Traveling On

Things change and we let the wind blow us along. Originally we were to to leave Jana and Korak's today and go to Desert Hot Springs for a week. As things progressed we decided to leave Thursday. We made a reservation at Desert Pools RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs for 4 nights. At the beginning of last week the weather people were predicting Santa Ana winds for Wednesday afternoon and Thursday. So we changed our plans, left Wednesday morning and headed east on I-10. We beat most of the wind; during the night there were winds high enough to blow trees over in one of the cities we passed through. It was windy where we were but not too bad.

So let me tell you where we were. Flashback: At the RV rally in Redmond last summer I entered a drawing for a new pickup. In October (or there about) I received a phone call that I won -- not a pickup, but 4 nights at an RV resort. Of course, it was one of those sales things; all we had to do was listen to a sales 90-minute presentation. The company is Western Horizons and they have quite a few locations so I chose the one that would help us on our way to Tucson. Well, to make a long story a little bit shorter, our dates got mixed up so I was going to pass on their offer. I had already made reservations at Sam's Family Spa and RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs for the week after we left the kid's in LA. When we decided to leave early, I called Western Horizons and they were delighted to host us (and try to impress us) for 4 nights. Then, because of the wind, we showed up a day early. They accommodated us, made their presentation, and almost made a sale. What they offered was really good but just not for us right now. So we stayed at their expense Wednesday night through Sunday morning, then moved 1/2 mile up the road to Sam's. Easy.

Sunday we attended 8:30 worship at Grace Church about 2 miles down the road, then moved the RV and watched football games. I'm bummed because neither of my teams won. I really didn't expect San Diego to win but really thought Bret Farve could do it. I don't really care about the Packers but I like Bret. So the Super Bowl will only be interesting to see if New England can remain unbeaten.

Since we have been here we have toured the area a little. It is not at all like I imagined. All these communities run together -- sort of -- and generally between Highway 111 and I-10. This includes Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio and couple others. Desert Hot Springs is an exception; it is set apart from the others, north of I-10. We have to drive 12-20 miles to get to anything we want to see. I always thought this area would be real swanky. It does have it's spots but it also has lots of plain ole down home places, too. When you look at a map, one of the things that stands out is the number of golf courses. I haven't counted them, but there must be 30 or 40 -- from the private county clubs to the public courses. Green fees run from about $65 and up. And I mean UP! Glad I gave up golfing.

Saturday we drove up to Churaco Summit about 40 miles east of here to see the General George S. Patton Memorial Museum. For anyone interested in history this is a must-see. The reason for this location is that near the beginning of WWII General Patton set up a desert training center there. The history of that whole area is very interesting. But mostly we have been enjoying the hot tubs. Both of these RV parks have hot mineral water feeding these tubs and pools. It's supposed to be very healthy to sit in. I don't know about that, but they sure are nice.

A word about the weather. Temperatures have been rather cool and, I'm told, cooler than usual for this area -- in the 60s during the day, 40s at night. When the wind blows and your swimming suit is all wet, cool isn't the word for it. It is just plain cold! But then, warmer than Grants Pass. This week is supposed to be even cooler and maybe a little rain. We'll see.

So this is our new world for a few days. Just to let you know.