December 5, 2009 – Temecula, CA
We’ve been to several RV parks associated with Indian casinos, and their quality has ranged from awful (a casino on Highway 40 in New Mexico) to sublime (Seven Feathers in Canyonville, OR); this one is good, but not great. The grass at each site is nice, the sites are plenty big enough, and there’s no gravel to hurt my tender feet. The walking opportunities, however, are kind of limited. I have to stay on leash almost all the time, and even the dog run requires leashes; what’s with that? How do you run with a leash on and Geri or Don attached to the other end? Doesn’t work for me. Please don’t think I’m a big complainer, consider me a reviewer of RV park quality.
Geri and I met a lady this morning who was walking two Goldies, a boy and a girl, both rescued from shelters. They were lovely, friendly dogs, and the girl was almost white, like my old pal Buddy was. The boy was very smart, and he knew how to sit on someone’s foot while they were being petted so that the petter was unable to move. He knew how to move his snout between a person’s hand and another dog, thus moving the petting action to him. I didn’t think any other dog knew these things. Geri and the lady had a good long talk, though it made me a bit nervous when they talked about adopting abandoned dogs; I don’t want Geri or Don to get any wild ideas. We had to move the coach to another site before leaving on our explorations, as someone else had reserved the site we were on. Don managed the move very crisply and quickly, and we were in the truck and heading out before noon.
Geri wanted to go to a town called Julian, which is up in the mountains south of here, so that’s where we headed. It turned out that Julian was quite a distance away, so the trip took awhile. We stopped at a place called Outdoor Resorts Rancho California, which we had seen ads for in RV magazines, and was related to parks that we had stayed in at Las Vegas and Newport, Oregon. It looked very nice, but they wouldn’t let use cruise through the place. Looked like it was favored by the golfy set; they had a full-sized course there. So, we kept chugging up the hills to Julian. When we finally got there and got out of the truck, we realized that we wouldn’t be here very long; the temperature was in the low 30’s, the wind was blowing fiercely, and Don thought it was going to snow any minute. And the place was packed with tourists! We even had trouble finding a place to park. Julian is famous for its apples and apple pies, so we found a place that sold locally made pies, bought one, got back in the truck, and headed down the hill.
Geri and Don hadn’t had lunch yet, and they were starting to get grouchy about it. I, of course, had demanded mine before we left the RV park. Don was fixated on getting some Mexican food before our little trip was concluded, and we found a little restaurant in Ramona that looked OK. They went in and had their 3:00 PM lunch, and reported that it was excellent and very reasonably priced. The place is called La Cocina, and they recommend it to anyone who is travelling in the area. Garmie did a great job of getting us back to Temecula, where we did a little shopping before returning to the rig. I got a nice dinner right away, my reward for spending most of the day couped up in the back of the truck.
Geri and Don decided that they couldn’t leave Pechanga without making a contribution to the welfare of the tribe by visiting the casino, so they called the shuttle and shuttled over there. They came back a few hours later, a little pleased with themselves; Geri had kept her losses to a minimum, and Don had walked away with several months worth of dog food in winnings. Good for them!
Tomorrow we head for home. This has been a fun little trip, we’ve been able to explore some parts of our region that we hadn’t seen before, we’ve partied with relatives and friends, we’ve met nice people that we probably will never see again, and I’ve been complimented on my manners and appearance endlessly. What more can you ask for? I’ll give you a little wrap-up tomorrow! Nite, all!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
December 4, 2009 – Yuma to Temecula, CA
Well, it had to happen; we finally tore ourselves away from the comfortable arms of Yuma and headed back to California. It was kind of hard to do. The paw-dragging was so evident that we didn’t get underway until well after the normal check-out time of eleven AM. We really did enjoy this place, finding something new and different to do every day, and revisiting places that we had previously enjoyed. But we finally hooked up the truck and cranked up the diesel, heading down Highway 8 toward California. We intended to have a brief fuel stop at a Love’s in Yuma, but it turned into something else. The truck area was a madhouse, filled with truckers topping off before getting into the more highly taxed fueling stops in California. We sat behind a 18 wheeler for about 15 minutes, with no action seen in their fueling. Geri finally went to investigate, and found that the driver had been in the payment line for nearly a half hour, waiting for his check to clear. This prompted Geri to head for the payment line pronto, and she was near the head of the line when Don saw a chance to move to an empty pump next to the line he was in. Geri saw the switch, got the credit card approved, and we were pumping, finally. On the road for real at noon.
We sped past the sand dunes where old Highway 80 had used a road built of wooden planks to provide a roadbed, unfortunately wide enough only for one vehicle. If you encountered a car going the other way, the one closest to a widened turnout section had to back up to allow passage for the other vehicle. I understand there were disputes involved. We ran alongside the All American Canal for part of the way to El Centro. This is a big canal. It looks like it carries more water than the Colorado does at Yuma. The end result of this water shows up in the massive produce fields around El Centro and throughout the Imperial Valley. Gotta interrupt and say hi to our friend and neighbor Joe, husband of Temptress Debbie, whose home town is here in El Centro. We understand why you love Ventura, Joe. We headed up into the mountains that separate the Imperial Valley from the coastal area. These are some of the most spectacular hills we have ever seen, they look like gigantic rock piles that had been assembled by a race of monsters who amused themselves just by piling rocks on top of rocks. Huge boulders! Don said that he wanted to study geology just to find out how these hills came into being. We made a stop at a rest area on the downhill slope, which I kind of needed for a number of reasons. I met a guy who was on his way to Memphis; Don told him that I loved Tennessee, and would be happy to travel with him, and he and Geri started to walk back to the rig. I didn’t panic, but I thought it wise to leave the guy and follow them back to the coach.
We wound down the hill to the San Diego area, encountering increasing traffic as we went. When we hit Highway 15, we headed north through Los Angeles style traffic and suburban areas that weren’t here the last time we came through. We pulled into the Pechanga RV Resort in Temecula, a lovely spot with lots of grass at each site, which I’m sure I will enjoy. Don got the rig set up and fixed some pasta, resulting in great plates for me. We decided to hang out in the rig tonight, do our exploring tomorrow. Hope you have a good night, too!
Well, it had to happen; we finally tore ourselves away from the comfortable arms of Yuma and headed back to California. It was kind of hard to do. The paw-dragging was so evident that we didn’t get underway until well after the normal check-out time of eleven AM. We really did enjoy this place, finding something new and different to do every day, and revisiting places that we had previously enjoyed. But we finally hooked up the truck and cranked up the diesel, heading down Highway 8 toward California. We intended to have a brief fuel stop at a Love’s in Yuma, but it turned into something else. The truck area was a madhouse, filled with truckers topping off before getting into the more highly taxed fueling stops in California. We sat behind a 18 wheeler for about 15 minutes, with no action seen in their fueling. Geri finally went to investigate, and found that the driver had been in the payment line for nearly a half hour, waiting for his check to clear. This prompted Geri to head for the payment line pronto, and she was near the head of the line when Don saw a chance to move to an empty pump next to the line he was in. Geri saw the switch, got the credit card approved, and we were pumping, finally. On the road for real at noon.
We sped past the sand dunes where old Highway 80 had used a road built of wooden planks to provide a roadbed, unfortunately wide enough only for one vehicle. If you encountered a car going the other way, the one closest to a widened turnout section had to back up to allow passage for the other vehicle. I understand there were disputes involved. We ran alongside the All American Canal for part of the way to El Centro. This is a big canal. It looks like it carries more water than the Colorado does at Yuma. The end result of this water shows up in the massive produce fields around El Centro and throughout the Imperial Valley. Gotta interrupt and say hi to our friend and neighbor Joe, husband of Temptress Debbie, whose home town is here in El Centro. We understand why you love Ventura, Joe. We headed up into the mountains that separate the Imperial Valley from the coastal area. These are some of the most spectacular hills we have ever seen, they look like gigantic rock piles that had been assembled by a race of monsters who amused themselves just by piling rocks on top of rocks. Huge boulders! Don said that he wanted to study geology just to find out how these hills came into being. We made a stop at a rest area on the downhill slope, which I kind of needed for a number of reasons. I met a guy who was on his way to Memphis; Don told him that I loved Tennessee, and would be happy to travel with him, and he and Geri started to walk back to the rig. I didn’t panic, but I thought it wise to leave the guy and follow them back to the coach.
