February-March-April
2016
Getting distracted
by all the surroundings, it’s time to catch-up on my notes:
Regularly meeting
and talking with people from around the world, some wealthy, some on shoestring
budgets, some hiking or biking thousands of miles with just a backpack, others
traveling in a luxurious RV, they commonly possess the same excitement about
travel. From Lake Cahuilla, we can see I-10, at a distance, on the north side
of the valley, and the traffic rushing across the Coachella Valley, unconscious
of the trails and overlooks in the mountains. Maybe we go too fast to “smell
the roses” and that makes us selfish. It occurred to me that we (Terry and I) are
different than when we started, beginning with selfish objectives just to ramble
and sight see, and now we realize that it’s truly the journey, not the
destination, with a focus on enjoying the gifts of nature, humanity,
friendship, and camaraderie. Like Mark Twain said; “Travel is fatal to prejudice,
bigotry, and narrow-mindedness”.
Today, we visited the HITS Desert Classic Horse Show at
Thermal, California. Horses and riders from around the world compete in Hunter
and Jumper competitions, in numerous rings situated around the huge complex.
It's like a gigantic fair with competitors, spectators, vendors, and
facilitators, all shuffling around for the events. Incredible horses,
equipment, and facilities, with big money at stake. We had a blast and learned
so much about the sport.
With UC and CSU campuses in the Coachella Valley, we enjoy
the programs they offer. Very talented students!
USC San Bernardino at Palm Desert
Got my PGA West
golf cap and visited the complex and courses. Beautiful place!
This evening, we
drove over to El Paseo Drive to watch the Classic Cars cruise the El Paseo
Shopping District. Great cars, great fun!
Here's another fun
pastime in the Coachella Valley, at Thermal;
BMW, Two-day car
control training $1550 PLUS 2-day Performance school $3995 PLUS advanced
Performance school (if you have to ask, you can't afford it!) Note: LA drivers
go straight to advanced! HaHa...
Saturday, February
20, 2016
Plants in Cahuilla
County Park
Creosote bush also
called greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, has the unique
ability to inhibit growth of competitive plants around it.
 |
| Smoke Tree Smoke Tree grows in sandy, rocky arroyos or washes and in bloom the pinkish, purple tree resembles clouds of smoke. |
 |
| Aloe Vera |
This is the first
Aloe Vera blooming that we have seen. Waiting to see what color they will be.
Not sure about this
one but think that it’s in the Acacia family.
There are many
varieties of Palm in California but the Fan Palm is the only native.
Here, among the Fan
Palms are some Date Palms, their fronds are long, flat and feathery. The
Bighorn sheep like to eat the dates.
 |
| Palo Verde, native |
Palo Verde tree is
a deciduous tree that grows in the lower desert elevations and produces yellow
flowers. The branching trunk is colored in a way that, to me, resembles the
legs of the reticulated giraffe.
These Mulberry
trees are pruned to provide shade in the day-use area. The Mulberry came to
California as the host tree for a silkworm experiment that eventually failed.
The Jacaranda tree
makes purplish-blue flowers and produces hard, round, flat seed pods.
The campground is
situated in a grave of Eucalyptus trees. There are hundreds of species of
Eucalyptus and many are found in California, thanks to the “Gold Rush”
importation of Australian Eucalyptus for wood, to be used in the mines and
railroads.
 |
| Our campsite surrounded by Eucalyptus |
Note: Roosevelt
Highway California 1 Pacific Coast Highway Route 101
New Things/Words: Some
new words that I learned from old books
Catamount
Hollow horn
Greasewood creosote
plant
Effrontery
Declivities
Gesticulating
Sagacious
Salubrious
 |
| Bob doing "research" (priceless) |
Monday, February
22, 2016
I always feel compelled
to study the history of each State in which we reside. To me, the history of a
State leads to a better understanding and appreciation for the current milieu
of the respective State. Having read books on Portola, Cabrillo, the Spanish
Missions, Jedidiah Smith, the Ranchos, John C. Fremont, Kit Carson, the Gold
Rush, California Statehood, and the railroads, I’ve visited the historic places
and learned a great deal about California.
