Lenses and Wheels: April 2012

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Our tribute to Salton Sea.

I drove by hundreds of times and somehow always loved it. Most of the time I did not have time to stop, not to mention stay there for the night. Always felt sorry for the place and for the few souls who stayed there and were hoping for a better time. Could not believe that a state like California would not do anything to save a jewel like the Salton Sea. We visited a few years ago, tons of dead fish on the shores and the smell was terrible, flies came in clouds so we jumped back in the camper and ran away. On this trip we drove by again and of course we had to check it out. First surprise: lot of birds; a good sign. The campground is nice and clean with a few campers; even has a host. We drove around, checked it out and said: finally, they are improving the place, there is hope. Liked it so much ( 8 bucks a day with senior discount, heated showers, covered BBQ area ) we spent 2 days there. After that we moved to world famous Slab City but it will be another story.

Birds are back at the lake, it's a good sign.

Wife is getting some vitamin D the natural way

Those guys invested a lot in this place...

Primitive campground ???

...with covered BBQ area...

...and very clean heated showers, everything is wheelchair friendly.

We liked the place very much but left with a sad heart and I still can't believe what I heard. Had a chat with the host before we left and he said he wont be here next year. The state of California is cutting back on founds everywhere including state parks, meaning 4 campgrounds will be permanently closed around the Salton Sea. Hard to believe.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

A trip to the Sun-2012 March

We wanted to leave in January but it was so cold I could not talk my wife into it. Checked the weather in the Palm Springs area and she said: it's -2 C no way I'm not going, it is almost warmer in Canada. Our friends just bought a house in Green Valley Arizona and invited us to visit and stay with them for a while. Even they admitted it was unusually cold in February. After waiting and waiting what seemed like for ever we decided to go in the middle of March hoping for nice and warm weather. Wanted to leave on the 17th of March, as we headed south to the Coho ferry in Victoria the Check Engine light came on. Damn!! Do we risk a serious breakdown or do we get it checked out? We drove by at Speedway Motors anyway, stopped to find out what they could do. Very friendly girl there on Saturday, she offered to run a quick scan to find out what it is and then decide. Thanks God it was only a faulty sensor code, it didn't even came back after clearing the computer. Although it did cost 80 bucks having the piece of mind is money well spent. Thanks again Speedway. We made the afternoon sailing, quick crossing, customs is like the McD drive trough, and we are headed south. We like to take the 101 from Port Angeles to Olympia, it is 72 miles shorter than the I 5 and we don't have to drive trough Seattle. We even had a trucker friend on the ferry, we have been working together for about 10 years a long time ago. Uneventful trip the first day, I drove to Salem OR, spent the night north of the city at a Pilot Truck Stop. Did not want to waste much time, I wanted to see some sunshine but no luck so far, my wife keeps telling me we are still too early. At the Oregon-California border I'm looking at the trucks going north and all of them have snow on the grill and the windshield, not a promising sign but we crossed the "hump" without a problem, nice and sunny on the other side and we drove all the way to Lodi Ca and stayed at the Flying J for the night. We were at our favorite stop in Littlerock, at the Hungarian Sausage Factory, stocked up the fridge, even the freezer with goodies, now we can boondock for a week and don't have to worry about supplies. Made it to the Palm Springs area the 3rd day in the afternoon and finally it is as it has to be: 25 C ( 77F )