We wound down the hill to the San Diego area, encountering increasing traffic as we went. When we hit Highway 15, we headed north through Los Angeles style traffic and suburban areas that weren’t here the last time we came through. We pulled into the Pechanga RV Resort in Temecula, a lovely spot with lots of grass at each site, which I’m sure I will enjoy. Don got the rig set up and fixed some pasta, resulting in great plates for me. We decided to hang out in the rig tonight, do our exploring tomorrow. Hope you have a good night, too!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
December 3, 2009 – Yuma, AZ
An early morning for all of us; the coach washers and waxers were due to show up at eight this morning, and we had to be properly prepared to receive them. I even got fed my breakfast early. Don headed over for the shower, and was back in a few minutes; they were cleaning the rest rooms and showers at seven in the morning. What gives with that? Geri was up before seven and swilling coffee. We were all on track to greet the washers at eight; they arrived at seven-thirty. A mad dash to close windows and roof vents, and to get into proper clothing to deal with coach washers. Turns out there was no need to deal with them. They washed the coach from top to bottom in a little over a half hour, told us the waxers would be there later when the rig had dried, and took off. After an hour or so of dithering over whether or not to wait for the waxers, the decision was made to take me out for an excursion, have breakfast in Yuma, and come back to check on the waxing. So we got in the truck and headed down the highway to the Gateway Park in town, next to the river. I have to say, I was most pleased with their selection of walking venues; the grass there is very good, and lots of open space for wild running. So I ran; and ran, and ran, and rolled! I must have put on a fine performance, ‘cause Geri and Don were both applauding heartily. As we were walking next to the river, we met a couple with a Border Collie. I always feel a little humbled when I meet one of these dogs, as I am fully aware of their intelligence and work ethic. This lady was very friendly and animated, and happy to meet not only me, but also Geri and Don. She was pleasingly plump and very pretty; she and her folks were from British Columbia, some of the “Snowbirds” I mentioned yesterday. She dashed off down to the river to investigate a mudhole, then found a sandy area to roll in; she came back a little messy. After we went our separate ways, I heard Don say, “I’ll stick with the Goldie”. Made me feel good.
After our walk, we drove over to the Visitor Center to get some more information on the location of the dam that Don had never heard of, Laguna Dam. We got some maps and other info, then went back downtown to a restaurant, the Mad Chef, for them to have breakfast. I took a good nap, a little worn out from my exercising. When they returned from what they described as a great meal, we headed back to the coach to check on the waxing. When we got there, we found one lone young man standing on top of a ladder, working on the side of the rig. He was close to being done, and the coach looked great, shiny as a new one. Geri paid him for the work, and we took off to look for Laguna Dam.
Don decided to start our search on the east side of the river, and we drove through miles of fields of beautiful lettuce and cauliflower and other veggies until we saw a road called “Imperial Dam Road”. This didn’t set well with Don, as Imperial Dam is above Laguna Dam on the river. But off we went on it. We soon found that we were in the Army’s Yuma Proving Ground, where they test tanks and guns and other weapons. We came across a display area where there a bunch of tanks, guns and missiles, and of course we had to stop and look them over. Actually, they were pretty interesting. They had a Sherman tank from WWII in the collection, and you could actually see the marks where it had been hit with big bullets during the war! Don took some pics which I’m sure he will post.
We continued up the road until we finally found Imperial Dam, which Don dubbed the least impressive Colorado River Dam. I guess he’s right, it’s very low and just seems to wander all over the place. He took a few pictures of what could be seen, but that’s not much. He explained to Geri and I that it only serves to raise the elevation of the river behind it a few feet to allow it to feed the All American Canal, which provides irrigation water to the Imperial Valley in California, so it’s not a big hydro generator or flood reservoir. We headed back south on the California side, and passed a water control gate located on the west side of the river. Geri asked if that could be part of Laguna Dam, but Don didn’t think so. We wandered back through more fertile fields of veggies to highway 8, and back into Yuma. A quick stop for Geri to shop for groceries and to flash her Discover Card again, and we headed for home.
Don was searching Google Earth later in the evening, looking for Laguna Dam, when he saw something he recognized; a water control gate next to the road that we had travelled. It was on the west end of Laguna Dam, which showed up clearly on the screen. He showed it to Geri, who concurred with his evaluation. He will go to bed happy tonight, because he has now visited every dam on the dammed Colorado River. Hope you have a good night, too. Bye!
An early morning for all of us; the coach washers and waxers were due to show up at eight this morning, and we had to be properly prepared to receive them. I even got fed my breakfast early. Don headed over for the shower, and was back in a few minutes; they were cleaning the rest rooms and showers at seven in the morning. What gives with that? Geri was up before seven and swilling coffee. We were all on track to greet the washers at eight; they arrived at seven-thirty. A mad dash to close windows and roof vents, and to get into proper clothing to deal with coach washers. Turns out there was no need to deal with them. They washed the coach from top to bottom in a little over a half hour, told us the waxers would be there later when the rig had dried, and took off. After an hour or so of dithering over whether or not to wait for the waxers, the decision was made to take me out for an excursion, have breakfast in Yuma, and come back to check on the waxing. So we got in the truck and headed down the highway to the Gateway Park in town, next to the river. I have to say, I was most pleased with their selection of walking venues; the grass there is very good, and lots of open space for wild running. So I ran; and ran, and ran, and rolled! I must have put on a fine performance, ‘cause Geri and Don were both applauding heartily. As we were walking next to the river, we met a couple with a Border Collie. I always feel a little humbled when I meet one of these dogs, as I am fully aware of their intelligence and work ethic. This lady was very friendly and animated, and happy to meet not only me, but also Geri and Don. She was pleasingly plump and very pretty; she and her folks were from British Columbia, some of the “Snowbirds” I mentioned yesterday. She dashed off down to the river to investigate a mudhole, then found a sandy area to roll in; she came back a little messy. After we went our separate ways, I heard Don say, “I’ll stick with the Goldie”. Made me feel good.
After our walk, we drove over to the Visitor Center to get some more information on the location of the dam that Don had never heard of, Laguna Dam. We got some maps and other info, then went back downtown to a restaurant, the Mad Chef, for them to have breakfast. I took a good nap, a little worn out from my exercising. When they returned from what they described as a great meal, we headed back to the coach to check on the waxing. When we got there, we found one lone young man standing on top of a ladder, working on the side of the rig. He was close to being done, and the coach looked great, shiny as a new one. Geri paid him for the work, and we took off to look for Laguna Dam.
Don decided to start our search on the east side of the river, and we drove through miles of fields of beautiful lettuce and cauliflower and other veggies until we saw a road called “Imperial Dam Road”. This didn’t set well with Don, as Imperial Dam is above Laguna Dam on the river. But off we went on it. We soon found that we were in the Army’s Yuma Proving Ground, where they test tanks and guns and other weapons. We came across a display area where there a bunch of tanks, guns and missiles, and of course we had to stop and look them over. Actually, they were pretty interesting. They had a Sherman tank from WWII in the collection, and you could actually see the marks where it had been hit with big bullets during the war! Don took some pics which I’m sure he will post.
We continued up the road until we finally found Imperial Dam, which Don dubbed the least impressive Colorado River Dam. I guess he’s right, it’s very low and just seems to wander all over the place. He took a few pictures of what could be seen, but that’s not much. He explained to Geri and I that it only serves to raise the elevation of the river behind it a few feet to allow it to feed the All American Canal, which provides irrigation water to the Imperial Valley in California, so it’s not a big hydro generator or flood reservoir. We headed back south on the California side, and passed a water control gate located on the west side of the river. Geri asked if that could be part of Laguna Dam, but Don didn’t think so. We wandered back through more fertile fields of veggies to highway 8, and back into Yuma. A quick stop for Geri to shop for groceries and to flash her Discover Card again, and we headed for home.
Don was searching Google Earth later in the evening, looking for Laguna Dam, when he saw something he recognized; a water control gate next to the road that we had travelled. It was on the west end of Laguna Dam, which showed up clearly on the screen. He showed it to Geri, who concurred with his evaluation. He will go to bed happy tonight, because he has now visited every dam on the dammed Colorado River. Hope you have a good night, too. Bye!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
December 2, 2009 – Yuma, AZ
There is a general reluctance in this group to leave Yuma. The weather is great, we find new things of interest every day, our RV Park is very nice, and the general feeling is very relaxing. We’re sleeping later (except for Don this morning) and moving slower. Like this morning, we finally got in the truck and got moving around eleven. Oh, yeah, I had gotten a perfunctory walk for the purposes of my toilet activities earlier, and I understood that major walks would be a part of the day’s excursions, so I didn’t register any complaints.
We struck out to find a date farm on the east end of town, and made our way to it pretty easily. Geri and Don had their minds set on having some date milkshakes, and they got their wish. They usually stop at Charlie Brown’s in Littlerock when we’re on our way to or from Las Vegas and get date shakes there; today’s product of Martha’s Garden apparently beat old Charlie into the dust. Don augmented his shake with a premium hot dog that he found especially praiseworthy. I didn’t get a bite of anything, but I had been given my lunch before we left, so I couldn’t complain too much. We then headed for the park along the river where the burrowing owls and hummingbirds are featured performers. Unfortunately, after a half hour of tramping through the underbrush along the river, not a burrow nor an owl was to be seen. We were a little more fortunate with the hummers, as two of them showed up to perform for us. But I had a good time exploring new environs and collecting strange smells for my catalogue.
