December 6, 2010

Hmmm, it seems I managed to delete a post. Don't know how I did that, but I will take this opportunity to put it back.

December 6, 2010

Although RVing is a great way to see new places, there is also something nice about revisiting places we’ve been before. We have been enjoying our 2nd stay in southern California, and this week we moved back to the Oasis RV Park at the Salton Sea., where we were in March. This time we’re here to visit with Lonnie (Randy’s brother) and his wife Chris, who are snow-birding from the northern Illinois. We hiked into the Painted Canyon again, but this time we went with Lonnie and Chris and hiked further. Way back in the canyon is a place called “The Ladders”, where someone packed-in some aluminum ladders and left them strategically placed so everyone can climb up to the higher levels. And since they were there, we had to use them…


























Oh, and we met some of the local wildlife - a tarantula. He was really not happy to see us.




















Today we drove south towards Yuma. The landscape is dry desert, but it’s beautiful in it’s own way. We passed the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, which has amazing dunes on both sides of the road.




















There is a lot of what I call random-RVing around here, aka boon-docking. Just find a likely spot and park. When responsible RVers do this, they make sure they leave the spot cleaner than when they arrived. When irresponsible RVers do this, the locals pass laws against it. Here's hoping these folks are responsible!















We went to the Yuma area so we could cross the border into Mexico. There have been a few changes since the last time we were here (March 3). For example, now they are enforcing the “no parking” laws on the US side, so we had to pay $5 to park near the border. But that’s not a bad deal, since it’s for all day. As we did in last spring, we visited a dentist to get our teeth cleaned. Last time we paid $15 each, but this time we paid $30 each. I'm not sure if it cost more because we went to a different dentist, or because this is the middle of snow-bird season and March was the very end of it.

We got some prescriptions filled and bought some souvenirs, including Coca Cola Light. As noted before, it tastes better than Diet Coke. We walked around sight-seeing for awhile; we only had a few hours to spend there, but fortunately a few hours in Algodones is enough. Everyone you pass tries to talk you into buying their wares. If you keep walking, they call towards you down the street, trying to get you to turn back. And if you actually pause to look at something, they are right at your elbow, pushing items into your hands and ignoring the word “no”. So it's hard to actually shop. But it's always interesting and we get some good deals.


Hey, how about this redneck bike we saw near Yuma? Flashlights duct-taped on!