Constantly, during
my research, I’ve been hopeful to find something on my ancestor, Joseph Adams
Hall, who came to San Francisco, from New Orleans, in July 1851 and died there
in August 1851. He left his family in Pike County, MS. with his Simmons
in-laws.
Joseph was an
influential partner in the Cotton Exchange business in New Orleans, Louisiana. I’ve
always suspected that he came to San Francisco to explore the opportunity of
cotton promotion and production in the great California valleys, possibly
leading to a new market on the Pacific Rim. California’s Senator William Gwin
(formerly Mississippi[BS1] ) and Missouri’s Senator Thomas Benton were very
interested in this and I feel that Joseph was somehow connected to their plans.
California experimented with cotton following their 1850 statehood however,
insufficient labor to harvest the cotton lead to abandonment. Ironically, after
cotton technology was developed back east, California became the producer of
the finest cotton (San Juaquin Valley around Bakersfield) in the world.
We find California
is a splendid state with a friendly, determined people, contagious energy, and
a competitive, innovative spirit that is leading the way. A popular saying “As
California goes, so goes the nation”, came about as a result of this
assertiveness.
2-24 Today, the Riverside County Parks
Administration held a picnic for the Cahuilla Park staff. They conducted a
short introduction of the Administration, with comments of appreciation,
followed by a Mexican-style grilled lunch. We enjoyed the event and felt that
we were very much appreciated in our efforts.
Saturday,
February 27, 2016
The
Annual Trout Derby was held this morning, with five-hundred-plus tickets sold.
The trout were special-stocked, several days in advance, by a contractor from
Shasta County.
Prizes
vary from a $200-dollar largest fish(6.7#), to numerous other sponsored-prizes.
We processed a huge crowd through the gate between 6-8am. Our park staff is
well organized, with terrific teamwork and the event was well managed. It was
exciting and fun, especially seeing so many local families participating in the
event.
Our
winter assignment at Lake Cahuilla began Nov1 and ends March 31
April
1st Traveling plan to El Paso, Jewett, Tulsa, and Seymour
I-10
East
Chiriaco
Summit
Blythe
CA
Quartzite
AZ
Phoenix
AZ El 1086 Or
Imperial
Valley to Yuma, Arizona
Casa
Grande Ruins NM
Picacho
Pass
Tucson
AZ El l2389
Sweetwater
Wetlands
Saguaro
National Park
San
Xavier del Bac Mission
Colossal
Cave
Kartchner
Caverns SP
Lordsburg
NM
Shakespeare
Ghost Town
Deming
NM
Las
Cruces NM
El
Paso TX Re Helen: 1st week of April or 5-7th
Van
Horn TX
Balmorhea
SP Toyahvale TX
Mother
Neff SP
Fort
Stockton
Ozona
TX
Caverns
of Sonora Sonora TX
Roosevelt
TX
Junction
TX
3-1-16
Mission
San Luis Rey, founded in 1798 by Father Antonio Peyri, is one of my favorite
mission histories. Spain promoted the Missions in Alta California as a way to
claim and settle Alta California and used the Catholic Padres as their
founders. Spain also founded three military Presidios to provide protection for
the Missions, an indispensable and beneficial military presence. Father Peyri,
however, knew that all this would require food, shelter, and clothing that
distant Spain could never supply to the remote Alta California. Father Peyri was
a beloved and respected religious leader, with a gift for managing
agricultural, social, and political challenges. He grew the Mission into a
huge, wealthy, self-sufficient, domain and baptized thousands of neophytes,
while training, employing, and managing, them as Mission workers. The new Christian
Indians loved the hard-working Padre and were heartbroken when, after Mexican
Independence from Spain, Mexico eventually secularized the Missions and divided
them into Mexican Land-Grants. Father Peyri was forced to return to Spain where
he died a disappointed individual. Politics will do that!
3-4-16
We had a wonderful Coachella Valley visit with Dave and Diane from Colorado.