We made our way back into town to find a historical museum that they wanted to visit; it was located in an old home built by a guy by the name of Sanguinetti back in the 1880’s. I think Geri was interested in Yuma’s Italian connection. They spent about an hour in the place, and came back to the truck full of stories that they had picked up there. Apparently this Sanguinetti guy was a real workaholic who got into every line of business available in Yuma during that period, and pursued them all very successfully. He ran a general store, invested in mining operations, grew cotton, contracted with the railroads to feed cattle in shipment, and a long list of other stuff. He lived to a ripe old age and died very wealthy; great Italian story.
Then we spent some time chasing down an RV Park that Geri had read about, located on the river and incorporating a golf course. It’s owned and operated by an Indian tribe, the Cocopah’s. Unfortunately, a miscommunication with Garmie brought us to a casino owned by the same tribe, about halfway to the Mexican border. Further consultation with Garmie set things right, and we finally found the RV Park, which we all adjudged to be below our standards. The golf course looked nice, though. It was getting time to head for home, but we had to stop at a supermarket for some of Geri’s needs. Her experience in attempting to pay for her purchases with her Discover Card and extract some cash in the deal is far to complex for this journal; let us only say that it was not pretty.
We headed back for the rig, and no one was really hungry, except for me. I guess I’m always hungry! They nibbled on some leftovers, and then got their swim suits on and head for the spa. They were back in just a few minutes; the spa was out of order. Oh, well, into each life some rain must fall. We’re going to hit the hay early tonight, we’ve got a crew coming in at eight tomorrow morning to wash and wax the rig. Should be interesting! See you tomorrow!
There is a general reluctance in this group to leave Yuma. The weather is great, we find new things of interest every day, our RV Park is very nice, and the general feeling is very relaxing. We’re sleeping later (except for Don this morning) and moving slower. Like this morning, we finally got in the truck and got moving around eleven. Oh, yeah, I had gotten a perfunctory walk for the purposes of my toilet activities earlier, and I understood that major walks would be a part of the day’s excursions, so I didn’t register any complaints.
We struck out to find a date farm on the east end of town, and made our way to it pretty easily. Geri and Don had their minds set on having some date milkshakes, and they got their wish. They usually stop at Charlie Brown’s in Littlerock when we’re on our way to or from Las Vegas and get date shakes there; today’s product of Martha’s Garden apparently beat old Charlie into the dust. Don augmented his shake with a premium hot dog that he found especially praiseworthy. I didn’t get a bite of anything, but I had been given my lunch before we left, so I couldn’t complain too much. We then headed for the park along the river where the burrowing owls and hummingbirds are featured performers. Unfortunately, after a half hour of tramping through the underbrush along the river, not a burrow nor an owl was to be seen. We were a little more fortunate with the hummers, as two of them showed up to perform for us. But I had a good time exploring new environs and collecting strange smells for my catalogue.
We made our way back into town to find a historical museum that they wanted to visit; it was located in an old home built by a guy by the name of Sanguinetti back in the 1880’s. I think Geri was interested in Yuma’s Italian connection. They spent about an hour in the place, and came back to the truck full of stories that they had picked up there. Apparently this Sanguinetti guy was a real workaholic who got into every line of business available in Yuma during that period, and pursued them all very successfully. He ran a general store, invested in mining operations, grew cotton, contracted with the railroads to feed cattle in shipment, and a long list of other stuff. He lived to a ripe old age and died very wealthy; great Italian story.
Then we spent some time chasing down an RV Park that Geri had read about, located on the river and incorporating a golf course. It’s owned and operated by an Indian tribe, the Cocopah’s. Unfortunately, a miscommunication with Garmie brought us to a casino owned by the same tribe, about halfway to the Mexican border. Further consultation with Garmie set things right, and we finally found the RV Park, which we all adjudged to be below our standards. The golf course looked nice, though. It was getting time to head for home, but we had to stop at a supermarket for some of Geri’s needs. Her experience in attempting to pay for her purchases with her Discover Card and extract some cash in the deal is far to complex for this journal; let us only say that it was not pretty.
We headed back for the rig, and no one was really hungry, except for me. I guess I’m always hungry! They nibbled on some leftovers, and then got their swim suits on and head for the spa. They were back in just a few minutes; the spa was out of order. Oh, well, into each life some rain must fall. We’re going to hit the hay early tonight, we’ve got a crew coming in at eight tomorrow morning to wash and wax the rig. Should be interesting! See you tomorrow!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
December 1, 2009 – Yuma, AZ
I gotta say, we love the weather here; it gets a little cool at night, but daytime it’s just right. Geri took me out for a short walk this morning while Don was showering, and I really didn’t want to get back in the rig, it was so nice out. Later in the morning, Don took me to a park in town, but the grass was really bad, and I didn’t really feel like rolling in it. We went back to the coach and picked up Geri and went back into town to a street fair. They had visited Yuma a long time ago (before I was born) and they were amazed at how much it had grown. They said it was just a dusty little backwater when they were here, with a sadly neglected downtown area and a few broken down trailer parks. Now there are at least two dozen RV parks, catering primarily to the people who migrate down from the north (where I was born) for the winter. They call themselves “Snowbirds”. The downtown area has been nicely renovated, and looks really spiffy. There are new shopping centers and other businesses to support the expanded population, which Geri says is almost a quarter million people! We’re all glad to see the town doing so well.
The street fair was a lot of fun, particularly for me, as many people stopped to say hello, admire, and pet me. One lady said that I was the most beautiful dog she had ever seen! Don got some tortilla chips with cheese (they’re called nachos) at sidewalk stand, and stood there eating them in front of me. Some of the people passing by shamed him into sharing with me, and I’m glad they did; the chips were really good! We got back to the truck and headed across an old bridge over the Colorado River; it was so narrow that it had traffic lights on each end to let traffic going each way to have the bridge to themselves; a one-lane bridge! We came back across to the Yuma side, and went to a park next to the river. Great grass! I went running and rolling all over the place, as I was starting to have grass withdrawal symptoms. We met a man walking his little dog, whose name was Daisy, the same as one of my friends across the street at home. She was a nice little dog, and we got along well.
Back in the truck, we drove down along the river to another park, a really big one, that had all kinds of wildlife habitats in it, like burrowing owls and other kinds of birds. There was a kiddies playground that looked like it had a castle in the middle of it! We all agreed that we’d like to spend more time there, but there were too many more things to see in Yuma. So we were off to the Quartermaster Corps base near downtown. I had to stay in the truck because of a stupid no dogs policy; I was a little miffed, ‘cause I could see the grass in the open areas between the buildings, and it looked beautiful. Geri and Don spent almost an hour in there, and came back to tell me about it. Turns out that this base had been established back in the 1850’s to supply the forts that were set up for the protection of immigrants who were heading westward along the southern trails to California. They even had steamboats going up and down the Colorado River carrying supplies to the forts. The Bureau of Reclamation also had maintained and office there, and Don was shocked to learn in their exhibit that there was a dam on the river that he wasn’t aware of! And he’s such a know-it-all. He also learned that there had been constructed a huge desalination plant next to the river in Yuma, but it had never been staffed or operated. Don says he wants to get more information on this.
We made a short stop at the Yuma Railroad station, and saw the three passenger cars and one switch engine that constitutes the operation. Don talked to an engineer who was working on the engine, and found out that it was an all-volunteer operation, and they had been running excursions down to near the Mexican border. They were going to resume operation in February, after some track repair was completed. Don was curious about the engine, as it was identical to the one that operated on the Stockton, Terminal and Eastern Line back when he was a kid, and had almost run him down while he was riding his motorcycle on the railroad tracks. The engineer told him that this model had been built for many years, back to the forties, (that’s 1940’s, for youngun’s like me).
We stopped by the entrance to the Yuma Territorial Prison, which Geri and Don had visited years ago, and which did not accept canine tourists. They like the view from the parking lot, looking over the river to the mountains beyond. A workman of Hispanic origin accosted them, and proceeded to explain the work that his company was doing in clearing extraneous greenery out of the park next to the river below the penitentiary. Don told me later that he was worry that the guy didn’t stick to speaking Spanish, as it would have been easier for him to understand than his mix of Spanglish.
My beneficent humans decided to visit the local Cracker Barrel for dinner, but took pity on me by breaking out some emergency dog rations that Don had stowed in the truck some years ago, just to keep me from starving to death. They emerged from the place after about an hour, and seemed pleased with the experience. We headed home to work on the blog, which seemed to take an unusually long time, and then headed for bed. There’s talk of staying here another day; well, why not? It’s a really nice place! See you manana!
