Snowy Range Pass

Snowy Range Pass

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Rocks and more rocks








Our last few days in the San Diego area where very quiet. It rained a lot and I had a sore foot to contend with. So we did not see all the things we were hoping too. We will just have to come back again in the future. The extra time around the motorhome did turn up still more issues that will require attention. The cover to our generator space has come loose (again). I had to resort again to using rope to secure the cover. A great advertisement for Winnebago quality control. Not to mention the continued problem of the bedroom sliding taking on water into the bedroom every time it rains. Luckily for us, we have gone for weeks without rain until the last few days. There are more, but it is not my intention to make this a tirade against lack of quality control.

We got under way this morning early, as we did not have a reservation for a stopover point in the western side of Arizona. All the places we called were either full or could not be bothered with reservations for folks only wanted to stay a few days. We have hit the snowbird belt in high season. The trip along interstate 8 was interesting, very windy and boring all at the same time. A lot of empty space filled with rocks, rocks and more rocks. However, we did climb four thousand feet and descend the same amount over and over. We were back in the land of truck runaway ramps. I am glad to say that between the diesel torque and the exhaust brake, it was not a serious problem for us.

Anneke called a number of places until we found one in Yuma that did have a couple of spots (they have around 1200) for the next few days. So we are staying in our first real snowbird resort. It really is like a small town. They did, however, let her know that next season, in which they were expecting to see huge increase demand, due to the arrival of the baby boomer explosion in Rving, that they would no longer be taking anyone who did not stay at least a month. I guess this is the trend of the future, but it will make it harder for those of us that see the Rving adventure as a way to see the country in small bites, while traveling by RV. The snowbird RVer is really just looking for a cheap way to head south for the winter, and apparently in ever increasing numbers. Virtually all of the resorts in this area cater to the long term stay inclined.

We are trying to stick to our game plan and will spend just a few days to explore the area. Certainly, on the list will be a tour of the Yuma Territorial prison, which once was a dreaded place to be sent, but now a tourist attraction.

The real good news is that the weather is great with highs in the 70’s and apparently no freezing at night! We can ride our bikes (on level ground) for miles and still just stay inside the park boundary. We also had our first chance, in awhile, to enjoy sitting out side in the sun and have some tea and pie. Before we left California, we went back to Julian, Ca and picked up one of their famous apple pies, after having a buffalo burger for lunch. When the gold ran out they turned to growing apples and their pie is soooo goooood!

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