Monday, January 30, 2017

California at Last!

Monday, January 30, 2017

The temperature was so nice overnight, I woke up earlier than usual,  Out of bed  by 6:30 drinking coffee and reading blogs by 7.  I was determined to get out of Yuma today.  Even caught the sunrise.

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Thought I would try to get a lug nut on the way out of town.  Stopped at a small tire repair place just down the road from Walmart.  They didn’t have anything the size I needed.  They sent me to O’Reilly’s saying they surely would, but no luck there either. 

Then I saw another small tire repair shop and passed it because I was in the wrong lane.  Turned into a Mexican neighborhood thinking I would go around the block.  No such luck!  The narrow road dead-ended at a privacy gate.  I had to get out and with neighbor dogs barking, cats and chickens watching, I unhooked the Jeep, backed the MH up and turned around.

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After hooking the Jeep back onto the MH, I said to heck with it and I just jumped on I-8 heading west figuring I could find something along the way.  I don’t think one nut is that important in the scheme of things.

Went through the Imperial Sand Dunes

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and then turned north on hwy 111 at El Centro, California and then up and around Brawley till I reached hwy 86.  Just as I was going through Westmorland, I saw a NAPA store that said they had truck parts.  Pulled off the highway real quick and ran in to ask.  No luck again.  Must be a rare sized lug nut.

Followed hwy 86 and then turned west on S22 at Salton City heading through the badlands.  My destination for today was about 22 miles to the desert floor just east of Borrego Springs. 

I stopped to take a photo of the Salton Sea behind me as I was going through the Badlands.

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The road cuts through a section of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. 

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The Clark Dry Lake bed is just ahead and the town of Borrego Springs is in the far left in that dark area on the desert floor.

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I had forgotten about the time change, so got to my destination in the Clark Dry Lake on Rockhouse Trail just after 1 p.m. Pacific time.   It is located on the desert floor right center.  You can just see some RVs parked there in that white area just before the mountains.

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I pulled over, unhooked the Jeep and drove around the area till I found a secluded spot. 

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Got the MH situated and forgot to check for an internet signal till I had everything done.  Then I saw I had one bar of 3G and my Verizon Jetpack said I had no data available. 

So, I quickly pulled out my Trucker’s antenna that I haven’t had to use this trip so far and stuck it on my flag pole high above the MH.  Plugged it in and put my jetpack in the Wilson cradle and now I have 5 bars of 4G Lite.  That should work.  Will see when I go to publish this blog.

After that, Yuma and I took a couple of walks through the desert and then watched the sun go down.  I need to start relaxing more and exploring less.

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This is the view out my front door for the next few weeks.

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See you later.

15 comments:

  1. That's a beautiful sight, with the sun glinting of the mountain. Enjoy Borrego Springs and relax! Too bad about the lug nut.

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    1. Save lug nut problems for another day. Going to be beautiful here for at least the next week. Going to try to relax and enjoy the weather.

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  2. Welcome to Borrego Springs, land of myth and magic. Looks like you are very close to the spot we just left earlier today. We'll catch up with you in the near future. Relaxing is high on our priority list right now too. Crazy thing about that lug nut.......

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    1. You wouldn't think that a 9/16 nut would be that hard to find. Oh well, it will work itself out.

      Enjoy the nice weather. About time.

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  3. It looks beautiful! Glad you were able to post your blog. Our connection is improving but still slow here at the Q. We are leaving this morning for higher elevations (yes, I know, cooler temps also) at Banning, Ca so hoping to catch up on my posts again. Take care, enjoy your time there with Yuma.

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    1. Luckily, I don't have an over use problem with my reception, just a weak signal. When I first started out I bought a trucker's antenna and a Wilson booster cradle and that did the trick.

      Enjoy your visit to Banning. Should just stop at Palm Springs. You're getting too close to LA.

      Yuma and me are looking forward to this fantastic weather this week.

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. My comments deleted by me because they were in the wrong spot. Should have been replies and not comments.

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  6. It's always the little things - as long as other lug nuts are tight you should do OK - really like your new location near Borrego Springs. Enjoy !

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    1. Hi Moonfly. I got here just as the weather turned to perfect. I'm going to enjoy the next couple of weeks here.

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  7. Looks like an awesome spot! How long are you going to stay?

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  8. Did you ever get your slow leak looked at? The last one I had was so very slow I wasn't too worried about it. When I finally went to get it looked at the tread was separating and it wasn't that old of a tire. I am probably lucky I didn't have a blowout.

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    1. No I haven't yet Martha. I will as soon as I leave here. I know low air pressure is not good on the tire.

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