"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood... And sorry I could not travel both. I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference." --Robert Frost

Monday, March 13, 2017

Quick Trip to Arizona

Surprise, AZ
Happy Trails RV Resort


As I mentioned in our last post, we were practically out of time to visit with Steve's Dad in Arizona before we head east to Maine for the rest of the year.  We decided on a last minute road trip.  The weather in California was still rainy, cold and some snow so it was now or never.

So glad we went as we were able to meet up with Curt and Glenda just before they left Arizona.  We may see them along the way or in Maine later this year.

Curt & Glenda
We didn't do much more than visit with the in-laws, ride bikes, hike and geocache a little. 

Hurley cuddling up with Bunny.

We found a great geocache series nearby and had fun discovering those over a few days and some hiking along the Maricopa Trail.

 

 
 
Nothing like an Arizona sunset!
 
Another day brought us out near the White Tanks for more caching.  The sun felt great and all the blooming flowers and cacti made for a great time to be outside soaking up some rays.

 


Two weeks came and went quickly.  As we headed back home we decided to break the drive up into two days.  This gave us some time to stop in Quartzsite where there were still a couple RV friends.  Most have left and scattered to different parts of the US about now.  We're usually here in January with everyone, but it was not meant to be this year.

 
We met up at Beer Belly's for lunch with Steve and Dianne from Canada and Brock and Nathalie.

 
Like most of Quartzsite, Beer Belly's is a quirky, outdoor eating and entertaining area.  We had a delicious hatch chili burger.




 
One more geocache and we were on our way.

We've seen some clever caches like this one so we knew what to do.  Once you find it, you need to figure out what to do to get to the cache.  You plug the hole at the bottom and pour some water in the top, then the cache floats up.

The giant "Q" needs a little work.

I can't say enough, how pretty the drive has been these past few days in the desert.  All this extra rain has made for an explosion of color in the desert.  This part of I-10 was covered in beautiful purple!

Purple, and more purple all around!

Crossing back into California was a little confusing.  It was 5pm Arizona time.  Once we crossed the border it became 4pm and in a few hours, thanks to Daylight Savings, it will be an hour earlier again.

Those of you that drive I-10 have probably seen this.  There is this section that has a bunch of "headless" palm trees.  Don't know what the story is on that but there must be one.

Still snow on the mountains.

 
 We spent the night in fabulous Bakersfield :-)
We grabbed something to eat and a couple more caches along a bike trail.
 
 
Heading back into Placerville we can see the snow-capped Sierra in the distance.
 
 
 And guess what?  The weather for next week looks great!  More sun. That means we can finally heading out.  Only 2 months behind schedule.  Thanks Mother Nature!
 
We will be busy getting things ready and seeing the family once more before driving back to Arizona next week.  We're so happy that we don't have to cancel our reservation at one of our favorite state parks where we'll be camping with Greg & Cori.
 
 

18 comments:

  1. That was a cool cache! We arrived in Yuma today and couldn't believe the variety of blossoming flowers along hwy 95. It was really great seeing you guys again. Safe travels once you get your rig out and we hope to see you next season.

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    1. Make sure to have a Date Shake while you're down there. It was wonderful hanging out with you both Saturday! Take Care!

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    2. Yes, it was a neat cache. Have fun in Yuma. I keep seeing "super bloom" pics. I hope they hold out until we get back next week!

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  2. You guys have had one crazy winter! Sorry we missed you when you were in AZ. We will be watching your eastern trip closely as we will be headed that way in '18.

    Safe Travels!

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  3. Happy you will finally be escaping California, hoping maybe we can see you in AZ, if not, I am sure our paths will cross another time. Safe travels😊

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    1. Yes, I'll get ahold of you when we get settled in and see where you are.

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  4. Glad you got out of CA for a few days. Hope the sun holds and you'll soon be escaping the bonds of CA. Safe travels!!

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    1. We are leaving here with the rig Sunday! Another storms comes in on Monday! Just in time!!

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  5. Get those wheels on pavement! Love the desert flowers, Deb! The colors are amazing!

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    1. Can't wait. We leave my brothers Friday and stay at the local fairgrounds for 2 days. Can't wait to head out and get back to AZ on Monday!

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  6. So excited you will be making it to Arizona, April 1 we will be headed your way!,

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  7. How nice that you were able to get away and do some traveling even if you had to leave your home:) Sorry our timing was off with our White Tank stop. Sure hope you are able to get out and move on...good luck!

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  8. Glad to hear that you are finally able to get moving. We have had awesome weather the last 4 days in the bay area. We moved today over by Yosemite.

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  9. So those dead palm trees.....purchased by Stanley Ragsdale who owned Desert Center. He had several shipped from Palm Springs, but also had many of them air lifted by helicopter one at a time. They were planted in a pattern of circle, triangle and square as a "tourist attraction". Unfortunately the little "town" died along with the palm trees. The post office remains open for the people who live in the desert and at the little community of Lake Tamarisk where we stay with friends every year. Bill and I went to high school just up the road at Eagle Mountain. Glad you got to see Arizona and all the beautiful flowers - and that now you're free to roam!!

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    1. Cool, thanks for the info Jodee. We always wonder about them when we drive by. Oh, it does feel so good to be on the road again!

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