I gotta say, we love the weather here; it gets a little cool at night, but daytime it’s just right. Geri took me out for a short walk this morning while Don was showering, and I really didn’t want to get back in the rig, it was so nice out. Later in the morning, Don took me to a park in town, but the grass was really bad, and I didn’t really feel like rolling in it. We went back to the coach and picked up Geri and went back into town to a street fair. They had visited Yuma a long time ago (before I was born) and they were amazed at how much it had grown. They said it was just a dusty little backwater when they were here, with a sadly neglected downtown area and a few broken down trailer parks. Now there are at least two dozen RV parks, catering primarily to the people who migrate down from the north (where I was born) for the winter. They call themselves “Snowbirds”. The downtown area has been nicely renovated, and looks really spiffy. There are new shopping centers and other businesses to support the expanded population, which Geri says is almost a quarter million people! We’re all glad to see the town doing so well.
The street fair was a lot of fun, particularly for me, as many people stopped to say hello, admire, and pet me. One lady said that I was the most beautiful dog she had ever seen! Don got some tortilla chips with cheese (they’re called nachos) at sidewalk stand, and stood there eating them in front of me. Some of the people passing by shamed him into sharing with me, and I’m glad they did; the chips were really good! We got back to the truck and headed across an old bridge over the Colorado River; it was so narrow that it had traffic lights on each end to let traffic going each way to have the bridge to themselves; a one-lane bridge! We came back across to the Yuma side, and went to a park next to the river. Great grass! I went running and rolling all over the place, as I was starting to have grass withdrawal symptoms. We met a man walking his little dog, whose name was Daisy, the same as one of my friends across the street at home. She was a nice little dog, and we got along well.
Back in the truck, we drove down along the river to another park, a really big one, that had all kinds of wildlife habitats in it, like burrowing owls and other kinds of birds. There was a kiddies playground that looked like it had a castle in the middle of it! We all agreed that we’d like to spend more time there, but there were too many more things to see in Yuma. So we were off to the Quartermaster Corps base near downtown. I had to stay in the truck because of a stupid no dogs policy; I was a little miffed, ‘cause I could see the grass in the open areas between the buildings, and it looked beautiful. Geri and Don spent almost an hour in there, and came back to tell me about it. Turns out that this base had been established back in the 1850’s to supply the forts that were set up for the protection of immigrants who were heading westward along the southern trails to California. They even had steamboats going up and down the Colorado River carrying supplies to the forts. The Bureau of Reclamation also had maintained and office there, and Don was shocked to learn in their exhibit that there was a dam on the river that he wasn’t aware of! And he’s such a know-it-all. He also learned that there had been constructed a huge desalination plant next to the river in Yuma, but it had never been staffed or operated. Don says he wants to get more information on this.
We made a short stop at the Yuma Railroad station, and saw the three passenger cars and one switch engine that constitutes the operation. Don talked to an engineer who was working on the engine, and found out that it was an all-volunteer operation, and they had been running excursions down to near the Mexican border. They were going to resume operation in February, after some track repair was completed. Don was curious about the engine, as it was identical to the one that operated on the Stockton, Terminal and Eastern Line back when he was a kid, and had almost run him down while he was riding his motorcycle on the railroad tracks. The engineer told him that this model had been built for many years, back to the forties, (that’s 1940’s, for youngun’s like me).
We stopped by the entrance to the Yuma Territorial Prison, which Geri and Don had visited years ago, and which did not accept canine tourists. They like the view from the parking lot, looking over the river to the mountains beyond. A workman of Hispanic origin accosted them, and proceeded to explain the work that his company was doing in clearing extraneous greenery out of the park next to the river below the penitentiary. Don told me later that he was worry that the guy didn’t stick to speaking Spanish, as it would have been easier for him to understand than his mix of Spanglish.
My beneficent humans decided to visit the local Cracker Barrel for dinner, but took pity on me by breaking out some emergency dog rations that Don had stowed in the truck some years ago, just to keep me from starving to death. They emerged from the place after about an hour, and seemed pleased with the experience. We headed home to work on the blog, which seemed to take an unusually long time, and then headed for bed. There’s talk of staying here another day; well, why not? It’s a really nice place! See you manana!
Monday, November 30, 2009
November 30, 2009 – Fort McDowell to Yuma, AZ
We never know from day to day where we’re going to be and what we’re doing. I’ve learned this from experience. Yesterday, Geri had been talking about staying here another day; this morning, she was of the opinion that we ought to be moving on to our next location, Yuma. Don and I were caught a bit off guard, but we got our act together, had a good walk, during which I flushed a whole family of quail and sent them scattering, and got the rig ready to go just a few minutes after regular check-out time. Geri programmed Garmie for the route to Yuma, and it went very well until we got to the junction with US 10 East. Garmie was trying to send us down Hiway 57, but Don’s preplanned route was down 10 to route 347 to connect with Hiway 8 West. Garmie was insistent that we turn around and follow her directions, and Don was just as insistent that she was not fully possessed of her faculties. It wasn’t until several hours later, while cruising west on 8, that Don noticed a road joining the 8 from Phoenix, and figured out that this was the route Garmie was trying to put us on; probably would have saved ten or fifteen miles. We all apologized to her.
We pulled into our RV Park late in the afternoon, and took a walk around the place. It’s mostly residential, with a lot of what they call Park Model housing, with about ten percent motorhomes and trailers. But it’s very comfortable for us, we have a good sized site, a pull-through. We warmed up some leftovers, and I had a few pieces of Don’s leftover ribeye from Ruth’s Chris; yummy!
We’re going exploring in Yuma tomorrow, and I’ll give you a full report. See you then!
We never know from day to day where we’re going to be and what we’re doing. I’ve learned this from experience. Yesterday, Geri had been talking about staying here another day; this morning, she was of the opinion that we ought to be moving on to our next location, Yuma. Don and I were caught a bit off guard, but we got our act together, had a good walk, during which I flushed a whole family of quail and sent them scattering, and got the rig ready to go just a few minutes after regular check-out time. Geri programmed Garmie for the route to Yuma, and it went very well until we got to the junction with US 10 East. Garmie was trying to send us down Hiway 57, but Don’s preplanned route was down 10 to route 347 to connect with Hiway 8 West. Garmie was insistent that we turn around and follow her directions, and Don was just as insistent that she was not fully possessed of her faculties. It wasn’t until several hours later, while cruising west on 8, that Don noticed a road joining the 8 from Phoenix, and figured out that this was the route Garmie was trying to put us on; probably would have saved ten or fifteen miles. We all apologized to her.
We pulled into our RV Park late in the afternoon, and took a walk around the place. It’s mostly residential, with a lot of what they call Park Model housing, with about ten percent motorhomes and trailers. But it’s very comfortable for us, we have a good sized site, a pull-through. We warmed up some leftovers, and I had a few pieces of Don’s leftover ribeye from Ruth’s Chris; yummy!
We’re going exploring in Yuma tomorrow, and I’ll give you a full report. See you then!
November 29, 2009 – Fort McDowell
Sometimes I’m just not exactly sure what’s expected of me. I think I read situations pretty well, and I’m really good at knowing what Geri and Don want me to do. Like today, when Don and I went to get a newspaper out of the rack at the office, and he had to carry it back to the rig because it was too big for me to carry, I knew it was Sunday, and would be getting off to a very slow start. So I knew to keep my expectations for the morning walk kind of low as far as starting time. When we finally headed out, we went over to the undeveloped end of the park, which is pure desert terrain. It’s a lot better than pure gravel terrain. There’s a lot of wild smells in this area, and I enjoy sniffing and investigating them. We were headed back toward the civilized part of the park when I spied a lady taking a photo of her kids in front of a saguaro cactus. Well, Don usually wants me to get into the picture when he’s taking a photo, so naturally I thought that this lady would be pleased to add the image of a handsome dog in the photos of her kids, so I ambled up to the group and offered my services, sitting next to one of kids and smiling broadly. I have no idea why everyone started laughing and why Don was screaming at me. But I obediently returned to him, and he gave me a severe lecture on my lack of judgment. I still think they wanted me in the shot.
After lunch, Geri needed to do some shopping, so we went into Fountain Hills. Don and I schmoozed in the truck, hoping to attract the attention of some of the babes passing by, but they were few and disinterested. Geri returned with her booty, and we headed up to the Lake and the Fountain for some walking. Well, the lake and the park were there, but the Fountain wasn’t fountaining. The last time we were here, we were all very impressed with the Fountain, which shoots more water higher than any other fountain in the world. It’s really quite a sight. But today, no show. Guess they have budget problems. I got to do some really enthusiastic rolling in the beautiful grass, and Geri played her little game with me where she makes me sit and then walks away from me. When she gets so far away that I can hardly see her, she signals me to come to her, and I burst into a run at close to top speed right at her, swerving away at the last second, and then going into a crazy dog routine. It’s kinda fun.
