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.

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 )

Waiting for the ferry in downtown Victoria

Nice but cool weather when we left the island

The next day snow froze on the hood of our motor home at the Oregon-California border

It was well worth the drive, we had 25 C ( 77F ) in Palm Springs the next day.

Following the hood south.

We had an ugly, rainy and busy winter and I have a new job. I have to go to Vancouver 4 days a week, driving a truck and hauling food. Like the new job, a lot less headache than the management was before. Because of my new job we couldn't take any time off but after a while it hits me again: we got to go!!! We used to go every winter but this winter was just crazy, -2 in the Palm Springs area, much colder than usual in Arizona too. My wife said: I do not go 'till it's at least 25 C or more. And it hasn't been for a long time. Last week it was finally getting better, short chat with the boss, no problem, you can go for 2 weeks he said, but only after mid-March, somebody else booked a trip ahead of me. I have a friend, when I ask him where he is headed he always answers: following the hood south. The plan is: strait down south to Las Vegas, Yuma, walk across the border to Algodones, Margarita, Taco, some sunburn and burn some fuel coming home.

Poor motor home spent the winter parked. It's not designed for neither is it's owner.

From our place we follow the hood south for about 3 days and on the other side of the gate all kind of goodies....
(Wikipedia photo)

....are waiting. Like Margaritas.... (Wikipedia photo)

.......and driving trough the desert on the way home is always beautiful. Stay tuned!

Awesome Parade

I usually post here about our travels but now I just have to share a few pictures. For the last 6 years we have been shooting the annual Christmas Light Truck Parade in Victoria. Drivers & companies are working for days decorating the trucks, then on the first Saturday in December it's showtime. This year 85 decorated trucks drove trough town very slow, a huge crowd watching the show while a few trucks were collecting donations for a food bank.

I work for them now.

                                Thousands of lights, lot of work.

Local truck driving school teamed up with a local farm.

Lined up just before the trucks left for the parade

Awesome mixer

Made it Home

After a really good time in South Dakota we crossed the Montana border and stopped at the Wheat Montana Deli in Three Forks. Had lunch, picked up some home made jams, honey and bread for the road, it's a nice place and it seems to be always crowded. They also have a gas station and the office with the cashier is made out of a grain silo. Later we just enjoyed "Big Sky Country" but hit the pedal because we wanted to enter BC at Grand Forks to visit friends in Greenwood BC. After spending a half a day with them the next morning we left for Osoyoos. We like it there so much we always stop at the lake and spend some time fishing. Mostly my wife and I have to help her when she catches a bigger fish. So far that's the only lake I know in BC where you can fish for carp.

Wheat Montana gas station, the office in the grain silo.

Last mile in Montana....

...on the other side of the hill is Idaho

Lake Osoyoos. We stopped here 3 weeks ago too heading east.

She had a good time fishing for carp. We got home after spending 22 days 9200 km-s (5716 miles) on the road. Even though we drove a lot in windy weather our fuel mileage turned out pretty good: 15mpg. That's the good news. The bad news is: 4 days after I started working again I got the pink slip. No surprise, it was in the air for a while. The next good news is: found a new job literally in about 30-35 minutes but it's another story, more about it later.

Homebound 2

Sorry about the long wait, I have a very simple explanation for it: I also wrote about the trip in a magazine and it wouldn't have been ethical to publish the same story on the blog before the magazine comes out. So: After the Badlands we drove to Mt. Rushmore, it's about an hour drive, more if you stop on the way to enjoy the scenery. The whole place is very well organized, parking is plenty for 12 bucks even for the biggest RV-s. Spent a half a day there and headed for Wyoming.

Still in Badlands we've seen this RV shipped over from Germany, driven by a nice couple. On the back of the motor home a big map of North America with a lot of red dots on it; places they've visited.

Leaving Badlands

A couple of hours later at MT. Rushmore

We crossed the border later to Wyoming, had a nice and easy day, weather was really nice.

The next day was Montana Day, Big Sky Country and it is indeed. The border line in the picture is where the color of the pavement changes.

After crossing into Montana we went to see a Cabelas store, have planned it for a long time but never did. Pleasant surprise and a big congratulation to Cabelas for the huge indoor wildlife display. It was good to see little kids in front of the exhibit eyes wide open. Another nice thing about Cabelas: they provide free RV dump in the parking lot.

Homebound

It would've been nice to stay a bit longer but I had to head home to work. We've never seen the Mid West so we wanted to come home this way to see it. Crossed the border again on the Ambassador bridge and headed for Chicago. I have been traveling a lot and seen a big part of the world. Thought I've seen the worst big cities traffic wise. My favorite tune for a long time was: Sweet home Chicago, from now on I'll remember that song in a very different way. We did 4 miles in 5 hours, the weather was an ugly mix of rain and smog, my wife started to feel sick and made me worried a lot. Finally we had Chicago behind us and had to find a spot to watch one of the Canucks games (Stanley Cup). Pulled over at a big mall, turned on the Tv just in time, they just started the game. (Canucks lost) A cop told us that we can't stay there for the night, so after the hockey game we moved to a MacDonald's. Next day we finally had very nice weather, 28-30 C°, it was good to see the very well kept farmlands in Wisconsin and Minnesota, it reminded me on the rolling hills in the Swiss Alps. When we crossed the Mississippi river on I 94 to Minnesota it was so beautiful we had to pull over and spent a couple of hours right down at the water. Lot of locals were fishing, it was one of those "picture perfect" fishing spots. Later we checked out an Aldi Market, we used to by our groceries in those stores in Germany but there is none on the west coast. We stocked up the fridge with good German stuff, although good German beer is a bit expensive there. We spent the night just before the turn off to Badlands South Dakota at a truck stop. Badlands was the same as the Grand Canyon when you see it the first time: jaw dropping. You expect something and when you see it all you can say: whooooooa! In the middle of the flat land all of a sudden it feels like being on the Moon. But it can't be the Moon because wildlife is walking around, stops in the middle of the road and stares at you. The park also has a nice campground, 99 sites and very friendly rangers. Then we headed to see Mt. Rushmore, same story: yes we have seen lot of pictures but did you think it's that big?


Sweet Home Chicago in a new light


Wind power farm in Minnesota.


A picture perfect fishing spot on the Mississippi at the Wisconsin-Minnesota border on I 90


A little Germany in Minnesota: Aldi Market


Finally made it to the Badlands in South Dakota. It's really "jaw dropping"


It's not a roadside but a middle of the road attraction in Badlands National Park