November 20, 2012

Oasis Palms RV Park

Thermal, CA

 It was another day lazy day for me while Monte sealed the roof on the rig, washed his truck and my car.  I did feel a little guilty while he was vacuuming my car so I put down my book, got up out of my comfortable chair and wiped down the inside of the car.  We sat outside and watched the beautiful sunset.  Even though it is something that happens every night I never get tired of looking at the rainbow of colors where the mountains meet the sky. 

November 19, 2012

Oasis Palms RV Park

Thermal, CA

After breakfast Monte went up to the office and paid for another week.  In the afternoon, while I sat by the pool reading for a couple of hours taking a dip once in a while to cool off, Monte washed the roof on the rig.  He had bought what he thought was a sealer at Camping World when we were in Eugene, but after washing the roof when he read the container he saw that it was a wash so we set off for the closest RV supply store 20 miles away. 

Since we were near Walmart we decided to pick up a couple of grocery items.  We passed a Harbor Freight that was conveniently next to a Dollar Tree so we split up and met back at the car at the same time.   

We had a large salad for dinner, watched a little TV and then called it an early evening. 

November 18, 2012

Oasis Palms RV Park

Thermal, CA

 

We woke up to an unpleasant surprise this morning.  The first clue that there was a problem was when I got out of bed and my feet hit the wet carpet.  My suspicion about the source of the water was proved when I opened the bathroom door and saw the toilet bowl full of water.

 I spent a couple of hours trying to dry out the carpet in the bedroom while Monte spent the entire day working in the basement.  There is a trapdoor leading to the basement just outside of the bathroom door that allowed the water to drip down to the basement.  Monte had to totally empty the basement and wipe everything down.  The weather was in our favor because it was very sunny and the things left out dried quickly. 

The camp has been having issues with power brown-outs and broken pipes.  We are not positive but what we think happened was that the power went out through the night and when it came back on the water surged.  The (clean) water overflowed from the bowl.   Unlike a house toilet bowl there is no overflow hole in an RV.  Monte did some research on-line and found out this is not an uncommon problem.  Until we figure out a better way of dealing with the issue we are going to shut off the water before going to bed and when we are going to be away from the rig for the day. 

In the afternoon I took our sheets up to the laundry, located near the pool, and sat outside in the sun reading while they were in the dryer.  When it got too hot I went into the water to cool off and struck up a conversation with a woman originally from Minnesota.  Her and her husband are semi-full timers spending the summer at their lake house in Michigan and the other three seasons traveling in their coach towing a jeep.  When we discussed RV park rates I was surprised when she said she thought $30-40 per night was reasonable.  Spending $30 a night is not in our budget.  That just goes to show that there are people from diverse social and economic backgrounds living the full-time RV lifestyle. 

November 17, 2012

Oasis Palms RV Park

Thermal, CA

I wasn’t as sore as I thought I was going to be from the hike at Ryan Mountain in Joshua Tree NP but I was tired and other than getting caught up on financials didn’t do much all day besides alternate between reading and watching TV.  Monte worked on the next step of getting the air horns installed.

November 16, 2012

Oasis Palms RV Park

Thermal, CA

We got an early start for our trip to Joshua Tree National Park.  When I tried getting directions from the GPS I was unable to because I didn’t have a physical address for the park and it did not come up under nearby ”attractions” because we were too far away from the park for the GPS to locate it.   I printed MapQuest directions that took us on the very scenic route through Box Canyon where we did not encounter another car for 20 miles.  After crossing over Highway 10 we stopped at the entrance to the park and took our customary picture in front of the sign.   (We have 8 other pictures of us in front of signs for National Parks)

 

Our first stop was at the Cottonwood Visitor Center where I stamped my passport and got maps that described the history and wonder that is Joshua Tree National Park.  The Joshua tree is a member of the Agave family.  Legend has it that the Mormon immigrants, who made their way across the Colorado River, named the tree after Joshua, the biblical figure because the outstretched limbs appeared to be in supplication guiding them westward.

 

Before leaving the center we asked which hike the ranger would take if he only had time for one and he said he would do Ryan Mountain. 

We took a ride through the nearby Cottonwood Campground to see if it would accommodate our rig.  Most of the sites are for smaller RVs but there were a few that we thought we could fit in so we are considering staying at the campground on our way to Arizona.  There are restrooms, an area to take on water and a dump station but no electricity.  We could stay 2-3 days using our generator to charge the battery on the rig.