Back in the truck, we headed for Scottsdale and Craig (David) and Jane’s house in Paradise Valley. They have a really nice place, with a big back yard with some nice grass and a pool. My old mentor Buddy would have dived right into the pool, but that’s not for me; I don’t look that good when I’m all wet. I was invited into the house, where I met their birds, who make outrageous noises. I also met their cats, Charlie and Olive, who were rather reserved, but not at all hostile. The smell of good food filled the house, and I realized that I had been invited to a dinner party! This doesn’t happen too often, and I’m thrilled when it does. Don took the edge off my appetite by feeding me my dinner, which he had brought with us. But the kitchen was still smelling great! My old friends Robyn and Bob showed up, and Jane’s brother Ken and Grandma Laura came soon after. Wow, what a big party! Everyone sat down at the table and I laid down, as instructed, next to Don. There was a whole lot of eating going on. I was speculating on how many of those plates would wind up in front of me. Turned out that only one did, but it was loaded with scraps from all the others! Quite a feast! My commendations to the hosts, David (Craig) the estimable chef and Jane (who is not a jerk) for the salad preparation and serving wench activities. I can’t remember a better dinner party!
I slept happily on the way back to the rig, and we all went to bed shortly after arrival. Hope your evening was good, too!
Sometimes I’m just not exactly sure what’s expected of me. I think I read situations pretty well, and I’m really good at knowing what Geri and Don want me to do. Like today, when Don and I went to get a newspaper out of the rack at the office, and he had to carry it back to the rig because it was too big for me to carry, I knew it was Sunday, and would be getting off to a very slow start. So I knew to keep my expectations for the morning walk kind of low as far as starting time. When we finally headed out, we went over to the undeveloped end of the park, which is pure desert terrain. It’s a lot better than pure gravel terrain. There’s a lot of wild smells in this area, and I enjoy sniffing and investigating them. We were headed back toward the civilized part of the park when I spied a lady taking a photo of her kids in front of a saguaro cactus. Well, Don usually wants me to get into the picture when he’s taking a photo, so naturally I thought that this lady would be pleased to add the image of a handsome dog in the photos of her kids, so I ambled up to the group and offered my services, sitting next to one of kids and smiling broadly. I have no idea why everyone started laughing and why Don was screaming at me. But I obediently returned to him, and he gave me a severe lecture on my lack of judgment. I still think they wanted me in the shot.
After lunch, Geri needed to do some shopping, so we went into Fountain Hills. Don and I schmoozed in the truck, hoping to attract the attention of some of the babes passing by, but they were few and disinterested. Geri returned with her booty, and we headed up to the Lake and the Fountain for some walking. Well, the lake and the park were there, but the Fountain wasn’t fountaining. The last time we were here, we were all very impressed with the Fountain, which shoots more water higher than any other fountain in the world. It’s really quite a sight. But today, no show. Guess they have budget problems. I got to do some really enthusiastic rolling in the beautiful grass, and Geri played her little game with me where she makes me sit and then walks away from me. When she gets so far away that I can hardly see her, she signals me to come to her, and I burst into a run at close to top speed right at her, swerving away at the last second, and then going into a crazy dog routine. It’s kinda fun.
Back in the truck, we headed for Scottsdale and Craig (David) and Jane’s house in Paradise Valley. They have a really nice place, with a big back yard with some nice grass and a pool. My old mentor Buddy would have dived right into the pool, but that’s not for me; I don’t look that good when I’m all wet. I was invited into the house, where I met their birds, who make outrageous noises. I also met their cats, Charlie and Olive, who were rather reserved, but not at all hostile. The smell of good food filled the house, and I realized that I had been invited to a dinner party! This doesn’t happen too often, and I’m thrilled when it does. Don took the edge off my appetite by feeding me my dinner, which he had brought with us. But the kitchen was still smelling great! My old friends Robyn and Bob showed up, and Jane’s brother Ken and Grandma Laura came soon after. Wow, what a big party! Everyone sat down at the table and I laid down, as instructed, next to Don. There was a whole lot of eating going on. I was speculating on how many of those plates would wind up in front of me. Turned out that only one did, but it was loaded with scraps from all the others! Quite a feast! My commendations to the hosts, David (Craig) the estimable chef and Jane (who is not a jerk) for the salad preparation and serving wench activities. I can’t remember a better dinner party!
I slept happily on the way back to the rig, and we all went to bed shortly after arrival. Hope your evening was good, too!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
November 28, 2009 – Fort McDowell, AZ
I remember now why this isn’t my favorite RV Park in all the world; not only is it totally devoid of anything resembling grass, there’s lots of gravel around, and all of it has sharp edges and points. Yes, I admit to being a tenderfoot, but I wasn’t brought up running around in the wild and developing leathery paw pads. When Don and I went walking this morning, I was ready to go home halfway through it. I was really glad to get back to the coach and work on getting the loose gravel out of the paws. Geri and Don were involved with showers and such, so I spent the rest of the morning watching financial shows on TV. I think I’ll ask Don to put some of my funds into Purina common stock; looks like other dogs are eating it up.
We had some lunch and got into the truck for an excursion into Scottsdale. We went first to a place that said on its web site was an RV park. It was located closer in to Scottsdale than Eagle View is, and we might use it next time we’re over this way. On close inspection, maybe not. The closest thing to an RV in this place was a forty year old travel trailer that hadn’t traveled in thirty years. This was a parking lot for immobile mobile homes, mostly in poor repair. Don’t know why they call them mobile homes, anyway. Our coach is really a mobile home, but we have to call it a recreational vehicle to keep people from getting the wrong idea. Oh, well, not worth barking in the wind over. We did drive-bys on a couple of new casinos close to downtown Scottsdale, both huge and well attended. Then we went to Old Scottsdale, which is remarkably well preserved, considering that the oldest building in it looked like it had been built in the 1950’s. We got out of the truck and did some walking around to look at the shops, which mostly sold turquoise jewelry and tee shirts. Geri seemed pleased at the opportunity to visit the jewelry shops, until she realized that all of the mountings were silver, which she can’t wear, ‘cause it makes her skin turn black and look putrefied. She jumped Don on this, claiming that he knew that they only sold silver jewelry here, and that’s the only reason he stopped. He claimed total innocence, but I don’t know, he can be pretty sneaky. I had a good time, though, lots of people admired me and stopped to pet me; I only got in trouble once, when I noticed a couple sitting on a bench and eating what looked like burritos. Dog, they smelled good. I immediately assumed a sitting position directly in front of them, and fixed them with my hypnotic gaze, which is supposed to render them helpless and make them surrender their burritos. Geri was on the other end of my leash, but she was so far away I couldn’t hear what she was yelling at me. I knew I could prevail if I could just stay there long enough. But Geri came much closer and became very threatening, so I had to give it up as a bad job. Can’t blame a guy for trying, though.
It was starting to get kind of cold, so we got back in the truck and head for Fountain Hills to do some shopping. We found a Safeway, and Geri went in and got our orange juice, milk, and a gross of Weight Watchers certified Mallomars. When we went to head for home, Don programmed Garmie to take us there; but, once we got in gear, Geri wanted to go down to the Fountain Park for a short walk with me. While this was being discussed, Garmie kept shouting at us to make a U-turn and head back the other way; we kept rolling forward until it was decided not to go to the park. By that time, Garmie had sullenly crept back into her shell and indicated that we should continue forward on McDowell Mountain Road. Her display said that we would have to make a turn in about eight miles. When we reached the turning point, she sneeringly guided us into making a complete U-turn, which she had tried to tell us to do ages ago. Don’t mess with Garmie, or she’ll mess right back with you.
When we finally got back to the rig, Geri took me for my final walk of the day, and we both were shivering at the end of it. They took off and went to the local Casino to have some dinner, and I watched Saturday evening TV; for about six minutes. They got back pretty early (guess they lost their money pretty quick), and Don and I worked on the blog. I even got him to post a few photos! Well, to bed. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. Nite, all!
I remember now why this isn’t my favorite RV Park in all the world; not only is it totally devoid of anything resembling grass, there’s lots of gravel around, and all of it has sharp edges and points. Yes, I admit to being a tenderfoot, but I wasn’t brought up running around in the wild and developing leathery paw pads. When Don and I went walking this morning, I was ready to go home halfway through it. I was really glad to get back to the coach and work on getting the loose gravel out of the paws. Geri and Don were involved with showers and such, so I spent the rest of the morning watching financial shows on TV. I think I’ll ask Don to put some of my funds into Purina common stock; looks like other dogs are eating it up.
