Desert Hot Springs

Mar 02       Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio - Desert Hot Springs     27 miles     40 minutes

We camped in the Fantasy Springs Casino dirt lot last night and everything was going good until a semi truck pulled in around one in the morning, parked pretty close to us and ran his generator. So irritating, I was so frickin mad!!

Today we checked in at Caliente Springs Resort in Desert Hot Springs. Caliente Springs is a 55 and better resort. Yes, we now qualify to stay at these old fut resorts. It's located in the greater Palm Springs area and is known for the natural hot mineral waters that continually flow into their hot tubs and pools on property.

Nothing fancy with the sites

Hot tubs are fabulous

We'll be here for one week. They honor Passport America so we get half price, $203 for the week. Real good deal considering how nice the amenities are. The pool and hot tubs are amazing. We can learn to play pickleball here, something I've been wanting to learn. Also, water exercise classes which I really enjoy.

Very nice mineral water pool

Mar 02   The Living Desert Zoo

The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens is located in Palm Desert. We got our tickets through the Costco website. Two adult tickets for $22.00. This is a good deal, the normal adult price is $19.00 per person. Real nice zoo with lots of animals, wish we had our grandbabies with us. We spent a few hours just walking around and checking everything out. Very enjoyable and the weather was perfect.

Leopard Tortoise

Common Chuckwalla

Big Horn Sheep

African Warthog

Camel rides for the kids

Mar 03   College of the Desert Street Fair

The Street Fair at the College of the Desert is considered one of the top things to do in this area, where locals and visitors alike can spend their day with an open-air shaded shopping experience second to none. They had everything you can imagine. It happens every Saturday and Sunday from 7am - 2pm. We got there at 9am and spent a little over 2 hours and bought a few things. It was pretty crowded and when we left there were still a whole bunch of people coming in.

After that we went to a shop called Glossy. I got a good tip about this store. All swimsuits $29.00. Of course I bought a suit! The suit I bought normally retails for $60-$70. It was hard to limit myself to just one.

Bob & Joe teaming up

Mar 05

We've been enjoying our time here at Caliente Springs. The past few days have been kind of chilly but we still manage to hit the pools everyday. The mineral waters are so relaxing, can't get enough.

We went to learn pickleball this morning and had so much fun. The people here are so friendly. The instructor Bob was so patient with the newbies. There's pickleball every morning so I think we'll get out there a lot this week.

Joe enjoying some pool time

Mar 06

We just love it here. Pickleball in the morning, then right after, I go to a water exercise class, then just relax in the hot tubs and pool for about an hour. By this time, it's time for lunch and some relaxation at home. We try to have an early dinner then back to the pool in the early evening. What a life, I could do this everyday!

Joe grilling our dinner

Mar 07     Joshua Tree National Park

This morning we drove to Joshua Tree National Park about 45 minutes away. We stopped at the visitors center to get some information and buy some souvenirs.

Our first stop was the Hidden Valley hike. A 1-mile trail that winds among massive boulders through this legendary cattle rustlers hideout.

Next, we did the Barker Dam hike. This dam was built around 1900 to hold water for cattle and mining use. The dam today forms a small rain fed reservoir used by park wildlife. Birds abound!

Barker Dam

Joshua Tree National Park is huge, over 792,000 acres. We just did the main loop through part of the park. We made a stop at Skull Rock, then had lunch at Split Rock. I wanted to do another hike but we were both exhausted. We came home and soaked in the hot tubs. What a great way to end the day.

Skull Rock

Split Rock

Mar 08

Another day of pickleball, water exercise, and pool time. This is our last night here. We enjoyed ourselves so much, we booked another week here. We have reservations at another park for two nights, then we'll be back on Sunday.

Desert sunrise

Indio, California

Feb 26     Laughlin, Nevada - Indio, California        200 miles     4 hours 15 minutes

It was very cold when we left Laughlin this morning, around 35 degrees at 7am. We topped off the gas in Bullhead City, Arizona and headed to Southern  California. The roads were real good and so was the weather. We made good time and got there around 12pm.

We checked in at Indian Waters RV Resort in Indio. Very nice resort but kind of expensive. For 3 nights we paid $199. That's with the 15% FMCA discount. About $66 per night. Pretty nice park and they have some activities that we might participate in.

The bathrooms are nice

Feb 27

I went to a yoga class this morning, was real good. After that we walked around the whole resort and checked everything out.

We drove around the area and found Trader Joe's and Sprouts. I love shopping at both markets.

