Kathleen Gets Naked With Japanese Women and Greg Finds Heaven For a Geologist

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Today marks three months since we ran away from home! We keep shaking our heads in amazement at the life we are leading. No agenda, we are living in the “now”, something I had difficulty doing in the past. I was always looking forward to future events and unable to truly be in the present. Each day now reveals new vistas and the opportunity to decide to pursue whatever new options present themselves. We are making choices on the fly and it is so freeing to do so.

This morning we awoke in the desert and decided that showers would be in order since Death Valley only has paid showers at the private resort in the park. Greg went over to the bath house at 6:30 and found the doors locked. The showers are located with the hot spring pools in separate buildings for the men and women. There is a requirement that everyone shower before going in the pools. We just wanted showers before we left. Greg returned at 7 and was able to get in by then and shower. He said there were a few men there and little privacy. He thought the women's side was quiet and I should go soon if I wanted some privacy.

I waited too long. By the time I arrived there were several women there. The door opened into a large room with hooks on the walls and benches. There were a few hooks left. I walked into the shower room. There were shower curtains, but nowhere to put anything but your towel. The hot and cold pools were through the open doorways from the changing room. I could see the tops of women's heads in the hot pool. I undressed, grabbed my towel, washcloth, shampoo and soap and made it into the shower without seeing anyone. The water started out cool. The hot spring is 104 degrees, so there is no adjusting of the temperature in the shower. You get the water from the hot springs. It warmed up, but the temperature outside was in the thirties and the windows were open!. Once I turned off the water, it was drafty and I had to wrap my towel around me and go back to the drafty changing room. This time two women were changing to leave. We all said “good morning”, and they were mostly dressed. I had to start from scratch. Shades of junior high school gym class! Not my favorite time of life!

The women finished and left. Around the corner came a Japanese woman in all her glory. The Japanese have a public bathing culture, and she seemed nonplussed by seeing me. She put on her robe and sat for a few minutes, then rejoined her party in the pool. I could hear them chattering away in Japanese. The brochure for the resort says that they have many visitors from Japan and Germany. They have the reputation for having the next best hot springs after the famous Baden-Baden hot springs in Germany. The directions going into the bath house were in English and Japanese. It was surprising to think that this was an international destination. The bath house was clean, but a bit old, run-down and in need of some paint.

On my way back to the site I was approached by a woman named Bridget from British Columbia. She and her husband Carl were camping in a newer version of our RV. She invited me in, and Greg showed up shortly, too. We also met Janice. She and her husband were traveling in their own rig with the other two. We invited them in to our rig too and had a lovely conversation. They were heading to Death Valley, so we may see them again.

Parked a few sites from us was a homemade RV that our hosts called the castle. It looked like a pirate ship on a truck chassis. We didn't meet the owners. After the woman exercised with hoops, they went roaring off on a dirt bike with a pickup truck full of our fellow campers following. See the photos.

We finally left for Death Valley. We still had around 80 miles to go. As we got closer to the park, the geologic features became more and more dramatic. We climbed for a while and then began to descend. We dropped from 3,000' above sea level to 190 feet below. We reached the Furnace Creek Visitor's Center and toured through the exhibits and watched a movie about the park. Then we had to choose from four campgrounds. We decided to stay at Texas Springs that is located on a bluff overlooking the Furnace Creek area. The national park service campgrounds do not have water or electric hookups. We can dump our tanks and fill the water tank at the campground.

After lunch we drove along the road beside the salt flats to Badwater. It is the lowest spot in North America at 282' below sea level. You can walk a half mile out across the salt flats and five miles across if you'd like to. We walked out the half mile and tasted the salt! We looked back and on the rock face high above is a sign designating sea level. The walkway was full of Japanese tourists ! We had the same experience in the Everglades. In fact, there, Americans were far outnumbered by Japanese and Europeans. We did meet two young German men today that asked us to take their photo.

Death Valley is spectacular! The geology ranges from a volcanic crater that is 2,000 years old, to mountains that date back millions of years. The colors and variations in the rocks are amazing. The valley itself was a 100 mile long, 600 ' deep lake in the past. The tallest peak overlooking Badwater is over 11,000 '. It is the driest place in North America. The valley receives less than 2 inches of rain a year. Tonight we stepped outside after the moon had set and viewed the stars and the Milky Way. Although dark enough to see them, the sky is subject to light pollution. We could see the glow of Las Vegas in one direction, and Los Angeles in the other. I have wanted to visit here since I was a little girl and it was worth the wait!