We had some lunch and got into the truck for an excursion into Scottsdale. We went first to a place that said on its web site was an RV park. It was located closer in to Scottsdale than Eagle View is, and we might use it next time we’re over this way. On close inspection, maybe not. The closest thing to an RV in this place was a forty year old travel trailer that hadn’t traveled in thirty years. This was a parking lot for immobile mobile homes, mostly in poor repair. Don’t know why they call them mobile homes, anyway. Our coach is really a mobile home, but we have to call it a recreational vehicle to keep people from getting the wrong idea. Oh, well, not worth barking in the wind over. We did drive-bys on a couple of new casinos close to downtown Scottsdale, both huge and well attended. Then we went to Old Scottsdale, which is remarkably well preserved, considering that the oldest building in it looked like it had been built in the 1950’s. We got out of the truck and did some walking around to look at the shops, which mostly sold turquoise jewelry and tee shirts. Geri seemed pleased at the opportunity to visit the jewelry shops, until she realized that all of the mountings were silver, which she can’t wear, ‘cause it makes her skin turn black and look putrefied. She jumped Don on this, claiming that he knew that they only sold silver jewelry here, and that’s the only reason he stopped. He claimed total innocence, but I don’t know, he can be pretty sneaky. I had a good time, though, lots of people admired me and stopped to pet me; I only got in trouble once, when I noticed a couple sitting on a bench and eating what looked like burritos. Dog, they smelled good. I immediately assumed a sitting position directly in front of them, and fixed them with my hypnotic gaze, which is supposed to render them helpless and make them surrender their burritos. Geri was on the other end of my leash, but she was so far away I couldn’t hear what she was yelling at me. I knew I could prevail if I could just stay there long enough. But Geri came much closer and became very threatening, so I had to give it up as a bad job. Can’t blame a guy for trying, though.
It was starting to get kind of cold, so we got back in the truck and head for Fountain Hills to do some shopping. We found a Safeway, and Geri went in and got our orange juice, milk, and a gross of Weight Watchers certified Mallomars. When we went to head for home, Don programmed Garmie to take us there; but, once we got in gear, Geri wanted to go down to the Fountain Park for a short walk with me. While this was being discussed, Garmie kept shouting at us to make a U-turn and head back the other way; we kept rolling forward until it was decided not to go to the park. By that time, Garmie had sullenly crept back into her shell and indicated that we should continue forward on McDowell Mountain Road. Her display said that we would have to make a turn in about eight miles. When we reached the turning point, she sneeringly guided us into making a complete U-turn, which she had tried to tell us to do ages ago. Don’t mess with Garmie, or she’ll mess right back with you.
When we finally got back to the rig, Geri took me for my final walk of the day, and we both were shivering at the end of it. They took off and went to the local Casino to have some dinner, and I watched Saturday evening TV; for about six minutes. They got back pretty early (guess they lost their money pretty quick), and Don and I worked on the blog. I even got him to post a few photos! Well, to bed. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. Nite, all!
November 27, 2009 – Palm Desert to Fort McDowell, AZ
Well, I’ll be doggoned, they were able to get the rig rolling pretty early in the morning! It took Don getting up around 5:00 AM and getting his internet browsing out of the way, but we were hooked up to the truck and rolling out about nine. I even got a decent walk out of it. We were making good time on Highway 10 for about twenty minutes when we came to a dead stop; the traffic was backed up as far as our eyes could see! We started moving slowly and fitfully, with the two lanes of traffic eventually merging into one with the help of CalTrans workers and a sign that said “Road Work”. I could see that Don was mentally composing a steaming letter to Governor Schwartzenterminator on scheduling road work on a major highway during one of the highest traffic days of the year. About an hour after our original stoppage, we came to the actual cause; a big rig truck on the shoulder of the fast lane with the side of the trailer sheared off and cargo all over the ground. The tractor was a mess also, with big parts of the side of it missing. Dog knows what happened to it.
We moved along pretty well after that, and I got some napping in. We had a rest stop in a Rest Area totally devoid of grass (shades of West Texas), and a fuel stop in Quartzite, then pressed on into Phoenix and rush hour traffic. Don and Geri decided to entrust our guidance to the new Garmie, who passed the test perfectly, rolling us into Eagle View RV Resort about 4:30. After getting the rig set up, Geri and Don got themselves ready to go to dinner with David (Craig) and Jane, previously and erroneously referred to by myself as “jerks”, Bob, Robyn and Jane’s legendary grandma Laura, and Jane’s brother Ken. The occasion was Craig (David) and Jane’s eleventh anniversary; impressive to me anyway, that’s longer than I’ve been alive. They obviously spent a lot of time eating, ‘cause they didn’t make it back to the coach until almost eleven. Again, no leftovers for their best friend. They told me about the food, though, just to torture me; they were at a place called Ruth’s Chris (what kind of a name is that?) and they said their steaks were fabulous. OK, rub it in; made me want to go out and catch a rabbit and eat it all myself. Well, maybe not, I’d probably try to make friends with it. Think I’ll go to bed. G’nite!
Well, I’ll be doggoned, they were able to get the rig rolling pretty early in the morning! It took Don getting up around 5:00 AM and getting his internet browsing out of the way, but we were hooked up to the truck and rolling out about nine. I even got a decent walk out of it. We were making good time on Highway 10 for about twenty minutes when we came to a dead stop; the traffic was backed up as far as our eyes could see! We started moving slowly and fitfully, with the two lanes of traffic eventually merging into one with the help of CalTrans workers and a sign that said “Road Work”. I could see that Don was mentally composing a steaming letter to Governor Schwartzenterminator on scheduling road work on a major highway during one of the highest traffic days of the year. About an hour after our original stoppage, we came to the actual cause; a big rig truck on the shoulder of the fast lane with the side of the trailer sheared off and cargo all over the ground. The tractor was a mess also, with big parts of the side of it missing. Dog knows what happened to it.
We moved along pretty well after that, and I got some napping in. We had a rest stop in a Rest Area totally devoid of grass (shades of West Texas), and a fuel stop in Quartzite, then pressed on into Phoenix and rush hour traffic. Don and Geri decided to entrust our guidance to the new Garmie, who passed the test perfectly, rolling us into Eagle View RV Resort about 4:30. After getting the rig set up, Geri and Don got themselves ready to go to dinner with David (Craig) and Jane, previously and erroneously referred to by myself as “jerks”, Bob, Robyn and Jane’s legendary grandma Laura, and Jane’s brother Ken. The occasion was Craig (David) and Jane’s eleventh anniversary; impressive to me anyway, that’s longer than I’ve been alive. They obviously spent a lot of time eating, ‘cause they didn’t make it back to the coach until almost eleven. Again, no leftovers for their best friend. They told me about the food, though, just to torture me; they were at a place called Ruth’s Chris (what kind of a name is that?) and they said their steaks were fabulous. OK, rub it in; made me want to go out and catch a rabbit and eat it all myself. Well, maybe not, I’d probably try to make friends with it. Think I’ll go to bed. G’nite!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
November 26, 2009 – Palm Desert
Let me say it and get it out of my system first, before I get morose and screw up the blog; it’s Thanksgiving, and guess who didn’t get even a single scrap of turkey? Everybody’s faithful, furry friend, that’s who! There, that’s out of the way. Otherwise, not a bad day. We watched the Macy’s Parade in New York; I’m glad we weren’t there in person, those huge balloons would have freaked me out. While we were having lunch, we watched part of a dog show from Philadelphia; some those dogs looked really silly, but the Golden that was entered was really a handsome guy; unfortunately, he lost. After lunch, we got into the truck and headed into downtown Palm Desert. Don had asked Geri if she’d like to go the fancy shopping district, El Paseo, and she was thrilled at the idea. Until she quickly came to the recognition that today all of the shops would be shut. There was quite a dust-up over that, as this is one of Don’s usual tricks, offering to take Geri shopping when all the stores are closed. But we wound up going to El Paseo anyway, just to window shop and walk. We strolled through a really nice group of stores that had several gardens and statues in them. I got Don to take some pictures, which he might even post some time. While I was looking through the glass door of a shop, a man opened it and asked if he could give me a cookie. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. What a thrill!
We got back in the truck and went up to the park at the Government Center. There’s a little creek that runs through it, and some good sized ponds that were wall-to-wall ducks! Now, I like ducks, and ordinarily I might chase one for fun; but not when there are several thousand of them, they could gang up on me and nibble me to death. So I just watched them and smiled. The park is really big, and we wandered through part of it, admiring the statuary and the plantings. We came across a Holocaust Memorial in the park, and I asked Don what it was about. When he told me, I had a lot of trouble understanding what he said. When it finally became somewhat clear to me, I was very troubled. It meant to me that humans could do terrible things to each other that dogs would never even consider, even if they were cable of doing those things. It makes me really wonder who should be in charge in this world.
