On the radio were many discussions of the election. There are various opinions and it will be interesting to see what it will be like when Trump is president! I sometimes had a hard time understanding the southern English accents. Of course, since it is December, there were also many Christmas carols.
After traveling much of the day, I arrived at Hwy I-10 and crossed the border into Texas, stopping at a Pilot truck stop. It was much warmer by then, the vegetation and trees having gradually become greener as I drove along.
By the time I stopped, I saw my first palm trees! It was time to change from a jacket and sweater to a T-shirt. The night was still cool though.
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| Pilot gas station Orange, Texas |
While driving through Texas, the trees became less and the distances more vast. The traffic was very light and consisted mostly of transport trucks, the weather sunny and warm. The speed limit was 80 mi/hr in some stretches!
It was now Dec 6, The feast of St Nicholas that we celebrated as children. How we used to look forward to his visit, bringing many treats if we had been good.
( I was always amazed he knew so much about our behaviour!)
I drove as far as San Antonio, my favourite city. It took a long time to get past Houston ( pop over 2 million). Looking like a ghost city, it was shrouded with fog as I drove by.
The Walmarts at San Antonio were on the outskirts of the city and no one I asked knew of the bus service. It was getting late, so I drove into the city. Driving in heavy traffic in a city in the dark was something I usually avoid but I wanted to see their wonderful Christmas lights. I found a place to park downtown and was just about to pay the $15 charge at the machine when someone who left gave me his ticket which was still good for several more hours. It often happens when I least expect it that someone makes a kind gesture. There are many good, kind people in the US!
I walked the few blocks to the "River walk", having been there last year during the Christmas season and loving the lights.
There are walking paths along both sides of the river that passes right through the city and with many bars and restaurants along the way. At Christmas the sides of the river and hanging from buildings and trees, are colourful lights. Music can be heard along the way, creating a magical atmosphere.
I spent a couple of hours just marvelling at the sights and feeling happy and peaceful. While stopping for a rest, I saw a woman taking a photo and she pointed out to me a beautiful Christmas tree in a window. We chatted for a while and she told me she is a traveling nurse driving back to her home in Florida after a 3 mo contract at a hospital in Colorado.
It's always fascinating to meet people during my travels and hear their stories.
I found out that parking there was not allowed overnight, so even though it was already 11pm, I decided to drive out of the city to the next truck stop. Driving at night with heavy traffic was stressful and I was happy to find another Pilot station after about 1/2 hr, at Fort Stockton, Texas.
The next day,I continued to a truck stop in El Paso, on the border of New Mexico.
The countryside had become full desert and it felt good to be able to look so far into the distance. This part of my journey brought back good memories of driving through Texas last winter.
The desert looks bare and bleak but it is rich in its diversity. The vegetation varies, the flat areas result in a vast view of the sky and some of the rocks and mountains are fantastic. There is a feeling of being able to breathe more easily and of any built up stress disappearing. The desert brings a sense of peace and relaxation and has a unique beauty.
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| Hway #10 looking east |
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| A rest stop on the way to El Paso |
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| Desert land near the rest stop |
The campground is owned by the RV club "LOW" ( Loners on Wheels, a singles camping club since 1969 ) of which I am a member since last winter.
The "LOW HI " ranch is the international headquarters for the group.
I was happy to finally have a chance to discover this place, having heard many good things about it. It was bigger and even better than I had imagined, with 65 serviced sites and a large area for boondocking. They have laundry, showers, water, a dumping station, and even an air compressor for filling your tires.
The main office is attached to a TV and meeting room as well as a large kitchen and dining area for special potluck dinners. They also have a bunkhouse which has a library and videos and where early bird campers gather for morning coffee.
I was very impressed by how clean and well taken care of the park is.
Some of the campers live here permanently, hooked up with their RVs, while others visit for various times, usually on the way to another place.
It felt like coming home and is very inexpensive, at $180/ Mo plus electric during the high season ( Sept to May) for full hook up, and only $85/Mo if boondocking.
They have various activities that campers can take part in if they choose to.
My favourite one was a trip across the border to Mexico, less than an hour's drive, to visit "The Pink Store" for lunch. This is a weekly outing and the staff at the store had a long table all set up for us with salsa and chips. They provided a free margarita and live music for us. The Mexican food was very reasonable and delicious. We were serenaded by the live band playing Mexican music which I love to listen to and creating a festive and fun atmosphere.
After the meal we had time to browse around the store with its crafts and artwork, then headed back. This time we needed to show our passports to get back into the US.
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| The Pink Store |
One day I drove to Deming to see about a door lock that is broken but will have to wait until I get to Yuma. It's the door to my residence so I have to use my truck doors to get in and out.