California or Bust!

Monday, February 11, 2013

We looked out the windows this morning and darned if the bad weather hadn't caught up with us again! The skies were overcast and it began to rain. We checked the weather radar and it appeared to be a small area. Driving north would take us out of it. Breaking camp was easy! With no hookups we just got into our seats and left our boondocking site.

Our first stretch of road took us into the town of Parker on the Colorado River. This is a mecca for “snowbirds”, people who go south for the winter months. There were numerous campsites lining both the Arizona and the California banks of the river. The river is not very wide here and any area that wasn't too steep to built on or camp on was filled. The topography in this area is very rugged and beautiful, but not conducive for building. Amazingly there is a very green golf course that has been squeezed into whatever areas they could find between the ridges and canyons on both sides of the highway. We made a stop for groceries at a WalMart and it was mobbed! We were younger than the majority of customers. Our cashier said that it is always busy and has been getting busier in the last few years.

We continued to follow the river up to Lake Havasu City. The dammed up river has created a large lake and a well established community with all the amenities. The London Bridge was dismantled and rebuilt here. We saw a stone bridge, but were not sure if it was the one. We finally crossed the Colorado River into California and San Bernardino County. After living over two years in Pasadena around 1990 and only going back for a visit once, it was nostalgic to remember that we were once Californians.

A visit at the BLM office in Needles to get more information about the desert parks, two stretches of interstate highway, a quick jog through Nevada and back into California, two desolate stretches to connect them, and many changes in elevation and fascinating geology, finally brought us to Baker, CA, the jumping off point for Death Valley. At this point we realized that we were going to run out of daylight before we got to the park. We discovered there are three RV parks at a place called Tecopa Hot Springs. It was a fifty mile drive across the desolate desert on the way to the national park. We arrived in the middle of nowhere at dusk and walked into the office for the Tecopa Hot Springs Resort. A retired couple greeted us, very ordinary and friendly. After talking to us about the sites available she pointed out the building with the hot springs across the parking lot. She said, “The hot springs are only used in the nude. But, the men have their own side and the women theirs. If you want to rent a private bath it costs $20, but since you are camping here, you get the discounted rate of $10.” Okay... Greg and I are not hot tub people to begin with, and neither of us is inclined to want to soak with naked strangers of our own gender or not. Of course, maybe after you soak with them they are no longer strangers.

The next surprise was when we found out that we could get an electric hookup, but there was no potable water in the whole valley. We checked and found we had about a third of a tank of water left after boondocking the night before. Usually we fill our water tank as we leave a campsite so we have it to use until we hook up to water at the next site. We bought two jugs of water from the store, and conserved our tanks for flushing and hand washing.

It was back to Battlestar Gallactica for entertainment tonight since we have no cellphone reception on either phone, therefore no WIFI either. We didn't even try our TV antenna for local stations! We crossed into Pacific Time when we entered California, so we are really confused now. It is a three hour time difference from the east coast.

Tomorrow we head up the road to Death Valley National Park for several days. This is a place I have wanted to see my whole life, so one more national park to cross off my bucket list!

No Longer Boondocking Virgins

Sunday, February 10, 2013

The thermometer hit 22 degrees overnight. We made our hot beverages and jumped in our seats and left Huachaca City, again! This time we drove directly north to I 10 and traveled west toward Tucson. As we traveled near Tucson we saw our first Saguaro cacti. The Chihuahuan Desert was beginning to transition to the Sonoran Desert. The desert plants were greening up as well. A few yellow wild flowers were blooming on the sides of the road. After traveling around and through Tucson, a surprisingly sprawling city, we headed north to Phoenix. A huge bypass around Phoenix took us through the Sonoran National Monument. We stopped at a rest stop for a quick lunch. It is so convenient to be able to open the fridge and make lunch and then sit at our dinette to eat.

