3 DAYS IN THE WIND

For more years than I care to remember, part of my DNA has been to ride the Harley, sometimes for a couple of days, and sometimes for a couple of weeks. Even when I was part of the working world, I always managed to get away a few times a year. Starting in 1985, I made the annual pilgrimage to Sturgis, South Dakota, along with hundreds of thousands of other motorcyclists. I did that for 10 years straight, often by myself, and several times with friends. As I've gotten older, the desire to ride frequently has diminished, however, it's as strong as ever when it builds up over time.

That was the case 4 days ago, when a window of exceptional weather opened in the southwest. I decided to do a clockwise loop, starting with the first stop at the Thousand Trails Preserve near San Diego. It didn't take me long to put the tent, sleeping bag, and a few clothes on the bike, then hit the road. The weather forecast was for mid 60's to mid 70's temperatures, and no stuff coming out of the sky. It turned out to be 3 days of almost perfect riding weather, a little cool in the mornings, but never a problem with the riding gear that I have.

I stopped at the Glamis sand dunes near Brawley, CA to take this picture in front of the store. During holiday weekends, thousands of off road enthusiasts gather at Glamis, and the party action is legendary. I've done the sand thing a couple of times with the Mitchell family at Dumont Dunes over the XMAS Holiday, but the increasing numbers of totally stupid people put a damper on the otherwise fun of playing in the dunes. Besides, getting the motor home stuck in the sand wasn't my idea of a perfect holiday, but that's another story.

I had a nice campsite at the Thousand Trails, just outside San Diego. This was my first visit to this preserve, where I spent the first night. I decided to go back to my low tech, blow up air mattress, and was much more comfortable than the past couple of experiences with my backpacker, self inflatable mattress. Now, if I can just figure out a way to not have to get out of that cozy warm sleeping bag, to take care of a physiological necessity, then I'd have it made!











I was up bright and early the second day, looking forward to a nice hot shower. It didn't take long to break down the tent, get everything packed, and hit the road. There are very few roads in CA. that I haven't traveled, but I had one in my sights, so I went north on Hwy 79 to Hwy 78, then east to the Salton Sea. From there, it was north thru the Palm Springs area, Yucca Valley to the little town of Lucerne Valley. At that point Hwy 247 goes north to Barstow, and I had never been on that 30 or so mile stretch of road. From Barstow, I joined in with all the other crazy drivers heading to Vegas on I15. I set my speed at the 70 mph limit, and immediately was passed by almost everyone on the road like I was standing still. The only vehicles I passed were a few trucks. Most of the vehicles passing me were traveling in the 80-90 mph range, but a white Porsche went past me at well over 100 mph! At Baker, CA, I was happy to turn north on Hwy 127 toward Death Valley. I ended the days ride at Pahrump, NV, just as the sun was setting over the western mountains.














Part of the old rail road grade down to
the Hoover dam site.





On the last leg of my 3 day ride, I drove over the hump from Pahrump, into, and through Las Vegas, stopping at the new bridge over the Colorado River, downstream from Hoover Dam. Since the new bridge has been open, I've driven over it a couple of times, but due to the high barrier walls, you can't see much. This time I stopped, and walked out onto the bridge for a couple of pictures. The view of Hoover Dam is spectacular, and at 960 feet above the Colorado River, the view looking down is equally spectacular. The drive home through Kingman was only a little over 2 hours, and I was home in time to watch the Super Bowl. It's always nice to come home to my life partner, who understands my not always conventional passions, and is always supportive of my pursuit of happiness. For a couple of times a year, that passion is being in the wind, on my Harley-Davidson Motorcycle.

TIME FOR A RIDE

I can only take it for so long, then the compulsion to ride the Harley becomes overwhelming, and I just have to do something about it. I last spent significant time behind the handlebars in mid October, when I took the bike to our old business in CA, and had Jamestown Harley-Davidson freshen up the 10 year old motor, along with some routine maintenance. While in Central CA, I rode the bike on 4 successive days, putting on over a thousand miles. That was enough to satisfy my passion for riding, at least for awhile.

