Well, we had our first big trip. Went down to Temecula for the National RV Rally. We left a couple days early, March 12. On the 11th it snowed 8 inches...first snow in seven years. When I arose on Sunday, it was snowing again, but lightly. We moved our leave time up an hour and it had stopped. Went to Bakersfield and stayed at the Palms on Highway 58. I-5 was closed because of snow, so we went on 58 and ran into more snow in Tehachapi and rain in the desert. We went down the I-215 instead of I-15. We had to go through Riverside and San Bernadino...traffic, ugh....and there was construction...knew I should have gone down I-15. The Lake Skinner Park was quite decent. It was a bit cold. The food was fantastic. We had a great time and got a couple things fixed on Webster. Saturday morning we left for Tombstone. We wanted to stop in Santa Ysabel to visit Dudley's Bakery where I used to go years ago. Ran into rain and snow going down SR-79. After getting some fresh-baked bread and pastries, continued on down 79 through Julian. Really snowing now. 79 is narrow and the snow made it worse. Tree limbs were beside the road, actually sticking out. Just after going around a 15-mph corner, my right side hit a chunk of snow and made a loud noise. Couldn't stop because of traffic so kept going. Finally reached I-8 and pulled over at a rest stop. We figure we must have hit a tree stump or limb as there was a hole in the bumper and the tire cover was partially missing.
It wasn't affecting the driving so we continued on to Tombstone. Going over the mountains, we ran into some heavy winds which ended up tearing the rest of the fender skirt off. I had to tie down the electral door because it kept popping open.
We arrived in Yuma, a little late in the day. Went to the proving grounds to camp, but the guard at the gate said they were full. We had passed a VFW with a bunch of MoHos behind it and the guard said we should check there.
It was just down the road a ways. My DW went into the VFW and told them I was a VFW member, American Legion member, Disabled American Veteran member, and VVA member. One of the guys said that was nice, but all we had to do was go out and pick a spot...it was BLM land...our land....
We left early in the morning, nice and sunny with a few clouds. The closer we got to Tombstone, the cloudier it got until the rain started...and then snow again. It was snowing in Tombstone...couldn't believe it. Anyway, we stayed at Tombstone Territories...a very, very nice part with very nice hosts. I'll do a review in the CG reviews.
The next three days were lovely with 80? temps, sunny. The first day, we went into Tombstone and had a great time. My DW found all the items she wanted (souvenir shot glasses and ash trays). The next day, we went down to Bisbee. What a town...deep in between mountain peaks. Great lunch and excellent shopping. We then went back to Tombstone because we hadn't visited the theater. Met the guys running it and, lo and behold, one of them had lived up here in Jamestown and had done some gold rush skits up here as well for the same guy I did stuff for...small world.
We left on Wednesday morning because we wanted to stop in Perris at National RV for the fender. We took a different route home I-10 and stayed one night in Quartzite at a park I would only want to stay in for one night. Some might like it, but I didn't. Not as much personal service as we've had at other parks.
We left early Thursday for Perris and arrived at just about noon. They didn't have the skirt, so they ordered it and will ship it to us. We stayed in National RV's parking lot (they have electric and water hook-ups for customers) and then left for Bakersfield. We went to Camping World to pick up a Winegard antenna as the techs at the rally said we should get a new one because we were having problems with the old one. We stayed in Camping World's parking lot for the night and left for home.
It started raining on 99 and we apparently missed the big rain which had hit Jamestown...We arrived late Saturday afternoon.
I had somebody say I must be glad to be home. Well, I'm not...I'm ready to go again. My son is having a baby (actually his wife is) very soon and we're planning on going down and staying at Camp Pendleton's RV camp at San Onofre (right on the beach).
We enjoyed the rally so much that we're planning on going to the rally in August at Asheville, NC and then going up to NH to visit my family. I'm trying to stay off dialysis so we can make that trip.
I have a few pix which I'll add to the Photo album as soon as I get the opportunity.
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