CAMPED ON THE SHORES OF CALIFORNIA’S SALTON SEA

Off to the east on the darkened desert floor I could see a jewel like twinkling of many clustered diamonds in the cold clear starry night.  From our slight elevation I knew it to be the wee sparkling town of Quartzsite Arizona in the valley below.   A faint warm glow on the far distant horizon south of the Q I knew to be the big megapolis of Phoenix.  I remember seeing that nightly glow whenever we camped in the Kofa Mountains south of Quartzsite before.  It was Monday night and we were west of Quartzsite Arizona at Dome Rock.  December 19th 2016 would be the first night since March of 2012 in the new chapter of our once again on the road resumed RV travels:))

WAKE UP MOM THERE’S A GREAT BIG RED SUNSET GOING ON OUTSIDE

THANKS FOR WAKING ME UP TO SEE THE SUNRISE PHEEBS:))

BACKGROUNDED BY THE PLOMOSA MOUNTAINS QUARTZSITE ON THE LA PALOSA PLAIN SHIMMERS IN MORNINGS EARLY LIGHT

THESE JAGGED KOFA MOUNTAIN PEAKS ARE ONE OF OUR MOST FAVORITE MOUNTAIN RANGES AND WE HAVE CAMPED IN THEIR MORNING SHADOW AND JEEPED FAR IN AMONGST THOSE PEAKS….. iN OUR SEARCH BAR TOP RIGHT TYPE IN ‘KOFA MOUNTAINS’ TO FIND MY POSTS ABOUT OUR ADVENTURES THERE

Been a long time since we’ve seen an unobstructed sunrise not filled with power lines, poles or some kinds of man made structures.  This morning here west of the Q was such a morning with nothing between us and Mother Natures natural finery.

AND HERE COMES OLD SOL HIMSELF

WHAT A NICE WAY TO START ANOTHER DAY

MANY GREAT MEMORIES OVER THERE IN THE KOFAS FOR US

FELLOW BOON-DOCKERS AND NOTICE ‘CASPER THE GHOST’ HIGH ABOVE THAT 5TH WHEEL ON THE LEFT

Now that we are away from suburbia so to speak with it’s barking neighborhood dogs, pavement, and chatty morning walkers I have once again resumed my early a.m. walks with Kelly and Pheebs after almost a 2 year hiatus.  Have always enjoyed morning treks in desert and mountain settings and now that I can again walk with my cameras without frequent traffic or people interruptions I’m looking forward to the much needed and beneficial health benefits those early morning walks will bring me.

THAT BIG ROCK AHEAD IS WHY THEY CALL THIS AREA ‘DOME ROCK’

A LOT OF DESERT BOON-DOCKERS LIKE TO LANDSCAPE THEIR SITES WITH WITH THE EVER PRESENT ABUNDANCE OF ROCKS ON THE DESERT FLOOR

HOW NICE TO BE OUT FOR EARLY MORNING DESERT WALKS AGAIN

OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE COME ACROSS MANY CURIOSITIES WITH THIS BEING JUST ONE OF THEM

Being free at the moment from hordes of January RV’ers Dome Rock where we were is a nice area as it nestles in against the north-south running Dome Rock mountain range.  With it’s moderate elevation west of Quartzsite the view from Dome Rock to Quartzsite on the floor of the La Posa Plain below backed by the Plomosa Mountains to the east are of wide sweeping vistas.  Jagged peaks of the Kofa Mountains to the far distant southeast, the Plomosa Range east of Quartzsite and the close in Dome Rock range to the south, north and northwest.  California is only a 10 minute drive on I-10 due west to the other side of the Colorado River.  Pretty nice area I’d say:))

AN OLD ABANDONED MINE SHAFT BURROWED INTO THE NORTH-WEST SIDE OF DOME ROCK

BETWEEN THESE ATV BOON-DOCKERS AND THE PLOMOSA MOUNTAINS CAN BE SEEN QUARTZSITE ON THE VALLEY FLOOR

HEY THAT LOOKS LIKE ‘LITTLE CESERS’ OUT THERE DRIVING THROUGH THE DESERT

North of us about two thirds of a mile runs busy Interstate 10 in an east west direction.  We can hear a bit of traffic noise but not enough to be bothersome.  It is amazing how many trucks are on that Interstate.  Sitting here watching them from my window it seems they far outnumber cars nowadays and we did notice a large number of trucks from east of Quartzsite to west of Quartzsite Monday when we arrived in this area.  A lot of Fed-Ex trucks on the road.

EVEN SOME DISTANT FELLOW DOGGY WALKERS OUT THIS MORNING

Had only planned staying one night then pulling out early in the morning but for awhile now we have noticed our coach batteries have been having trouble holding a full charge for very long.  First became aware of that this past summer so we suspect we might need our system checked and maybe some new batteries.  Kelly made 3 phone calls this morning regarding our problem.  One to Solar Mike in Slab City, one to mobile Brian in Quartzsite and one to RV Lifestyles to have our coach batteries checked.  I was really hoping it would be Solar Mike who called us back…………..and it was.