I've been looking at the regional weather forecast, and it looks very favorable for the next week in Southern AZ and CA. Even though the last few days have been unseasonably cold, the temps are predicted to be back in the 70's this weekend, and even approaching 80 in the Palm Springs area. I think I'll head toward San Diego this morning, and check out one of the Thousand Trails RV Parks near the city. The last couple of times that I've done any motorcycle camping (as in tent & sleeping bag), it hasn't gone real well. Part of the problem is the lack of sleep, due mostly to the high tech, backpacker air mattress that is more hard than soft. Yesterday, I dug out an old blow up air mattress that is about 20 years old, which used to work pretty good as a cushion against the hard ground. If this attempt to pitch the tent doesn't go well, I think the handwriting will be on the wall, proclaiming very boldly, that I'm just getting too old to sleep anywhere except in a bed. Stay tuned for the results...............

CHP MEMORIES

The obvious purpose of spending 30 days with an experienced Field Training Officer, was not only to better prepare for the job, but to be evaluated for possible release from a training status. The immediate goal of all new officers, myself included, was to complete the training, and get the go ahead to start working alone.

During my first month on the job, I was exposed to everything from minor "fender benders", to collisions where people were killed. Depriving people of their freedom in the form of a speeding ticket, or an actual physical arrest, was a bit awkward at first. The learning curve was extremely steep, when it came to the practical application of classroom principles that didn't always work in the real world of a Law Enforcement Officer.

There were 6 new Officers that reported to the Baldwin Park Office in that summer of 1969, and I'll never forget the person who greeted us, and began our orientation process. He was a Motor Sergeant, and his name was John Law. I almost felt like I was in a movie, with fictional characters, and made up movie names. When SGT Law introduced us to our Training Officers, the clock started ticking towards the end of training, and a release into the field to work by ourselves. When that day finally came, my last training evaluation recommended that I be allowed to work alone, and I remember the news like it was yesterday. The feeling was probably similar to a pilot in training, who gets the OK to fly solo. I had reached a milestone in my fledgling CHP Career, and when that day came to get in the car by myself, I was on top of the world. I made mistakes like we all did, but one of my strengths was the ability to quickly learn, and not repeat an error or omission.

The Baldwin Park Office had a motor squad of 22 Officers, and from day 1, I knew that was what I eventually wanted to do. Even though I had a wife who was pregnant, and a 2 year old child, I was almost star struck when I watched those guys working the freeways. I had witnessed first hand, what could happen when an Officer crashed his motorcycle, but wasn't deterred from my early desire to ride one. As soon as I was able to apply for motor school at the academy, I put my name at the bottom of the list. During that first year, I watched as my name slowly climbed toward the top, and a potential appointment to the 3 week school at the academy. I made this decision on my own, never mentioning it to my wife, because I knew what the reaction would be. Right or wrong, my logic was to wait until the appointment came, then the discussion would be limited, and I could pursue my dream of riding a CHP Motor. Part of my rationalization process, and the future argument with my wife, was that Motor Officers got hazard pay, and that was extra bucks that we could use. When my name got to the top of the list, and it was any day that I would be told to pack my bags for the Academy, our Captain made the decision to completely do away with the motor squad. I remember my reaction as one of disbelief, and disappointment. The reason given was that there were too many lost time injuries, and in addition to Officer Blomo being killed, Officer Woods was also killed on his motor within the last year. Those 22 Officers with motors were given the choice of keeping them, and transferring to another office in the L.A. area, or giving them up, and staying in the Baldwin Park Office. My choices at that time were similar, either transferring to another office that had a motor squad, or staying in the Baldwin Park Office.

My initial choice was that I was going to transfer, but that never happened. This was all playing out near the end of my first year, and the end of my probationary period. I had learned a lot during the previous months, and had progressed to a certain level of competence. My supervisors apparently thought that my progress was a little better than what I thought. SGT Diaz told me I had passed my years probation, and that he wanted me to become a Training Officer. My first reaction was one of slight shock, but I remember feeling pretty good that I had progressed faster than I even thought was possible. I was in an office of over 100 Officers, and I had just been asked to accept the additional job of training new academy graduates, and I was on cloud nine! I knew that in addition to continuing my own on the job education, I was about to take on the responsibility of teaching new Officers many of the things that I had just learned myself. To be recognized by my supervisor as having the potential to be a Training Officer was a definite highlight of my young career. It wasn't very long before I was back in the patrol car with a passenger as a trainee, still in a learning mode myself.