They rented a fine house in Indian Palms Resort and we used it as a base for
our visit. We enjoyed some fine meals and conversation, in very comfortable
surroundings. Our tours included some special places and we got to enjoy their
expertise on finding and identifying birds of the valley. Good friends are a
treasure in life!
At
the La Quinta library, Terry found “Earthquake Storms” by John Dvorak, a book
that didn’t interest me until reading the first page. It’s a fascinating
history and story of the San Andreas Fault. It begins with Josiah Dwight
Whitney, California’s first “State Geologist”, and progresses with Grove Karl
Gilbert, John Muir, Andrew Lawson, Charles Richter, and others, who slowly
discovered and added to the understanding of the San Andreas Fault. A dramatic
story of the fault- what it is, where it is, and how this tectonic “time bomb”
works!
Wed.
March 23 Rose visits
March
28-April 19 has been a fun travel with my sister Rose, Terry, Sam, and Daisy.
We
traveled from La Quinta, California to Tulsa, Oklahoma and experienced some
interesting sights, while enjoying being together.
We
RV-camped all the way and took time to visit the points of interest.
We
stopped at Salton Sea and the Imperial Valley. On the east is the Algodones
Dunes, largest sand dunes in the US, and a mecca for off-road riders. The
Imperial Valley is a huge agricultural producer, generating many of the products
you see in your grocery store. The entire valley is a desert garden-spot,
irrigated by the Imperial Valley Water District, using Colorado River water,
via the 123-mile American Canal(from Yuma).
At
Yuma, Arizona we camped on the Colorado River and visited the old Territorial
Prison and the old Mission. In the early 1800’s, before today’s dam and levee
improvements, the Colorado River was a wild river with regular flooding. Thanks
to the Yuma geography, this was a rare and very accommodating site for crossing
the river. Consequently, Fort Yuma and the town developed here, followed by a
Butterfield Stage station and subsequently, a railroad crossing.
Currently,
Yuma and Winterhaven are popular winter resorts for snowbirds, especially
Canadians. We were charmed by the old architecture, river walks, landscaping,
and historic sights. Our campsite at Yuma was in an attractive river resort.
Between
Gila Bend and Casa Grande, we enjoyed the flora, fauna, and geography of the
496-thousand-acre Sonoran Desert National Monument, part of the 120-thousand,
square-mile Sonoran Desert. We were just awe-struck at the diversity of this
park.
We
had a nice campsite and pleasant rest at Casa Grande.
Spending
several days at Tucson, we visited Saguaro National Park, with its remarkable
driving road. We got to see Roadrunners and other birds, along with the desert
flora and fauna. The blooming desert was stunning!
We
enjoyed real Mexican at the Guadalajara Grill. Our KOA campsite was a pleasant
resort, situated very conveniently adjacent to Tucson’s attractions. We watched
the NCAA Men and Women Basketball Championships, along the way, as cable TV was
available at our campsites.
We
took a campsite at Lordsburg, New Mexico, a high valley, surrounded by ghost
towns. Lordsburg is the birthplace of New Mexico’s state song, (O Fair New
Mexico) written by Elizabeth Garrett, blind daughter of famous sheriff, Pat
Garrett.
Our
camp was comfortable, with a beautiful sunset and sunrise, while enjoying
Terry’s enchanting cooking, in the “Land of Enchantment”.
At
Las Cruces, we took a campsite near New Mexico State University, and toured the
old town and the University District. We were impressed with the buildings,
gardens, and historic sites around town and at Mesilla, on the south side of
town. It was like going back to the early days of the old Spanish Settlements.
From Mesilla, we traveled down the Rio Grande Valley, through the huge Pecan
Orchards and other agricultural production fields along the immense river
valley, all irrigated by the Rio Grande.
Arriving
at El Paso, we also had a terrific visit with cousins Helen and Richard, in El
Paso. Richard and Helen have a beautiful rancho and they are both wonderful
cousins and hosts. We had an al fresco lunch during our tours of El Paso and
enjoyed Rosie’s famous Mexican fare back at the rancho. They gave us a tour of
the stables and paddocks (Arabians) and introduced us to the farm-hands and
some local horse-friends.
