And some looked like this....

 

Notes for myself, and I guess for anyone thinking of coming this way. The roads are of course, California roads, grooved, humpy and bumpy. Not rough exactly but they give the shocks and springs a work out. I always think I have a flat tire or one that's going flat. I've learned to ignore the thought, look in the mirrors often and keep driving. All the tires are up when we arrived so I'm sure it was just the road. 

 

We followed the Stinger Bee through Brawley, California.

The street was lined with these big palms.

 

Called dad to tell him we made it, texted with Deb and am happy to know they have a spot for a few days.  I can see a few happy hours in the future. Some of today's photos were taken while in a moving Dogsled running down the road at 55 mph so if they are a bit blurred, I hope you understand. 

 

 

The Salton Sea over there.

A subdivision on the marked Truckhaven Road. Yes that is black top beside us.

Out my window.

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

 

The view is pretty stunning. I'll get better photos in the next couple of days.

The way into the Badlands from our spot.

 

Until next time... 

 

Take care, be safe, 

 

Deb

 

We moved today......

Our Location: Joshua Tree National Park, South Entrance, CA

 

We packed up and headed off this morning around 7:30 AM California time and an uneventful trip we had. We like those kinds of trips. Except for a little mishap, not ours but someone else's at the rest area on I-8 West just past Ogilby Road the roads were accident free. A semi had some how managed to jack knife himself while coming out of the rest area onto the I-8 West bound lanes but was still in the rest area. It appeared that he thought he wouldn't make the turn and backed up which jack knifed him and his right rear tractor wheels were hanging in the air over the side of the road. A big tow was on route. Enough room for us to slip past him and be on our way though. 

 

Just before the rest area on I-8 West. Lots of weekend warriors here.

 

We made our first stop at the rest area of course, water, and garbage. From there our next stop was a little over an hour away at Brawley's Walmart on Wildcat Drive. We took our time getting a few things that we hadn't been able to find in Yuma. After that it was on the road again until we turned in at the Red Earth Casino on CA 86 N where we used their dump station. We waited for about 20 minutes until it was our turn and within a half hour we were on our way once again. 

 

The border inspection station on CA 86 was backed up and stop and go for a while but suddenly they just started waving everyone through and not asking any questions. It appeared they had two cars pulled over and the K-9 unit was inspecting both.

Back in Ontario, Canada we never think of a Palm Forest.

 

We continued right along taking the Dillon Road Exit to merge onto I-10 EAST bound. From this point on our towing travels will take us east bound, with perhaps some southward movement as well but mostly east until we finally head north to the land we call home. We climbed onto I-10 E and continued on our way. We reached Joshua Tree National Park and set ourselves up by 2 pm California time. A quick call to Dad had me informed that it was too cold for folks to be outside there today and so he was inside doing some net surfing. 

 

Along the way, hay under those tarps, tons and tons of it. A very empty I-8 West bound. Two trees have formed an arch in this field. Very cute.

 

A nice lunch and then Riley and I caught up with our blogging friends and I checked the weather for tomorrow. Ho hum, I wished I'd have checked it last night instead. We wouldn't be staying here at JTNP tonight if I had. Wind warnings posted for here tonight, 25-30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. Starting around midnight and continuing through the night and into the afternoon tomorrow. I checked the Salton Sea area, no wind warnings of any kind. I was tempted to move but instead we stayed put. Hopefully tomorrow we can still make it into town to see Janet and have a visit. 

 

Welcome to Brawley, CA. Fuel prices are a bit high I think.

 

Can you see the snow on the mountain peaks in these pictures?

 

So there you have it, our travel day which wasn't long and wasn't difficult. We enjoyed seeing the sights again and are looking forward to tomorrow and some time with Janet.  We will be here only two nights and be moving on Tuesday morning. 

We begin the long climb to the Chiriaco  Summit.

Thanks for stopping in, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

As we climbed we noticed this helo. He appeared to be hovering at first, then moved off and swung around to come back. We could see the long line trailing and couldn't imagine what he was doing. As we watched he approached one of the towers and stopped, hovering again. It was then I realized there are workers on this towers and he's picking them up. Now that folks is a definite high risk ride to and from work.