A DETOUR TO QUARTZSITE

Instead of driving home to Lake Havasu, we decided to take a slight detour, and stop in Quartzsite for the night. Partly because our friends Jim & Megan Stebbins were still there, and there were a couple of things that we both wanted to purchase before the flea markets started shutting down. I hadn't driven through Phoenix in awhile, so decided to do so for a change of scenery, rather than taking the I8/Hwy 85 loop around the metro area. Big mistake! On the west side, construction (yes, on a Sunday), had the 5 westbound lanes down to one lane. We poked along, wasting about a half hour before getting through the construction area.

Sami enjoys her usual spot on the motor home dash, so as not to miss any of the action. Whenever we are in stop & go mode, the dash is her preferred choice. When we got back up to freeway speeds, she returned to her normal traveling place on the sofa. When we're traveling, Gracie stays either in her bed under the table, or in the recliner. Both critters are great travelers, sleeping most of the time.

We arrived where Jim and Megan were parked, and had a short visit before piling into the truck, and heading into town. We got what we needed, and spent the rest of the evening catching up with the latest happenings. After a dinner of Patty's chili, and Megan's salad, we said good night, and watched a little TV before going to bed.

This morning, we'll head north on Hwy 95, for the short drive home. We'll be home for about 2 weeks, then drive back to Tucson for our annual 10 day stint of work at the Tucson Rodeo.

LEAVING TUCSON

Chandra returned to Tucson yesterday, after spending a couple of weeks in CA with her mom, who is still hospitalized. Her flight got her home around noon, and she and Marc then drove over to the fairgrounds. Laila had spent the night with us, so everyone was happy to be reunited. After visiting for awhile, Marc, Chandra, & Laila went home for a couple of hours, before we met them at the house, and then drove out to the Vail Steakhouse for dinner. We had a nice dinner, saying our goodbyes, until we return to Tucson in a couple of weeks to work the Tucson Rodeo.

This morning, we'll point the motor home west, and drive back to Lake Havasu. It's a little over 300 miles from Tucson to Lake Havasu, so if we get a mid morning start, we'll get home in the mid to late afternoon. Patty has an appointment on Feb 1, to have her eyes evaluated for possible cataract surgery, so she needs to start that process with this first visit.

We're glad we were able to help Marc while Chandra was in CA, assisting with her mom, and sincerely hope that Eloise is able to return to her home in the near future. Thank goodness one of the benefits of Marc's employment with Sky West, is the benefit of air travel for the family. With Chandra's Dad's recent passing, and her mom's illness, she, Marc & Laila have been burning up the air miles between Tucson and Monterey.

A DAY AT THE ZOO

The Reid Park Zoo in Tucson is one of the nicer ones that Patty and I have visited over the years, and it was the place that Laila wanted to visit yesterday. It was another beautiful day in the southwest, with quite a few people having the same idea that we did about a visit to the zoo. The parking lot was almost full, when we arrived at about 10am.

We spent the next 4 hours or so walking around, and watching the different animals in their habitats. Notice that I didn't say cages. Even though this zoo is relatively small, the city has done a nice job creating animal enclosures that are big enough, providing for a more natural environment.




As you might expect, it doesn't take long for a 5 year old to tire of watching one animal, and want to move on to the next exhibit. She did have her favorites however, one being the anteater. When I thought we had seen everything, I was quickly informed that we somehow missed the Zebra's. Laila was right, we had indeed passed by the Zebra enclosure, so back we went for a few minutes of seeing what the Zebra's were up to.











We left the zoo, and drove over to the adjacent playground for a an hour of climbing, sliding, and playing on the 3 large playground structures. As we arrived, Laila informed us that she wasn't going to slide down the tall tube slide, but by the end of the hour, she was all over the tall slides.


When Marc got off work, he and Laila went home for an hour or so, then returned for dinner.
Laila spent the night with us, and the plan is for Chandra to be on a plane this morning at 6am, and back home in Tucson by noon. If everything goes according to the plan, we'll be on the road back to Lake Havasu tomorrow morning.

LAILA, & A PAIR OF GYPSIES

Marc and Laila in the motor home before dinner.