We rejoined I 10 and continued west. Our plan was to go to Death Valley National Park, but we needed to stop for the night, so we exited at Quartzsite, AZ, shortly before the California line. Every January this small town of a couple thousand swells to possibly 100,000. Rvers from all over the country converge on the town for the next month or so. Huge tents are erected and there is a large RV show with lots of rigs and all the rving accessories. That is followed by rock and mineral shows, craft shows and various other shows. The majority of RVers boondock or dry camp in the surrounding desert. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) who administers much of the public land in the West, sets up the free designated camping areas. There are no water, electrical or sewer hook-ups. Also, there are no restrooms or showers. There are places in Quartzsite to buy water and dump the grey and black water tanks. Electricity is provided within each RV by the coach batteries, which are recharged by driving, using a generator, or solar panels. So, the RVs are self-contained and how long you can camp is determined by how far you can stretch your water, tanks, and electric power.

Our only previous boondocking experience was in two truck stops in the South for free overnight stays. This would be our first “real” boondocking experience. We drove to a site about five miles north of town off of Plomona Road. It is a large flat area off the main road. There were fire rings scattered around the area. About a dozen other campers were already set up. This area was probably packed a short time ago, but the activities are dwindling down and we had a lot of privacy. Greg found a level spot away from the other campers and we made dinner before it got too dark. We turned on a light from time to time as we needed it, but also lit the oil lamp and streamed Netflix on Greg's Tablet. We were able to do so because we had cellphone reception and used our own WIFI hotspot. Except for the trucks traveling down the main road, which were louder than we expected because sound carries farther in the desert, we slept well.

Run to the Border!

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Greg woke me early. He said that if we got out of here fast and headed down the state highway southwest to Nogales, we could pick up the interstate from there and head straight north to Tuscon. We could see some snow on the ground south of here, but the forecasters were showing rain in that direction, and clearing in Nogales. It looked like we had a hole in the weather. He checked the terrain and we saw only one town on the road where the elevation looked a little higher, but we figured by the time we got there, the storm would have passed by. We threw on our clothes, grabbed food to eat as we drove, filled our travel mugs, unhooked ,and did it all in a half hour, and drove off. It was starting to rain lightly. As we headed out it started to sleet, then lightly snow, then the snow started to cover the road. The snow came down harder as we drove. Boy, they blew that forecast! We couldn't tell from the radar on the smart phone if we were going to get out of it or if it was going to get worse. We stopped at a wide spot off the road and debated. We were only 10 miles out of town and driving our “house” into bad weather on a road we had never driven on before. We decided to turn around and drive back to town.

Greg declared it a lazy day to watch Netflix, and we signed back in the park. (“Welcome to the Hotel California...you can never leave...”) So, here we sit. We had a few more snow showers, but now the sun is shining brightly, and the snow has all melted. We discovered that we left one weather system in New Mexico that was coming down from Canada, and ran into another system in Arizona that was coming over from the Pacific. Currently we are having strong winds that are shaking the camper, so we are just as happy not to be fighting them as we drive. So... we will sit here, until tomorrow, and try to leave again...

 

Goodbye Dust, Hello Snow!

Friday, February 8, 2013

The day dawned with a beautiful sunrise. We took quick showers, since we didn't know where we might land for the night, and left. The weather forecasters were calling for a massive windstorm that was going to drop snow on northern New Mexico and strong winds through the rest of the state. Elephant Butte sits in the desert with extremely fine dusty sand. There is nothing to block the blowing sand, as we had at Fort Davis for the last windstorm. After looking at the maps and predictions we thought we could head south and then southwest into Arizona and slip around the system.

We started out on I 25 heading south for 45 minutes and exited at Hatch, which is the chile capital. Nothing was growing this time of year, but the Rio Grande provides the irrigation for the chiles. Big long stands of dried chiles were for sale at roadside stands. It was a little early for lunch, but we didn't want to miss the opportunity to try the chile cheeseburgers at Sparky's. Recommended by the gentleman at the Chamber, and the tourist guide, we arrived to find a sign in the window that stated they had been voted the second best chile cheeseburger. We don't know who is first! The outside was decorated in mascots from defunct fast food restaurants. (See photos)

We ordered at the counter, and waited for our burgers and fries. Greg was happy! My burger was spicier than planned. I mistook the bottle on the table for ketchup. It was spicy barbeque sauce! Oh, well. I'm not a burger person anyway. We debated buying the 5 pound bag of roasted, skinned and frozen peppers, but didn't have room in our tiny freezer.