 Until next time... take care, be safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

 

We are back in the Ogilby Road area.....

Our Location: BLM off of Ogilby Road, Winterhaven, CA

 

A rather peaceful night at the Red Earth Casino. We both slept well and were ready to go early this morning. We enjoyed seeing the Salton Sea out our window. A quick chat with dad and we were out the door and climbing into the Dogsled. We were on the road by 9 AM and heading south once again.  

 

Looking at the Salton Sea from the Red Earth Casino Parking lot.

The Red Earth Casino in Desert Shores, CA

As I said yesterday I'd give a bit more information on our issue of the last few days. We had to replace two tires due to an alignment issue that appeared withing a few short hours. A bent bolt in the spring which goes to the U-bolt around the axel snapped off, the bushing in the springs were worn as well, so the two combined to make a very serious wear issue on one tire and a slighter but still noticeable issue on the second tire. I discovered this problem on our way to Joshua Tree. We had to have someone come to change the worse tire and put on the spare. We then made it to Joshua Tree National Park, sat there until after the holiday's were over and we could get into a shop. I called a number of places, explaining my issue and they kept giving me other numbers to call. I ended up calling Danny at Pacific Brake and Alignment on Indio Blvd. He agreed to check us out the next day, which would have been Thursday, Jan 3. We arrived around 8:30 AM at his shop, he inspected the tires and issues, parked us up close to his shop and began work. He quickly determined the issues and explained them to me. It was multiple little things that should have been taken care of before I bought the rig. 

 

California 86 South heading toward Westmoreland.

Westmoreland, California.

 

The bolt that goes through the spring and into the U-bolt was put in upside down, it was also bent, which he said looked as it has bent for some time. It snapped off, which allowed the U-bolt to move slightly on the axle. With the worn out bushings the spring wasn't in proper alignment the way it should have been and it caused the wear on the tire. The wearing issue happened due to the bolt breaking. For anyone that has driven the two roads, Salton Sea Parkway and  CA 86 you know it's impossible to judge any thing that may be wrong due to the condition of the road. It is rough and humpy, bumpy, grooved in placed  as well. So I'm not surprised I didn't notice any difference in the handling of the rig. Everything was fine before we headed out of Borrego Springs. I am guessing that the bolt simply snapped off when we went over a bit of rough ground even at a slow speed.

Same town, different prices.

Fuel prices in Westmoreland.

Colourful little plaza in Westmoreland.

 I asked him to do both sides and so he had to order some parts. The first day Danny basically took apart one side to ensure he ordered the proper parts and the rest of the day was a waiting day. We overnighted there and on Friday morning the parts arrived. Danny immediately went to work and worked all day on the Igloo except for an hour's lunch break. He finished the repair work around the 5 pm mark but still had to put on the spare tire, write up the bill, etc. So we left around 6:00 pm Friday night. I would highly recommend this shop and this nice man. He was very courteous and friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. His is a very specialized shop in which he can do many things in house to help in the repair of your vehicle. 

Back to today. We left the Casino under cloudy skies and they remained cloudy all day. Rain drips and drops off and on during our drive but rain has now been light but steady since our arrival here off of Ogilby Road. We stopped in Brawley for two reasons actually. We wanted to stock up on produce and fruits while in California as we are still in California and won't worry about Agriculture inspections now. The other was to just get a bit of a stretch as well. The cold weather has been bothering my arthritis a bit and I find that getting out and walking, stretching helps some. 

Walmart in Brawley, California.

We decided to head back to the Yuma/American Girl Mine Road/Ogilby Road area due to weather. It's warmer here by a few degrees and we aren't in any hurry to get to Quartzsite where it is no warmer there than what we just left. We are thinking we'll stick around for a couple of weeks until things have warmed up a bit further north and then we'll mosey along in the general direction of Quartzsite. Not sure where we will end up but at some point we think we'll be that area. However as we know, plans change and any thing is possible. 

I love this building in Brawley, so Southwestern in its flavour.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

I think this is the ugliest car I've ever seen.

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

Still lots of folks parked in the Imperial Dunes along I-8.

Deb

A nice leisurely drive to Borrego Springs......