Marc dropped Laila off at her pre-school yesterday morning on his way to work, and we picked her up at 2pm. It was about the same time that Patty was on the phone with a prospective employer, interviewing for a job at the Grand Canyon this summer. It looks like she'll be formally offered a job in the gift shop/grocery store, at the south rim village. The written offer is on it's way, and now, we have to wait for my bus driving application to work it's way through the channels. If I'm offered the driving job, it comes with a subsidized RV parking space in the village, and that's one of the puzzle pieces that has to fit, in order for us to spend this summer at the Canyon. I was told that it might be as late as April before I have an answer, so now we play the waiting game.

After we picked up Laila, we stopped at the local park, where Laila played on the slides and swings, before we drove back to the Tucson Fairgrounds where the motor home is parked.

As the pictures show, it was another beautiful day, about 70 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky.

When Marc got off work, he came by the Fairgrounds, and we visited awhile before I BBQ'd a tri tip for dinner. After Laila ate ALL of her dinner, except a couple pieces of asparagus, she got a special treat that Grandpa had picked up at the grocery store. When that was gone, they went home, and will be back this morning. We have Laila all day today, until Marc gets off work.

Around 1pm yesterday, as we returned from the grocery store, we noticed Nick & Terry Russell's motor home parked in front of the RV office. They are the publishers of the RV travel newspaper The Gypsy Journal www.gypsyjournal.net, that we have been subscribers for many years. I follow Nick's daily blog, and knew they would be arriving in Tucson yesterday, but didn't know they would be stopping here at the fairgrounds. This is just an overnight stop for them, and they didn't have much time, so after a short visit, we said we would see them at their Gypsy Rally in Yuma, starting on March 7th. The picture below, is their motor home, as Nick passed by on the way to their RV space.

CAT & MOUSE

On his way to work, Marc stopped by the fairgrounds, leaving Laila with Grandma & Grandpa for the day. The first order of business for Miss Laila was a request for the "cat toy", and then the games began. Gracie is still a young cat, and tireless when someone will drag around a toy for her to chase. So it went, until the pancakes were on the table. Then after breakfast, we loaded up in the truck for the drive over to the house.

While we were leaving Quartzsite, I went over a bump a little too fast, and both of the pocket doors in the motor home came off the overhead track, or so I thought. The plan was to have Grandma stay with Laila, while I returned to the fairgrounds to fix the doors. When I removed the doors, I discovered that several of the screws holding the horizontal tracks had come out, allowing the track to drop, along with the doors. Normally, this would have been an easy fix. Replace the screws with a larger size, and re-secure the track. Well, that worked until I tried to reach inside the pocket where the open door is hidden. The pocket is so narrow, that my arm wouldn't fit very far inside, so I wasn't able to secure the track that is farthest inside. Even though I have a good assortment of tools in the motor home, nothing I have would do the trick. The end result was both doors are back up, and more secure than before, but not as secure as I would like. Anybody out there with real long, strong, skinny arms?

When Marc got off work, we had dinner at the house, and made arrangements to pick up Laila from pre-school today. She's in school Tues and Thurs, from 9-2, and will start Kindergarten this summer. Seems like only yesterday when she was born, and I held her in my forearm and one hand. We are so thankful to have a happy, healthy grandchild, who has great parents, and lives in a loving home.

DRIVING TO TUCSON

The drive from Quartzsite to Tucson is about 4 hours on Interstate 10 and Interstate 8. From our desert campsite, we drove the 5 miles into Quartzsite, dumping the holding tanks before heading east on I10 at about noon. The above picture was taken near Picacho Peak, about a half hour from Tucson.

To avoid the Phoenix metro area, we normally leave I10 near Buckeye, and travel south on Hwy 85 to Gila Bend, where we pick up I8. The traffic on I8 is almost non-existent compared to I10. We pick up I10 again near Casa Grande, and from there it's about an hour into Tucson. The Pima County Fairgrounds is about 15 miles east of downtown Tucson, and that has become our choice for parking whenever we take the motor home. We pulled into the fairgrounds at a little after 4pm, and got parked in a full hookup spot, before driving over to Marc, Chandra and Laila's house. After dinner at Buddy's Grill, we said good night, and agreed for Marc to drop Laila here at the motor home on his way to work.

For the next few days, we'll be either watching Laila, or picking her up from pre-school. There was a discussion last night about Chandra possibly flying home this weekend, so we're not sure how long we'll be here. Certainly at least until Chandra gets back. Her mom's illness, and subsequent hospitalization, has been difficult, where she has had to make numerous trips back to CA. We're happy to be here, and in a position to help Marc with Laila. Besides, we don't need much of an excuse to spend time with our Grand Daughter.