We
had a very quiet, comfortable, convenient campsite in their driveway, which we
appreciated very much.
We
love these guys!
Country
song for
Richard
and Helen
Lyrics
based on Marty Robbins “El Paso”
Down
in the west Texas Rio Grande Valley
We
stopped to visit our McMullan kin
We
talked on the portico and swapped our old stories
As
we admired the horses in the paddock below
Lunch
was al fresco on a southwest courtyard
Surrounded
by gardens of blooms all around
Touring
El Paso we took-in the great sights there
As
the Franklin Mountains grew purple in late light
Back
at the Rancho we dined on real Mexico
Served
up by Rosie the Mexican senorita
Early
at daybreak we drove on off easterly
With
our dear cousins waving goodbye
It’s
so nice to have gracious cousins
Who
make you feel like you’re right at home
It’s
so great to have cordial cousins
Who
let you park in their landscaped drive
We
picnic-lunched and shopped at Van Horn, Texas and then continued east.
At
Balmorhea State Park, in Texas, I swam in the crystal-clear waters of the
immense spring. With 15-million gallons per day, a year-round, 72-degree water
temperature, the spring feeds a two-acre natural pool, numerous cienegas, and
irrigates thousands of surrounding acres in the valley. The early settlers saw
the potential of the spring and consequently turned the valley into an
agricultural haven. Representative wildlife are found around the park to watch
and enjoy.
We
relaxed, walked, and dined at our picturesque campsite by the Davis Mountains.
This park is a must see.
At
milemark 307, we took US 190 across the breath of the Texas Hill Country. The Bluebonnets
and other wildflowers carpeted the roadsides and pastures, with beautiful
pastels of spring. Infrequent towns and scarce traffic made the drive an
unobtrusive experience, with a remote sense. Frequent wildlife sightings on
remote ranches, lent a special excitement to the drive. Deer, Wild Turkey,
Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, and numerous other birds were a special treat.
Another
great treat driving through the expanse of the Texas Hill Country at the zenith
of the “Blue Bonnet” bloom was observing massive fields of wildflowers. Also,
US 190 is a historic old route.
We
took a campsite at the Menard city-park campground on the San Saba River. The
1757 Mission San Saba and Presidio San Luis De Amarillas established New
Spain’s northern frontier. After US annexation, 1858 Menard was protected by
Fort McKavett.
The
settlers established irrigation canals off the river which still give life to
the large ranches.
At
Brady, we passed the geographical center of Texas, and they proudly proclaim
themselves the “Heart of Texas”.
At
San Saba, the “Pecan Capital of the World” and birthplace of Tommie Lee Jones,
we picnic-lunched at the city-park springs and enjoyed a nice walk in the park,
with our dogs.
Our
next camp was the US Army Corps of Engineers, Belton Lake, a 12-thousand acre
flood control/recreation lake on the Leon River. The campground is upriver from
the dam, along 100-foot, river-carved, limestone walls overlooking the river
and lake.
We
enjoyed a fantastic sunset, scrumptious dinner, and peaceful rest at our
picturesque campsite. Terry does a wonderful job at planning delicious meals
and I help by grill-cooking and using my assortment of outdoor-cooking
appliances.
We had
a fine visit with Mr. Blackwell(92 years old), at Jewett, TX, a 1939 friend of
my dad. He has a nice farm, still hunts/fishes/cooks and loves company.
Also
visited Wayne and Margie, at Athens, TX, RV traveling friends whom we met
several years back. We made plans to connect this summer in Indiana. Nothing
like good friends!
We
took a campsite at the Hugo, OK city campground, located on the Railroad Museum
property. We had a quiet, restful night with another great dinner prepared by
Terry. Rose made Strawberry Shortcake with whipped cream topping for desert.
A
fine evening!
At
Tulsa, (via the Indian Nations Turnpike) we’re sitting a week with Terry’s mom
and then off to southern Indiana.
Our
Indiana summer plans include a lot of family (Terry’s) visiting and a two-month
camp-host assignment (June and August) at Indiana’s Dept. of Natural Resources,
Monroe Lake. The DNR assignment will be the usual park service work.