Our Location:  Near Borrego Springs, CA

A nice night for sleeping and I managed to keep the peepers closed until just after 5AM PST. An improvement for certain. I woke to see the red glow out the window, rolled out of bed, grabbed the camera and a sweater before heading out the door to catch some spectacular sunrise pictures. I couldn’t decide which ones so included only my favourite. 

 

 

I did nothing to any of the sunrise pictures, the pictures are exactly as they came from the camera.

 

We packed up, hooked up and were heading north on Ogilby Road at 8:05 AM PST, I know because I checked the time. We hadn’t had any plans to leave early but we were happy to be on our way. I didn’t realize that the road would be so rough all the way to CA78. We also had no cell service in this small stretch of Ogilby Road and until we reached Glamdis Beach Shop where we once again seemed to pick up the cell towers. 

 

 

It was the most amazing colour of blue.

This was our first time through the actual dunes here at Imperial Dunes. Quite remarkable. Lots of storage for weekenders to leave their rigs behind and not tow home at the end of the weekend. Very smart idea for sure.

 

And the pink was amazing too.

 

We stopped in the town of Brawley for a few reasons and didn’t really manage to achieve any of them except getting some drinking water. Oh well, it is what it is and we’ll keep trying further down the road. We enjoyed about an hour’s rest at Walmart where we purchased a few things we wanted but that weren’t a necessity.

 

The Imperial Sand Dunes.

They seemed to stretch on and on and on and on...

 

From Brawley we headed out on CA78/86, passing through the border inspection station which was backed up for a long distance. It took us 20 minutes to reach the man at the shack, he simply waved us through. Whatever they were looking for we didn’t fit the profile. We didn’t take CA78 to Ocotillo Wells, it’s too much like a roller coaster and HRH Miss Kitty would have been ill. We instead opted to go further up CA86 to Salton City where we turned onto the Borrego Springs - Salton Sea parkway to continue on our travels. We did stop at the big gas bar/store at the corner but it would have been a half hour wait for someone to come out to fill the propane bottle as they were short staffed. We opted to move on, we’ll get it filled on the way out. 

Heading toward Brawley on CA 86.

Amazing bursts of red in numerous places.

Views from the Borrego Springs Salton Sea Parkway.

 

The drive on the Parkway was a bit rough and I pulled over once to check the tires. The road has an odd ripple to it that causes one to think their tires are in trouble. However it did eventually smooth out and the views of course were picturesque. We debated about putting our feet down on this road, the views are amazing but instead continued on toward Borrego Springs. Upon reaching Rockhouse Road we hung a right and took the tour. We even did a bit of a walking tour but couldn’t find anything that appealed to us and so we continued on to the little dust bowl a bit further down on the corner and are now parked at the exact spot we stayed at last year. 

 

Some friends of ours might enjoy their rides through these paths.

 

What do you think Ron?

 It took no time to set up and a call to dad had me talking to his machine but at least he knew we arrived safely. We then had some lunch, read our books and just enjoyed the new sights out the window. It was in this spot where we first met Doug & Yuma last year. What a truly wonderful meeting that was and we miss both man and dog. 

Sharon do you think you might enjoy seeing this?

 

Maybe this is more your liking.

 

Dad called later to say he’d received my message. He passed on the news regarding Brother Rick's broken leg. It seem he will be sitting out the next couple of weeks with his leg in the air still. According to the specialist it will be at least another couple of weeks before he can put ANY weight on the leg at all. Possibly after that he can start with a bit of weight but time will tell. He’s been a month since he broke the bone in his leg just above the ankle. For an active fella it’s hard to suddenly be inactive. Dad reported the weather as a mixed bag. Freezing rain, snow, about 4 inches/10 centimeters, more freezing rain, rain and now they have almost no snow again. All of this wacky weather TODAY. Sudbury and points north are reporting the highways and roads a mess due to freezing rain and snow. Seems they didn’t get the rain.

 

Heading along the parkway toward Borrego Springs.

Breathtaking.

 

So there you have it, thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

Just east of Rockhouse Road, you can see the dry lake bed in the distance.

 

I don't think I'll ever tire of these mountains.

 

Until next time…. take care, be safe,

 

Tonight out our living room windows to the west.

Tonight out the door to the east.

 

 

Deb