Rediscovering Riverside, California (Saturday, October 6th, 2018)

Today we met some friends in Riverside.  They are friends of ours from Havasu, but their "real" house is in Riverside.  When we are in Havasu, they talk about their other home all the time, and we have really wanted to see it for several years.  So today, on our way to Los Angeles we stopped by to have lunch with them.  

Of  course, they had a great afternoon planned out for us.  They gave a tour of their beautiful house, and then we headed out for lunch in downtown Riverside.  On the way, they showed us around the town, and it was so fun to watch the excitement in Cheryl as she told us about the different areas around town.  We parked downtown by the old Mission Inn where we would be having lunch, and walked through the lobby.  They told us about the history of the inn and showed us around, which was a lot of fun.  

Then we went out the front door to see the front of the inn.  It is a remarkable building!  They said that it is always decked out for Christmas, but I was quite impressed with the fall decorations!

Then we made our way to the beautiful patio restaurant.  

We enjoyed a great lunch, and then toured around the rest of the inn and then downtown a little more on foot.  



It was an amazing day, and there is so much history in Riverside California, but I think the funnest part of the day was watching Tim and Cheryl rediscover the town that they love and have loved for years. 

Heading to Colorado for Thanksgiving (Monday, November 20th, 2017)

We left the house early this morning to head back to Colorado for Thanksgiving.  We took a route that goes through Las Vegas, NV and then up through Utah and into Colorado.  

By sunrise, we had already been in four states.  We left Arizona, drove through the corner of California, through Nevada and into Utah.  This is a beautiful drive, and one that we really enjoy.

The Virgin River Gorge is in Utah, and is a gorgeous area with steep canyons and jagged rock faces.

Then as we got further into Utah, we enjoyed the plateaus and arches.

Our first glimpse of snow was also in Utah.

I always love the humor they use on the holiday anti-DUI signs, but I think this is one of my favorites.

There was snow on the ground most of the way through Utah, but none on the roads.

Then as we approached the western Colorado border, it all dried out again.

As we made our way through the Colorado Rockies, it really became beautiful.  The scenery from our Rovey's Needle ride yesterday to the snowy mountains of  Colorado today is such a drastic change.

We stopped at our favorite rest stop on the top of Vail Pass, and of course we weren't dressed quite right for the weather, but that's how we operate.  I love my sandals in any type of weather!

Copper Mountain Ski Resort

Dillon Reservoir

Silverthorne

We made our way through five states today working our way toward our destination.  Now we're in Colorado and so ready to see our family and riends that are waiting here for us!

Glamis, Baptism By Fire (Sunday, March 12th, 2017)

We headed down to Glamis, CA with our friends Tony and Joyce. They packed up their toy hauler, and we packed up our motor home and trailer and off we went.  As we drove along, we were amazed at how beautiful the desert is this spring.  The hills are so green, and the spring flowers are starting to bloom.  

Tony and Joyce knew a shortcut that we weren't aware of, taking Mohave Road south out of Parker, through Poston, AZ.  We fueled up at the Flying J east of Blythe, and then headed into California on I-10.  We were amazed at how backed up the interstate was going into California because of the inspection station.  When we enter California on I-40, the traffic is never that bad.

We made it to Glamis in no time at all.  Tony and Joyce usually camp in an area called the Roadrunner campground on Gecko road, but today, as we drove by the Osbourne Overlook, there was no one there, so we pulled in and set up camp.  Osbourne Overlook is a large paved parking lot with a white rectangle drawn out for RV's with passes, where we could camp up to 14 days.  It had two primitive style bathrooms that were very clean.  The wind blows the sand into the parking lot, so in some places it is deep enough to get stuck, but a little house cleaning near the front door takes care of that.  This would be our home away from home for the next few days.

 The view out our front door.

Years ago we rode quads in the North Sand Hills of Colorado, but we have never ridden anything in the Imperial Sand Dunes, and we have never driven our UTV (Utility Terrain Vehicle) in the sand, so this would be a new experience for us.

Once we were all set up, Tony took us out for our first ride.  I rode with Tony, and Steve followed in our UTV.  The dunes are big and take some getting used to.  There is a definite technique to driving in the sand.  Steve did some practicing driving up and across some of the dunes, just trying to get the feel of it, and understand how the UTV responds in the sand.

The dunes are beautiful, and seem to be endless.  They go on  for miles.  Tony and Joyce have been here a lot, and know the dunes well.  Although no one really knows them well because, thanks to the wind they are ever changing.

Every once in awhile Steve and Tony would stop for a consultation so that Steve could ask some questions, or Tony could give him advice on how to handle different situations.  It was so great having an expert teacher so willing to share techniques!

Unfortunately, some of the advice didn't come quite soon enough. Our UTV is a four passenger, and Tony's is a two passenger, so it is much easier for ours to high center than his.  And when it does, this is what it looks like.  Oops!

  

He was definitely stuck!  Tony and I made another pass, and came over the top right beside him, and then parked just below him.  That way, Tony could hook onto him and slowly pull him down.  
As Tony crawled out of his UTV, he told me "this will take about an hour".  

But what Tony didn't know is that we were equipped with a winch. We hooked our winch on to his UTV, and within a couple of minutes Steve was free and back playing on the dunes.

I guess everyone has to learn somehow, and that was certainly a learning experience for us.  Thanks Tony for your patience teaching us how to navigate the dunes!  They are fun!

Once we got back to camp, Steve and Tony went out several more times, while Joyce and I stayed back at camp and relaxed.  It was really fun to watch them play from afar.

It was a gorgeous evening, and cooled off nicely.  We were treated to a beautiful moon-rise over the dunes, and a great sunset as well.

We finally called it a night, and enjoyed the cool night breeze as we slept in our tranquil home away from home.

When we awoke on Monday morning, we enjoyed some coffee and breakfast, and then went out for another ride.  Unfortunately, Tony and Joyce's air conditioner was acting up, so they were afraid to leave their sweet dog behind.  So we just loaded her up and took her with us.  She is a great UTV rider!  We went on some easier terrain today with their dog riding along, but I was quite surprised at some of the steep climbs and turns Tony still did anyway.

Along the way, we found some wild flowers out in the dunes.

While we stopped and admired the wild flowers, Chloe had a little fun of her own.

This is the Roadrunner campground where Tony and Joyce usually stay.

Tony took us to this cute little shade structure out in the dunes, complete with a mail box.

Then back to the dunes we headed.

We rested up and enjoyed some lunch when we got back to camp. The shade was a very welcome treat!

Then we took a quick trip to "town".  Most of the businesses were closed since it was a weekday, but the convenience store was open.

This little convenience store has a little of everything.

Auto parts

Kitchen Supplies

Ice Cream

Cold Drinks and Milk

Clothing of all Sizes

Hats and T-Shirts

 Then we made our way back to camp.  You can see our RV's on the top of the hill.

We ended up packing up and leaving earlier than we had planned.  Tony and Joyce were having AC problems, and it was a really hot day, but before we left, we saw these people sand surfing.  What fun!

Then we headed down the road, back toward Lake Havasu City.

We had such a good time with Tony and Joyce, and can't wait to hit the sand dunes with them again!