Quartzsite, Arizona

We have been in Quartzsite for 2 weeks. Quartzsite is crowded with people who love to camp. There are many places for one to spend money. Lots of items to buy. If you can't find it in Quartzsite, it can't be found. We have not seen half of the venders' booths. We did spend time in the big RV tent and also spent $$ there. Gary bought a new metal detector and even found a couple of small gold nuggets out in the dessert. We visited the Hi Jolly Monument on Friday afternoon. We were able to visit with others who began fulltiming in 2005. We played music for them on Wed. night. We were joined in our music making by Jim Reed, on fiddle and guitar, his wife Sherri, on mandolin, and Willard Bass on guitar. Good time had by all. We will be leaving on Sunday and headed for Yuma, Arizona for a week.

Joining us in our campground were about 11 other rigs from Los Banos. The weather has not been that warm here. Hopefully when we return in Feb. for the Bluegrass Festival, it will be a little warmer.

Different ways of marking your campsite.

 

Here a camper, there a camper, everywhere you look a camper.

 

Tops of motorhomes and trailers, Quartzsite, Arizona

 

Description of the camel experiment by the US calvary.

 

Hi Jolly grave

 

Hi Jolly momument

 

Flying high over camp

 

One form of transportation in Quartzsite, Az

 

Patton Museum

We visited the Patton Museum on Friday. We really enjoyed all the displays. They also had items used by German soldiers. They had numerous tanks on display outside the museum. Lots of things to see.

Statue of Patton and dog outside museum

 

One of many tanks at Patton Museum

 

Balloon glow

This was the week-end of the Polo Balloon Fest. They had numerous balloons flying close by our campground. We attended a balloon glow on Sunday night. They light up all the balloons. Sure is awesome. When we arrived, they were looking for volunteers to help set up the special balloons. We were chosen to help with the Energizer bunny balloon. What a large balloon. You can read more about it at the following site: www.energizer.com - select bunny at top- then hare on the drop down menu. If you ever get a chance to attend a balloon glow, don't pass it up.

United truck balloon

 

We visited Shield's Garden where they grow dates. Saw the movie "Sexlife of a date". We also had a delicious date shake.

 

Joshua Tree National Park

We visited Joshua Tree National Park two days. We still were unable to see the park in two days. There are lots of trails to walk and lots of roads to drive. We have decided that we will need at least 2-3 more days to see the entire park. I have loaded more photos on the webshots website. Enjoy.

Coyote at Joshua Tree National Park

 

Yucca plant at Joshua Tree National Park

 

Joshua Tree

 

Pioneertown

Pioneertown was built by some of the Hollywood Cowboy actors to be used in the cowboy movies. The Cisco Kid, Gene Autry show, Roy Rogers show, and movies such as Judge Leroy Bean were filmed at this location. For more pictures click on the link for photos.

Pioneertown

 

Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

We took a trip to the Living Zoo and Gardens on January, 2. What an enjoyable day. They have numerous animals from Africa and North America. They also had a model train exhibit which was really great. The butterfly exhibit was great, the only problem was that it was raining so the butterflys were not flying around. Visiting the Living Zoo and Gardens is a must if you come to this area. I would like to go again when the desert flowers are in bloom. Besides the animal exhibits, they have sections of the park planted to represent different dessert gardens from around the world.

You can see more pictures of our visit by clicking on the "Our travel Photos" link on the right side. You may have to scroll all the way to the bottom and click on the Living Desert Album.

Part of the Model train exhibit

 

Butterfly at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

 

giraffe

 

On one of the trails at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

 

Desert at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

 

First days in Indio, Ca.

We have been busy since our arrival in Indio. We have visited Joshua Tree National Park, rode the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, and enjoyed seeing many planes at the Palm Springs Air Museum.

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is a must. Some say it is the 8th wonder of the world. It is a 15 minute ride in a rotating car that travels 2.5 miles starting at an elevatin of 2,614 feet and ending at 8,516 feet. During the ride you are able to see 5 different life zone, from the Mexican Sororan Desert to an Alpine wilderness. Once you arrive on top, you can hike some of the 51 miles of trails in the Mt. San Jacinto State park. They also have a ranger station and restaurants on top. It was really windy and cold the day we rode the tram. If I lived in the area, I would purchase a year pass and ride the tram in Spring and summer. To view more pictures, be sure to click on the link at the right and choose the tram album

Joshua Tree National Park is great. We visited one day and will have to return. I will wait until our next visit to post pictures.

The Air Musuem was also great. We were able to talk to some of the WWWII vets who flew in some of the planes that were on exhibit. In fact, two of the vets who flew the B17 were there. Both were shot down over Germany, one on his 11th mission, the other on his 14th right over Berlin. I took lots of pictures and you can view those under the Air musuem album.

Tomorrow, we will be going to the Living Desert Museum, that is if it is not raining.

Nose of B17 at Air Museum in Palm Springs.

 

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

 

Lots of birds were at Lake Cahuilla

 

Lake Cahuilla
Gary went fishing but not fish were caught.