QUARTZSITE - DAY 4

One last view of our desert parking spot, as we pack everything up, and pull out of Quartzsite this morning. These last 5 days have been both busy, and relaxing. We've managed to browse through most of the flea markets, the RV Show, and had a couple of slide awning toppers replaced. We made it back to the motor home every afternoon, and soaked up some of the desert sunshine, either reading or sitting around the campfire. We ran into two more friends yesterday in the big tent, Bill and Dee Hall from Fresno, who are part of our Golden Spike Chapter of FMCA, and who were at the rally with us in Indio. As they say, "it's a small world".

As I previously mentioned, we're heading for Tucson today, and will probably be there a week or so. Marc and Laila were flying back from Monterey, CA last night, and Chandra is staying while her mom is still in the hospital. We're keeping our fingers crossed that Eloise (Chandra's mom) gets better, and can return to some sort of normal life.

We took advantage of our last day in Quartzsite, and returned to the big tent one more time, just to make sure there wasn't something we missed. At mid day, the lines at the food vendors was lengthy, and I was glad I didn't have much of an appetite. However, the food odors, particularly the BBQ smell, was almost enough to make me hungry.

One vendor that never needs to worry about economic conditions is the ice cream booth. This year, there were 6 windows, each with a line of people waiting to get his or her favorite flavor.
The seating was limited, as everyone seemed to be focused on making what they were holding in their hands, disappear.

Generally, the RV crowd is older, mostly retired folks, who have the time to travel to places like Quartzsite. When we got our first motor home, we were in our 40's, and didn't really fit the demographic associated with RV'ers. I guess now that we're in our 60's, you might say that we fit that profile pretty well. Whatever the case, young or old, RV'ers tend to be some of the nicest folks you ever want to meet.

THE Q - DAY 3

Even though yesterday was Sunday, we had an appointment for Shade Pro to bring us two new slide out, awning covers for installation. During this later part of January, particularly during the RV Show, this company has 8-10 installers, and they work 7 days a week from sunup to sundown. This guy climbing down the ladder (Steve) was good, and had the new fabric installed in about an hour. He also tightened up the tension, so the awnings won't flap as much during windy conditions.

By the time the awning project was finished, it was early afternoon, but we still drove into town, and hit a couple of flea markets, one of which we had never frequented. It turned out to be almost exclusively rocks, gems, minerals, and related stuff, so we didn't linger very long. By the time we finished checking out the second one, it was late afternoon, and time to head back to the motor home. These bottom two pictures were taken two days ago when the RV show in the big tent opened. As you can see, it's wall to wall people.

Today is our last full day here, and we have several locations to check out before heading for Tucson tomorrow. Our best bargain so far, has been the small reading glasses that fit in a plastic case for $1.50 each. I usually carry a pair in my pocket, but have a tendency to lose them on a fairly regular basis. I also have them stashed all around the house, in the garage, in the motor home, I even have a pair in both toolboxes. So, for that price, I now have a stockpile that should last for awhile.

Some of our friends who we normally meet here, just finished working the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction in Scottsdale. Jim/Megan and Len/Ellie will be coming this way, but we'll either be in Tucson, or on our way there. We did run into some friends from Modesto, Randy & Emily, at one of the flea markets, and had a short visit. They, like us, become desert rats this time of year, and make the pilgrimage to Quartzsite on an annual basis. Except for a little wind yesterday, the weather has been ideal, with lots of sunshine.

THE Q - DAY 2

My plan was to load about 2-3 more pictures, but the Sprint connection here is soooooo slow,
it took almost forever, just to get these two pictures on the blog. When we get to Tucson, I'll backtrack, and add a few photos from our time here in Quartzsite.

The RV Show in the big tent started yesterday, and we waded through the huge crowd, all for the purpose of maybe finding something that had to go home with us. I'm proud to say, nothing had our name on it, at least not in the tent. When we walked across the street to the Tyson Wells Flea Market, there were a few things that did end up in our bag, but nothing much to write home about. We spent about 5 hours in town, then drove back out to the motor home, and settled on the desert patio for some quiet time, Patty with her book, and me with lots of literature collected at the RV Show. Later, I BBQ'd our dinner, then we sat around the campfire for an hour or two.

