An Unbelievable Find in North Central California.....

Our Tuesday was uneventful.  Hitched up, we were driving out of Sam's Spa and RV Resort around 10:30 am.  It would be a short, four hour drive to Orange Grove RV Park near Bakersfield, CA.

Although it was April Fools Day, no one made fools of us!

Once the electric meter was read and the statement was ready, we paid our bill and pulled out of the resort.  Hector and Diane convoyed along with us.  We led the way, this time around.  

Soon to depart from Desert Hot Springs.

The weather for our departure was quite nice but the Santa Anna winds were trending with a western blow and that would only be helpful as we climbed Highway 62 north and east to Yucca Valley.

Dillon Road - heading west to Highway 62.

The long climb up Highway 62 on our way to Yucca Valley.

The long climb up Highway 62 led us to Highway 247 north, on our route to Highway 58, near Barstow, CA.  We did end up fighting the wind for most of our drive but being directly into it only used up a few more gallons of diesel.  Other than that, the drive was easy.

Edwards Air Force Base - east of Tehachapi, CA

Following a long stretch of west bound, level highway, we arrived to climb the high hills at Tehachapi.  This is a beautiful area.  With homes perched on the high hills and snow at the higher elevations, driving through here is very pleasant.....unless the roads ice up.  We had good roads all the way.

Lovely home at the top of this hill.

Only about 20 miles from Orange Grove RV, we radioed Hector and Diane to continue through to the RV park while we pulled off and into a truck stop to fuel up.  We arrived at Orange Grove minutes after Hector and Diane had finished their set up.

We did not reserve but learned that we had taken the last two long pull through sites.  Orange Grove RV Park is very, very busy with snow birds heading back for home.  We'll certainly reserve next year.

Diane and Hector hosted dinner.  It was a bit breezy and cool so we ate indoors.  Following some TV time and internet browsing (email stuff too) we called it a night.  Early the next morning, Jeanette and I took a walk around the park.  It was full to the rafters.  Even the over flow was full.

I noticed the price of propane was $3.40/gallon and, with one of our two 30 lb tanks dry, I carried the tank to the office where a nice young fella juiced it up for me.  He gave me a ride back to our site.  Good thing for that because our site was about as far away from the office as one could imagine.

Hector and I walking Chico before driving out of the Orange Grove RV Park.

With a planned departure for 10:00 am, we were buttoned up and ready to head west through Bakersfield, then north for a brief while on Highway 99 before heading west on Highway 46, through Wasco, and later on to I-5 at Lost Hills, CA.

Nestled in the orange groves.  The trees are now in flower.

Jeanette and Diane did manage to find a few oranges to tide us over for the days ahead.  This is such a special place and we always enjoy an overnight or two in this park.

A fruitful basket.......

Leaving our site at Orange Grove.

The exit from Orange Grove at 10:00 am was easy, peasy.  Most snowbirds had long left the park.

The beautiful hills along I-5 in central and northern California.  The recent rains sure greened up the hills.

With one stop for lunch along our route to Patterson, CA and our overnight stop at Kit Fox RV, the entire drive was only 3.5 hours.  By 3:00 pm, we were well settled in to the RV park and, once unhitched, we drove to Diablo Grande to check out two most beautiful golf courses.  Jeanette and Diane had found these golf courses online and we wanted to check them out.  Talk about BEAUTIFUL!  For you golfing aficionados, check out the WEB sites below by clicking on the links. You will not be disappointed!

Diablo Grande          Experience Troon Golf Luxury Golf Courses 

The figurine on the right is of Gene Sarazen - famous golfer and golf course designer.

Gene Sarazen (/ˈsɑrəzɛn/;^[1] February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s. He is one of five golfers (along with Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods) to win all the current major championships in his career, the Career Grand Slam: U.S. Open in 1922, 1932, PGA Championship in 1922, 1923, 1933, The Open Championship in 1932,^[2] and Masters Tournament in 1935.  (Wikipedia)

Sarazen, along with Jack Nicklaus, designed the LEGENDS COURSE that Hector and I are booked to play today.  What a treat that will be!  To play Troon Type golf courses is a treat anytime. We sure look forward to playing the Diablo Grande Legends Golf Course.  

Now, Troon golf courses are very expensive to play and this one, situated out of the way in the green hills near Patterson , CA - and at least 90 minutes east from San Fransisco - is a sweet deal at only $39 - cart included.  We hardly could believe our luck!  We qualified for the senior rate.  By comparison, the Troon golf courses in Scottsdale, AZ cost $350 on average to play.  (Yes, you did read right....)  $39 to play this Troon Golf course is an unbelievable deal.  For us, it is a steal.....!  It is well worth the second overnight, here in Patterson, CA to play this pristine facility.

While Hector and I are busy with golf, Diane and Jeanette will be touring the area around Patterson.  The town was modeled after the city layouts of Washington, D.C. and Paris, France using circles and radiating streets.  Trees abound.  There are wineries, museums and other attractions to keep their appetite whetted for the entire time we spend on the green turf of a championship golf course.

More on our golf experience in the days ahead.....!

The view from the beautiful clubhouse near the starting hole on the Legends Golf Course.

Jeanette captured this photo of us hanging out at the Diablo Grande Golf Resort.

Kit Fox RV Park was in our plans for an overnight, well before we headed for home from Desert Hot Springs.  We were happy to read Rick & Paulette's RV Travels blog with their thoughts on this place when they rolled through here several days earlier than us.  It is good overnight spot, located far enough away from I-5 to offer some peace and quiet.  We both slept well last night.

Tomorrow (Thursday) will see us head further into northern California and our planned overnight stays at the Durango RV Resort in Red Bluff, CA.

Thanks for dropping by.