We went back to the coach, and Geri and Don got ready to go over the club house for Thanksgiving dinner. I took the position that I still hadn’t gotten my four o’clock walk yet, regardless of the afternoon’s excursions, and Don agreed to take me for a little stroll. We were walking toward a group of RV’s when a Chihuahua came racing up to me, barking furiously. It sounded to me like an invitation to join him and his party, so I chased him back to his RV, where there was a large group of people. I rounded the end of the RV at high speed, and found myself in the middle of a large group of small dogs, who immediately went ballistic. It was like an explosion of tiny canines, all of them scared, mad, and loud. Well, at least the humans were friendly, laughing and petting me and saying how beautiful I was. Don was screaming at me. It took a minute to disengage from the friendly humans (who had a lot of good food left on the table) and the vicious snarling pack of wanna-be dogs who were planning to eviscerate me. Don grabbed me and put the leash on like he wanted to hang me with it.
So they headed off for their feast, and were gone for a couple of hours. I napped. When they came back, they told me about what a good time they had, swapping RV stories with other RV’ers at their table, eating smoked turkey leg, stuffing, mashed potatos, and other stuff that doesn’t interest me that much. But I think that a little piece of turkey could have been stashed away for me. Well, maybe I can understand Don not feeling that warm about me, but Geri? Oh, well.
We’re out of here tomorrow, early they say. We’ll find out what early means. Check with you tomorrow!
Let me say it and get it out of my system first, before I get morose and screw up the blog; it’s Thanksgiving, and guess who didn’t get even a single scrap of turkey? Everybody’s faithful, furry friend, that’s who! There, that’s out of the way. Otherwise, not a bad day. We watched the Macy’s Parade in New York; I’m glad we weren’t there in person, those huge balloons would have freaked me out. While we were having lunch, we watched part of a dog show from Philadelphia; some those dogs looked really silly, but the Golden that was entered was really a handsome guy; unfortunately, he lost. After lunch, we got into the truck and headed into downtown Palm Desert. Don had asked Geri if she’d like to go the fancy shopping district, El Paseo, and she was thrilled at the idea. Until she quickly came to the recognition that today all of the shops would be shut. There was quite a dust-up over that, as this is one of Don’s usual tricks, offering to take Geri shopping when all the stores are closed. But we wound up going to El Paseo anyway, just to window shop and walk. We strolled through a really nice group of stores that had several gardens and statues in them. I got Don to take some pictures, which he might even post some time. While I was looking through the glass door of a shop, a man opened it and asked if he could give me a cookie. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. What a thrill!
We got back in the truck and went up to the park at the Government Center. There’s a little creek that runs through it, and some good sized ponds that were wall-to-wall ducks! Now, I like ducks, and ordinarily I might chase one for fun; but not when there are several thousand of them, they could gang up on me and nibble me to death. So I just watched them and smiled. The park is really big, and we wandered through part of it, admiring the statuary and the plantings. We came across a Holocaust Memorial in the park, and I asked Don what it was about. When he told me, I had a lot of trouble understanding what he said. When it finally became somewhat clear to me, I was very troubled. It meant to me that humans could do terrible things to each other that dogs would never even consider, even if they were cable of doing those things. It makes me really wonder who should be in charge in this world.
We went back to the coach, and Geri and Don got ready to go over the club house for Thanksgiving dinner. I took the position that I still hadn’t gotten my four o’clock walk yet, regardless of the afternoon’s excursions, and Don agreed to take me for a little stroll. We were walking toward a group of RV’s when a Chihuahua came racing up to me, barking furiously. It sounded to me like an invitation to join him and his party, so I chased him back to his RV, where there was a large group of people. I rounded the end of the RV at high speed, and found myself in the middle of a large group of small dogs, who immediately went ballistic. It was like an explosion of tiny canines, all of them scared, mad, and loud. Well, at least the humans were friendly, laughing and petting me and saying how beautiful I was. Don was screaming at me. It took a minute to disengage from the friendly humans (who had a lot of good food left on the table) and the vicious snarling pack of wanna-be dogs who were planning to eviscerate me. Don grabbed me and put the leash on like he wanted to hang me with it.
So they headed off for their feast, and were gone for a couple of hours. I napped. When they came back, they told me about what a good time they had, swapping RV stories with other RV’ers at their table, eating smoked turkey leg, stuffing, mashed potatos, and other stuff that doesn’t interest me that much. But I think that a little piece of turkey could have been stashed away for me. Well, maybe I can understand Don not feeling that warm about me, but Geri? Oh, well.
We’re out of here tomorrow, early they say. We’ll find out what early means. Check with you tomorrow!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
November 25, 2009 – Palm Desert
I think we’re starting to settle into our normal travel routine, at least in terms of morning rituals. Don and I got up a little before six, he got the coffee started and sent me out for the paper (a real one, not some phony reusable garbage), got my breakfast right away, and read the paper while waiting for Geri to arise. I napped, waiting for my morning walk, which got going about at nine. This place has a lot of beautiful grassy areas, some of which remind me of the park in Benbow, up in the Redwoods, where all the people were yelling at me and waving what looked like clubs while I rolled and did crazy dog on the lovely grassy area with the little flagpole in the middle of it. There weren’t any people out this morning, so I had my run of the place. Good walk!
Seems to be a lot of lounging around going on today; these people act like they’re on vacation! Don’s still fighting the computer, though, muttering under his breath things that I’m probably not supposed to hear. Around noon, he carries the computer out to the truck, and we all pile in and head off for the nearest Verizon office, which turns out to be in a mall about five miles away. They found an indoor parking place so I could stay cool, and took the computer into the mall with them. They came back an hour or so later, all smiles, with their problems apparently solved; I could also smell pizza on their breath.
We headed back home, stopping at Rite Aid for Geri to do some shopping. Don stayed at the back of the truck talking to me, and I managed to attract the attention of three ladies who walked by and admired me, and had to stop for a few pets. Don says I’m a super babe magnet. When we got back to the rig, we found that we had two new neighbors, very pleasant people from Riverside here for Thanksgiving, and quite appreciative of a gregarious Golden. One of the rigs had a cat in it, which interested me; I like cats, they’re generally harmless and sloppy with their food.
We had planned to hit the road tomorrow for Arizona, but Geri found out that they were smoking some turkeys for a big dinner here tomorrow. Didn’t take a long time for them to reach agreement to stay another day. All right by me, I like it here! And I’m sure to get a few turkey nuggets out of the deal. Don cooked up some stirfry veggies and chicken for dinner, and I got some halfway decent plates out of it, but nothing to really brag about. Tomorrow ought to be better! See you then!
I think we’re starting to settle into our normal travel routine, at least in terms of morning rituals. Don and I got up a little before six, he got the coffee started and sent me out for the paper (a real one, not some phony reusable garbage), got my breakfast right away, and read the paper while waiting for Geri to arise. I napped, waiting for my morning walk, which got going about at nine. This place has a lot of beautiful grassy areas, some of which remind me of the park in Benbow, up in the Redwoods, where all the people were yelling at me and waving what looked like clubs while I rolled and did crazy dog on the lovely grassy area with the little flagpole in the middle of it. There weren’t any people out this morning, so I had my run of the place. Good walk!
Seems to be a lot of lounging around going on today; these people act like they’re on vacation! Don’s still fighting the computer, though, muttering under his breath things that I’m probably not supposed to hear. Around noon, he carries the computer out to the truck, and we all pile in and head off for the nearest Verizon office, which turns out to be in a mall about five miles away. They found an indoor parking place so I could stay cool, and took the computer into the mall with them. They came back an hour or so later, all smiles, with their problems apparently solved; I could also smell pizza on their breath.
We headed back home, stopping at Rite Aid for Geri to do some shopping. Don stayed at the back of the truck talking to me, and I managed to attract the attention of three ladies who walked by and admired me, and had to stop for a few pets. Don says I’m a super babe magnet. When we got back to the rig, we found that we had two new neighbors, very pleasant people from Riverside here for Thanksgiving, and quite appreciative of a gregarious Golden. One of the rigs had a cat in it, which interested me; I like cats, they’re generally harmless and sloppy with their food.