Just as it was getting dark, we watched this large tow truck bringing a motor home into the area right across from us. Whatever the problem is, I guess the folks figure they can fix it where it sits. If not, that's kind of an expensive way to get your RV to, and from your desert campsite.

This morning, Shade Pro is bringing out our two drivers side, replacement slide out cover awnings. After they're installed, we'll venture into town for a few more hours of flea marketing.

DOIN THE "Q" - DAY 1

Before we leave Quartzsite, and travel to Tucson, we have 4 days to check out all of the different flea markets, and the RV Show which starts today. Yesterday, we had a leisure morning of reading, blogging, and a late breakfast before we headed into town. Beer Belly's is new this year, and as far as we can remember, it's the first beer garden with entertainment. Judging by the crowd, it looks like it's going to do real well. I almost wished that I still drank beer.

We're parked about 5 miles south of Quartzsite, on BLM land, near mile marker 99. The BLM rules for this particular section of the desert, allow up to 14 days of parking, with a no fee permit. There are other BLM areas closer to town that require a $40 fee for 14 days. The advantage to parking in the fee area is that you're closer to town, and you have access to water, a dump station, and dumpsters. We prefer being a little farther out, not so much to avoid the $40, but it's less crowded, and being self contained for up to a couple of weeks, we don't need the other stuff until we leave. Before we drove into town, I angled my 3 solar panels on the roof toward the southern sky, and at noon, they were pumping 20 amps into the battery bank. The advantage of solar panels is they keep the batteries charged, without running the generator all of the time.

The scene above is looking east, where you get a glimpse of one of the flea markets called Rice Ranch. We spent about 3 hours walking through this area, and made some small purchases, like socks, and a few things for the motor home. Today, the 10 day RV show begins in the big tent, and we'll fight the crowds to see what's the latest and greatest for this year. I stopped at one of the vendors (Pro Shade) who is here every year, and ordered the fabric to replace two of the slideout awning toppers. Our 07 Camelot is just under 4 years old since we had it built to our specifications, and some of the awning material is coming apart. The replacement material, or at least the stitching, is guaranteed to last 10 years, so I guess time will tell.

We ran across these signs at one of the vendors, and at first glance, it appears that they were willing to pay you 10%, just to take an item off the shelf! Reading the fine print, the 90% off was only if you paid with silver coins. There's lots of stuff like this, which if nothing else, provides a certain amount of entertainment, as you see what's around the next corner.

It looks like another gorgeous day, so I think we'll have an earlier breakfast, and head into town. As is the case every year, I/we always find stuff that we absolutely cannot live without. I'm sure there's a bargain sitting somewhere with our name on it!

QUARTZSITE 2011

We pulled out of the driveway yesterday, and after stopping for fuel, we headed south toward Quartzsite, AZ. From Lake Havasu City, it's only about 70 miles, so we pulled off the highway near mile marker 99, and selected our parking spot in the desert, early in the afternoon. Unlike past years, we are by ourselves at our camp spot, but the desert is full of RV's as far as you can see. The number of RV'ers that come here every winter, varies according to which rag you're reading, or who you're talking to. The general consensus is that over about an 8 week period (Jan-Feb), several hundred thousand folks temporarily inhabit this small town in Western Arizona, and the estimates range as high as a million.

The original attraction was and still is the warm weather. A small gem & mineral show started things off many years ago, and that has evolved into a huge RV show, attracting hundreds of RV related vendors, and RV Dealers. The Flea Markets have expanded to the point that they are all over town, some small, and some with hundreds of vendors selling just about everything. Part of the attraction for me, is the ability to find a parking spot in the desert, and live off the grid for usually about a week. However, this year, we'll only be here for about 4 days, and will be heading for Tucson on Tuesday. Marc is juggling several balls while Chandra is in CA with her mom, who is still very ill. They both have a lot on their plates, and we'll be able to help with things at the Tucson end. Marc's Aunt Claudia and her husband Marty have been helping with Laila, while Marc works, and Chandra has been traveling back and forth to help with her mom. After talking to Marc, we are all thankful that Claudia and Marty, who live in the Phoenix area, have been able to help out.

In the next 4 days, starting today, we'll get our annual dose of mega RV/ flea markets, and then drive to Tucson. Not sure how long we'll be in Tucson, but that's the good thing about taking our traveling house with us, we've got just about everything we need on board, including our four legged children.