Next leg of our trip took us southwest to Deming, NM and I 10. As we headed down the 50 miles to Deming, the wind started to kick up. The dust began to blow and a few tumbleweeds crossed the road. We had wind across the westbound stretch of I 10, with signs warning us of dust and winds. We exited 5 miles before Arizona and took 80 south along the border and then into Arizona. Eventually we left the wind behind. We could see the haze and dust north of us. The scenery was beautiful as we skirted the Chiricahua National Monument and the Coronado National Forest. The only vehicles we passed were border patrol SUVs. Lots and lots of them! We came into Douglas on the border and they have a huge facility there set off the road.

From Douglas we headed west to Bisbee. On the outskirts of town we stopped to view the huge, now defunct copper mines. We didn't dally in Bisbee, as it was getting late and we needed to settle for the night. Bisbee is a funky arts community. Almost all the buildings have been restored and it has hotels, galleries, shops and restaurants. It is on our list for a future visit.

Thirty miles further we hit Sierra Vista at rush hour. On the map it looks like there are a few small sleepy towns near Mexico. We passed lots of new subdivisons and every big box store and chain restaurant you can think of! There is a small military base here, but we think this must be a huge retirees/snowbird area. We traveled a short distance north to Huachuca City and finally found the Mountain View RV Park just as there was a quickly fading spectacular desert sunset. The wind was picking up, we thought we had escaped it! When we walked into the office/recreation hall of this 55+ park, a woman asked us, “Are you here to play?”. ????? “No we want to get a spot for the night”. They were gathering to play domino trains or train dominoes, ...huh?

Okay, a quick digression! Every time we go to an over 55 park, and we avoid them, everyone wants to involve us in “activities”. The park is filled with snowbirds who spend their winter there, usually year, after year, after year... They have their seasonal friends and they have their activities. Don't get me wrong. Every one is always very nice and friendly. Greg and I are just not at that point in our lives where we want to just stay in the same trailer park for months on end. We may never be. Greg says it always feels like “The Hotel California”. You can check in, but you can never leave!

So, we got checked in and found our spot after again being invited to come back over for dominoes. They asked us to stay more than one night, and invited us to some local cowboy poetry fest in town. Then, they checked the calendar and discovered that there was to be an ice cream social the next day. They almost got Greg on that one!

I finally got to fix a late dinner. After the heavy burgers earlier we had what I like to call Kitchen Sink Salad. I make up a big dinner salad and then we throw in any odds and ends out of the fridge that need to get eaten up. The only really odd thing was the cold, leftover chirozo sausage that Greg sliced into his salad. Anyway, hence the name, meaning everything but the kitchen sink winds up in our bowls!

We rocked and rolled all night. The wind howled and the campers are lined up with the broadsides to the wind in this park, so we felt we were on a ship. Before we went to sleep we determined to get up early and check the weather. The forecasters were calling for snow!

Soap 'n Suds and Maria's

Thursday, February 7, 2013

We decided that today would be a laundry day. Greg had done enough bike rides in the area, and we wanted to stay on more night at Elephant Butte. We stowed the gear and I sorted the laundry. We had at least four loads! We last did our laundry at Stillwell Ranch, which was two weeks ago. The extra clothes and towels we brought are coming in handy! We have to stop and wash when the pile in the laundry basket/liquor cabinet in the bottom of the shower gets too full!

Off we went to T 'r C to the Soap and Suds. Greg had discovered there was a Mexican restaurant, Maria's, with good ratings nearby, where we could get lunch. I loaded up four big commercial washers and then four big dryers and we were done in about two and one-half hours. Every time something was dry, I would put it away in the camper immediately. Pretty convenient!

When we were done we went to Maria's. Greg had walked over earlier to scope it out, and all twelve tables were full. By the time we arrived after 2 pm, it was quieter. We finally got good Mexican! I spotted a couple at another table that I am fairly sure write a blog that I read from time to time. They winter in a house they bought in T 'r C. I didn't have the nerve to walk over to say hello, but later checked their blog and confirmed that it was them. We also saw the couple we met and talked to at the Chamber of Commerce. Small town!

Back at Elephant Butte we decided to drive to the far northern end of the lake and camp one night at the Monticello campground. Greg had ridden the road up there previously. It was very quiet and nearly deserted. It wasn't near anything else. It sits out on a flat area nearer the lake than the other campgrounds, which made for spectacular viewing of mountain ranges in all directions. It is not sheltered, so we knew we needed to head out the next morning to get away from the approaching windstorm. We picked out a site and settled in for the night.