We had planned to hit the road tomorrow for Arizona, but Geri found out that they were smoking some turkeys for a big dinner here tomorrow. Didn’t take a long time for them to reach agreement to stay another day. All right by me, I like it here! And I’m sure to get a few turkey nuggets out of the deal. Don cooked up some stirfry veggies and chicken for dinner, and I got some halfway decent plates out of it, but nothing to really brag about. Tomorrow ought to be better! See you then!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
November 24, 2009 – Palm Desert
I’m really impessed with the weather out here in the desert; it’s every bit as nice as in Ventura! Cool at night, but warms up in the early morning, and is just right for my morning walk. Don took me around the RV Park this morning, and we met a man who had just returned to the park after having not stayed here in a number of years, but knew quite a bit about its history. He told us that the park used to be about four times as large as it presently is, but the owners decided about four years ago to rip up most of the park and build condos. Turns out their timing was kind of bad. They wound up with a lot of unsold condos, some vacant desert land, and a much smaller RV Park, which got sold off in their bankruptcy. Don and the man found agreement on many issues, like that two slides on a motorhome was just right, more was unnecessary, and the Cummins 8.3 liter ISC engine was the best ever produced. They also concurred that gas engines in motorhomes sucked. Don also came to the conclusion that the price graduations in the park’s sites had everything to do with how far away from the train tracks the sites were; the further away, the costlier.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but the second day of a trip is always the same; Don and Geri continue to discover that they hadn’t brought stuff which was absolutely needed, they find things that they thought were working but aren’t, and they realize that most of the stuff they brought is stowed in the wrong place. So the second day is “Fix-up Day”, setting things right by reprovisioning, repairing, and restowing. I just try to get fed and exercised on time. Added to today’s schedule was the need to move next door to the site we were supposed to be on, involving some tricky maneuvering of 38 feet of motorhome, amidst trees, utility boxes and other impediments. It went pretty well, all things considered. We went to the local Sam’s Club in the afternoon, and Geri got me some chews that I’ve never encountered before. They were kind of long, and I tried to hold them upright with my paws while I worked on them, but they kept getting loose. There’s a lot to be said for opposable thumbs.
This evening Geri and I took a long walk around the Park while
Don fixed some lamb chops for dinner; I got some good plates out of it. Don and I worked on the blog, and I chided him for not getting any photos for inclusion. He vows to do better. Some TV and then bedtime. See you tomorrow!
I’m really impessed with the weather out here in the desert; it’s every bit as nice as in Ventura! Cool at night, but warms up in the early morning, and is just right for my morning walk. Don took me around the RV Park this morning, and we met a man who had just returned to the park after having not stayed here in a number of years, but knew quite a bit about its history. He told us that the park used to be about four times as large as it presently is, but the owners decided about four years ago to rip up most of the park and build condos. Turns out their timing was kind of bad. They wound up with a lot of unsold condos, some vacant desert land, and a much smaller RV Park, which got sold off in their bankruptcy. Don and the man found agreement on many issues, like that two slides on a motorhome was just right, more was unnecessary, and the Cummins 8.3 liter ISC engine was the best ever produced. They also concurred that gas engines in motorhomes sucked. Don also came to the conclusion that the price graduations in the park’s sites had everything to do with how far away from the train tracks the sites were; the further away, the costlier.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but the second day of a trip is always the same; Don and Geri continue to discover that they hadn’t brought stuff which was absolutely needed, they find things that they thought were working but aren’t, and they realize that most of the stuff they brought is stowed in the wrong place. So the second day is “Fix-up Day”, setting things right by reprovisioning, repairing, and restowing. I just try to get fed and exercised on time. Added to today’s schedule was the need to move next door to the site we were supposed to be on, involving some tricky maneuvering of 38 feet of motorhome, amidst trees, utility boxes and other impediments. It went pretty well, all things considered. We went to the local Sam’s Club in the afternoon, and Geri got me some chews that I’ve never encountered before. They were kind of long, and I tried to hold them upright with my paws while I worked on them, but they kept getting loose. There’s a lot to be said for opposable thumbs.
This evening Geri and I took a long walk around the Park while
Don fixed some lamb chops for dinner; I got some good plates out of it. Don and I worked on the blog, and I chided him for not getting any photos for inclusion. He vows to do better. Some TV and then bedtime. See you tomorrow!
Monday, November 23, 2009
November 23, 2009 – Ventura to Palm Desert
Whoopee! We’re back doing what I love best, traveling in the motorhome! I have been given to understand that this is not going to be a very long trip, but I’ll take what I can get. We were going to leave a couple of days ago, but Geri had to have a tooth pulled and needed to take a little time to make sure there were no painful hangovers from it (whatever a hangover is). They’ve spent the last couple of days loading up the rig with all the stuff we need to keep us clothed (well, not me), fed and medicated for the trip, and Don checked out all of the technical stuff on the coach to make sure everything was working right. One of the things we loaded was a book I got for Geri for her birthday recently, a book about dogs and how they think and what makes us do some of the things we do. Don read some of it to me, and it’s really right on. It’s called “Inside of a Dog”, and it was written by someone who really has her dog stuff on straight. She knows how much time we spend daily studying our humans, and what we learn from it.
Before I start on our travelogue, I must tell you about the new boarder we’ve acquired since our last trip. For several months, this guy has been hanging around the house and roaming the neighborhood, picking up food wherever he could. He’s an orange and white tomcat, who Geri has named Rusty, and he’s a pretty cool cat. When we got back from our last trip, up north, Geri found out that Maggie, our house watcher friend, had been slipping food to Rusty on a regular basis, and he was sitting at the patio door in the morning looking for his handout. So, he’s been adopted as an outdoor cat; I’ve got no problem with him, I just check in the morning to make sure he hasn’t wasted any food by dropping it on the floor of the patio.
So, back to the trip. We got underway before noon, which is good for us, and took the northern route around Los Angeles, through Pasadena, and made good time all the way, pulling into the Emerald Desert RV Park in Palm Desert before four in the PM. Geri had made a reservation for an upgraded site, and we got assigned to site 610 when she checked in. This place is all back-in sites, so Don had to pull into a site across the street from our site in order to back in properly. Geri had parked the truck, and guided Don into our space. Don got the hookups going, and Geri and I went off for a little walk. When we got back, Don was having problems with the satellite antenna and the TV, to the point of giving up on it. He was standing at the door of the rig, looking out mournfully, when he turned to Geri and said “Did you know that we’re in Site 609?” Oops! Geri called the office to see if we could get reassigned, and found out we could stay here for the night but we had to move next door in the morning. Big deal, I can make my move in just a few seconds.
Don made one of our favorites, meatball soup, for dinner, with good plates for me. We started work on the blog then, and I had to feel sorry for Don having to work through problems with internet connections going down on him regularly. But we finally got it done! Hope you like the new blogsite, and we’ll be adding some photos soon. We’ll be posting again soon! G’nite!
Whoopee! We’re back doing what I love best, traveling in the motorhome! I have been given to understand that this is not going to be a very long trip, but I’ll take what I can get. We were going to leave a couple of days ago, but Geri had to have a tooth pulled and needed to take a little time to make sure there were no painful hangovers from it (whatever a hangover is). They’ve spent the last couple of days loading up the rig with all the stuff we need to keep us clothed (well, not me), fed and medicated for the trip, and Don checked out all of the technical stuff on the coach to make sure everything was working right. One of the things we loaded was a book I got for Geri for her birthday recently, a book about dogs and how they think and what makes us do some of the things we do. Don read some of it to me, and it’s really right on. It’s called “Inside of a Dog”, and it was written by someone who really has her dog stuff on straight. She knows how much time we spend daily studying our humans, and what we learn from it.
Before I start on our travelogue, I must tell you about the new boarder we’ve acquired since our last trip. For several months, this guy has been hanging around the house and roaming the neighborhood, picking up food wherever he could. He’s an orange and white tomcat, who Geri has named Rusty, and he’s a pretty cool cat. When we got back from our last trip, up north, Geri found out that Maggie, our house watcher friend, had been slipping food to Rusty on a regular basis, and he was sitting at the patio door in the morning looking for his handout. So, he’s been adopted as an outdoor cat; I’ve got no problem with him, I just check in the morning to make sure he hasn’t wasted any food by dropping it on the floor of the patio.
So, back to the trip. We got underway before noon, which is good for us, and took the northern route around Los Angeles, through Pasadena, and made good time all the way, pulling into the Emerald Desert RV Park in Palm Desert before four in the PM. Geri had made a reservation for an upgraded site, and we got assigned to site 610 when she checked in. This place is all back-in sites, so Don had to pull into a site across the street from our site in order to back in properly. Geri had parked the truck, and guided Don into our space. Don got the hookups going, and Geri and I went off for a little walk. When we got back, Don was having problems with the satellite antenna and the TV, to the point of giving up on it. He was standing at the door of the rig, looking out mournfully, when he turned to Geri and said “Did you know that we’re in Site 609?” Oops! Geri called the office to see if we could get reassigned, and found out we could stay here for the night but we had to move next door in the morning. Big deal, I can make my move in just a few seconds.
Don made one of our favorites, meatball soup, for dinner, with good plates for me. We started work on the blog then, and I had to feel sorry for Don having to work through problems with internet connections going down on him regularly. But we finally got it done! Hope you like the new blogsite, and we’ll be adding some photos soon. We’ll be posting again soon! G’nite!
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