Cleaning, Touring, Meeting and more.....

To arrive here in Desert Hot Springs, CA, we drove five out of six days in rain after leaving our home in British Columbia.  The day after our Saturday arrival at Caliente' Springs RV Resort, I washed the motorcycle on site and the truck at a local car wash.

Looking so much better.

Detailing the motorcycle was a pleasant job to tackle early on Sunday morning.  While I was busy with that, Jeanette was busy washing the oranges she picked in the Bakersfield area.

Fresh off the trees.

Our chores completed, we chose to take a nice Sunday afternoon ride down to Highway 111 through Indian Wells, Palm Desert, Cathedral City and into downtown Palm Springs. 

Highway 111 in Indian Wells, CA

Sunday traffic was light.  Arriving in downtown Palm Springs, we parked, walked around for a time then found a great outdoor spot to enjoy a small ice cream cone.  I hung around outdoors while Jeanette spent a bit of time strolling through a few clothing stores that were offering deep discounts.  She came out empty handed.

Sunday in downtown Palm Springs.

Having read the rules that govern us, here at Caliente' Springs RV, the literature says nothing about washing or not washing RV's in the park.  So, first thing Monday morning, the bucket, extended wash brush and hose were set up and I began washing our 5th wheel.  It needed a good cleaning.

Ninety minutes was all it took to scrub our fiver clean.

With the fiver, truck and motorcycle all cleaned up, Jeanette and I decided on a late Monday morning ride up past Yucca Valley and into the small city of 29 Palms in the high desert.

Leaving the desert floor near Desert Hot Springs.

Making our way up and into the Morongo Valley, San Bernardino County, the increase in elevation meant a decrease in temperature.  It was considerably cooler in 29 Palms.  We chose to tour the Oasis Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park.  That was a worthwhile couple of hours spent learning much about the area.  We do plan to visit and hike some of the trails in Joshua Tree National Park later this winter.

Jeanette did not dare put her hand inside the trunk of this tree....but she did take a good look to see if anything lived in there.

Trena is gifted some oranges

Rolling along Dillon Road, eastbound, on our way back to our RV site, we were stopped at the red light at Mountain View Road.  We recognized the two people in a white truck opposite from us.  They recognized us too.  It was our good friends, Trena and Lucky. Following a morning hike with like minded folks at their Outdoor Resorts RV Park in Cathedral City, they took a drive up to our park for an impromptu visit with us.  

We were not home but on their return back for their park, and seeing us at the intersection, they turned around and followed us back to Caliente' Springs.  We enjoyed a fun outdoor visit.  We also accepted an invitation to join a larger motorcycle group ride to Julian tomorrow (Wednesday).  Around these parts, Julian is famous for its pies.

Following a barbecue dinner, a soak in the coolest of the four hot springs pools was a fitting close to a truly nice day. Life is good here.

Trena and Lucky left with a bag full of fresh oranges.

We are hosting coffee this morning, for RV friends, who call Campbell River, BC, home when they aren't traipsing around Mexico or the US southeast, central or southwest.  Long time RVers, we have followed Croft and Norma's blog for several years now.  Croft's Mexico  We  have motorcycled near their Campbell River, Vancouver Island home, a couple of times in years past, but we did not get the opportunity to meet up.  Well, we get to meet them at 10:30 am today.  We look forward to that!

Our sunset from inside our RV park last evening.

More on our visit with Norma and Croft in a future blog.

Thanks for dropping by.