Here's Patty yesterday, chillin on the desert patio, soaking up the sunshine. The forecast for today is 70 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky. Life is good!

CHILLIN IN THE BACKYARD

Most of yesterday was spent getting everything loaded into the motor home, for our annual trek to Quartzsite, AZ. We're leaving this morning for about a week, where we'll be parked in the desert near all of the flea markets, and RV show in town. We've been going to Quartzsite for about 15 years, but since moving to AZ, our drive is now only a little over an hour.

After most of the work was done, I threw some chicken on the BBQ, with Sami supervising every move I made. It was an almost perfect winter day here in Lake Havasu, and as I tended to the BBQ, I couldn't help but be glad we decided to move here almost 9 years ago. This is the time of year when thousands of snowbirds from colder climates make their way to the desert, primarily for the warm weather. Except for a few days in Tucson during the holidays where it was chilly enough for long pants, my winter attire has been a t-shirt and shorts.
During the winters we have spent here in Lake Havasu, I have slowly landscaped the back yard, with some sort of project just about every year. With all of the concrete, the RV shade cover, the addition of the shed 2 years ago, it's been easy to stay busy. This winter has been more about trying to get a little healthier, with daily walks and some running. Our island walking path is a circle of 3.6 miles, and I'm up to running, well, more like jogging 2 of those miles. I've never been much of a runner, but as my endurance is slowly building, I'm actually starting to enjoy it just a little.

During one of my trips into the motor home, I glanced at the thermometer, and decided I had to take another picture, especially for our friends Bob & Diana, who live in Enterprise, OR. Their home in north east Oregon is located in a beautiful area, but it does get cold in the winter. Actually, the outdoor temperature shown above is not accurate. The remote sensor is located in front of the motor home, and the afternoon sun was shining directly on the sensor. The real temperature Bob, was a chilly 72 degrees.

When I'm doing anything around the BBQ, I usually have Sami's undivided attention, as shown above. At 13, her hearing has deteriorated a little, but her nose works as good as ever..

CHP MEMORIES

My first assignment out of the CHP Academy was the Baldwin Park Office, in the Los Angeles area. The San Gabriel Valley incorporates the cities of Alhambra, Rosemead, Temple City, Arcadia, El Monte, Baldwin Park, La Puente, Covina, West Covina, Azusa, Glendora, and several others that I can't think of at the moment. During the first few days of work, I learned that we had the responsibility for all of the un-incorporated areas, plus the 4 freeways that crisscrossed the valley.

When we were deciding where to live, we knew a friend who lived in Anaheim, who volunteered to rent us a place to live. Looking on the map, Anaheim didn't look too far from Baldwin Park, so I said sure, and thanks. When we moved, Mike was 2, and Pam was pregnant with Marc. We settled into a 4 plex, that was about a 20 mile drive to work. Fortunately, my work hours didn't conflict a lot with the 8-5 crowd, so I didn't get stuck in heavy freeway traffic very often. Near the end of my first year on the job, we moved into a rented house in El Monte, that was only a short drive to work.

A new CHP Officer is assigned an experienced Training Officer for the first 30 days, and is on probation for the 1st year. After a short orientation, my first partner was a fellow named Chuck Kidder. One of the first things I remember him telling me, is "you need to know where you are at all times". The obvious reason was that if there was trouble, you could direct help to your location. He would frequently ask me what street we were on, and what was the nearest cross street. There were a few times that I wasn't paying attention, and didn't have a clue where we were, but most of the time I did. Not only did I have to quickly learn the geography, but where the cities ended, and where the un-incorporated areas began. On top of that, I had to always know which court jurisdiction I was in. There was a lot to learn, and in the beginning, it was almost overwhelming.

Then, there were the infamous L.A. Freeways. Our office had responsibility for portions of the San Bernardino (I10), Pomona (SR60), Foothill (I210), and the San Gabriel (I605) Freeways. During that summer of 1969, the smog was often so bad, your eyes would burn anytime you stood outside. The San Gabriel Mountains were only a few miles away, but there were times that the smog was so bad, you could not see them. Those mountains represented the north, and in the beginning, were the most important frame of geographical reference. When they couldn't be seen, there were a few times it became problematic.