I decided to go exploring and drove to "The City of Rocks" , a state park about a 45 min drive north. It was a fascinating park with many large rock formations surrounded by mostly flat desert with some mountains in the distance. At the tourist information office, I was told that those rocks were produced by a very large volcanic eruption 34.9 million years ago.
A short distance from the City of Rocks, were the "Faywood Hot Springs" which had public and private pools as well as a camping area.
The property was well looked after and soaking in the hot water was a treat, particularly since there was a cool breeze.
The days passed quickly, usually with cold nights and warm days. One night the temp dropped to 16 F !! In the morning my windshield had a thick coating of ice.
The sun had just come up and I saw some Canada geese flying north. It was probably warmer there!
That week we had a sand storm and visibility was poor. It was a day to stay inside and it reminded me of the snow blizzards of Canada. It took a while to clean the RV of the sand that got in through any cracks.
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| sandstorm |
There were enough activities to keep life interesting. On Fridays we met for a pizza party and Mondays for potluck. I often joined a small group to play cards in the evenings. I'm not usually a card player but playing "31" was fun.
The weather kept changing and a few days ago we had quite a bit of rain lasting through the night and next day. The ground was covered in large puddles resulting in muddy conditions. The desert does not get much rain and when it does rain, the ground dries quickly. There is always the danger of flash floods
in some areas and I remember seeing signs warning hikers.
I decided to stay at the ranch until Christmas, enjoying the time there and the friendships I had developed.
We decorated the TV and meeting room. On the morning of the 24th, One of the campers, Ted, took some of us on a hike about 1/2 hr away where there were some petroglyphs. He knew the area well and was a great guide. We wondered how those ancient people lived and survived in the desert without the conveniences that we have.
I loved the simplicity of just one small gift, good food, and being together with friends in the quiet atmosphere of the desert.
Gary, who does maintenance there, made hot buttered rum for us, a Christmas tradition and something I had never tried. It was delicious but also quite potent!
The next day was Christmas and we met for a fantastic potluck dinner. What a joyful celebration that was! Someone told us that she took her dog out just after midnight and saw snow falling, so we did have a white Christmas for a brief period! There was no snow left at the campground when I got up but my windshield was covered with thick ice again and there was snow on the mountains. The cold nights ( down to 22F that night) are not uncommon in the high desert in the winter. Someone told me we were at over 4000 ft elevation.
That evening, some of us played cards again and the laughter was contagious.
I laughed more than I had in a long time and that sure felt good!
It was hard to say goodbye when I left the next day to continue my journey west.
That place felt like home and I knew I would be back.
I took I-10 from Deming, west to Tuscon, stopping at the "Texas Canyon" rest stop with fascinating rock formations.
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| the snow looked pretty! |
rest stop at Texas Canyon
My route was familiar, having driven that way last winter. It was exciting to enter into the Sonoran desert and see the Saguaro cacti scattered throughout the landscape.  Hwy I-10 continued Northwest to Casa Grande, Arizona and another handy truck stop. I filled up with gas at $1.96/ gal, knowing that it would be far more expensive in California. I had thought of stopping at a rest stop along the hwy and was grateful I had kept going because when I looked it up later, there were warnings not to stop there due to drug smuggling through that area and possible shootings! The next day I turned onto Hwy 8 west because #10 turned north to Phoenix. It didn't seem too long to Yuma to stop at a Walmart on the outskirts of the city and stock up on groceries. Yuma is at the southwest corner of Arizona and California as well as near the border of Mexico. I liked listening to the Mexican music on the radio all along that route. It took a long time to drive out of the city due to construction and heavy traffic. Once into California, I had totally forgotten about the check point there and when asked if I had any fresh fruit or vegetables, I reluctantly showed the guard the bag of groceries I had just bought. He was very polite but had to confiscate the avocados which are not allowed to be brought in due to possible diseases affecting the crops in California. I suggested he eat them rather than throw them out! I was allowed to keep the rest as didn't have any citrus fruit. Construction continued most of the way west to El Centro and eased up when driving north to Niland, on the southeast side of the Salton Sea and where I had been to before. On the way, I stopped at Calapatria for their delicious apple fritters and to fill up with gas again ( this time it was $2.45/gal !!). It was then only 10 more min to reach my destination where I will celebrate New Years with another LOW group and which I will write about for my next blog! ( hint: it's a very unique place in the desert that I was at last winter) |
"Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted."
--- David Not
"Lack of interest is poison of the mind."
--- Mooji
Did you know......
--- Baffin Island, in Canada's northern arctic, has Nettilling lake, the world's largest lake that is found on an island. ( from Coffee News)
---Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Seniora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to .."L.A."
( from "Look what's cookin' weekly")
" A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
--- Winston S Churchill
Happy New Year!
Maria
whyknotrvmaria@gmail.com
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