Bring on the PARADE!!!!!

We are now in the parking lot of the Santa Anita Race Park with about 75 other RV's patiently awaiting the 5PM Beer & Wine Get Acquainted party before they feed us dinner. Many of the RV's are the "upper end" of the RV spectrum. We are nestled in amongst a couple of large units that will give us good shelter this evening when the winds pick up from the coming Pacific Coast storm. Rain tonight but forecast good weather for the parade:)
We killed some time this afternoon by visiting a really good quilt shop in the Montrose area of Glendale. Lou found some neat fabric to add to her collection she has been collecting for a quilt for the RV.
Here are some sunset pics from Senator Wash BLM, South Carlsbad Beach and the Santa Anita Race Park hopefully in that order.

Merry Christmas from Carlsbad, CA

We left the highly recommended Senator Wash BLM Long Term Visitors Area just North of Yuma on the 21st to get provisions in town and move toward the West side of town for a quicker start toward CA. After a noisy and wet night in the desert at Pilot Knob BLM (along side I-8 and a railroad track just beyond) we made it to beautiful Carlsbad, CA. We have decided we are NOT candidates for Long Term desert occupation. It is a means to an end if the end is strictly to save money but we are not really geared too that.
Perched on a high bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean is the South Carlsbad Beach State Park where we now sit. We had a truly wonderful Christmas Eve dinner and games with Peter and Gabby at Gabby's parents house. The gracious acceptance of the Salazars was awesome:) After dinner, we played "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" and "Jeopardy" to assist staying awake until midnight when the family opened their presents. It seemed as though very few of us were smarter than a fifth grader:D Tomorrow we meet with Tom Jr. and his family for lunch and then will prepare for our jaunt up I-5 to Pasadena for our next adventure with the Tournament of Roses festivities. I'll take lots of pics and post what I can along the way.
Happy Holidays to all!!!

Wilderness Pics

Attached are some of the pics I have taken of sunrise, sunset, good and bad desert camp sites. I'll try to figure out how to label and organize them:)

OK, I don't know how to label the pics in the posts yet.

Top 2 are sunrise and sunset at Pinal County Park near Casa Grande, AZ.
Next 2 are out of sequence. On the left is Quartzite in December. Nearly empty but will be packed in Jan & Feb. The right is our camp area at Pinal County Park with plenty of Saguaro cactus.

The last 3 are where we are now at the BLM area North of Yuma, AZ at the Senator Wash South shore campground. Very nice and very quiet which after our previous night we both needed:)

Out of Arizona

We have left the safe environs of Arizona and are now in California... sort of. We left the great campground in Arizona, went up to Quartzite and got "solarized" with a solar panel on the roof to keep the coach batteries happy. After the install, we headed down to Yuma. After all the Westerns I have seen about Yuma with the desert, sand, rocks and nothing, it was a very pleasant surprise to see verdant green farms growing a myriad of farm crops including cabbage, lettuce, dates and much more. With water, the desert is rich and abundant. Without water, it's just dirt and rocks:)
We spent the first night in Yuma in a small BLM spot behind a VFW lodge. It is "conveniently" located next to a highway with lots of trucks. Right across the highway is a railroad track. And behind us is a crop duster that flew from 10PM to at least 2AM spraying (or watering???) the local crops. Very nervy and noisy. Did I mention there were LOTS of trains all night long?
We are now at a BLM site called Senator Wash North of Yuma. Very nice and quiet... so far:)
In a few days we will begin our sprint towards Carlsbad, CA for the Christmas Holidays and are looking forward to seeing our nephews Peter and Tom, Jr and their families.
No pics in this blog. I'll attach some later.

Desert Sunsets

We are now at the Pinal County Park South of Maricopa, AZ. Beautiful sunsets in the desert as the pics will show. We'll be here for a week or so and then move Westward once again. No sewing tonight, no electric power unless we crank up the big Onan Generator:)