KELLY SEARCHES THROUGH OUR RIG’S PREVIOUS OWNERS FILES TRYING TO FIND OUT HOW OLD OUR BATTERIES ARE

WESTBOUND TRUCK TRAFFIC CAN BE SEEN MOVING ALONG I-10

That call altered our Yuma destination so without further adieu we climbed back on I-10 about 2 p.m. Arizona time and headed west into California.  I was glad to be moving again.  Wind gust warning signs were posted but we never really felt anything much. 

LOOKING SOUTH CROSSING THE COLORADO RIVER INTO CALIFORNIA

THIS GUY WAS MOVING SO SLOW ON I-10 I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE A TRUCK PULLING THIS LOAD AND NOT A HORSE

WE TURNED LEFT FOR MECCA

LOOKING EAST WE CROSSED BACK OVER I-10 ON BOX CANYON ROAD

Might have been about 15 miles east of Indio we swung off I-10 onto a very familiar piece of road for us.  At the stop sign on it was a right turn towards Joshua Tree National Park or left to the small agricultural town of Mecca through Box Canyon.  We have made this favorite drive of mine through Box Canyon half a dozen or more times over the years coming and going both ways.  I have taken many photos driving through this area and was determined not to overdo myself on photos yet again.  Well, so much for determination.  Wasn’t ever much good at that D word anyway.

ROLLING THROUGH BOX CANYON WITH IT’S MANY SHARP CURVES AND SOFT SANDY SHOULDERS…..EH CHRIS AND CARON’:))

Dropping down out of the Canyons west side landed us at the Northeast end of the Salton Sea where the seemingly barren desert landscape does an immediate flip-flop to acres of green palm trees and huge stretching fields of neatly cultivated vegetables shaking themselves off under miles of irrigated jet spray water sprinklers.

LUSH CALIFORNIA FARM FIELDS AT THE NORTHEAST END OF THE SALTON SEA

REFLECTIONS??  WHAT REFLECTIONS:))

NO IDEA WHAT ANY OF THESE CROPS ARE

Zipped ourselves around Mecca’ s only round-a-bout, crossed a set of busy railway tracks and hung a left turn onto highway 111 heading for Nyland California and Slab City.  We have traveled this highway both ways and it’s always a scenic drive as we headed south along the shores of the Salton Sea off to the west.  We remembered one other time heading for Solar Mikes when we overnighted beside the Sea so decided that’s what we do again, and we did.

CAMPED FOR THE NIGHT ON THE EASTERN SHORES OF THE SALTON SEA

NOW HERE’S A SAD WALK TO THE GARBAGE CAN…..KELLY BROKE THE HANDLE OFF HER FAVORITE TEA KETTLE SO IT’S HEADING FOR THAT WHITE TRASH BARREL OVER YONDER…..I THINK LITTLE ELMO WAS QUITE SURPRISED BY IT ALL TOO

The last time we overnighted here we thought we saw a UFO high over the Salton Sea but after mentioning and describing what we saw in my blog that night several readers said what we saw was one of the rocket boosters from a rocket launched that night from ?? in California.

KELLY ‘BLACKBERRIES’ THE SUNSET

In the morning we’ll head for Solar Mikes and see if we can get our coach battery problem resolved.  Where we will head from there we’ll figure out tomorrow…….:))

SALTON CITY ON THE WESTERN SHORES OF THE SALTON SEA

AND HERE WE SEE A HUGE FIERY DINOSAUR LIZARD STREAKING HIGH ACROSS THE DARK SKIES OVER CALIFORNIA’S SALTON SEA

LOOKING SOUTH DOWN THE SALTON SEA I SUSPECT THOSE LIGHTS AND GLOW ARE FROM THE CITY OF BRAWLY CALIFORNIA

LOOKING NORTH UP THE SALTON SEA WE SEE THE HORIZON’S GLOW OF INDIO’S BIG CITY LIGHTS

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A group of third, fourth and fifth graders accompanied by two female teachers went on a field trip to the local racetrack to learn about thoroughbred horses and the supporting industry. During the tour some of the children wanted to go to the toilet so it was decided that the girls would go with one teacher and the boys would go with the other. As the teacher assigned to the boys waited outside the men's toilet, one of the boys came out and told her he couldn't reach the urinal. Having no choice, she went inside and began hoisting the little boys up by their armpits, one by one. As she lifted one, she couldn't help but notice that he was unusually well endowed for an elementary school child.
"I guess you must be in the fifth," she said.
"No ma'am," he replied, "I'm in the seventh, riding Silver Arrow. Thanks for the lift anyhow."

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Q: What nationality is Santa Claus?
A: North Polish.
Q: What do elves learn in school?
A: The Elf-abet!