Rain, Rain Go Away......!

This Friday morning view developed into a late afternoon rainfall that lasted all night long.

Well, the desert gods felt a need to remind us west coasters (BC, Washington & Oregon) of what we were missing back home.  The rains came with a vengeance and lasted well over 12 hours.  It all started late yesterday afternoon when the clouds opened up.

Highway to the High Desert / Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree.

In the previous blog, we mentioned our intentions to tour Joshua Tree National Park in the High Desert.  Although the clouds were forming, it was still sunny and warm.  We rode out from our RV park near 10:30 am.  All was well.

We had the 'wind at our back' (good title for a song, don't you think?) all the way up to the High Desert.

We rode past the town of Yucca Valley (population - 25,000), towards Joshua Tree when all traffic was stopped. We were at a standstill.

We had planned for more of these views....but we're faced with the scene below.

About one half mile from our turn off into Joshua Tree and the highway was closed due to a major vehicular collision.

It took forever to get up to the detour but we understood that we could not continue our journey to Joshua Tree without facing a major delay.  With the volume of traffic - and snail pace movement - we chose to turn around.

The wind was gusting at what seemed to be at 'force three'.  The clouds were also forming up and looking quite threatening up there.  Our decision came quickly.  We chose to ride back into the Palm Springs/Palm Desert valley.  Coming out of the mountains we noticed the winds were less forceful.  That influenced our decision to visit RV friends in another nearby RV park. 

With a view like this, we felt OK to continue riding.  Although we have rain gear with us at all times, we didn't think we would need it.

We quietly rolled into this RV park and surprised Trena and Lucky who were sitting about in the sun next to their rig.

We met this couple on our journey south in early January.  Lucky & Trena (from Abbotsford/Chilliwack), along with Hector and Diane (from Nanaimo) and another couple from Cold Lake, Alberta, met while overnighting at the 7 Feathers RV Resort and Casino in southern Oregon.  We convoyed together to southwestern California before parting ways.

We did reconnect with Hector & Diane in Yuma, AZ, and now with Trena and Lucky here in the Desert Hot Springs area.  We hit it off right from our first meeting. So, it's as though we have known each other for a much longer period of time.

Lucky and I exchanging yarns.....and jokes too.

Not sure what Trena & Jeanette were talking about but they were enjoying it too.

Our timing was perfect.  We arrived as Trena was preparing some 'fandangled' fruit drink.  Her blender was hard at work.  Thanks for the drinks, Trena!

Lucky - holding court!

Trena.....paying very close attention (yeah....right!)

 The sun was out - it was warm - and the blended drinks were going down really well. But, we were keeping an eye on the black clouds that were forming to the southwest.   At about 3:00 pm, we felt the first rain drops.  Jeanette and I chose to head back to our 5th wheel before getting soaked.

Getting ready to leave.  Notice the lack of shadows?  Yep, the sun was gone...and the temperature dropped significantly.

Back at our home on wheels - about three/four miles from Lucky and Trena's RV park - we showered and dressed up for our evening out.  We had dinner plans in Palm Desert prior to attending a great performance by international superstar, Al Jarreau, @ the McCallum Theatre.

http://www.aljarreau.com/

A 7 time Grammy Award winning jazz singer/songwriter, he has always been a favourite of mine.  Jeanette likes jazz too.  Among many of his accomplishments is the theme song he created for the television series, "Moonlighting", in the late 80's.  He has several notable songs too.  Remember the song, "After All?"  That's his too.....amongst so many more.

He performed to a sold out house.  In his mid to late 70's (our guess) he has an amazing range in voice and the house erupted into a standing ovation.  So, it was a night to remember. 

We drove to Palm Desert in a blinding rain - and we returned to our park in a blinding rain.  There was a fair bit of standing water on the roadways.

Wet conditions this Saturday morning.

So, as I write this blog, the skies offer a broken mix of blue and grey.  The ground is still wet but there is evidence of dryness in the air.  It may well prove to be a nice day after all.  We cannot control the weather, we simply plan around it.

Thanks for stopping by.