Feb 28

This morning we both went to the water aerobics class. Was pretty good, lots of old futs!

Just finished our water exercise class

For lunch we drove to Shields Date Farm. The restaurant is real good and Joe tried a date shake. He liked it, I thought it was very sweet. After lunch, we watched an old movie about Mr Shields and the start of the date industry in the valley, very interesting. Then we walked through the gardens which was very relaxing.

Mar 01      Indian Waters RV Park - Fantasy Springs Casino      3 miles     10 minutes

I went to a yoga class this morning which I really enjoyed. I think I'm taking up yoga when we go home. Afterwards, we moved up the road a few miles to Fantasy Springs Casino. It's dry camping at a gravel lot. There's a lot of RV's here and it's free. We're staying just one night.

We entered the blackjack tournament at the casino. Buy in was $25, 90 people playing. I got out on the first round but Joe made it to the second round. Then we went to dinner at the buffet they have at the casino. Kind of small, $19 per person, and excellent food. I wouldn't mind eating here again. We ended up gambling a little on the machines and made a little bit.   

Laughlin

Feb 25             Las Vegas - Laughlin            81 miles     1 hour 40 minutes

Pretty chilly again this morning, around 46 degrees. We filled the RV & Kia with gas at Costco and took off for Laughlin.










We made good time and pulled into the Riverside Casino. They have free rv parking, it's dry camping in the parking lot but it's free so all good. We found out that we can stay up to two weeks here, just need to check in with security. We're just spending one night here, kind of anxious to get to Indio.

Spring 2018

We are not travelling too far for our Spring trip. Probably less than 300 miles to the Coachella Valley. The Coachella Valley is a desert valley in Southern California. The valley contains the resort cities of Palm Springs and Palm Desert, as well as Indio, La Quinta, Indian Wells, and Cathedral City. Joshua Tree National Park is also in the area so lots for us to explore in the next six weeks.

Las Vegas

Feb 18   We arrived in Las Vegas at 630am. I'm not sure why we always take the red eye because we don't sleep on the flight and by mid morning we're exhausted. It was very cold and windy when we arrived and the weather is supposed to be like this for the next few days. Winky picked us up, we went to breakfast then picked up the car and rv at our storage in Henderson.

We checked in at Las Vegas RV Resort in Boulder. This has become our favorite place in the area. The surrounding area is kind of ghetto but the park itself is nice, with a secured gate.

Our site for the next week

The temperature tonight dropped down to low 40's, very cold for Vegas. I must have picked up a bug or something on the plane because I'm not feeling that great.

Feb 19 - 24   This past week has been very cold for Las Vegas. The temperature dropped as low as 32 and high was about 55. Very windy and they even had snow in parts of the area. We both have not been feeling great. I was so sick, our friend told us about Oregano Oil and how it fights all kinds of bacteria. I found it at Sprouts and it took about 3 days but I finally started feeling better.

Even though we were not feeling great, we spent the week getting everything ready to hit the road.

Back to Las Vegas

Oct 01    Cathedral Gorge State Park - Las Vegas      184 miles     3 hours 15 minutes

We're on our way back to Las Vegas a little early because Jan has a conference that starts tomorrow. Our first stop was In-N-Out in Henderson. Good timing, late lunch for us. This was Jan's first time eating here, she really enjoyed it.

Lunch at In-N-Out

We checked in at Las Vegas RV Resort. This is our first time here. Very nice park. It's an "adults only" park...even better. The rate is $32.77 per night, no weekly rate. Facilities are very nice, especially the pool and the hot tub. Laundry is cheap $1.50 wash and $1.00 dry.

We took Jan & Joel to Bally's this afternoon. It was real nice cruising with them these past few days. Was great to show them what RV life is all about. We all had a lot of fun.

Our site for the next few days

Inviting pool

Hot tub anyone?

Oct 02

We got up this morning and saw the morning news on tv...horrific, devastating news. A gunman rained bullets on a crowd at a concert. He was in a suite at Mandalay Bay which overlooked the venue. During Jason Aldean's performance he just opened fire. So far 58 confirmed dead, over 500 injured. I heard a lot of sirens last night and wondered....what the hell is going on?? So, so sad.

Oct 03 - 07  Las Vegas

We spent the next few days in Vegas doing maintenance on the RV, doing our morning walks around the rv park, and meeting up with friends. Umiya Sushi with Jan and Joel, Winky and Dean for lunch at 808 HMP, Grand Lux at Venetian dinner with Jan and Joel, lunch at Sweet Tomatoes with Vickie, lunch at Tata's Asian Grill with Jan and Joel, dinner with Vickie and Randy at Angry Butcher in Sam's Town. That's a lot of eating out! No wonder we can't lose weight!

