Friday, December 12, 2014

CONGRESS AZ TO THE SHORES OF THE SALTON SEA WHERE WE ENDED OUR DAY WITH A FINE SUNSET:))

DSC_0011

A LITTLE WINDY OUT HERE ALONG THE EASTERN SHORES OF THE SALTON SEA

It’s nice waking up knowing one has enjoyable things to do & pleasant places to go for the day.  And we weren’t long in getting some of those things done.  It was 9:35 a.m. Arizona time when we rolled the big rig through our south gate & off down Ghost Town Road heading for our destination of Niland/Slab City California this morning.

DSC_0010

HEADING WEST

Always one of my my favorite leisurely traffic free drives between Congress & Interstate 10 just east of Quartzsite.  We left Congress in moderate sunshine but could see storm clouds ahead to the west.  Wasn’t long & our sunshine was behind us & we were under a heavy cloud cover.  No matter it was just nice to be out motoring along & luckily we had the wind behind us for a change. 

DSC_0002

KELLY SNUCK THIS PICTURE OF ME WEARING MY NEW 22-10 TON ALIEN BUG EYED COCOON SUNGLASSES…OH & THAT’S ONE OF MY NEW VESTS AS WELL:))

About an hour & a half to Quartzsite & we made our traditional stop at McDonalds for a coffee.  Had ourselves a couple tasty crispy chicken wraps.  No burgs & fries for us guys anymore. Picked up some fuel at the Pilot station beside McDonald’s & we were on our way again.

DSC_0004

THIS TRUCK AHEAD OF US AT THE GAS PUMPS IN QUARTZSITE HAD HAWAIIAN PLATES ON IT…DO YOU SUPPOSE THEY PADDLED ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE PACIFIC WITH ALL THAT STUFF IN THE BACK?

Debated whether to take I-10 west to Mecca then south to Niland or take the slower scenic route southwest down through the Imperial Sand Dunes past Glamis to Brawley.  With a heavy wind blowing from the south I thought there could be some visibility problems in the sand dunes around Glamis so we opted for the I-10 route.  Traffic is never heavy & it’s always been an Okay trouble free drive for us.

DSC_0005

CROSSING THE COLORADO RIVER FROM ARIZONA INTO CALIFORNIA

DSC_0007

PHEEBS ISN’T INTO THE SCENERY QUITE AS MUCH AS I AM

About 20 minutes west of Quartzite & exactly 192 miles east of Los Angeles (saw it on a road sign) it was at the stroke of high noon we drove into the first of about half a dozen light rain showers.  Mainly intermittent wiper stuff but enough rain that I’ll have to wash the rig when we get home.

DSC_0009

WE ARE HEADING INTO CALIFORNIA’S STORMY SKIES

At the Joshua Tree National Park exit off I-10 we picked up our frequently used short cut road through scenic Box Canyon on our way to Mecca.  Have used this shortcut on sunny days, at night, & today we rolled through under a cloud cover & I thought the canyon looked as nice as I have ever seen it.  Could be my much clearer new glasses I’m thinking.

DSC_0020

ROLLING THROUGH PICTURESQUE BOX CANYON EAST OF MECCA CALIFORNIA

DSC_0025 DSC_0021

 DSC_0019DSC_0022

DSC_0026

OUR FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE SALTON SEA’S NORTH SHORE

DSC_0032

ALL KINDS OF GREEN AGRICULTURE IN THIS AREA…WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA

Hung a left turn in Mecca onto highway 111 & pointed our nose south for the trip down the east side of the Salton Sea.  This is another nice drive & I much prefer it to the west side of the Salton Sea where 4 lane traffic is fast & furious.  We remembered the Salt Creek Campground from a Jeep day trip last time we were at the Slabs a few weeks ago.  It’s a nice quiet big rig friendly area right beside the Salton Sea & we decided to spend the night here.  We’re only 25 miles north of Niland & it won’t take us long to reach Solar Mikes in the morning by 8:30.

DSC_0036

OUR SPOT FOR THE NIGHT BESIDE THE SALTON SEA

DSC_0038 DSC_0041DSC_0042

LOOKING ACROSS THE SALTON SEA

So nice to sit by the lake at the picnic table above watching a beautiful sunset slowly slide it’s way over the distant Santa Rosa Mountains tonight.  We are pretty much directly across the water from Salton City & through my binoculars I could see the communication tower at Truck Haven Road west of Salton City which is on the way to Borrego Springs.  I knew JEAN & SKIP along with NAN & JOHN TALLEY were just about another 15 minutes drive west of Truck Haven Road down at the Clark Dry Lake Bed.  Hi Guys, gave you a big wave…..did you see me:))

DSC_0002

DSC_0008 DSC_0012 DSC_0009

DSC_2197 DSC_2186DSC_2194

DSC_2181

LOOKING IN THE DIRECTION OF BORREGO SPRINGS

DSC_2174

So peaceful tonight relaxing in our rig.  The lights of Salton City are shimmering all the way across the quiet waters of the Salton Sea.  Soft lighting in the coach & even softer music on our Sirius Satellite Radio.  Kelly’s in her leather chair with her laptop on her knee, Pheebs is stretched out sound asleep on the couch & I’m over here sitting at the dining room table just tapping myself out another daily post.  Just a mighty fine end to a mighty fine day………….:))

DSC_2187

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A hot-headed golfer with a penchant for breaking clubs was playing one day when he came to the 16th hole, where he faced an approach shot across a ravine.  He said to his caddie, "What kind of distance do we have, son?"  The caddie replied, "About 135, sir."  "My 6 iron, please," said the hothead.  His caddie replied, "It's going to have to be either a 3 iron or 3 wood, sir. That's all that's left in the bag!"

15 comments:


  1. Ahhhhhhhhh, THE GOOD LIFE !!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a peaceful evening.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you didn't run into any worse weather but those clouds really make for a dynamic sunset over the Sea.

    ReplyDelete
  4. kudos on the new eating habits, you are what you eat! :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. The healthy eating sure does make a difference.
    We camped a few nights on the east shore of the Salton Sea quite a few years ago and really enjoyed it, Hope to get back there later this winter again as well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful! I really do love those big rock cliffs in ..is it Box Canyon? ..and the Salton Sea looks like a great stop for a peaceful rest.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like the placement of that compass on the steering column. I got one of those. A red one. Or maybe I 'used to' have one? Not sure.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love those end of the day shots, everything is so peaceful and beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Of course we saw you, we stopped for a night at Salt Creek a few years and it was beautiful. Good luck with the inverter.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful place to stop...
    Sometimes I think cloudy day pictures are the prettiest of all.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful drive through the rocky hills! Looks like a great spot to spend a little time alone appreciating the Salton Sea:)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Waving right back atcha! We have yet to head down to Salton Sea.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hey Al, are you getting the pop-up ads on blogs. Yours has three ads at the bottom of the screen...as does other bloggers. What's up with that and how do we stop it?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Always enjoy your posts Al. Loved the box canyon pics, how I miss the SW K~

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nan Talley,

    Firefox with AdBlock Plus does not show any pop up ads on Al's blog nor do I get any on other blogs. I do get some on other websites, not blogs, but not nearly as many as without AdBlock Plus.

    ReplyDelete