Continuing on Pinto Basin Road, the main thoroughfare through the park, we stopped at the Cholla (pronounced choy-ya) Cactus Garden and walked the short nature trail wounding our way around the spinney plants. 

 We heeded the signs warning against touching or getting too close to the cholla cactus because the spines could penetrate the flesh and are difficult to extract.

 

Monte spotted a tarantula crossing the road and had to stop to take pictures. 

The weather was absolutely perfect for being in the desert as it was a little overcast giving us protection from the sun but the patches of blue sky poking through the clouds were spectacular against the majestic mountains in the distance.  We stopped at a few exhibit viewpoints along the way but passed several up because we wanted to make sure we had enough daylight to ascend and descend the mountain. 

We also checked out a few other campgrounds in the park but the majority of them would be too small for our rig.

We arrived at the parking lot at Ryan Mountain and geared up.  We had our hydration packs with us that hold 64 ounces of water as well as our trekking poles.  A couple went up ahead of us without any water.  I don’t know how they managed the hike without getting dehydrated because I ended up drinking almost my entire bladder full by the time we got back to the car three and a half hours later.

 

The sign at the start of the trail for Ryan Mountain warned to take plenty of water and to allow 2-3 hours for the 3 mile hike.   It took us 2 hours to reach the 5461 foot summit because I had to stop every ten feet or so to catch my breath.  I have to admit the thought of giving up crossed my mind a couple of times but as people kept passing us up I reminded myself that it was not a contest to see who gets to the top first.  As we were climbing it was difficult to see how much further it was to the top and every time I thought we were close and the end had to be around the bend, it wasn’t.  BUT finally we reached the summit and I really felt a sense of accomplishment. 

         

 We spotted a geocache and left a message                                                                                           

                 

 

We had lunch and then explored the summit where we found a big pile of rocks.  I spotted a metal lunchbox and when I opened it was delighted to discover it was a geo cache containing among other thing some notes, a coin, and a small bottle of hand sanitizer.  I looked in my backpack to see what I could leave and the only thing I felt I wouldn’t miss was my San Francisco cable car boarding pass.  So after putting a message on it and the date, I deposited it in the box and returned it to the rock pile making sure it could be seen for the next geo cache seeker.

Our descent took less than one hour.  It was much easier to breathe on the trip down but much harder on the knees.  I’m really glad that I had my trekking poles because without them I am sure that at some point I would have taken a fall or twisted an ankle.  

 

 

 

Back at the car, we eagerly changed out of our hiking boots and, having worked up an appetite, wolfed down some animal crackers and an orange.  On the way out of the park we passed a bunch of rock climbers. 

 The rocks are huge and each one unique so it is easy to see why they would be attracted to the rock formations.  Because we had traveled so far north in the park, the GPS had us taking a different route home.  We traveled on a road called Twentynine Palms Highway, then Highway 10 and finally the 86S spur.  We were hungry, tired and very glad to be home after another wonderful day.  I for one am looking forward to couch-potato Saturday.

November 15, 2012

Oasis Palms RV Park

Thermal, CA

Monte has an on-going project of installing air horns on our truck that he works on periodically.  Today he worked on the high-pressure storage tank, valves, and compressor.  I spent almost three hours doing wash.  I didn’t mind too much because it was very overcast and it gave me the opportunity to get caught up on some reading.  Hopefully the weather will be nicer tomorrow because we are planning on hiking at Joshua Tree National Park.

November 14, 2012

Oasis Palms RV Park

Thermal, CA

After a very leisurely morning we packed some cold packs into a cooler and set out for the closest supermarket over 20 miles away.   Not being in any rush we drove through the surrounding towns of Indio, La Quinta, Indian Wells and Desert Palm.  We observed one beautifully landscaped gated community after another.  I’m really not into shopping but for those that are Desert Palms appears to be a shop till you drop Mecca.

When we had enough driving around, we picked up a few grocery items at Walmart and returned home just as the sun was setting behind the mountain.  We took a walk around the park stopping at the laundry to see if they had a change machine (there wasn’t one) and nosed around the rec room where we found a large selection of DVD’s, books and games along with a pool table.  We stopped in at the office to find out if we would be able to get change the next day when I planned on doing laundry.  We got to talking with the owner and found out that come next month the park would be filled with annual snowbirds and we probably wouldn’t have been able to get a site without a reservation.  Good to know for future reference because if we are ever this way again this park would be my first choice. 

We will be staying in Arizona for the months of December and January and have already given a deposit at a park so our site is secure.