Umiya Sushi with Jan & Joel

Lunch with Vickie at Sweet Tomatoes

Dinner at Angry Butcher with the Holts

Oct 08   Las Vegas RV Resort - Main Street Station RV Park    18 miles     45 minutes

We woke up early this morning and went to Walmart to do some shopping. When I got up my back was a little sore and after shopping at Walmart I could barely walk. We moved to Main Street, I took some motrin and muscle relaxers and tried to rest.

By dinner, I felt a little better so we met Winky and Leslie for dinner at Vino's located in The Cannery. This is one of our favorite italian restaurants. Joe had veal with marsala and I had shrimp scampi.....soooo good. My back was hurting by the time we got home but was worth it!

Oct 11      Las Vegas - Pahrump     104 miles     2 hours 30 minutes

Hot tub at Lakeside RV

Miki came in late last night to hang out with us for a week. We're taking Miki out to the desert to do some exploring. We drove out to Pahrump to stay for a few days at Lakeside Casino RV. We haven't stayed here in a while so just wanted to check it out. They honor Passport America so $20.00 per night. We'll be here for 3 nights. It's still pretty nice, there's a pool and hot tub that's open so we'll make use of that.

Oct 12     Spring Mountain Ranch & Red Rock Canyon

We drove out to Spring Mountain Ranch State Park this morning. Established in 1876 there's a lot of rich history here. We took the tour of the ranch house and did a short hike up the mountain. The temperature was perfect and we got to enjoy great views of the surrounding area. The grounds were very well kept and very clean. Admission was $7 because we have Nevada plates on our Kia.

Miki was in the mood for Olive Garden for lunch. We checked and found there was one in Summerlin, so off we went.

On the way back to Pahrump we drove through Red Rock Canyon. Very scenic drive, Joe and I did some hikes here a couple of years ago but no time for hikes today.

Oct 13   Death Valley

We spent the day at Death Valley. Took us over an hour to drive there from Pahrump. Joe and I have been here a couple of times and still enjoy the scenery and wanted to share this with Miki. We did the normal stops; Zabriskie Point, Harmony Borax Works, Badwater Salt Flat, and drove the 9-mile scenic loop through Artist Drive. Took us all day....we were exhausted.

Zabriskie Point

Harmony Borax Works

Artist Drive

Beautiful colors

Badwater Salt Flat

Oct 14    Pahrump - Las Vegas     72 miles    2 hours

Back to Las Vegas RV Resort for the next 2 nights. Miki was glad to get out of the desert, she rather see water.  Next time we'll go to Zion and do some hikes there.



After getting settled at Las Vegas RV Resort, Miki and I went to Sunset Station to put in a football bet and do a little gambling. She did pretty good on blackjack and I got lucky on the megabucks machine....so we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in Henderson. Lunch was at Cafe Rio Mexican Grill. Very very, good place to eat, we'll be back.

Ono sushi

This evening we went to Blue Fin Sushi for all you can eat sushi. $25 per person and believe me, we got our monies worth! Our nephew Kawika met us there, he and Miki enjoyed 3 bottles of Sake.

Miki & Kawika enjoying sake

Dessert

Oct 17    Las Vegas

We're staying at Sunset Station, got lucky with some comps. We spent the last few days cleaning the RV and putting it in storage until our next trip. Of course, we did more shopping for Christmas and enjoyed eating out. Miki leaves this afternoon, so nice to spend some time with her.


Oct 18   Time to go home

We leave late tonight so we went to the RV to do some final cleaning and put the Kia in storage. We like staying at Sunset Station because it's close to where we store our car and RV. After storing the car we walk back to the hotel, about a mile and a half. We always manage to stop at In-N-Out on the way back.

RV storage

Kia storage

Our flight is at 2 a.m. so we checked out of our hotel room at about 1130 p.m. and went out to catch a cab. There were no cabs around. We had to call two times and finally grabbed a cab that was dropping off some people at the casino. Then he took a longer route. Next time we'll use lyft.


IN CLOSING........another awesome trip has come to an end. We got to explore eastern California and enjoyed highway 395. Our first visit to Boise, Idaho was amazing. We got to share our RV experience with our friends Jan and Joel, traveling from Boise back to Las Vegas via Ely, Great Basin National Park, and Cathedral Gorge State Park. We put 1,857 miles on our RV and have memories to last a lifetime.