Phoenix to Temecula CA --- good times

Roger here...  I have to say that a lot has happened since our last post.  We intend to post daily for the next four days to get up to date.  The striking sunset above was taken during our last night at the Cave Creek Recreation Area, just north of Phoenix.  I could not stop with just one picture...

Dianne took these pictures, not me.  She usually criticizes me for taking the sunset pictures that I love.  She got carried away, don't ya think?

This one is not what you think it is!  What minds you must have!















Enough of the sunsets.  We had a short drive the next morning, so we decided to take a longer hike with the dogs through the desert hills at the park.

 Please forgive my fascination with the saguaro, the ocotillo and the cholla.  As a small-town midwestern boy, these are still intriguing to me. 

 The vistas along the trail were amazing.  We were counting on our dogs to find us a rattlesnake or two so we could jump away and run --- none on this day.





Howdy!  We encountered a couple of groups enjoying a morning trail ride.  Our dogs politely stood at the side of the trail while they passed by. Good dogs.

Time to hit the road!  Since we did not want to have a super-long driving day, we opted to drive a couple of hours to Quartzsite, AZ for the night.  Quartzsite is famous for boondocking (camping off the grid).  During the winter it is overloaded with campers, but at this time of the year it is virtually abandoned.  We found a BLM spot near I-10 where we spent the night for the astounding price of $0.  Not a scenic place, but the price was right and the relative isolation was welcome.

 We bought firewood at the grocery in Phoenix so that we could have a campfire that evening.

California here we come...  When we crossed the border into California, the inspection station was closed (Sunday).  Typically, you are required to report if you have any fresh fruits or veggies, many of which are confiscated.  But, not that day.  Our destination was Aguanga, CA, which is near Temecula, which is near San Diego.  We had hoped to take a route through the mountains, but opted to avoid possible steep grades and drove further to stay on the interstate highways for most of the trip.  I am not sure if that was the best decision, because as we got closer to L.A. the interstate traffic was somewhat harrowing.  I guess we will never know if it was the best choice.  The bottom line is that we made it safely.

We planned to stay at an Escapee park, Jojoba Hills.  We knew that the office would be closed and we would need to boondock for a second night in the park's dry-camp (another term for boondock) area.  We spent a second pleasant night away from our computers (except for our iPhones) and looked forward to moving to a regular site early the next morning.

 This is the view from our boondocking site. Not bad.  Trees provided shade on both sides of our motor home.  They had the most interesting red berries.  Anybody know what they are?

The next day we moved up the hill to our full hookup site.  AND, what a site it was.  More to come in the next post, so check back soon!