I had only been on the job for a few days, when my training officer said "we're driving into L.A. to the hospital burn center, to visit Officer Blomo". Bob Blomo was a Motor Officer who had crashed while on the job, just a few days before I arrived, and was in critical condition. Chuck was a good friend of Bob's and at the hospital, I learned that the prognosis was not good. Before we entered Bob's room, the nurse asked for our sunglasses, and any thing else that was reflective. As we walked in, I quickly understood why the staff didn't want Bob to have any possible way to get a glimpse of how he looked. He had 3rd degree burns over his entire body, except where his motorcycle boots protected his legs and feet. Without going into a lot of detail, this fellow CHP Officer looked horrible, and my emotions were all over the place. After a couple of minutes, I excused myself, and walked out of the room, so sick to my stomach that I almost threw up. During my 20 years off seeing death and injury, this was the only time that I was physically affected by an on the job experience. Bob Blomo died 13 days after his accident, and after only being on the job for a couple of weeks, I went to my first CHP Funeral.

IT'S A HEAT WAVE

The weather here in the Palm Springs area, has been about as good as it gets for being in the dead of winter. Our thermometer rose to a little above 80 degrees yesterday, and by the time I took this picture at 4:51 in the afternoon, it was still 79. During the middle of the day, as we walked amongst the motor homes, you could hear a few of the rooftop air conditioners running.
I guess if someone has to enjoy the warm sunshine, it might as well be us.

Later this morning, we'll be pulling out of the Riverside County Fairgrounds here in Indio, and driving the 175 miles back to Lake Havasu. The weather is predicted to be in the mid 70's for the few days that we will be home, so there just might be a day for the boat to get it's bottom wet.

We've enjoyed the past 5 days at the FMCA Western Rally, particularly the time with our Golden Spike Chapter. We have met some new friends, and reacquainted ourselves with some of the folks we first met at the Mount Hood Railroad Rally last August. That's one of the benefits of belonging to the Family Motor Coach Association. There are about 450 chapters across the country, with enough different focuses (ours being railroads), to fit with most every one's interests.

FMCA INDIO RALLY - DAY 3

One of the more popular events at this, and other RV Rally's that we have attended, is the ice cream social. For several years, the Golden Spike Chapter www.fmcagoldenspike.com has volunteered to staff this event, and yesterday we did just that. Here's a few pictures of Patty handing out free ice cream bars. Yes, the temptation was simply more than I could resist, and with my hands on hundreds of ice cream bars for almost a solid hour, two of them found their way into my mouth before it was all over. We had fun, and that's what this whole thing is all about.

As usual, we brought more than enough food with us, but, with the Chapter doing BBQ's, and pizza parties, we haven't hardly touched anything in our refrigerator. Today is the last full day of the rally, and there are plans to go to a local restaurant this evening. Tomorrow, we'll take our time, and drive back to Lake Havasu for a few days, then, we're off to Quartzsite for our annual pilgrimage to the world's largest gathering of RV's.

This is part of our Golden Spike Chapter, right after we took a group picture in front of the ice cream truck.

THE WILD WEST

The theme for this years Family Motor Coach Association Western Rally in Indio is "Return to the Old West". Not exactly the wild west, but yesterday afternoon's parade had a few wild looking entries, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

If this lady's gun was real, I don't think I would want to be on the receiving end. As the saying goes, "everybody loves a parade". It appeared that the participants were enjoying the activity as much, if not more than the spectators. Hey, everyone likes to show off once in awhile.

As we walked through the vendors, I was starting to pat myself on the back for not spending a bunch of money, particularly on stuff we really didn't need. That was until I came to Pete's Tire Booth, and plunked down the debit card for 2 new front tires. I really only needed one, but it's my job to drive Patty crazy, so I just had to buy two. Actually, I've just about had it with the Goodyear Tires that came with the motor home, and have replaced several times. So, the transition to Michelin will start this morning with the 2 front tires. Each tire is in the $600 range, and by the time you add taxes and mounting and balancing, the out the door number was a little above $1,500.

Our Golden Spike Chapter is in charge of the ice cream social, so Patty and I will be part of the group that passes out ice cream today at noon. I think I'll have to fall off the wagon today, but it's been several months since I kicked my buddies - Ben & Jerry out of the house. I sure do miss them, especially in the evening while watching TV. I can relate to the Paul Anka tune - Breaking up is hard to do!