Traveling Through California (Desert Palms, CA)

Okay, it has been a month since my last post.  Time to get everyone caught up.  We are happy to be back on the road again.  After leaving Sutherlin, we spent 10 days in Valley of the Rogue State Park.  Weather was starting to cooperate with warmer days and less rain.

So nice to be able to sit outside and go for walks without spending 15 minutes layering up!  

Walking path inside state park

Dusty was in grass heaven!  Wandering around, meowing "so much grass, so little time!".

Dusty and Hitch (front)

Our neighbor did not know he was hosting a squirrel.  This little guy spent most of the day sitting on the tire.  A perfect spot to watch the cats, eat lunch with a view, and cool enough for naps.

After having perfect weather during our state park stay, a cold front had to show up just in time for our travel day with wind and rain.  Northern California was already giving flood warnings.  Fingers crossed, we hoped for the best and kept going.

Siskiyou Pass

As we moved further south the storm front had move on and the weather cleared.  I couldn't get my usual photo of Mt Shasta this time, so I opted for Lake Shasta instead.

Lake Shasta

Yes!  It finally looks like we have found Spring!  I actually blew the dust off of my t-shirts!  I rarely wore them last summer.

Once again, the weather had us worried about traveling with a forecast of high winds.  We decided to leave a day early and get to Lancaster, CA a day early.  The reason for being in a hurry to settle in Lancaster was because I was signed up for RV School.  Yep, I took a driving course with our motorcoach that is 40' long, 8.5' wide, 11.7' tall, over 34,000 pounds with a beam steering axle, max turn cut is 38 degrees plus with tow car attached (car and tow bar) we are near 60' long.

We had a great instructor from RVSchool.com.  He showed up at our site and immediately put me at ease as he explained how we would start the day and what I would accomplish by the time we were finished.  With Dan riding along as an observer and also as my spotter for parking/backing the coach, we learned quite a bit about our coach's ability.

2 days of 4 hours per day instruction for $495 (plus a tip)was more than worth it. I can now safely maneuver in tight spaces, on narrow roads, city traffic, ascents, and descents.  With our aging, and possibility of illness or medical issues, we felt it was imperative for me to be able to safely drive the coach. I'm tired, but feeling a lot more confident about driving down road!

To celebrate my completion, we found an excellent little restaurant called Don Gus Mexican & Seafood.  The veggie burrito was delicious, but it was the cherry filled Chimichanga that I really loved!

On our way home, we stopped for a few groceries at a store we had never visited or seen before.  We were pleasantly surprised at how cheerful and colorful the store's presentation was to shoppers.  If we had not been so tired after our long day, we probably would have spent more time looking around.

Vallarta Supermarket

We are now settled in Desert Palms, CA near Palm Springs.  This is our first time visiting the area, so we will be busy exploring the surrounding area.  BTW, I did the parking while Dan directed.  We did it once without pulling forward!👍👍

Tight site

The cats were impressed....😎

Max and Dusty

On The Cutting Board

I have been working on my quilt tops.  I finished appliquéing this quilt with clipart paw prints and a dog from P.S. I Love You Two! A Sequel by Nancy J. Smith & Linda S. Milligan.  

I did not like the quilt in the book, but I do love this little guy.  I think I will call him Cosmos.

 I'm almost done with the Zoo panel.

 I just need to finish the embroidery and I can move on to the next top.

 I sort of goofed on the elephant.  I did not realize the mistake I had made until I was ready to embroidery the face.  If you haven't noticed, the face is a little lopsided.

 Oh well.. I think he still looks cute.  Okay, so I'm sort of caught up, but I am going to wait to show you photos from the Palm Springs area.  Back to the cutting board!
Happy Quilting!